What is Part Time ? Do the Universities Know ?

I have been looking at the websites on many many courses over the past few months and I am amazed at the lack of basic detail on the website.

"The course is available part-time for those students ....blah....blah"

Nowhere is there a description of what this means in terms of attendance periods (evenings/weekends/weeks/blocks) and often even the assessment methods are defined only in vague terms (exams/coursework/interactive sessions) to be carried out onsite or remotely....

Is it really that difficult to empathise with what a student is likely to be seeking when looking for a course ? The contraints are usually pretty clear especially for potential postgraduate students.

On some courses it was even worse...I couldn't find out any detail of the contents of the course beyond the single paragraph overview.

Is there a reason for such reluctance of the universities to publish such details or is it just incompetence ?

TBD

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 1

Ataraxie

I've not yet come across a website/prospectus that didn't have a telephone number or email address to use if you wanted further details.

Part Time usually means that you'll be in for a module or two less time than the Full Time people.

Reply 2

TBD

OP

7

Indeed they do, and I have used them with mixed results. I have probably written to twelve different universities requesting what I consider to be basic detail about the course. Some have not even replied.

"Part Time" runs the whole gamut from Full-time-over-longer to every-Tuesday-and-Thursday-evening-and-every-7th-long-weekend.

In the latter case should an overseas student have to go to a lot of trouble finding this out or should it be presented in the course brochure / prospectus/website ?

I suppose it depends on whether you consider students to be customers of the university or not.

TBD

Original post by Ataraxie

I've not yet come across a website/prospectus that didn't have a telephone number or email address to use if you wanted further details.

Part Time usually means that you'll be in for a module or two less time than the Full Time people.

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 3

Joinedup

20

Yeah I think they like to be deliberately vague tbh.

Full time at my place means ~2 hours per module per week lectures and tutorial

Full time for the purposes of qualifying for a student loan means >24hrs per week iirc.

They make up the shortfall by specifying a number of hours per week of 'self directed study' and bingo, criteria achieved.

Reply 4

tbm

13

My (full time) course is 3 days at uni (2 after xmas) and the remainder of the week either on placement or reading/working in sets. For part time students, they do 1 day a week at uni and the placement is spread over a longer period of time so the course takes 3/4 years instead of 2.

Most universities differ in terms of hours for part time students which is probably why they dont advertise them. I dont think its deliberate. For my course I know that when I was looking to apply there was no description either for hours/attendance so its not just part time courses. I only found out how many days a week I would be in uni during my induction week. Dont forget as well that a lot of courses change year on year depending on timetabling which is another reason why they may not state this on the website.

Reply 5

Joinedup

20

I think they must have a very clear idea how many hours per week they're going to pay the lecturers to stand up in front of you for when they're setting up the course tbh.

days per week is a timetabling issue and it's annoying but understandable that they can't tell you which days you'll be having those hours spread over till they've got student numbers in for each module and can match them up to appropriately sized rooms... assuming your days aren't 9-5 anyway cos mine certainly aren't.

Reply 6

nulli tertius

21

I think that this does require some persistence.

I had the same situation with the course I am now undertaking. The initial response to my email for more information was to refer me back to the inadequate course guide.

I think for most part-time students the key issues are:-

How much does it cost?

How long does it last?

On what occasions do I need to be in a specific place at a specific time?

For part-time students the driver is very often not academic reputation or course quality but can the course be fitted around my work, childcare, caring responsibilities?

Reply 7

Ellim

11

Original post by TBD

In the latter case should an overseas student have to go to a lot of trouble finding this out or should it be presented in the course brochure / prospectus/website ?

The vast majority of international students are not eligible to study part time in the UK, so why would they supply this information for the sole benefit of this very-very-very minority group? (in fact, if you are planning to head over to the UK to study part-time on a student visa - I would think about it again because you'll probably be denied entry.)

Secondly - My husband is in the process of looking at Master's courses and every course brochure I've looked at specifies, where it is applicable, how long the part-time course is (for example, 'One year full-time, two years part-time.) At this time of the year I think it's a little bit unreasonable to expect the course brochure to say 'Tuesday 5-9pm, Thursday 6-10pm.' I'm sure if you asked if it would be possible to take the course on evenings and weekends (or look at universities that specifically do this kind of study, eg. Birkbeck) then they would be more than happy to try and help you out.

Having said all that - again, if you're planning to head over on a student visa you won't be able to work more than 20 hours per week, and you probably won't be allowed to study part-time.

Reply 8

TBD

OP

7

Is the required attendance time too much to ask from a course offering or brochure ? "Part time over two years" is hardly sufficient detail to assess the feasibility of attending.

I used the international student example because I am one, having just finished one part time masters and just about to start another. I know many people living oustide of UK doing similar. Notwithstanding whether I am part of a tiny minority :confused:

, a similar situation arises for anyone not local to the area in which the college is located.

The general standard of published information is quite poor, and in a country where more and more people have to pay for their own education, the universities will have to sell their courses in way to which they are perhaps unaccustomed.

I remember reading a humorous posting somewhere contrasting what students want from a university website with what the universities actually publish online. It was spot-on.

TBD

Original post by Ellim

The vast majority of international students are not eligible to study part time in the UK, so why would they supply this information for the sole benefit of this very-very-very minority group? (in fact, if you are planning to head over to the UK to study part-time on a student visa - I would think about it again because you'll probably be denied entry.)

Secondly - My husband is in the process of looking at Master's courses and every course brochure I've looked at specifies, where it is applicable, how long the part-time course is (for example, 'One year full-time, two years part-time.) At this time of the year I think it's a little bit unreasonable to expect the course brochure to say 'Tuesday 5-9pm, Thursday 6-10pm.' I'm sure if you asked if it would be possible to take the course on evenings and weekends (or look at universities that specifically do this kind of study, eg. Birkbeck) then they would be more than happy to try and help you out.

Having said all that - again, if you're planning to head over on a student visa you won't be able to work more than 20 hours per week, and you probably won't be allowed to study part-time.

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 9

ExTraP

7

I was told according the the gov, part time means 16 hours or less a week, this includes formal lessons, tuorials and self study time. For example if you are on any form of benefits, then you are only allowed to do a part time course or courses than are less than 16 hrs a week. A few friends of mine was on JSA and was doing the course I was doing last year, the deal was they were allowed to stay on the course while still getting the JSA as usual but if a job offer comes up then they would have to take it. But having said that, to really answer your question, it vould vary from uni to uni, the very same course I have mentioned, my uni considered it as a full time course due the the fact it was the way they wanted to aware the qualification. BUt I think generally speaking and as mentioend in some of the replies already, a part time course usually takes twice amount of time to complete then the full time. and you do half the stuff in one acedimic year than the full time. And after all, when it comes to postgrad course, it is a lot more self study then for undergrad, so no one can really tell you you must study at home between 10-6 every tues and fri etc.

Is there any particular reason you want to know?

Reply 10

TBD

OP

7

I don't think it is an unusual question: I run a business and time is at a premium and think it is reasonable to expect a clear description of what I may purchase at 12kGBP+ without having to jump through hoops to find the information I want.

As no one else is involved in the funding, the "number of hours" or "visa" arguement has no relevance for me, but its becoming clear that there are reasons for the universities to be vague about the course descriptions.

TBD

Original post by ExTraP

Is there any particular reason you want to know?