The idea of totally modular courses where you pick and choose and can slowly build up credits over time is super attractive, until you actually get to the practicalities.

By the time you hit third year there is prerequisite knowledge that you need… 1/n https://twitter.com/nicolawoolcock/status/1318831560561491968

...degree programmes don’t work without structure. You can only be so flexible.

Teaching e.g. a final year mapping module in geology requires the supporting programme structure of mineralogy, mapping training, structural geology etc. Outside the structure of a degree prog… 2/n

…this rapidly becomes an absolute logistical nightmare.

It works for very broad subject areas perhaps, but for a lot of degrees it would be completely unworkable. 3/n