Student Riots

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Originally Posted by AndySpeed

Can you back up those courses with number of students enrolled on each course Bolton Midnight?

Also, not one of those courses is from a reputable university. Lets not forget that the issue of tuition fee rising will affect those too.

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No just did a random search to find some Mickey Mouse degrees.

It is the rise in worthless courses which are bringing down the worthwhile courses. Only the cream should be going to Uni not all and sundry.

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Originally Posted by Bolton Midnight

No just did a random search to find some Mickey Mouse degrees.

It is the rise in worthless courses which are bringing down the worthwhile courses. Only the cream should be going to Uni not all and sundry.

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Would you, given your comment above stating that you went to university, call yourself 'the cream'?

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Originally Posted by BDunnell

The root of the whole problem is, surely, secondary education rather than higher education. In my experience, academic standards (a factor almost entirely ignored by the politicians espousing an increase in fees, who seem to believe that 'social mobility' is the most important thing about going to university) in the traditional subjects at the traditional universities are just as high as they were when I was studying 10 years ago. Outside that, I have my doubts, yet it's precisely the traditional courses that are going to suffer most from funding cuts.

But there are far too many people entering the university system for it to be able to cope, and the reason is the lessening in standards of A-levels. Are the record A-level pass rates a result of A-level students becoming more intelligent? Surely not. This has had the dual effect of diminishing the achievements of the very many extremely intelligent people who do well at A-levels and overburdening the university system. Yet no politician seems to want to address this, for fear, no doubt, of offending public opinion and putting off potential voters. As long as this is not tackled, there will be a huge problem with higher education in the UK, because student numbers are just not sustainable.

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Under Labour who of course promised Education Education Education

15 year old kids worldwide have been assessed for reading, maths and science skills

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/12/07/oecd_survey/

In 2000, we ranked 4th in science, 7th in reading and 8th in maths.

In 2010, we ranked 16th in science, 25th in reading and 28th in maths.

That is abysmal. We're failing the next generation. With skills becoming increasingly mobile, and people from around the world being able to do each other's jobs, we need our children to be able to compete with the best.

social mobility actually decreased under Labour, of course A level passes increased as they make the exams easier and easier every year to show education is safe in their hands.

A* GCSE pupils now would struggle to get c grade at O Level.

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Originally Posted by Bolton Midnight

Your bad (as seems to be the norm - feel free to insult me now as you usually do).

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Your use of the phrase 'your bad', which is not English, doesn't require me to add anything.

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Originally Posted by BDunnell

Would you, given your comment above stating that you went to university, call yourself 'the cream'?

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But of course, I went to a top public school and am a fully qualified medical professional rather than somebody who stomps about on a motor sport forum as if he owned the place and has some kind of chip on his shoulder.

Why is that?

Were you bullied at school, parents disliked you, bed wetter, bit of a failure in relationships, crap at sports or all of the above?

The world just doesn't need a million more media students. Get shut of the wasters and then the doctors, nurses, soldiers etc that do contribute to society wouldn't have to pay as much.

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Originally Posted by Bolton Midnight

Under Labour who of course promised Education Education Education

15 year old kids worldwide have been assessed for reading, maths and science skills

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/12/07/oecd_survey/

In 2000, we ranked 4th in science, 7th in reading and 8th in maths.

In 2010, we ranked 16th in science, 25th in reading and 28th in maths.

That is abysmal. We're failing the next generation. With skills becoming increasingly mobile, and people from around the world being able to do each other's jobs, we need our children to be able to compete with the best.

social mobility actually decreased under Labour, of course A level passes increased as they make the exams easier and easier every year to show education is safe in their hands.

A* GCSE pupils now would struggle to get c grade at O Level.

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This dreadful concept of social mobility has nothing to do with it. Intelligence, academic ability, knowledge and learning are the important attributes relating to getting in to university, one's motivation for studying and the quality of the course(s).

By the way, I am under no illusions that the A-levels I took in 1997 were easier than they would have been a decade earlier, but the regular comparisons that get made between exam papers of today and those of 50 or so years earlier miss the point completely, because there has to be a degree of adaptation to move with the times. And let's not think that everybody who ever got into university, especially the truly elite ones, in the past was deserving of their place in academic terms. Stephen Fry said that some of the most stupid people he's ever met were at Cambridge.

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Originally Posted by BDunnell

Your use of the phrase 'your bad', which is not English, doesn't require me to add anything.

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It was actually ironic, are you American?

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Originally Posted by Bolton Midnight

But of course, I went to a top public school and am a fully qualified medical professional rather than somebody who stomps about on a motor sport forum as if he owned the place and has some kind of chip on his shoulder.

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Which 'top public school' did you go to?

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Originally Posted by Bolton Midnight

It was actually ironic, are you American?

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Ironic? I thought it was merely your level.

You are a medical professional? Wtf?