Students criticise university contact time

A new study on student perceptions by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) has highlighted the fact that a vast number of students are unhappy with the number of contact hours they receive at university.

Findings have shown that some have as little as two hours of lectures a week, which seems to be incredibly poor value for money, particularly with the recent rise in tuition fees. The study found dissatisfaction to be highest among those studying Arts and Social Sciences, with one joint Arts student remarking that “£3,000 is a huge amount of money to spend on four hours a week contact time”, let alone the new fees of £9,000.

Although for many subjects, independent study is a vital part of the course, a philosophy student complained that so few hours actually in lecture theatres was “demotivating and often isolating” for some students. A politics student quoted in the report highlights the unfairness of the situation, asking “why does my course cost the same as chemistry or medicine, when I use no resources, except the libraries and have only six hours contact time per week?”

While it's clear that the students’ experiences represented in the report “cannot be generalised across the sector”, as they were specific to certain institutions and mostly penned by student unions and other representative bodies, they are still “likely to be informative in indicating what matters to students”, the study says.
Elizabeth Halford, the QAA's head of research, information and enquiry said that the comments received were “wide-ranging”, but that “some clear themes” needing to be addressed had emerged.

Specifically in Exeter, the new findings come during a term which has already seen one day of striking lecturers, with another planned for the 3rd December 2013, if the current “pay row is not resolved”. The majority of lectures and tutorials will be called off, giving students even less contact time for their money.