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| British universities attract students from all over the world. |
- Ensure that all students have a valid student visa if they are coming from outside the EU
- Ensure that all students meet a minimum standard of English to be able to attend the course
- Ensure that all students are attending the courses they have signed up for
Now fulfilling tasks 1 and 2 are just admin procedures really. If a foreign student doesn't meet the minimum level of English to do a course, then the university should advice the student to spend a year brushing up his/her English before applying again. There are schools both in the UK and in places like China where students are given intensive English lessons to try to bridge the gap in their linguistic abilities in order to prepare them for a British university. Now in reality, what happens in universities like LMU at the very bottom of the league table is this - they really don't care about standards, they know they are scraping the bottom of the barrel anyway. So they would accept foreign students no matter how bad their English is, knowing that if they said no to the student, the student wouldn't go away and spend a year improving his/her English. No, the student would merely approach another crap university and in all probability, they will be happy to close one eye and shut the other and say yes.
In terms of the career prospects, only 42% of LMU graduates find any kind of employment within 6 months of their graduation. Whilst that figure may be shocking, the figure for the very worst university in the UK Bolton is even lower: at 34%! One wonders really, what are the students (and their parents) thinking when they enrol for courses at places like LMU and Bolton?
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| Not all degrees are equal. Not all graduates are equal. |
One theory is that in places like China and India, employers may still be rather ignorant. Now amongst the universities in London, the top two are UCL and LSE. The bottom two are East London University (ELU) and LMU. They are found on the opposite ends of the league table: UCL and LSE usually just behind Oxford and Cambridge - whilst ELU and LMU are usually at or very near the bottom. Furthermore, there are many other universities in London including Imperial College, SOAS, City University London, King's, UAL, Queen Mary, Royal Holloway, West London, Greenwich, Westminster, St Mary's and South Bank. Some students are counting on the fact that not all of their future bosses would know the difference between LSE (excellent!) and ELU (terrible!) or the difference between Queen Mary (a relatively good university) and St Mary's (quite a crap university). The names all kinda sound the same to someone who is not familiar with the British university system - but that is what league tables are for. All it takes is a few minutes and google and your can check a university's ranking easily.
Perhaps the famous example of this is Oxford Brookes university. They are ranked 48th - so okay, it's decent at least it is in the top half of the league table but mention the word Oxford Brookes and the first reaction you're going to get is, "yeah, but that's not the real Oxford University, is it?" It just so happens to be in Oxfordshire as well, but is not related in anyway to Oxford University.
I suppose the question one has to ask is this: if your grades can only get you into a university at the wrong end of the league tables, should you be spending all this time and money getting that degree? Wouldn't you be better off pursuing other options for further education? A crap degree is no less expensive than a very good one - so think carefully before you waste your parents' hard earned money.
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| Think about how you're spending your parents' hard earned money. |
There were two other university, Glasgow Caledonian (ranked 91 out of 120) and Teesside (ranked 78 out of 120), were investigated as well but were given the all clear by UKBA. It was also revealed that other universities were still under investigation by the UKBA currently, but no further names were revealed. I guess the government are investigating these universities at the bottom end of the league table because it beggars belief that people would spend this much money on such expensive degrees from universities at the bottom of the league table.
If the universities have been breaking the rules, then yes they should be punished. But the issue is controversial because LMU has been punished by a rather blunt instrument. Those with visa violations will have to leave the UK but there are many of their existing foreign students have done absolutely nothing wrong and are still being punished for their LMU's mistakes. They now have to either transfer to another university or else they have 60 days to leave the UK. Now there are estimated to be about 2000 students at LMU in this situation now and the next 60 days for them is going to be crucial - will they be able to transfer to another university mid-way through their course? That is not going to be an easy transition.
Now if you were a student from a top 10 university looking to transfer to another university mid-way through your degree, no problem, most universities will only be too happy to accept you. But students from LMU will only be accepted by other universities at the very bottom of the league table - they don't have many choices at all. That is why they are panicking and protesting - and I do feel sorry for them. After all, they have not done anything wrong - why are they paying the price for LMU's mistakes? Furthermore, this is already the end of August, term usually starts at the end of September or the beginning of October. These students are put in a very difficult position with less than a month to resolve their situation. Surely it would've been more merciful to have given them this terrible news back in June, so they could've had the entire summer to make alternative arrangements. After all, LMU's problems are not new and they've been under scrutiny for many years.
Chances are, most of these students would be able to find an alternative university because British universities have increased their fees from a cap of £3325 to £9000 and as a consequence, the applications by UK students for universities is down by 8.7%. This means that there have been some universities who still have many places on courses which are not filled - not enough students means not enough fees collected and they would be looking for ways and means to plug this gap. Hence accommodating some LMU students may be something they are only too happy to do - especially since these are foreign students paying full whack. So in light of this, LMU students shouldn't worry too much and get a plan of action together as soon as possible.
Here's the good news though - this wouldn't affect the universities in the top half of the league table, the better universities. For Singaporeans students heading to the UK, you broadly fall into three categories.
If the universities have been breaking the rules, then yes they should be punished. But the issue is controversial because LMU has been punished by a rather blunt instrument. Those with visa violations will have to leave the UK but there are many of their existing foreign students have done absolutely nothing wrong and are still being punished for their LMU's mistakes. They now have to either transfer to another university or else they have 60 days to leave the UK. Now there are estimated to be about 2000 students at LMU in this situation now and the next 60 days for them is going to be crucial - will they be able to transfer to another university mid-way through their course? That is not going to be an easy transition.
Now if you were a student from a top 10 university looking to transfer to another university mid-way through your degree, no problem, most universities will only be too happy to accept you. But students from LMU will only be accepted by other universities at the very bottom of the league table - they don't have many choices at all. That is why they are panicking and protesting - and I do feel sorry for them. After all, they have not done anything wrong - why are they paying the price for LMU's mistakes? Furthermore, this is already the end of August, term usually starts at the end of September or the beginning of October. These students are put in a very difficult position with less than a month to resolve their situation. Surely it would've been more merciful to have given them this terrible news back in June, so they could've had the entire summer to make alternative arrangements. After all, LMU's problems are not new and they've been under scrutiny for many years.
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| What do you think league tables are for? |
Chances are, most of these students would be able to find an alternative university because British universities have increased their fees from a cap of £3325 to £9000 and as a consequence, the applications by UK students for universities is down by 8.7%. This means that there have been some universities who still have many places on courses which are not filled - not enough students means not enough fees collected and they would be looking for ways and means to plug this gap. Hence accommodating some LMU students may be something they are only too happy to do - especially since these are foreign students paying full whack. So in light of this, LMU students shouldn't worry too much and get a plan of action together as soon as possible.
Here's the good news though - this wouldn't affect the universities in the top half of the league table, the better universities. For Singaporeans students heading to the UK, you broadly fall into three categories.
- You have earned yourself a place in a university ranked higher than NUS in the international league tables.
- You have failed to earn yourself a place at NUS and are looking to get a degree from a British university ranked lower than NUS in the international league tables.
- You want to do a course that is simply not available in any institution in Singapore.
Now for those of you in category 1, you have absolutely nothing to worry about. The good universities will not be affected in the slightest in this latest scandal. As for those of you in categories 2 and 3, well if your university is in the top 50 or at least in the second top half of the league table comprising of 120 universities, then you have nothing to worry about. If you are in a university in the lower half of the league table, then again, don't worry - there seems to be a deliberate effort to make an example of LMU, so all the other universities would be shocked into action. I can imagine quite a number of university chancellors right now demanding an internal audit and desperately trying to get all the paperwork in place so they would pass any audit of their student records. Remember, the universities who obey the rules are not punished - so if the universities have done nothing wrong, well, then they have nothing to worry about.
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| Just focus on your studies, don't worry about the university's admin. |
So the bottom line is this - don't worry because there's really nothing you can do about the situation; it is up to your university to do its job when it comes to making sure all aspects of student admission matters are properly handled and the student really should only have to focus of his/her studies. If in doubt, always try to apply for university as high up the league table as possible. That's what league tables are for - it should trump all other factors like "oh my cousin is also studying at this university" or "this university has a really nice campus". All those factors are secondary - they are far less important than the university's ranking at the end of the day.
I hope this has helped. If you have any other questions on the issue or anything else concerning studying in the UK in general, please feel free to leave a comment and I will be glad to help.
Hi LIFT,
ReplyDeleteThe motivation for certain segments of overseas students spending good money to study at unis like PMU are not that mysterious:
1) Guaranteed entry into the UK, after which they can either:
a) study + work followed by graduation. Then go back and work use the cachet of an UK bachelor/masters degree holder to secure any jobs from employers who can be hoodwinked. Their domestic job market is like Sg in the '70s or '80s (?), where any overseas degree holders are instantly superior and relatively scarce.
b) Mai tu liao! Start looking for a job after flashing a smile at the customs officer at Heathrow! Dun attend classes, the one-year £10,000 school fee just treat as a less riskier payment for entry into the UK lor! Remember, these are people from rural areas of their countries where illegal back-breaking jobs paying 50 quid a day are infinitely better than the same godforsaken jobs back home and, might I add, tax-free!
An article in today's Guardian citing a education consultant based in India alluded to option b above.
Also, I agree with you about the lack of racism in the West. But, if I may, I think your view might be a bit London-centric or cosmopolitan city-centric. My work requires me to travel to smaller (lesser?) UK cities and towns, and occassionally the reception has been less than pleasant. General thesis: London is as diverse as any place on Earth + ignorance usually engenders racism so homogeneous towns and certain working class areas in cities may entertain less tolerant views.
Sorry really busy lately, will try to expand on this. Cheers limpeh,
KL
Hi KL, thanks for your points. Allow me to respond to them.
Delete1a. It depends lah - if it is some remote corner of China, then fair enough. They'll be like "oooh you've been to London" - but otherwise, surely all they need to do is google the league tables? Are people that easily hoodwinked in this day and age?
1b. The university is supposed to make sure this doesn't happen - they are meant to take attendance at the classes to make sure that they students do turn up for classes and if they miss too many classes, then they are supposed to report the students to the authorities who will then revoke the student visa as they suspect the student is working instead of studying. Besides, the kind of jobs in the black economy open to people without the proper paper work is very very limited and they are really subject to exploitation when they put themselves in this situation.
2. I have worked all over the UK including various parts of rural Wales - as a Welsh speaker I do get work with S4C and I end up in rural Wales a lot and I tend not to encounter any racism there either but this is mostly because I speak Welsh with the locals who then assume, "oh he must've grown up in South Wales because he speaks fluent southern Welsh" - certainly, I've met people who are curious ... that's the world I'll use. They'll be like, "where are you from ...?" And that's because they don't encounter many non-white people in their town, rather than because they are downright hostile.
Hi LIFT, if you would like to comment, what is your opinion on universities like Greenwich and Staffordshire, not just what they do in the UK, but also that they offer / have offered overseas university diplomas/degrees to private schools in Singapore?
ReplyDeleteHello Alan. Let's put it this way. There is a hierarchy of universities.
Delete1. Elite super atas: eg. Oxbridge, Ivy League
2. The very good: ie. those ranked 8 to 20 on the league tables, where you end up if you don't get into your first choice
3. The so-so average universities
4. The ones dealing with below average students who still want a degree
5. Those at the bottom of the league table, offering very simple programmes (ie. dumbing down the standard) to make sure that at least most of their students will pass and graduate
6. Degree mills (ie. buy a degree, no effort required)
Now Staffordshire is ranked 96 out of 120 in the UK league tables and Greenwich is ranked 88. They are borderline categories 4/5 and I wouldn't hesitate to put Staffordshire (ranked 96th) in category 5. I might be slightly more merciful to Greenwich at 88th ... but only just.
My point is this: what is the point in getting a degree from a university in categories 4, 5 and 6? Come on, we all know that universities get to set their own standards and the lower down the league tables, the easier their exams. Imagine if we took a final year student from the university of Bedfordshire (ranked 103rd) and send him to LSE (ranked 3rd) for his final exams. Even if the student constantly scored As at Bedfordshire, he would almost certainly fail at LSE because the same exam would not only be more difficult, but marked a lot more harshly because the average calibre of an LSE student is soooo much higher than a Bedfordshire student.
It's a waste of money really, IMHO, by that token.
Thanks for sharing your qualified opinion, LIFT.
DeleteIn return, let me explain a reality that places you higher in life than where my family could ever be.
Generally, we belong to the group of Singaporeans who could not have made it to national university when we were that young.
(I'm not talking about myself alone.)
Our category would have to seek tertiary education the slow, long, hard way as mature students, adults having to do part-time because of family commitments too.
We would not be competing with the young and brilliant, for the scholarships and the prestige of top institutions of education.
Since public education has rejected us, we're forced to turn to private schools.
We don't have the kind of precious money to toss around until we get the bestest of the bestest there is to offer out there.
Of course I can only speak from the Singapore point of view, of getting a degree by distance learning, from UK/Australia etc.
You know the UK situation better than I ever can.
But I believe my S'pore category of people has counterparts in the UK.
If you thumb your nose at their forced foolish choices of university education, honestly, I feel thumbed at too.
Because I don't identify myself only by my decent university and post-grad qualifications.
I identify more with the current and future educational potential of my family as a whole.
But it's OK, all this thumbing.
It's like being disapproved for not behaving like royalty and nobility.
But we never aspired to be in this unfortunate minority, either.
Hmmm. Allow me to respond to that Alan.
DeleteWhilst there's a certain snobbery out there (not just my opinion but in general) associated with university rankings and the quality of one's degree (based on those rankings) - the flip side of that is that the many people who have decided, sod it, I'm just gonna go out there and work hard and make a career for myself without a degree. Or they may pursue some kind of vocational training qualification and become a skilled tradesman without a degree. Quite simply, there are options out there for those who choose not to go down the path that leads to a BA or BSc.
I have met many people who have done just that and have made incredible careers for themselves without a degree. They didn't need a degree to be successful - they have found other means to acquire skills that enabled them to make the most of their abilities.
Now if I was given a choice of:
a) get a degree from a university at the bottom of the league table
b) pass on a degree and spend those 3 years doing something else instead to develop my skills for the working world
I would definitely choose b) over a) - why? Because when you submit a CV to someone like me and I see a degree from "the University at The Bottom Of The League Table", like dude, how do you think I am gonna react? It's not that I'm cruel or nasty, but I'm like - why did you even bother when you could've done something else with those 3 years.
Whilst option b) is a bit vague, I know for sure that option a) is practically useless and that's why I would at least take a gamble with option b).
OK let me put it to you then. My parents know this really annoying couple (long story, but I won't identify them as I don't wanna get personal) in Toa Payoh. TPY couple bragged that they have sent their child to a great British university and he came back with a 2:1 (second upper). My parents asked me to look up the ranking of the university and sure enough, it was at the very bottom of the league table.
DeleteSo I had the satisfaction of informing my parents that students who end up that that university probably all have had terrible results for their A levels. Okay, so maybe some more dude had measles or chicken pox during his A levels exams and that screwed him up so he ended up with 3 Es instead of 3 As - it is generally accepted that most people who end up at that university are not exactly straight A bright, clever students. No one with good A level results would deliberately choose a university at the bottom of the league table like this.
So from this I could tell my parents that Mr & Mrs TPY's son probably had terrible A level results and that a 2:1 from such a university is totally useless - it is a freaking joke. Yeah they can brag about how smart he is and frame a big photo of him in his graduation gown - but the proof is in the pudding.
I asked my parents, "So what's this guy doing today?"
My parents replied. "He's unemployed and still lives with his parents."
I rest my case.
Hey LIFT, I get the ludicrousness of the Toa Payoh family vanity.
DeleteAt the same time, here's the reality as we know it in Singapore:
- whatever the non-paper skills you pick up, it's not recognised if not backed by paper;
You may have great charisma with kids, but until you're certified for pre-school education, forget about getting any decent employment.
- most people simply do not have the resources and position of power to pick the best from themselves, since the best is not even available to most of them;
- companies here don't just reject one for not having a good degree from a good uni: they reject anyway or despite that, because they have their agendas, no matter how good one already is.
They have decided one doesn't fit in, before even giving a chance for one's obviously great potential.
Politics also matters, whether of the social or economic or corporate or whatever kind.
That is why Western educational qualifications of many kinds stereotypically assume some form of respectability, since the society here doesn't want to be as discerning as you are, LIFT.
Unless you feel that parents here desperate to put their kids into branded primary schools, are indeed the ones on the right track, while the rest of us are doomed to unambitious crap.
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ReplyDelete