Design Forums - Graphic Design & Web Design Forums

I think the solution to this (in the long run) is a set of freelancers one day starting their own college. It would directly target folks who want to do this for a living.

But its not easy in anyway, the curriculum would make the realities of freelancing (should I eat or pay the water bill?) come to the fore. Persons would be encouraged to have their own 'live' customers and one course would actually revolve around how best to deal with these live projects coming in.

Hmm... *contemplates it some more*

great discussion going on here, I think design courses do need to shape up but some already are getting a grip. I graduated last year off my course and got a job straight away, but Berry was correct in that I was one of a few...the rest are still job hunting.

While on the course many of the students would complain that the tutors weren't doing enough to help them, not giving them enough guidance or that the module content wasn't what they were interested in. Well, they were the bums. The people who were expecting someone else to do the work for them. To succeed on a degree you need to put 99% of the leg work in yourself. For me the tutors did help when they could, but the majority of the time they just didn't have the time and i don't blame them for that - they're busy people.

As for the course content, in the first 18 months it was rather hit and miss because the course was new...we were very much the guinea pigs! But towards the end they began to gain a bit of direction, offering modules which were focused on the business side of the industry. We did work with local companies to a mock brief (which could possibly translated into real work) and it was very successful. It was a whole process of receiving a brief, developing a proposal and delivering with a presentation - overall invaluable experience.

So some courses are going in the right direction and adapting to the needs of the industry, but more needs to be done (harsher critical feedback for one!). However the main responsibility remains with the individual student. Put the work and effort in and you get rewarded, I've seen that first hand.

True. I asked students 'What makes you different from the other 30 odd people on your same course?"

If you can have a valid answer that then your on your way.

Don't expect. Sieze.

Hi Will,

I had similar experiences with my course, it tended to be the older students on the course that could see the bigger picture. The younger students who had come into the course straight from a HND/A-Levels expected the tutors to be providing all they should need, where as the older students knew it was just a platform, and were willing to put in the extra work behind the scenes.

Your course sounds like it was successful for you, and I like the sound of the business modules and live projects you got a chance to work on. Perhaps some of the HE institutions are seeing the gap between course and career/job and are taking action to bridge that? I guess it's a very long process to start introducing new courses and curriculum, with all the paperwork and requirements to fulfill.

Greg

No offence retrowilly, but students sometimes complain and with good reason. If I wanted to do 99% of the footwork myself I'd have saved the money I would have spent on college and tried to make it on my own. I'd have eaten better at least. Yes, you are expected to pull your weight when it comes to assignments but the teachers are supposed to guide you.

And honestly, busy people? It's their -job-. They wouldn't be there if it wasn't for the students. So many teachers get this arrogant approach as if they're doing someone a favour. If more students realised this and -demanded- the information they should be getting, we'd have a lot less confused graduates at the end of their degree.

Hi Greg,

It wasn't so much to do with age on my course, just who had the drive. The problem was the course was new and the content was cutting-edge for a university really. Initially it was called 'Interaction Design for Entertainment Media' which was smartly changed to 'Interactive Media' a couple of years back. anyway, my point is that they didn't really have a specific demographic of target students for the course, so any applicants they got to start with were accepted just to fill spaces - whether they had talent or not in some cases.

As the course gained in reputation they could get more strict with who they allowed on the course. I think that 75% of those in my year would have struggled to get on the course now. Your right, i think it is a long process to start up new courses, especially those whose subject is a relatively new industry altogether and is constantly evolving.

Yeh, at least some are adapting. It can only be good for both higher education and local businesses to collaborate more?

none taken. I would have saved the money and taken that approach too, but I couldn't have done that without a full time job. University (with loans or funding of some sort) allows you to spend the majority of your time learning and researching. Like someone in the comments of Lee's post said, it provides you with a platform to learn.

Yes it is their job, but you can't expect them to go around the world and back to help constantly help you. My point was that people were relying on them to much and you can't do this - that's where the confusion comes from.

Hi Kathryn,

I think that's the difference between A-Levels and Further Education, in school you have teachers who will give you all the information you need for the work. In University you have tutors, who are they to guide you, and give you a framework so you can develop yourself. This is one of the core principles of any degree, that if you've completed a degree you have the ability to go off and complete tasks independently, and the ability to research and study topics. That's why you'll often find graduates going into different careers from their subject of study, as employers know they have the ability, this is probably less relevant for design courses.

I might be wrong, but that's the way I see it

He's a good example of poor tutors being to busy.

I attended the Preview night of a final year show last year. These are students that would be knocking on my door with their portfolios shortly. I was looking at the Advertising Copywriting and Art Directors students work and noticed on so many typos and spelling mistakes in headlines! One student even managed to spell the brand name wrong in the headline! I got annoyed and pointed it out to some of the students who were mortified that their were mistake,s and that they were mounted and on display. I had a word with the course tutor, ( I knew her as she used to be an agency copywriter, very good as well) She said that she KNEW there were mistakes up there but she hadn't had time to mention them as they had to get this show up.
The issues are 1. The poor quality of work with mistakes and errors. 2. The lack of tutor supervision and guidance. 3. The big hole the students shot themselves in the foot with in front of prospective employers. It's a sad state.

Do you think that's down to too much bureaucracy? Too many forms, regulations, targets and criteria for the tutors to manage on top of the general tutor work? Or just the pace of the course in particular?

I put it down to general sloppyness and a laziness. And perhaps a lack of involvement in student work ie: "Here's the brief, tell me when your finished - I'll be in my office"

The thing with all fields, careers and professions is that you can't teach experience.

Wow! Thanks everybody for the the blog and post comments, its interesting to see what other peoples take on this is, especially for people with a lot more experience in the industry than me.

For anyone whos interested I've just finshed Part 2 of the post. Again I'd love to hear peoples thoughts.


Is UK design education an epic FAIL? (Part 2: Students)