Like a tin of well-educated sardines, UK universities are growing crowded with school-leavers pushed into further education from the get-go. And, when married with the trebling of tuition fees over the past four years, it’s transformed into a system increasingly concerned with consumer value.
Indeed, more than 20,000 UK students have complained about the quality of university education in 2014 – a 10 per cent increase from on the previous year, according to national newspaper The Independent.
An independent adjudicator for higher education, Rob Behrens, said, “I think the decision to raise the fees has had an impact on student thinking.
“Students do see themselves more as consumers than they used to. They want the best possible degree they can get.”
Whether or not you view this capitalistic approach to education as a positive force, it’s becoming an unavoidable fact – with, in addition to tuition fees, an average four year period of study costing over £30,000, the real value of university has to come under scrutiny.
But, no matter how you quantify the notion of “value”, there are ways to cut down on costs, avoid congested universities andstill gain a top-notch degree.
Finding the perfect alternative
A distance learning degree, for instance, has been giving students a higher degree of flexibility in their studies, as well as cutting the costs of travel, campus accommodation and course texts.
And they’ve progressed a heck of a lot since the early 70s, when distance learning involved staying up until 2am to catch lectures on the telly. Now, with the versatility of the internet, videos, lectures, course notes and core texts are all available at the click of a button.
More than the convenience involved, online degrees are opening doors for those who find themselves incompatible with the “campus lifestyle” of parties and midnight study sessions.
The free education
Much like a distance learning course, there’s the young upstart of university alternatives – the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC).
Essentially free education, MOOCs have made waves in the press, with many citing them as the future of education. MOOC provider Udacity, for instance, has more than 1.6 million users the world over.
Seem too good to be true? Well, that’s largely because it is. Unlike a distance learning degree or time spent at a traditional university, the humble MOOC offers no official qualifications.
However, in an era where consumer choice is paramount, it does offer the opportunity to “taste” a subject to see if it suits you.
At the moment, especially with employers valuing “on the job” experience more than degrees, it might seem easy to dismiss the university system as something being subsumed by consumerism and overpopulation.
But with the rise of the internet, the education system has grown into something replete with a variety of studying possibilities, turning the fading light of these hallowed institutions into something viable for the 21stcentury.