UEA (2019) Surely 2021 (and getting on for halfway through our DC's degrees) things have got to get better????

[NewModelArmyMayhem18]

New thread following on from the previous one.

Lots of and into 2021.

@Wotrewelookinat we are north Suffolk. Yes we know a few there now too as ds2 is in year 1 at Sussex so has mates at UEA in year 1. Ds1 took biology. He mostly enjoyed it, almost 2 years was online due to strikes then covid, but other universities were the same. Year 3 was the best though he did have a problem with his advisor for dissertation, he helped Ds decide what to do for it but then was of no help at all as never available, then the advisor went off to Africa for 3 months. Ds was eventually given another advisor and an extension on his dissertation. So all was ok in the end.

UEA doesn't look too bad in the league tables - all of which need to be taken with a dose of salt. 27th / 28th in the ST, Complete Uni and Graun tables, so still comfortably top 25%. Although as @sluj says it has been higher. Although I'm not sure there's a huge difference really between 17th and 27th, although perception wise maybe a different story. It ranks higher than Nottingham, Newcastle and Liverpool in the ST and Graun, and just a couple of places below Nottingham in the Complete uni.

The ST table has completion rates - although clearly a year out of date. UEA maybe a tad off the pace at 89.7% - although that is the same as Glasgow and Aberdeen. However taking the unis ranked 10th to 30th they average 93% overall.

I never got the impression it had tried to rapidly expand numbers like some. So less pressure on accommodation, no stories of UEA students needing to be housed in Lowestoft. But equally fee income not being grown.

Norwich I suppose might be seen as a bit remote, not sure that is the right word. I think its a great place, but it probably does not have the nightlife reputation of a Nottingham, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle etc. I'd argue that a great night out as a student is about the company and people, not the place. Although for some SM obsessed maybe the "club name" in the picture is now what matters. Which imo is a sad reflection.

Certainly DS2 enjoyed his undergrad time - end Y1 and most of Y2 was clearly a let down with Covid but I never got the impression UEA handled things worse than others. And he is enjoying his masters currently and I think is hoping to stay in Norwich once he completes that.

The risk I suppose if cuts start to me made, the place starts to look a bit shabby, students feel staff are less interested and responsive then that can get into a bit of a downward spiral. I really hope that will not be the case.

DS2 is in second year studying History of Art at UEA. He likes rhe university (apart from an essay which is due tomorrow and is currently driving three of us round the bend as he has stayed here for the assessment period) and loves Norwich.

@MarchingFrogs sorry a bit of thread topic but do you / did you have a DC at Birmingham? Off to see DS play there in a couple of weeks time in a sports fixture. Sports Ground - Birmingham- Saturday Lunchtime - sounds a bit of a nightmare travel wise. Of course if I've got this completely wrong just ignore this post completely. 😀

@boys3 yes, DD is there

When I've visited her, I usually find that parking isn't too bad once I get there (never driven for an event, though), but the actual driving in Birmingham bit can be a bit stressful, not helped by my elderly satnav not recognising some of the 'newer' bits of road around the university itself.

My 2 x DSs both enjoyed UEA, one did medicine and one did Geography. Certainly covid interfered with the courses but they were happier to isolate with housemates rather than stay at home with us.
Both of them fell in love with Norwich and Norfolk and I wouldn't be surprised if either of them eventually settle there permanently.

@MarchingFrogs thanks. I think it will be a case of leaving in plenty of time. Heading to IKEA afterwards so retail therapy if it has been a stressful journey and / or match.

that is one criticism I would have about Norwich. It does not have a proper large IKEA. Not the first thing on any prospective student’s must have list though.

Hello everyone. Happy New Year to you all.

Really sorry to hear that news about UEA. I have always considered it a good university (I believe it was about 15th/16th in the ST League Table when our DC would have been in Year 12. It has dropped about ten places since then). However, it's not one that's on the radar of a lot of people, not helped by not being a top 10 one or being 'Russell Group' which seems to seduce many people and particularly parents, looking at future career prospects and degree 'value for money'.

Also I wonder whether the super grade inflation for A Levels for the 2021 cohort (not saying that a lot of those young people didn't deserve their grades), a lot of young people had their heads turned and went for 'better' universities, so some of those not quite regarded in the same league

Err not sure what happened to the other part of my post 😡. I'll be back later to complete it!

have fallen out of popularity?

Also, although a lot of us like Norwich perhaps it's a bit 'summat and nowt' (middling) for a lot of young people? It's not a bustling city and hasn't necessarily got the fab student social experience that places like Sheffield, Bristol and Manchester have? It's rather out on a limb too, with not great transport links cross-country which will put a lot of young people off.

Also universities do fall in and out of fashion and maybe it's just not having its day at the moment?

Perhaps in very recent years, more of those who have gone there had it as their insurance uni and it just didn't live up to expectations?

Or the peri pandemic experience hasn't been that great? Or because of the lockdowns a lot of students went without having been there in person to visit, and they just didn't like the Brutalist architecture and atmosphere?

Or it's not been marketed well enough? I believe it had quite a large cohort of Chinese students - maybe their numbers are way down?

Have to say with the benefit of hindsight (which is indeed a wonderful thing!), DS certainly didn't enjoy his time there (except for meeting his girlfriend!) as much as he'd hoped. I think it was the course. I definitely don't think online learning really suited him and nor did not sitting any proper exams for his Finals (it was all course work and dissertation).

Ahh, the UEA thread lives on.....

That's a shame to read about the financial issues - I wonder if it's worse than other places? Presumably a lot of them are under pressure. The key is surely attracting the international crowd - maybe that's where they fall short?

DD1 is still there, now into the final stretch of her Psychology degree (she had a study abroad year 21-22). She hasn't mentioned any obvious cutbacks, although there's the odd strike. She has a new advisor who seems pretty on the ball. We took her back there this weekend, and had our usual mooch around the city, and agreed we all love Norwich and would happily move there. It suits DD1 down to the ground, and she has loved her time at UEA - it's just "her". She's lining up a new job at the hospital cafe for this semester (easy to get to) and is busy with her Cheer team getting ready for competitions in the Spring.

Let's hope they navigate through the financial turmoil, as it would be a shame if they started letting students down.

Good to hear that your DD is still enjoying herself @CointreauVersial . Good luck to her in her final year. How did she enjoy her year abroad?

Maybe UEA just doesn't have the wealth to fall back on in tough times? Others presumably have more to provide a cushion against hardship. Maybe UEA is more transparent than some universities too?

Hello all-nice to some of us still hanging on.

DD doing Masters so still there. She was sent an email saying UEA lost a lot of money last year -think cutbacks etc.

Also had an email about how many of her lectures are off due to striking.

Whilst I have sympathy for the lecturers who are striking I can't help but look at those 2 bits of info and think a rocky road ahead.

On a bright note she loves Norwich and her house/course/life.
So there's that.

In my final moan the speed restrictions/road works have taken what was around a 2 hour trip and turned it into much closer to 3 hours...😡

@MrsMitford3 Oh, those roadworks on the A11 are seriously irritating, aren't they? And all the work-arounds add hours to the journey.
Good to hear your DD stayed for a Masters; DD1 has already said she will be "done with learning" at the end of this semester. I'm going to miss my trips to Norwich, even with the lousy roads.

@LouisCatorze funnily enough she didn't love her time abroad. I think she picked the wrong place (Oklahoma). It was big and isolated and she never really found a friendship group (flatmates all Japanese/Korean and stuck together). Everything was hard if you didn't have a car, had to order groceries online, couldn't get anywhere without an Uber etc. I honestly think she lost her confidence in meeting new people as a result of Covid. BUT she absolutely loved the course/teaching - she was able to take "minors" in things like Sociology and Art as well. There was a lot of contact time and classroom-style work. And no strikes.....

I’m glad our approach to Norwich is from the North. The A11 roadworks sound a complete nightmare.

DS2’s Masters seems unaffected by the strikes at the moment. Heading to UEA this weekend for a sports fixture so will catch up with DS2 and hopefully find out a bit more. Although he’ll probably be more interested in the cookies and brownies being taken. 😀

We live half hour or so south of Norwich. We always avoid the A11 on the odd occasion we go there. Roadworks have been going on forever.

It's great to hear from everyone on here.

@boys3 think you're spot on with reasons why UEA may be having issues. Sure hitherto it's only been a few of the Post-92 ones that we've heard about struggling?

Good to hear all the updates including the young people who have opted to stay at UEA to do their Masters courses.

I would imagine after doing a four year course, your DD is well ready to finish with study (at least for a while) after she finishes @CointreauVersial . Sorry to hear that she didn't enjoy herself as much socially as she'd have liked when she was in Oklahoma but the academic side sounds great.

@icanbewhatiwant how is your DS1 getting on in NZ?

@LouisCatorze he's fine thanks. Enjoying himself. He's been mostly travelling about. He worked once at a fatboy slim concert. He's going to start looking for a job soon. Apparently there are a lot more jobs than people.

He had an incident in the supermarket that embarrassed him yesterday. He went to the self serve checkout with a red pepper. He tried tying in red pepper but nothing came up. So he had to ask what it was called. He said he felt an idiot when she stared at him and said capsicum 🤣 I knew that. He knew about egg plant and zucchini but hadn't heard of capsicum.

That's good to hear @icanbewhatiwant . Hadn't realised that they regularly use American names for fruit and veg in NZ.

@LouisCatorze I knew they used those names in Australia. So I assumed NZ too. DH's 2 sisters live in Australia, so we've heard them use different terms. The funniest experience for dh's sis. was going into a clothes shop here and asking the shop assistant where the thongs were, her teenage dd was really embarrassed, she said "mum Uk thongs and Australian thongs are different things" she meant flip flops but her dd knew the assistant would think underwear 😂

Yes, I can imagine the embarrassment over thong @icanbewhatiwant ! Hope your DS is okay and far away from areas impacted by the recent cyclone and earthquake in NZ?

@LouisCatorze yes Ds right down at the south of the South Island at the moment in Queenstown. He likes it there, he has had several job offers, but seems there is no accommodation. So he will probably have to head back up to Christchurch where there is more accommodation.

Ds was in Aukland when the concert was flooded a few weeks ago, before the bigger floods. He did one night working at a fat boy slim concert, but the other nights were cancelled.

Glad your DS is okay @icanbewhatiwant and hoping that he manages to get himself settled (accommodation and job-wise) very soon.

I realise this is a long running thread mostly made up of parents of third years, but it appeared on the first page of the Higher Education topic and I read the last couple of pages out of interest as my DS is in his first year at UEA (science subject).

In general he has settled in well and is happy. However, he did mention that the practicals have gone from being in person (semester 1) to 50% online (semester 2). He much prefers the actual practicals to "computer simulations".
I was a bit surprised by the change, but the news shared upthread (which I wasn't aware of until seeing it here) might explain the reason for the decision.

@Tumbleton welcome to the thread. I hope, as you have done, any UEA parent would be happy to post here; and feel welcomed.

DS2 in is his fourth year at UEA (doing a masters). Largely unaffected, so far, by any financial issues however he has intimated that his subject, presumably like many, is potentially in the firing line. That immediate impact would be on the academic staffing levels which would then start to feed into a downward spiral for students. I hope UEA can resolve its financial challenges.