Read on Twitter
Don& #39;t know who need to hear this*, but reducing tuition fees for *mostly* online learning might seem like common sense, but in fact it& #39;s not...universities can& #39;t reduce fees for a host of reasons.
Bit of a #TuitionFees thread.
*Seems to be a lot of people.
1/
Bit of a #TuitionFees thread.
*Seems to be a lot of people.
1/
N.B. a): & #39;Tuition Fee& #39; is a misnomer. It pays for academic time and expertise in teaching, but also cleaning and maintenance, administration, the library, tech, some research, widening participation bursaries, MH and other support. And management and marketing.
#TuitionFees
2/
#TuitionFees
2/
N.B. b): Expensive to run courses (engineering, medicine etc) are subsidised by & #39;cheaper& #39; ones (social sciences, arts/humanities). Having lower/variable fees messes this (and access issues) up, as does likely earnings. In short: the £9K+ sticker price is a mess.
#TuitionFees
3/
#TuitionFees
3/
Distance/online learning involves WAY more than recording a talk and bunging it online: expensive tech, essential tech support, learning how to use it, screwing up, re-recording, adapting content to make it work/accessible, then running interactive sessions.
#TuitionFees
4/
#TuitionFees
4/
It takes a day or more to write a 2-hour seminar and two hours to run it. To achieve the same outcomes online, it& #39;s the same time to write, plus a day of recording and setting up forums and webinars, plus hours engaging in them: i.e. treble the hours - or more.
#TuitionFees
5/
#TuitionFees
5/
Many unis have borrowed hard to build big and fancy in order to attract students. They should have been more careful, but they& #39;ve also been pushed in this direction by policy and competition - including rankings. It& #39;s not staff/students& #39; fault, but it& #39;s there.
#TuitionFees
6/
#TuitionFees
6/
So uni can& #39;t reduce fees because replacing F2F teaching costs more and it also undermines the whole way that a semi-equitable HE is administered and financed. And unis have debts.
For the record, we& #39;d abolish fees and loans, have grants and a low grad tax.
#TuitionFees
8/End
For the record, we& #39;d abolish fees and loans, have grants and a low grad tax.
#TuitionFees
8/End
