2nd rate colleges in Ireland?

Hitchens · 24-10-2014 4:40pm #1

http://businessetc.thejournal.ie/jerry-kennelly-tweak-1744432-Oct2014/

this is one of the things he's saying:

“The regional colleges, as they used to be known, have a lot of courses that are absolutely useless. People spend three years doing what is really a one-year course … it’s a waste of peoples’ time and energy.”

how can he say furthering one's education is useless?

AnonoBoy · 24-10-2014 4:41pm

Hitchens wrote: »

how can he say furthering one's education is useless?

Well it seems he's saying that some courses are useless as opposed to the idea of further education itself.

shruikan2553 · 24-10-2014 4:42pm

I think he means that spending 3 years learning stuff that could be done in 1 year is a waste.

smash · 24-10-2014 4:44pm

I'd tend to agree with him. There are a lot of ‘Mickey Mouse courses’ out there these days!

Subjects that should really be part of a semester in an overall course are being split into their own course.

AnonoBoy · 24-10-2014 4:45pm

smash wrote: »

I'd tend to agree with him. There are a lot of ‘Mickey Mouse courses’ out there these days!

Hey! Walt Disney Institute of Technology plays a valuable role in the education of cartoon animals throughout the country. I won't hear a word against it.

Tzar Chasm · 24-10-2014 4:46pm

Ah he does have a poiit tho.

there area a fair few waste of time courses in the rtc's.

that said, there arw some good ones too, its often a case of the institution trying to get numbers

The Moldy Gowl · 24-10-2014 4:46pm

In before the arts courses

shruikan2553 · 24-10-2014 4:48pm

Gowlasauras Rex wrote: »

In before the arts courses

Thats not hard, they never come into college!

Hitchens · 24-10-2014 4:49pm

Never spent any time in an RTC, are they really as bad as he's making out?

byhookorbycrook · 24-10-2014 4:50pm

AnonoBoy wrote: »

Hey! Walt Disney Institute of Technology plays a valuable role in the education of cartoon animals throughout the country. I won't hear a word against it.

Walt Disney's ancestors came from Carlow.At one point ,there was some kind of bursary in his name to the IT in Carlow.

Stone Deaf 4evr · 24-10-2014 4:53pm

Ahh yes, good old CIT and its "recreational leisure" course. (IMO) still, if you're enjoying it and harming no one - whats the problem?

Hitchens · 24-10-2014 4:53pm

and he's associated with one of the IT's he's so scathing of

The Moldy Gowl · 24-10-2014 4:55pm

shruikan2553 wrote: »

Thats not hard, they never come into college!

I spent more days not in college than in college

MagicMarker · 24-10-2014 4:56pm

Hitchens wrote: »

http://businessetc.thejournal.ie/jerry-kennelly-tweak-1744432-Oct2014/

this is one of the things he's saying:

“The regional colleges, as they used to be known, have a lot of courses that are absolutely useless. People spend three years doing what is really a one-year course … it’s a waste of peoples’ time and energy.”

how can he say furthering one's education is useless?

Sorry, I can't focus on the content of that article with that picture.

smash · 24-10-2014 4:57pm

Stone Deaf 4evr wrote: »

Ahh yes, good old CIT and its "recreational leisure" course. (IMO) still, if you're enjoying it and harming no one - whats the problem?

There's a problem if it's a nonsense course with no real career at the end which leaves you on the doll and everyone else picks up the tab while you sit at home blaming the government because there's no jobs in the industry.

smcgiff · 24-10-2014 5:02pm

MagicMarker wrote: »

Sorry, I can't focus on the content of that article with that picture.

I wonder what category on Stockbyte would they include that picture?

Have they a smug yet gormless section?

Beano · 24-10-2014 5:02pm

Stone Deaf 4evr wrote: »

Ahh yes, good old CIT and its "recreational leisure" course. (IMO) still, if you're enjoying it and harming no one - whats the problem?

what exactly does the study of recreational leisure involve?

Beaner1 · 24-10-2014 5:04pm

IT students can bleat about discrimination all the want but you can't fool employers when it comes to joke courses. The bar is set so low at ITs as they are desperate for students and failing 60% of first years (which they should do from what I've heard) would kill them stone dead in terms of funding.

Shakespeare's Sister · 24-10-2014 5:06pm

Beano wrote: »

what exactly does the study of recreational leisure involve?

It's for managing a leisure centre and I think there are personal trainer elements too.
I guess a degree has to be a minimum of three years? Four in an I.T. I think.

Journalism in DCU used to be four years which was totally ridiculous. It's three years now.

DEFTLEFTHAND · 24-10-2014 5:11pm

Stone Deaf 4evr wrote: »

Ahh yes, good old CIT and its "recreational leisure" course. (IMO) still, if you're enjoying it and harming no one - whats the problem?

Waste of a grant for those who avail of it.

Beano · 24-10-2014 5:11pm

Shakespeare's Sister wrote: »

It's for managing a leisure centre and I think there are personal trainer elements too.
I guess a degree has to be a minimum of three years? Four in an I.T. I think.

Journalism in DCU used to be four years which was totally ridiculous. It's three years now.

3 years to learn to be this bloke? http://www.michaeldvd.com.au/CoverArtUnverified/11808.jpg

AnonoBoy · 24-10-2014 5:15pm

byhookorbycrook wrote: »

Walt Disney's ancestors came from Carlow.At one point ,there was some kind of bursary in his name to the IT in Carlow.

Holy sh*t - I was accidentally almost right about something! :eek:

Shakespeare's Sister · 24-10-2014 5:20pm

Beaner1 wrote: »

IT students can bleat about discrimination all the want but you can't fool employers when it comes to joke courses. The bar is set so low at ITs as they are desperate for students and failing 60% of first years (which they should do from what I've heard) would kill them stone dead in terms of funding.

From what I've heard they're much more structured, disciplined places than universities are.
And third level isn't only about getting a job, but if that's what people prefer to focus on, ITs are very job/training focused.

Beaner1 · 24-10-2014 5:25pm

Shakespeare's Sister wrote: »

From what I've heard they're much more structured, disciplined places than universities are.
And third level isn't only about getting a job, but if that's what people prefer to focus on, ITs are very job/training focused.

The standard is miles below somewhere like trinity. A 2.1 in an IT is worth less to most employers.

Celly Smunt · 24-10-2014 5:32pm

Beaner1 wrote: »

The standard is miles below somewhere like trinity. A 2.1 in an IT is worth less to most employers.

Here we go again.

An engineering graduate from DIT or even IT tallaght is preferred to a student with a B.Eng from Trinity.

Universities excel in arts and parts of sciences (not technical sciences as such) where as IT's and I'm going to include DCU here,are far more capable of producing superior grads in the applied sciences and engineering.

History,English,Law etc etc - universities excel

IT,Engineering,Design,Built Environment - IT's hands down.

I wonder when DIT combines with Blanch and Tallaght and becomes DTU will many employers seek engineers from trinity..

mackg · 24-10-2014 5:33pm

http://www.qualifax.ie/qf/QFPublic/?Mainsec=courses&Subsec=college_details&ID=20

That's a list of the courses in CIT as an example. After a quick perusal I can't see many that are jumping out at me.

Maybe his issue is that a lot more ground could be covered in these courses? Tbf QQI would have approved these courses as having the necessary learning outcomes to be classed as 6/7/8s on the NFQ, the same as their university counterparts.

I don't know to what extent courses are reviewed to ensure they remain relevant in a changing climate or with respect to the latest advancements in the field.

Anecdotally I know of cases where a course was reviewed and altered making the students very pissed off as the "guaranteed questions" on the paper went out the window, but similarly I know of a case where unbelievably outdated material was being delivered on a course due to it not having been revisited in years. Both of these were in different former RTCs.

Tbh we would get a more substantial discussion out of this if the journal's articles were at least as long as a standard primary school essay.

jobbridge4life · 24-10-2014 5:37pm

I think there are probably too many colleges and universities in Ireland period. Nearly every county seems to want a college and then every second wants a university. You have people from the Midlands who thinks an outrage that they might have to travel to Dublin or Limerick for third level

Taco Chips · 24-10-2014 5:38pm

Celly Smunt wrote: »

Here we go again.

An engineering graduate from DIT or even IT tallaght is preferred to a student with a B.Eng from Trinity.

Universities excel in arts and parts of sciences (not technical sciences as such) where as IT's and I'm going to include DCU here,are far more capable of producing superior grads in the applied sciences and engineering.

History,English,Law etc etc - universities excel

IT,Engineering,Design,Built Environment - IT's hands down.

I wonder when DIT combines with Blanch and Tallaght and becomes DTU will many employers seek engineers from trinity..

None of thats really true though is it?

AnonoBoy · 24-10-2014 5:39pm

The snobbery against ITs from people who did a sh*te degree in a "proper" university is hilarious.

Celly Smunt · 24-10-2014 5:39pm

Taco Chips wrote: »

None of thats really true though is it?

Yes,it very much is.Good luck with the CAO.

Celly Smunt · 24-10-2014 5:42pm

When it all comes down to it however,your degree means **** all its what you can do that counts.

IT students can do more,IT's are Better.DIT for life broseph's. (ten years where did my graduation go...)

2nd rate colleges in Ireland?

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