90% fail architecture finals at a UK university

[Richard Haut]

What on earth is going on ?

90% (54 out of 60 students) have failed their finals at the University of Central England, Birmingham, UK, and the course has been suspended while an investigation is undertaken.



From the BBC:

Last Updated: Saturday, 17 July, 2004, 18:45 GMT 19:45 UK

Probe as 90% fail degree finals

54 of 60 students are heading for a re-sit

An investigation is underway into how 90% of students on an architecture course failed their final exams.

The course at the University of Central England, Birmingham, has been suspended while the investigation takes place.

Thirty students due to start in September will now have to find places at another university.

The university's authorities have chosen an independent adviser to examine the high failure rate, with 54 out of 60 undergraduates failing.

Those who failed are being offered support as they face the prospect of autumn re-sits.

Pro-vice chancellor Professor Phil Walkling said students obliged to work full-time at the same time as studying as well as unfinished coursework contributed to the appalling pass rate.

He was quoted by the Birmingham Post as saying: "I have never across a situation where so many students failed before. It's unheard of.

"There is no one reason why so many students failed. It is a whole spectrum of things.

"Some have completed their final coursework and others have been working almost full time due to financial pressures."

A university spokeswoman added: "In response to this exceptional circumstance, the decision has been made to not recruit to either the full or part time course in BA Architecture in September 2004.

"The university will help students who had already accepted places to find places at comparable courses in other universities."


link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/3903699.stm

[Kevin]

That's quite a story!

I think it surprises me as much that it has been admitted, reported, and to some degree acted upon, as that is happened in the first place!

[Richard Haut]

I do not choose to blame the students, and they are anything but a "gimme generation" graduating class.

Perhaps there is just the tiniest problem with the teaching, the funding, etc which has contributed to this.

After all, the course has now been closed, and I hardly think that that would have happened if - despite the undoubted brilliance of those selecting students to go on the course - this had merely turned out to be a very bad year, do you ?

More likely to be court cases - if, as of course seems most unlikely, the now comparatively high fees charged to students are for a product of questionable merchantable quality.

[P.C.]

Hi

Guess only few students will omit the option of ending up in a creative situation where if you realy want to be the artist you think you are. Here in Dk. it alway's was so that the Studios complained that the students they took on, knew nothing absolutly nothing ,and alway's needed another education about how things acturly is done, ----- at the schools the saying was "if you want to build houses go become a building constructor".

Now I am glad that what architects learn in school is arts and all that, and realy I wonder what would happen if all students realy got a job as architect ,so when that few pass the test I don't mind as architecture is a good platform to learn arts as such.

I wonder how numbers show about other schools, ---- but doing the numbers from how many students that passed ,acturly work within architecture, my guess is that very few do but this don't mean that other arts or crafts did not profit ,so what's the trouble.

P.C.

[Martin73]

One of the students has commented about this on Archinect.

http://archinect.com/news/article.php?id=4334_0_24_0_C[/url]