Schools out: maybe for the last time
Posted 13 November 2007, by Aaron
I had a big decision to make this week: I’ve decided to stop going to college this year. Shock horror! But let me explain why…
Last year when I was in my supposed final year of college my main tutor was ill and took several months off work. As experts in the likes of 3D and video special effects are few and far between, the college failed to get a replacement in. The result was a vastly understaffed new media course and a rabble of disorganised students bumbling towards their final exhibition without any direction.
As a so-called ‘mature’ student, I’m old enough to be able to direct myself, so I spent extra time at home teaching myself what I needed to learn and I ended up putting on a successful end of year show. But the truth is it wasn’t fun, it was harder than it should have been and a lot of the students - myself included - were feeling quite down during this time.
Fast forward to now: I’m back at college by some wicked twist of fate and was looking forward to quickly mopping up four more units to upgrade my qualification. But deja vu: the same tutor is off long-term ill again. The last two weeks I have gone into to college on a Monday afternoon to find no tutor, and as a result of the general disorganised state of the course I haven’t been given a log-in for the computers yet. I literally just sat there twiddling my thumbs.
If I’d have received a brief it wouldn’t be as bad - I could just spend the time at home and do everything self-directed. But I haven’t even received a brief yet! I sincerely doubt the college will find a replacement, but even if they did as I am a unique case (a mature part-time student studying a third year of a course which is usually taught full-time over two years and which has subsequently been replaced with a new learning syllabus… don’t ask…) there is no way a replacement would be able to help me with my unique learning needs. The other tutors are so understaffed that it’s impossible to find them, let alone resolve complex issues such as this.
To put it simply, I am quitting as the college is quite frankly not able to deliver the course this year.
I’m lucky - I qualified last year and I already work in the industry so I can make this kind of decision. What’s more I don’t pay any of the fees so it’s even easier to make this kind of decision. I’m very lucky! But what about the full time students? They’re all early-twenties or younger, they’ve all paid the course fees out of their own pockets, none of them have the industry work experience, and they’re stuck on a course which isn’t delivering the goods. It’s sad.
I must add that this criticism is in no way directed at the tutor who is ill. He’s a great guy and I’m hoping he returns to health as soon as possible. But the lack of cover just goes to show that this guy is pretty much single-handedly running things. That isn’t good enough, and maybe - just maybe - that’s why he’s ill?
I will bring my rant to a close now. As many of you will have read how I was returning to college, I felt you should know that it is no more.
Tomorrow shall see a much anticipated return to… happy posting! 
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David Airey
14 November 2007, 4:44 pm