TT: Alternate Universes of Higher Education

Looking for the Wednesday Wandering?  Page back one and at your two bits to our  discussion on the awkward topic of how to tell an author “You’re Wrong.”  Then come back and join me and Alan as we venture into some of the newer developments in higher education.

JANE: Since we last talked, I’ve been thinking about how our own education system has changed.  One of the biggest changes is the increased role that community colleges have in providing post-high school education.

Education of a Different Stripe

ALAN: What are community colleges?

JANE: I’m sure they differ some from state to state –  here in the U.S., colleges and universities are often funded by state governments – however, I believe the basics are the same.

First, there are no elaborate entrance requirements.  I’m not even sure if one needs to have completed high school, since I’ve heard of talented high school students getting a jump on college by taking courses at a community college.

Second, community colleges do not offer a full four-year degree (also called a bachelor’s degree).  Instead, they offer a two year-degree, usually called an “associates” degree.

Third, although many are, not all the courses are “high brow” academic.  One can learn some pretty practical things, too.  I have a friend who needed to upgrade his computer drafting skills and went to the local community college for that.

With me so far?

ALAN: Absolutely! That sounds just like the sort of thing the polytechnics do. And the “associates” degree sounds as if it is exactly the same as the post A-level certificates issued by polytechnics. Isn’t it amazing how ideas converge?

JANE: It is indeed.

The most interesting element of all, to me, is that since community colleges are far less expensive than most traditional colleges, many students are opting to take their first two years of college courses (many of which are basics) at a community college and then transfer to a four year college for only the last two years.

I suspect this is going to undermine a lot of the “rah-rah” school identification we discussed when talking earlier about yearbooks, class rings, and homecoming.

ALAN: That has to be a good thing. “Rah, rah” stuff always makes me squirm with embarrassment.

JANE: Going back, you said something about getting a higher education being easier now than it was had been in your day.  What are some of the new options?

ALAN: In the 1970’s the British government funded something called the Open University. There are no real entry requirements for the Open University – anybody can apply to study. That’s because the university has no permanent academic staff and no campus. It employs only a small number of administrators. Initially, the lectures were broadcast on the television, but these days they make full use of the internet, of course. And the lectures are simply recordings made by “bricks and mortar” university staff employed briefly as consultants. The recordings are used again and again and again…

So there is really no limit on the number of students the Open University can accommodate because it has no physical existence…

JANE: That sounds interesting, although I admit I have my doubts about the use of broadcasts for education.  It’s becoming more common, even here, but I have no personal experience.  Did anyone you know go to the Open University?

ALAN: Robin took an Open University degree in the late 1980s and she said it was hilarious seeing the recorded lecturers with their 1970s haircuts and their wide lapels and bell-bottomed trousers!

JANE: I agree, it would be, but how did she feel about the educational experience?

ALAN:  She found it invaluable. She was in a quite unique position in that she already had a degree from a more formal course of study at a traditional university so she was ideally suited to compare the way the two systems worked. And she was very pleased to find the same rigorous academic standards in place.

JANE: With the rise of the internet, the idea of teaching via recording or on-line is becoming more and more common – even here.  I find it interesting that the whole notion has been successfully established to the point that an entire university has no “live” staff.

ALAN: Yes – it’s been hugely successful, but no other country seems to have stolen the idea, which is a pity. Open University degrees really are just as prestigious as traditional degrees and the academic standard is just as high. One of my friends from school left early without any GCE qualifications because he made the mistake of getting his girlfriend pregnant. Later in life he took an Open University degree.  These days he is very much a mover and a shaker; he’s done really well for himself.

JANE: It must be hard for the students if they study by themselves all the time without other students, tutors, or instructors to work with.

ALAN: Robin tells me that the Open University holds “Summer Schools” in addition to the broadcast lectures. These generally take place on the campuses of brick-and-mortar universities during the summer when they are largely deserted. The idea is to bring the students together so that they feel less isolated in their studies, and also to hold seminars and tutorials. Robin used to love the summer schools. They were really just an excuse to hold parties. She refers to them as “shagfests.”

JANE:  This seems to undermine the idea of any value to the Open University.  The Summer School seems a joke.  If I went through the hassles of a traditional education and found that this “shagfest” was considered “as prestigious” as a traditional degree I’d be highly offended.  Obviously, I’m missing something.

ALAN: Indeed you are, and that takes us right back to a profound cultural difference between us that we’ve remarked on before in these tangents. Just because something is serious is absolutely no reason at all for taking it seriously.  All work and no play makes Jack and Jill very dull people.

Of course a Summer School is a shagfest and a joke when the study day is over. How else would you spend your evenings after a day full of very hard work? I promise you, during the day, a Summer School is anything but a joke, it’s very much nose to grindstone. But sometimes you have to let your hair down. And, trust me, you are missing so much in life if you’ve never attended a morning of intense intellectual activity when you are so hung over that your eyebrows bleed…

JANE: I think I can continue on in life without that last experience. Even so, I wasn’t at all a dull girl.

I spent my evenings “at university” reading SF/F and playing roleplaying games.   No hangover with those particular entertainments.  I did have a boyfriend…

Go on…

ALAN: The Open University is no different from a real university in that respect. I managed to debauch myself very successfully indeed when I was a student – far more successfully that I ever managed before or since, to my deep regret. That doesn’t mean I didn’t work hard – I worked and studied very hard indeed. I earned my degree and I’m proud of it. And I’d be equally proud of an Open University degree, if I had one.

JANE: Heck…  I think that if the Open University students need to make the grade without tutors or faculty to whom they can bring questions, maybe they should be prouder.

ALAN: So they should. And Robin is extremely proud of her OU degree – she values it as much as she values her more traditional degree. Actually, from what she tells me, I suspect that she values it more.

JANE: I guess you’re now filled in enough on the American educational system that you can watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Animal House, and other school dramas in a well-informed manner.  I’m also glad I finally understand about “level exams” and why failing the eleven-plus exams gave us so many fine rock stars.

What do you want to talk about next?