Should universities be reformed?

paky

After almost 4 years in college I'm beginning to think college is a bit of scam in that college is structured in a way so that it can justify making maximum prophet for minimum work. For example, this semester I have been allocated 13 hours of lectures a week. One semester is 12 weeks in duration and there are two semesters per year. SO a college year works out at 24 weeks of lectures or over 300 hours of lecture time per year.
Summer consists of almost 4 months of holidays a year which works out at over 12 months of summer holidays over a 3 year degree period or 15 months of summer holidays over a 4 year period. In reality, nobody is allocated this duration of holidays.

Looking at these statistics, it seems to be the case that University institutions are structured in a way to drag out the duration of a college degree as long as possible in order to justify the fees it charges students and create maximum prophet.
Of course who could ever be qualified enough to challenge this? Most lecturers would counter this argument by saying that one lecture requires 3 hours of study time but in reality how many people have you met actually do this?

Some online universities can complete degrees in 2 years or under but sometimes these degrees don't receive any recognition from accredited institutions. Why? I don't know but one can't help but wonder why universities are not organised in such ways. Obviously some time should be allocated for students to study and do assignments but this can be easily done where a student has only 13 hours a week. However it may not be so easy if those 13 hours are structured in way that they take up a full working day then studying becomes an extra component in your daily activities and lectures take ultimate priority.

Lets say for instance, a Monday timetable.
Module A 9 o'clock.
Module B 12 o'clock
and back to module A at 3 o'clock.

Now it would seem from any reasonable persons point of view that a timetable like this could be arranged far more covienietly for the student. Module A could be structured as a double class which would be convient for the lecturer and the student but why isn't it?

Normally the bullsh1t excuses you get are that lecturers have other committments or the lecture room is in use by another group. These arguments seise to be valid if a student is studying a singe honours programme like, lets say psychology, where the class would be functioning as a single entity and the lecturer would have no excuse to be somewhere else.
So what kind of impact does this have on students, how exactly do they pass the time? Well thats easy. Drink and drugs, just like the unemployed youth do with some exception.

So what exactly is college? Essentially, college is club set up by academics or PHD certified people or what ever you wanna call them. They hold the power to award degrees to students but first you must jump through hoops and hang around for 3 or 4 years before you get your degree or get admitted to the club. Nobody can question how the degree is awarded since the guys who make the rules run the show. A lot of people will tell you that college is about the 'experience' but there is nothing in college which cannot be experienced on the dole except for clubs and societies in universities.

So my conclusion on the matter is that governments should revise how univeristies are run and introduce some serious regulations to cut out the serious money making bull that goes on in here.

Does anyone else agree?

MagicMarker

tl;dr

Fromthetrees

paky wrote: »

After almost 4 years in college I'm beginning to think college is a bit of scam in that college is structured in a way so that it can justify making maximum prophet for minimum work. For example, this semester I have been allocated 13 hours of lectures a week. One semester is 12 weeks in duration and there are two semesters per year. SO a college year works out at 24 weeks of lectures or over 300 hours of lecture time per year.
Summer consists of almost 4 months of holidays a year which works out at over 12 months of summer holidays over a 3 year degree period or 15 months of summer holidays over a 4 year period. In reality, nobody is allocated this duration of holidays.

Looking at these statistics, it seems to be the case that University institutions are structured in a way to drag out the duration of a college degree as long as possible in order to justify the fees it charges students and create maximum prophet.
Of course who could ever be qualified enough to challenge this? Most lecturers would counter this argument by saying that one lecture requires 3 hours of study time but in reality how many people have you met actually do this?

Some online universities can complete degrees in 2 years or under but sometimes these degrees don't receive any recognition from accredited institutions. Why? I don't know but one can't help but wonder why universities are not organised in such ways. Obviously some time should be allocated for students to study and do assignments but this can be easily done where a student has only 13 hours a week. However it may not be so easy if those 13 hours are structured in way that they take up a full working day then studying becomes an extra component in your daily activities and lectures take ultimate priority.

Lets say for instance, a Monday timetable.
Module A 9 o'clock.
Module B 12 o'clock
and back to module A at 3 o'clock.

Now it would seem from any reasonable persons point of view that a timetable like this could be arranged far more covienietly for the student. Module A could be structured as a double class which would be convient for the lecturer and the student but why isn't it?

Normally the bullsh1t excuses you get are that lecturers have other committments or the lecture room is in use by another group. These arguments seise to be valid if a student is studying a singe honours programme like, lets say psychology, where the class would be functioning as a single entity and the lecturer would have no excuse to be somewhere else.
So what kind of impact does this have on students, how exactly do they pass the time? Well thats easy. Drink and drugs, just like the unemployed youth do with some exception.

So what exactly is college? Essentially, college is club set up by academics or PHD certified people or what ever you wanna call them. They hold the power to award degrees to students but first you must jump through hoops and hang around for 3 or 4 years before you get your degree or get admitted to the club. Nobody can question how the degree is awarded since the guys who make the rules run the show. A lot of people will tell you that college is about the 'experience' but there is nothing in college which cannot be experienced on the dole except for clubs and societies in universities.

So my conclusion on the matter is that governments should revise how univeristies are run and introduce some serious regulations to cut out the serious money making bull that goes on in here.

Does anyone else agree?

I dunno.

Guill

I stopped reading at prophet.

Jimoslimos

paky wrote: »

After almost 4 years in college I'm beginning to think college is a bit of scam in that college is structured in a way so that it can justify making maximum prophet for minimum work

Yes.....unless you're studying Theology.

GLaDOS

I'm in fourth year myself, one or two lectures in the morning then lab til 5 every day this semester. Can't complain about having too much free time really.

pljudge321

paky wrote: »

I have been allocated 13 hours of lectures a week. One semester is 12 weeks in duration and there are two semesters per year. SO a college year works out at 24 weeks of lectures or over 300 hours of lecture time per year.

Try doing a science or engineering degree if you want proper hours.

GLaDOS

I'd say if you have less than 20ish hours a week in lectures/practicals in 3rd/4th year, you should have plenty of assignments to do. If not, I'd question the validity of your course...

looksee

Oh dear. Four years? Yes, you have been scammed.

admiralofthefleet

slightly ot but i dont agree with private schools getting public money

TheZohanS

Dude you're in college, enjoy it whilst it lasts.

Sindri

College pfftt!

I never went to college and I'm a successful alcoholic.

steddyeddy

paky wrote: »

After almost 4 years in college I'm beginning to think college is a bit of scam in that college is structured in a way so that it can justify making maximum prophet for minimum work. For example, this semester I have been allocated 13 hours of lectures a week. One semester is 12 weeks in duration and there are two semesters per year. SO a college year works out at 24 weeks of lectures or over 300 hours of lecture time per year.
Summer consists of almost 4 months of holidays a year which works out at over 12 months of summer holidays over a 3 year degree period or 15 months of summer holidays over a 4 year period. In reality, nobody is allocated this duration of holidays.

Looking at these statistics, it seems to be the case that University institutions are structured in a way to drag out the duration of a college degree as long as possible in order to justify the fees it charges students and create maximum prophet.
Of course who could ever be qualified enough to challenge this? Most lecturers would counter this argument by saying that one lecture requires 3 hours of study time but in reality how many people have you met actually do this?

Some online universities can complete degrees in 2 years or under but sometimes these degrees don't receive any recognition from accredited institutions. Why? I don't know but one can't help but wonder why universities are not organised in such ways. Obviously some time should be allocated for students to study and do assignments but this can be easily done where a student has only 13 hours a week. However it may not be so easy if those 13 hours are structured in way that they take up a full working day then studying becomes an extra component in your daily activities and lectures take ultimate priority.

Lets say for instance, a Monday timetable.
Module A 9 o'clock.
Module B 12 o'clock
and back to module A at 3 o'clock.

Now it would seem from any reasonable persons point of view that a timetable like this could be arranged far more covienietly for the student. Module A could be structured as a double class which would be convient for the lecturer and the student but why isn't it?

Normally the bullsh1t excuses you get are that lecturers have other committments or the lecture room is in use by another group. These arguments seise to be valid if a student is studying a singe honours programme like, lets say psychology, where the class would be functioning as a single entity and the lecturer would have no excuse to be somewhere else.
So what kind of impact does this have on students, how exactly do they pass the time? Well thats easy. Drink and drugs, just like the unemployed youth do with some exception.

So what exactly is college? Essentially, college is club set up by academics or PHD certified people or what ever you wanna call them. They hold the power to award degrees to students but first you must jump through hoops and hang around for 3 or 4 years before you get your degree or get admitted to the club. Nobody can question how the degree is awarded since the guys who make the rules run the show. A lot of people will tell you that college is about the 'experience' but there is nothing in college which cannot be experienced on the dole except for clubs and societies in universities.

So my conclusion on the matter is that governments should revise how univeristies are run and introduce some serious regulations to cut out the serious money making bull that goes on in here.

Does anyone else agree?

Ah here 13 hours? Are you studying law or something? When I was studying science I was in from 9 until 6 four for lectures and lab work bar friday when I only had lectures and was in from 9 until 3.

Mr. Rager

You think too much.

paky

steddyeddy wrote: »

Ah here 13 hours? Are you studying law or something? When I was studying science I was in from 9 until 6 four for lectures and lab work bar friday when I only had lectures and was in from 9 until 3.

yes law but how do you justify such long summer holidays eh?

steddyeddy

admiralofthefleet wrote: »

slightly ot but i dont agree with private schools getting public money

I dont agree with private schools full stop I think their a massive waste of anyones money taxpayer or parent.

steddyeddy

paky wrote: »

yes law but how do you justify such long summer holidays eh?

Well surely you had a lot of reading to do. I know law students that do at least 40 hours of reading a week.

elvis99

Tell your lecturer to fúck himself OP

paky

steddyeddy wrote: »

Well surely you had a lot of reading to do. I know law students that do at least 40 hours of reading a week.

not really, i just crammed it all in at christmas but yes some people do

D_D

I did a degree in Engineering and in college had about 32 - 35 hours per week. This was just the lectures, labs and tutorials. You would then have to do extra work in the evening like study or write-ups. Every hour was organised, and it was difficult in 3rd and 4th year to get any free time for study because the project work ramped up...

So I'd say it really depends on what department you're in;

Engineering/Sciences - Not much free time.

Arts - Faff around to your hearts content.

GLaDOS

paky wrote: »

yes law but how do you justify such long summer holidays eh?

Some people need to work to pay college fees and need a few months off to work full time to afford it

paky

ScienceNerd wrote: »

Some people need to work to pay college fees and need a few months off to work full time to afford it

i can't see many people working this summer with the way the countries gone. you could easily fit a semester in during summer and finish a three year degree in two and it would be far cheaper

steddyeddy

paky wrote: »

not really, i just crammed it all in at christmas but yes some people do

Well Paky I would say it really depends. I dont have much free time at all at the moment! Im just back home at 9 tonight from 9 am and that was a short day for me!

DEFTLEFTHAND

When I studied Law 14 hours a week was the norm for lectures. We had a list of recommended Reading and assignments but these tended to be done at the last minute by everybody. In hindsight I would have preferred that more of the syllabus was covered in a shorter time period. The elongated structure of the course was conducive to laziness and academic under performance.

steddyeddy

By the sounds of things the thread title should be "should Irish law be reformed"!

Turtwig

How the heck!!? Just 13 hours. That. Does. Not. Compute.

DB21

OP is ridiculous. Try doing a Science Education degree. Two 3 hour labs, f**k-ton of lecture hours, and teaching practice one day a week.

paky

Domo230 wrote: »

Working full time in the summer was what I was supposed to do.

Couldn't find work and then the college kicked me out

Now I'm a playboy by day, successful race car driver eho fights crime by night

why they kick you out?

RichieC

You have the rest of your life chasing ambulances, enjoy yourself, Paki.

Equium

paky wrote: »

yes law but how do you justify such long summer holidays eh?

As an undergrad, you're the least of a lecturer's concerns. In engineering/science-based courses a lot of that summer period is spent undertaking/supervising research. That brings in a lot more money for the university than undergrad fees. I'd imagine there's a similar reasoning for departments like law.

paky

Id say your in a tiny tiny minority of undergrad students who wouldnt like the summer off from college. Its a nonsensical suggestion in almost every way.

paky wrote: »

Normally the bullsh1t excuses you get are that lecturers have other committments or the lecture room is in use by another group. These arguments seise to be valid if a student is studying a singe honours programme like, lets say psychology, where the class would be functioning as a single entity and the lecturer would have no excuse to be somewhere else.

The above demonstrates you haven't a clue. Lecturers have far more for doing than teaching undergrads. Its only a small part of what they do. Supervising postgrads, doing their own research, generating funding, writing project proposals etc etc takes up most of their time.