Thursday August 28, 2008
News
No news is bad news · Issue 860, by Lee Macaulay
Cardiff journalism students hit out at their department. Enrolment was ‘a shambles’
2nd year BA Journalism, Film and Media students have told gair rhydd of frustration in their lectures and confusion about their seminars after administrative errors and a lack of forward planning by Cardiff University’s School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies (JOMEC).
The problems began when, due to staff departures and the sudden death of lecturer James Thomas, three 2nd year modules were cancelled by JOMEC after pre-enrolment in 2007. Students were then reassured by the school that replacement modules would be ready for spring semester.
However, students were then told that only two new modules would be run in spring and that they would be both media-based as opposed to the cancelled journalism study-based modules. An anonymous JOMEC student told gair rhydd: “They aren’t offering me any Journalism modules but they claim to be one of the best Journalism departments in the country.”
Students were also frustrated with a number of administrative problems. JOMEC e-mailed students in December with the news that all modules had spaces. But when students came to re-enrol last week many left disappointed:
“The [administration] staff are very unhelpful. I was the first one in the queue but the module on War, Politics and Propaganda was full, which I understand. I asked if there was a waiting list but she just said no.”
Another problem occurred when JOMEC advertised a spring semester module to run in the autumn in error, which then had to be withdrawn.
Other students were also less than happy: “It’s absolutely appalling. Cardiff University is a complete let down. It doesn’t care about its students.”
“Pretty bad. It’s such a shambles.”
“It’s pathetic. I’ve already made a complaint.”
In response, Chair of BA Journalism, Film and Media Undergraduate Board of Studies, Gill Branston told gair rhydd: “BA staff have agreed to re-run an autumn semester module; to open a third year Photography module to Year 2, and to take extra students on a popular History centred module.”
“A few of us have worked hard on this all week and are offering more module choices to Year 2 as a result. I hope they can bear with us as we try to fill the spaces left by James’ death and Miranda’s departure.”
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I had a similar problem in the final year of my undergraduate degree. One of my lecturers, who coincidentally was also my dissertation supervisor, had to take medical leave after half of the first semester. The university didn’t bring anybody else in, so the module was pretty much cancelled (with the end of year exam being based on the first few weeks of work), and me being left without a dissertation supervisor. I could have forgiven such shoddyness if it had been in my first or second year, but with it being the final year of my degree it was rather appalling. I would have thought they might have learned from that experience and put better safeguards in incase something similar happened again, as it seems to have done here.
My experience of university administration in general (I have now attended 3 different universities) is that it is very poor. Considering the impact that admin failures can have on students you would think that they would ensure they had things in place to get it right.
This is, quite frankly, bollocks. Please grow up and stop throwing your toys out of the pram.
Jomec have been forced to deal with a very difficult situation, namely James Thomas’ tragic death. While this doesn’t excuse some administrative mistakes, they could definitely do without the bitchy complaints and childish running to the Gair Rhydd.
I recently graduated from Jomec, where James was my personal tutor; while I would never claim to have known him well, he was a brilliant man and I was definitely affected by his death. Think, then, of how his friends and colleagues in Jomec must have felt; surely they’re more deserving of sympathy than a load of pointless spoilt-brat whining?
JOMEC may have been forced to deal with a very difficult situation ‘Monsoon Moon’, but they should have acted in a professional way, which they quite clearly haven’t done. I’m a third year JOMEC student and completely agree with all the comments here. The administration department should get their act together and start delivering what they promised us when we applied for a place on the course. No wonder u think it is ‘bollocks’, you’ve graduated so luckily for you, it doesn’t affect you anymore.Thankfully for me, only a few months left to go!
I feel some people are a tad idealistic about the ability for the University to hire lecturers. It’s not as if there are a load of unemployed experts sat around waiting for someone to be taken ill, or pass away. I think you are being very insensitive about this issue, and using the front page of gair rhydd to help alleviate your problems when you should be getting on with your degree is hardly impartial reporting, is it?
Given the issues that seem to be raised consistently both in and out of the paper by students concerning gair rhydd’s lax attitude to unauthorised editing (countless articles and letters) and photoshopping (ants in student halls) maybe you do have a point: you do need some more lectures in journalism.
Maybe some people are being a ‘tad idealistic’ about the ability for a University to have the lecturers and the resources to be able to deliver their students the modules they have promised them, or maybe some people would just think that this is a simple requirement that goes without saying.
I don’t think JOMEC students are being insensitive…we obviously understand that the department is trying to work within tragic circumstances…but we just expect to get the level of education we are paying for and not be messed around by a so-called top university.
Sorry, but some of you students who complete about administrative mistakes and confusion of modules need to just come back down to earth.
Modules get cancelled all the time, and people who base their choice of course on one module should consider why they chose the course initially.
I would agree with Steven Kenward above that considering the lecturers death was sudden and unexpected its no real shock that the department has messed up a bit. Not that this excuses it, but you can’t blame the admin entirely for mistakes. How shocking that so few JOMEC students asked any questions about the wrong module lists.
Remember, you still get a degree at the end of it. And it’s time to stop the whole ‘we are paying for it’ argument every time things don’t go entirely smoothly. What did people say before tuition fees were brought in?
I quote, “A few of us have worked hard on this all week and are offering more module choices to Year 2 as a result. I hope they can bear with us as we try to fill the spaces left by James’ death and Miranda’s departure.”
A few of us? Why has everyone not worked hard to sort out the situation. I am not a JOMEC student but I can readily admit that if I was in such a situation I would feel the same. This should never have been a problem. Administration errors to this extent are unacceptable within the University on any course. Now I am not naive, and I understand that errors do occur. Not to this level though. People came to Cardiff to study this because of the route they could take through the course. When 2/3 of the way through their course they have to change their minds there is no turning back for them. Understand that, suddenly left on a course that you don’t want to do because their are no modules that appeal to you?
“Given the issues that seem to be raised consistently both in and out of the paper by students concerning gair rhydd’s lax attitude to unauthorised editing (countless articles and letters) and photoshopping (ants in student halls) maybe you do have a point: you do need some more lectures in journalism.”
Bit of a pointless attack, isn’t it?
Tragic as James Thomas’ death was and is, it is up to JOMEC to deal with the situation professionally. It sounds like they haven’t. gair rhydd isn’t whining about it; it’s reporting it. Because gair rhydd is a newspaper.
The ‘issues’ you raise about the standards of gair rhydd are hardly representative of the paper’s output as a whole. The ants debacle was but one mistake committed out of pressure – a bad decision, yes, but gair rhydd has moved on since then.
And regarding gair rhydd‘s supposed “lax attitude to unauthorised editing”, I would suggest you stop paying quite so much attention to the unsubstantiated views of certain people on this website (if, as I suspect, you’re referring to unjustified and incorrect questions over repetitious letters and articles in the paper). I would have you know that editing is always authorised – contributors know, or should do, that anything submitted to the paper is subject to change – and since you’re clearly talking specifically about the apparent editing of Mark Ansell’s letter on a Catholicism article (http://www.gairrhydd.com/letters/859/catholic-controversy/#comment), I’d like to refer you to Edward Mason’s comment #16 and remind you that gair rhydd apologised in the next issue anyway.
I haven’t actually read anything on this website about editing, I’m intrigued to now though. Mark Ansell’s letter was also an entertaining read. I was talking about experiences that have been recounted to me by numerous other contributers.
I did not say gair rhydd was whining about the issue. I just think its important to question why they chose this story as more important than any other, for any other reason than that JOMEC students have a vested interest in it.
To ‘Monsoon Moon’,
Quite frankly I think you’ve missed the point completely, instead of naming us as spoilt-brat whiners, I think you should spend more time reading the article.
What has happened to the year 2 JOMEC students has little to do with the tragic loss of James Thomas.
What in fact is the problem, you would have found out if you hadn’t got up on your high horse so quickly, is that THREE modules have been lost, two of them (not led by James Thomas) were journalism based. In September the JOMEC school knew about this but did nothing to replace them with journalism modules on a journalism degree.
Administration have been terrible in relaying information to students and only attempted to fix the problem when it was obvious students weren’t happy, in the first week of second semester. It was a case of too little too late. And as a graduate I would expect you to understand the frustration we feel paying for a journalism film and media degree with no journalism module.
I suggest you put yourself in our shoes before accusing us of complaining about a tragic loss of a Proffesser who we ourselves had much respect for. This is utterly insulting to year 2 JOMEC!
I’m not a graduate. I did read the article. I do think you are all complaining a bit much though. Prepare yourselves a bit for the real world by accepting that not everything runs smoothly.
I did my undergrad at a journalism school in Minnesota, USA. It isn’t ranked as high as JOMEC, but it was much better organized. Had more books and more recent books in the library. Had better facilities. I know that people will think this is arrogant, but the “real world” differs from place to place. And, JOMEC needs some improvement if it’s going to live up to its reputation. Complaining is the only thing that gets something done.
So Steven, imagine this: You are in the middle of deciding upon which university to go for, in front of you you’ve got degree details, University rankings, leaflets about courses that are running up and down the country. Cardiff catches your eye because of its teachings in a particular field that you are interested in. You invest your money, time and hard-work into getting a place there because you believe its going to take you on the right path. Now one year in you are told that NONE of the modules you want to do are being run and instead you’ll have to make do with the ones that have no relevance to your interests.
Modules that have been offered only a few months previously should not disappear with no appropriate replacement, and I reiterate again that I am NOT referring to the one due to be taken by James Thomas.
I am pretty sick of being told we should just deal with it and that we have no right to complain. I have invested a lot in this degree and when it doesn’t deliver as advertised I have every right to raise my voice. You wouldn’t accept a product if it didn’t do what it said on the tin would you? It would be straight back to the shop for a refund. How is this any different?
Maybe before tuition fees were introduced, Disco, people would not have such an issue, but thats because they weren’t shelling out £3070 per year! I think its justified that we expect to receive higher standards of education!
If you were in my shoes, working on a degree I have lost all passion for, I can assure you, you would not be taking this lying down, and if anyone wishes to discuss the matter further, I would be MORE than happy to. francoisnl@cardiff.ac.uk
“Prepare yourselves a bit for the real world by accepting that not everything runs smoothly.”
Are you not allowed to complain in the “real world”?
Heathcliff, i love you, you are the epitome of indiness. Stop moaning about people moaning and go correct PI!