People who go to university earn a lot more money than those who don't. They pay more taxes, they become doctors, nurses, midwife's, philosophers, film makers, TV producers and in most cases teachers. If you think that subsidising these people is unaffordable then I'm curious to know what you would spend money on.What would be better for the government. The government. The current system is costing the country billions and is unaffordable.
The current system is unaffordable. Students do not pay fees up front, they are paid for by the State, and only start paying back a proportion of their wages after the earnings threshold. In other words, these 'fees' will never be paid back in full. The increased fees actually makes the State worse off.People who go to university earn a lot more money than those who don't. They pay more taxes, they become doctors, nurses, midwife's, philosophers, film makers, TV producers and in most cases teachers. If you think that subsidising these people is unaffordable then I'm curious to know what you would spend money on.
Not to mention, university spending is a drop in the ocean compared to the overall amount of money government spends. I'd much rather cut crap like trident than university spending.
How would you define what is affordable?What would be better for the government. The government. The current system is costing the country billions and is unaffordable.
I would define it in two ways.How would you define what is affordable?
I would say yes, up to a certain point if the subject is theoretical so you don't need to be in a science lab 24/7. Once you are on to the thesis, whether the research or write-up phase, you don't need to meet your supervisor very often, and it can mostly be done remotely with occasional face to face meetings. So living a couple of hundred miles away from campus is feasible. A PhD is mostly an individual activity anyway.Dont want to hijack this thread, just a quick question- PhD by distance learning, has anyone done it? Thoughts?
Where are you thinking of doing it and at which institution?Dont want to hijack this thread, just a quick question- PhD by distance learning, has anyone done it? Thoughts?
it'd be a much lesser learning experience than you currently get at any half-decent university. Grayling's brought in a bunch of old-fart Sunday Supplement blowhards who'll do a few lectures each and then bugger off back to their comfy posts in the Ivy League/TV-land for the rest of the year. Meanwhile, the actual day-to-day teaching will be carried out by ...well, who, exactly isn't clear yet. It certainly won't be the big-hitters.Looking at the names of staff, it would be an amazing learning experience.
Student numbers could be cut to cover spiralling cost of loans | Education | The GuardianTough quotas on student numbers may have to be introduced to avoid the creation of a spending black hole under plans to raise tuition fees at English universities to a maximum of £9,000, a powerful committee of MPs has warned.
Ministers underestimated how many universities would charge the maximum fee and now face an annual bill to fund the interest-free student loans that is "several hundred million pounds" higher than anticipated, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) reports.
The current balance of outstanding loans – £24bn – is expected to rise to £70bn by 2015-16, the report says.
I was thinking about Nottingham and yes, I'd be working at the same time. The thing is though I'm not sure to what extent I'd be able to conduct my research if I'd be working full time as well. I guess it would depend on the research subject but for what I had in mind I would need to travel a lot and spend a lot of time abroad. The other option would be an MPhil, part-time, just to see how it goes.Where are you thinking of doing it and at which institution?
I would say a qualified yes, depending upon the resources available to you and the supervisor you are looking at studying under.
Will you be working at the same time?
Spoilsport...it'd be a much lesser learning experience than you currently get at any half-decent university. Grayling's brought in a bunch of old-fart Sunday Supplement blowhards who'll do a few lectures each and then bugger off back to their comfy posts in the Ivy League/TV-land for the rest of the year. Meanwhile, the actual day-to-day teaching will be carried out by ...well, who, exactly isn't clear yet. It certainly won't be the big-hitters.
The course outlines that they've put up on their website are exactly the same as the ones on the University of London external learning degree, which you could do for £3500 while watching Dawkins, Grayling et al lecturing on Youtube or iTunesU for nowt. They all look rather conservative and, as you'd expect from an institution run by a bunch of old-timers, none of the modules is even close to the cutting edge of research.
Your classmates would consist of people who weren't bright enough to get into a proper university, but who had big enough chequebooks to get into this place.
It's a shit idea, and I hope it fails.
I think the travel is key. With many MPhils and PhDs distance learning is possible due to the amount of electronic resources needed (and subsequently little empirical work required). Part-time study is always an option. I would e-mail the prospective supervisors or department you would like to study at to ask them their opinions.I was thinking about Nottingham and yes, I'd be working at the same time. The thing is though I'm not sure to what extent I'd be able to conduct my research if I'd be working full time as well. I guess it would depend on the research subject but for what I had in mind I would need to travel a lot and spend a lot of time abroad. The other option would be an MPhil, part-time, just to see how it goes.
I'm still undecided on all this, just checking out the options atm.
Probably shouldn't just leave it at that. Most people have no idea what that means.Higher education bubble?
One of the less-oft-mentioned traits of the higher-education bubble is that the system actively encourages admission of otherwise lacking candidates....Your classmates would consist of people who weren't bright enough to get into a proper university, but who had big enough chequebooks to get into this place...
