BLOG 10:

Response to:


http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2006/apr/18/highereducation.uk3

Government unveils plans for two-year degrees
Alexandra Smith

Students will be able to gain an honours degree in just two years under government plans to boost numbers at university and ease the worsening burden of student debt.

Traditional three-year degrees in a range of subjects will be compressed by a year from September when universities including Kent, Leeds Metropolitan, Derby, Staffordshire and University College Northampton begin trials of shorter courses in business, sport and biomedical sciences.

It is expected that students eager to start their careers earlier without the burden of large student debt will forego summer holidays and study for an extra term to complete their degrees in the shorter time.

A system of American-style credit accumulation will also allow students to take study breaks and take longer to complete degrees.

The government introduced two-year foundation degrees in September 2001 to attract more students into higher education. The foundation degrees have a vocational focus and students could then opt to take a third year to qualify for an honours award.
Under the trial, students could also study online while at work in a push to raise the number of adults with degree qualifications.

The higher education minister, Bill Rammell, said the changes would mark a revolution for higher education in the UK.

Mr Rammell told the Times: "For many young people the traditional three-year degree allowed for a range of experience of immense personal value.

"But just because a model fits some people well doesn't mean it fits all and increasingly we live in a world where people expect that service providers will have scope to offer flexibility, not uniformity. A model of full-time provision that dictates that an honours degree must last three years rather than a much more intensive but shorter period of time is, ultimately, supplier driven."

The National Union of Students (NUS) said the trial was an acknowledgement that debt could be deterring students from university. The NUS vice-president of education, Julian Nicholds, questioned the motives behind announcing the plans just months before top-up fees are introduced.

He said: "We know from recent reports that applications are set to drop this year, but attention may diverted from this by interest in shorter degrees. This would be very convenient for the government who are evidently concerned about meeting their pledge to widen access.

"Whilst these proposals may offer up more choice to some students, intensive studying over a two-year period might not be an option for those who have to supplement their income through part-time work. We also hold concerns about how the government will cram three to four years of study into a shorter timeframe without adversely affecting the quality of degrees."

The government has set an ambitious target for 50% of 18 to 30-year-olds in higher education by 2010.

However critics have warned that there is little chance of meeting the target in four years' time as the figure currently stands at about 43%.

The push for shorter degrees has, however, provoked fears that it could lead to the "dumbing down" of academic standards. Alan Smithers, of Buckingham University, told the Daily Mail that ministers would need to be careful they did not jeopardise standards.

Professor Smithers said: "The problem with much of government higher education policy is that it is driven by the 50% target which seems to have been plucked out of the air. The government is very concerned about making it work and seems less concerned with the quality of what is on offer than 'putting bums on seats'."

He said his university already offered intensive two-year degrees and the qualifications were successful because they were "validated and valued by employers."


Believing:

I believe that that the two-year-degree-program is advantageous for many people. First of all, studying one year less at the university means one year of sooner employment, allowing the students practically broaden their field of knowledge. It demonstrates how reduced study time at the university could be supplemented by beneficial experience in organisation. Secondly, the reduction of the three-year program to two increases the proportion of young people with higher education. Accordingly, more students will be attracted to receive a higher degree in a shorter space of time. Thirdly, reduced degree program allows students to ease their debt burden, so that the education will be cheaper, and the students don’t have to waste their time looking for jobs and earning money to cover their loan.


Doubting:

The major problem students face during two-year degree concerns their coursework. Because the students have to master certain amount of material equivalent to three-year degrees, their personal workload will be very intensive. Consequently, it can cause much stress and less time for relaxation. Furthermore, “short” two-year program also signals an end of long student holidays, so that the students can’t rejuvenate themselves for the new term or take a three-month internship during three-month break period. Finally, two-year degree leaves a little room for some essential aspects in students life such as more networking with their own friends at the university and getting involved with student clubs, academic societies, professors. As a result, the students lose an opportunity to establish lifelong professional contacts.