Two-year degrees have been an ongoing trending news item since late 2017, and are being proposed as alternatives to longer degree courses. So what’s behind this initiative – and is two years still too long, and too expensive an option for gaining a level 7 qualification?
Why now?
Two-year degrees have come about as a ‘cost-effective’ option, in the aftermath of the uproar against the high cost of regular university tuition fees in English universities. Tuition fees are now up to £9,250 each year in England, making university study in England more expensive than many other countries
(Metro News, 2018).
Although there’s a temporary freeze on these tuition fees, which means they’re not likely to go up for another year, it’s becoming increasingly unlikely that the review will see tuition fees come down
(BBC, Feb 2018). So two-year degrees have been presented by the Education Secretary and the Minister of Universities and Science as an option which offers greater flexibility and reduces overall costs to students by £5,500.
The situation has also been widely reported because of the cause-effect of those huge tuition fees, on top of rising costs for living and accommodation leading to extensive debt and financial difficulties for those entering higher education – especially as over half of all UK graduates don’t land a graduate role at the end of it
(The Independent).
And those debts affect everyone involved: families with higher incomes are expected to contribute more to the living costs of their uni-going offspring, whilst students from families with lower incomes are offered larger loans, to support accommodation and living costs –
but of course this means that they graduate with even larger debts!
What’s wrong with the plan?
This new plan is to offer degrees which are just two years long. But although this proposal means a reduced learning period there’s unlikely to be a different fee level, so the debt issue is still significant:
- Students will still get into debt – with other costs, particularly accommodation, still rising, the costs of going to university continue to be much greater (The Guardian).
- Oh, and not only are fees higher, the student loan interest rates attached to these higher fees also increased, just as the fees did (The Guardian).
- Graduates may still struggle to get a graduate role.
- Two-year degrees may not offer industry relevance and work-readiness.
And of course there’s still the issue that some school and college leavers still have no clear idea of the career path they wish to tread, so even two years of study could be too long (and too expensive) to spend on something you’re not sure you’re going to love!
What other options are there?
It’s kind of important to also mention that, even putting issues of time and money for study to one side, it’s a fact that not everyone is suited or disposed towards going to university.
After all, it’s possible that personal circumstances, preferences, and responsibilities mean that uni is not an option for extending education after school or college, or when re-thinking a career path or employment route, so it’s just as important to recognise that uni is not the only option around!
So there’s not just a move towards shorter degrees, there’s also a significant move towards the alternatives of high levels of education, skills, and knowledge – and not to mention practical experience, offered by vocational qualifications.
So how about events?
Whilst some professions do still require a degree, the events industry is one of those exciting, innovative industries which actively values those who can demonstrate professional experience and creativity through vocational courses, as readily as those with traditional degrees.
As such, the events industry not only recognises that vocational training can be a viable alternative to the traditional degree route, for a level 7 qualification, it also welcomes the fact that vocational training generates professionals who already have some experience.
If you’re not sure how this ‘looks’, the diagram below of the Qualifications & Credit Framework from Wikimedia offers an easy visual of the depth of study a level 7 qualification offers:
When options become solutions
This is one of the reasons why the Event Academy
Degree-Alternative course is a popular choice amongst those who don’t want to come through their events education with huge debt or taking an overly long two or three-year route to try to get into a fast-moving industry. Because this, and our
Postgraduate course* offer plenty of solutions to those problematic issues of three, or even two-year degree courses:
- Costs (time and money)
Quality education does, of course, cost money, but Event Academy course fees are significantly less than the cost of a degree in terms of outlay across the period of studying and graduating from the course, and because the courses take less time, there are also less ongoing costs – plus you’re well equipped professionally and into the job market more quickly.
- Industry relevance
Speaking of professional equipment, our CIM-accredited qualifications offer industry-relevance and additional skills to support in-role competency and for getting a role – marketing yourself at effectively at interviews is an extremely good way of not just talking the talk, but could be the way of walking the walk in a more direct route to a job.
- Options
Not knowing what career path to take is common – even whilst studying event management. In fact, there are so many different roles within events that it’s possible to come into one of our event management courses thinking about one particular role or possibility and ending up working in another – and loving it.
- Ready for work
One of the main benefits of the final part of the degree-alternative and the Postgraduate courses are the work placement opportunities, which involve industry- working and potential to gain a lively network of contacts to springboard a career.
This is how Event Academy has gained such a great reputation for delivering graduates who are work-ready and have the experience and portfolio needed to support getting an events role.
* Oh, and please don’t be put off talking to us about our
Postgraduate course just because of its name! It’s entirely possible to get a place on the course if you have other relevant industry experience and vocational qualifications – see how this wasn’t a problem for
Max in getting his events career started with us.
Want to find out more?
-
- Check out testimonials from some of our alumni.
- Come visit with us at our Open Evenings and see just how far Event Academy courses can take you – in far less than two years!
Two-year degrees have been an ongoing trending news item since late 2017, and are being proposed as alternatives to longer degree courses. So what’s behind this initiative – and is two years still too long, and too expensive an option for gaining a level 7 qualification?
