OT A level results and Uni places

[The Natural Philosopher]

100% of all the actual engineering I did commercially didn't need me to go to university to obtain. At least 50% I got on an apprenticeship course BUT the one thing that it did give me was to teach HOW to think about problems and HOW to use tools to solve problems that had never been solved before.

If you want to build a house, you don't do complex calculations on material prosperities and extensive calculus: you look it all up in a table of building practices.

And that's the difference between a technical and an academic education. A technical education teaches you the wisdom of those who have been before: An academic education teaches you how to add to that knowledge yourself.

That is why you need probably only 5% of people to actually have that sort of education.

[The Natural Philosopher]

[charles]

I don't think "they" were responsible. It was a government decision.

[Nightjar]

What about the pre-redbricks?

Colin Bignell

[Andrew May]

Did Cranfield ever take undergraduates?

[The Natural Philosopher]

Bugger. you may be right. Perhaps they never did.

[The Natural Philosopher]

OTOH this

"In 1969, the College of Aeronautics became The Cranfield Institute of Technology incorporated by Royal Charter with full degree-awarding powers, and new departments were set up to cover the work in the new subject areas, such as the Cranfield School of Management."

suggests that they were indeed an undergraduate university in all but name..

[sm_jamieson]

Well the new University Technical Colleges (UTCs) are about to reappear. Of= course they are in no way similar to the old Polytechnic, of course not ! Round full circle ? Simon.

[Mark]

The vast majority of the publicity has been regarding tuition fees which are completely covered by the loans[1]. I'm sure there is a fear of that level of debit but many students will not pay off the whole amount.

The "elephant in the room" is the maintenance loans which are means tested so, unless you are very poor, you probably won't receive enough to live off. Many people get a loan smaller than just their rent.

Also many Universities require a deposit paid against the hall fees before any of the loans are paid out.

[1] Only for a first undergraduate degree course.

[The Natural Philosopher]

course they are in no way similar to the old Polytechnic, of course not !

techs were good. They worked. They didn't award degrees in bollox: they gave you certificates of proficiency in something worth having.

[Andrew May]

Although they still have degree awarding powers but only award higher degrees. Was just wondering whether this has always been the case.

[Andrew May]

Actually you could be right. From their information for prospective students:

"Cranfield University is a wholly Postgraduate University and no longer runs undergraduate courses."

certainly suggests that they once did.

[Mike Tomlinson]

En el artículo , Andy Dingley escribió:

We know what you were reading and watching while you were at uni now :-)

[Adrian C]

The following are jobs that the UK has to open doors to fill.

UK students choosing Media studies, our graduates disapearing overseas or snatched by financial services industry regardless of course discipline studied?

Meanwhile, HM gov thinks we should all aspire to be good at sports....

[The Medway Handyman]

We knew that after the VAT f*ck up.

[alan]

Surely he is over qualified for Meja studies?

[ARWadsworth]

Indeed. Hence my post to the newsgroup

[Tim Streater]

Don't students get digs anymore? Or half-board with a landlady?

[Bob Eager]

It has to be - we don't go near that.

Schools don't teach Computing, by and large - they teach ICT. The new GCSE looks interesting, though - real programming.

[Bob Eager]

+1.