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A TED Talk by Jordan Wilhelm
Receiving my degree is the culmination of all the memorizing, cramming and group projects
with that one member who never contributes enough. When I look back on some of the last
minute cramming sessions for a test because I had a lab report, a presentation, as well
as an assignment for a complementary elective that will most likely not benefit me past
the good grade to show for it, all due the day before. I really don't see how this benefits
my learning beyond a bit of time management skills and being able to keep calm under pressure.
Sure this can be considered a lesson, but unlike a class where I'm paying for a new
lesson every day, I'm paying for four years of the same lesson! So I'm wondering how can
the University curriculum be rebranded to better suit everyone's education?
Well from a students perspective I wanted to look at where the problem might lie. And
a student's life can be summed up in this simple triangle. As a student it truly feels
like you can only have two, but why? I believe the answer to this question is to encourage
students to stay in school longer by extending the time period of some University programs.
A study by the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario found that only 45 percent of Ontario
students complete an undergraduate degree by their fourth year, and that 80 per cent
complete their programs by the sixth year. To me this number is shockingly low, so why
not try and reduce some of the pressure that comes with wanting to graduate in 4 years
and change the perspective to I want to graduate in 5 years.
So I wanted to know, why are bachelor degree's planned out in a 4 year timeframe. Well in
short Canada adopted a system to mimic British and Scottish Universities who have been using
this system since the 11th century! Now since that time add the brilliant educational contributions
of Albert Einstein, Isaac newton, William Shakespeare, Sigmund Freud and Alan Turing
just to name a few. How much more information can we fit into the same four year time span?
It is straightforward to see how more time to focus on courses can be used to get better
grades, but some of this extra time can also be delegated to extracurricular activities.
Whether it be a club, team or council, more time put towards these efforts will allow
students to remain active within them for longer and generate more progressive work.
As another plus, more experience exemplifies a more well round student, resulting in more
skills on a resume, bettering their chance of finding a career. But, the extra time may
not just benefit students, if a modified timetable offered courses every second year, teachers
and teaching assistants may find extra time to use towards their research. And if you've
never encountered a single teacher who cares more about their research than their class
or they just do amazing research in their field, then your not looking hard enough.
The next issue I'd like to look at is cost for the student and University. In the short
term of 1 year the university will have less profits, because they charge per course and
unfortunately students are taking less courses per year. But what they don't get from the
first year they will make up come the fifth year. An extra year on campus also means more
profits from campus amenities. Not to mention the overall economic benefit for the local
community as well by keeping students in the city longer. For students an extra year would
also mean an extra summer to get a job to help payoff student debts and loans that will
accumulate at a slower rate. With tuition increasing every year it becomes more difficult
to pay off debts especially with the flawless OSAP program found in Ontario. Using OSAP
to pay off a 4 year course assuming 2 terms per year, a student is eligible for a $7300
loan each year. Paying off at the recommended payment period of 9.5 years, you'll be paying
an estimated $338 per month for the next 10 years after your 6-month grace period right
when you graduate. With the debts students are burdened with nowadays, this is an easy
way to earn an extra few thousand dollars to help pay off student debts.
A study conducted in 2012 by the higher education strategy associates (HESA) indicates students
are unsatisfied with 3 year programs, a poll taken on the benefit of three year degrees
shows students believing a shorter program is detrimental to their learning experience.
Now could the same idea apply to four-year programs? I believe a study by HESA should
be conducted on multiple faculties across Ontario Universities to find out which students
are happy with their program length and which are unsatisfied.
There's just one last question I want to leave you with, with all this information I've given
you in the last 4 minutes, would you have preferred I spread it out over 5?