Editorial: Is Uni worth it? :: Wessex Scene Online

Editorial: Is Uni worth it?

19th August 2005
Rebecca Twomey News Editor

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11am starts, week-night drunken binges, and an interest-free overdraft. I’ve certainly enjoyed university life!

As my time at Southampton comes to an end my dissertation deadline and my finals loom, I have begun to ask myself what was it really all for? The job market is saturated with graduates, many of whom are far more vocationally qualified with their ‘media studies’ or ‘music technology’ courses than those of us about to graduate in English and Music.

I cannot help but be cynical and question how the skills I ‘learnt’ throughout my degree course can be applied in the work place. I am yet to see a job advertisement that asks for a candidate who can ‘accurately reference secondary material.’

As an English student I have enjoyed minimal teaching time, but in some ways I feel robbed; robbed of my right to be taught, and of my right to learn. Self-directed study is an important facet, but how much personal study am I expected to do for a unit that only has an hour and a half contact time a week? I struggle to find the motivation to study texts and topics I will never be assessed on. For single English units the assessment is only two essays which can only focus on four texts out of a possible ten studied on the course. I am not ignorant of the benefits of wide reading and I understand the importance of studying all of the set texts. I only feel that minimal assessment and teaching only breeds minimal studying.

With the exception of two tutors out of the nineteen who have taught me, none have bothered to learn my name. This is not, may I add, through lack of attendance, or seminar contribution. You would think that my personal tutor would know who I am?

Since my first year I have religiously arranged appointments. When I emailed him to ask for some advice and reassurance at the end of my studies, he failed to show up a total of three times. I was left waiting for fifteen minutes outside his office, I felt as if I was waiting outside the headmistress’ office at school. (I was an angel at school, for those of you who are wondering.) This left me feeling like I didn’t matter at all.

Whilst I respect that lecturers are not at the demand of students, a five minute informal chat arranged with my personal tutor at a time which suited us both was all I needed. It appears to be the case that students are never put first. I know of more than just a few finalists who were only told who their dissertation supervisor was in November, one student discovered hers had changed three weeks before the final deadline!

Universities will do anything to get you enrolled and paying fees, but once you’ve got your place, how much do they really care? For a student at a red-brick university, ranked so highly in the league tables, why is it that I am not alone in my feelings of discontent?