new RG uni's

[betternextlife]

Announced today are 4 additions to the RG Group of Unis, Durham, Exeter, Queen Mary, and York. They were all previously part of the 1994 Group.

They all had a good reputation to start with and are not likely to be doing anything differenty at all, but presumably they think this will make them seem better.

So the question remains as to if any 'uni associations' which confer status really based on any actual superiority or just self-imposed hype.

Having taught within a range of institutions (including RG) I think that that it is definately the latter.

Universities believe that being part of the Russell Group will help them attract the higher performing students. This is because from next year universities may recruit an unlimited number of students with 2As and a B or better but will have the number of places cut for students not making those grades. Bigger universities generally means more income.

Thanks for that info, didn't know that.
I don't know if it is self-imposed hype or self-perpetuating hype. If certain employers will only interview RG students then it gives the Universities (?perhaps unwarranted?) kudos, which sets up a feedback loop.

Whilst the AAB+ students aren't going to be part of the quota, it is not a certaintly that this will increase university incomes.

Whilst grades are improving, there are a finite numbre of students at this level, and it can make recruitment more perilous.

Every uni has had a reduction in their quota places (the places for non-AAB+ students) and so RG uni's have seen the biggest drop. So previously they could have kept their numbers up by allowing students to slipped a grade to attend anyway, from now on they will not necessarily be able to do so. So they could end up with less rather than more students. (This means it is really important, unless they are certain of brilliance of having a less than AAB insurance offer).

In addition, the distibution of AAB+ students is not across all subjects. For example 59% of students studing Physics at uni have AAB+ whilst only 24% of students studying biology have that level of qualification. So whilst it might be tempting for unis to expand courses that attract AAB+ students (and close ones that do not), they will only might not attract any more applicants.

betternextlife ok pedantic but surely if you've taught at a RG your spelling should be better?

And blimey, on re-reading, also grammar.

And punctuation.

'Uni's'??

My typing skills on my phone leave a lot to be desired....

But actually spelling tests are not an interview requirement to an RG (or any other uni as a lecturer). You need a PhD and publications of course, but they are usually proof read by someone else.....

Well actually I've just been savage within a batch of applications which are sloppy on that front.

So don't believe it.

It is utterly shit that someone starts a perfectly decent thread and then some picky fool comes along and starts picking on their spelling and grammar, oh and lets not forget the punctuation!!

Seriously yellow if you have nothing to contribute then bugger off and stop being a jerk.

There's nothing jerky at all about my comments jaque. A RG lecturer who can't spell or string a coherent sentence together! Of course it matters if they're setting themselves up to judge our DCs' PSs. Nothing shallow at all. Most apps for jobs and places are binned with language skills this poor, so don't be too dismissive. It matters, this stuff.

Nobody is judging your dcs' pss on this thread, so why not stop being such a cow, hmm?

iPads, glasses of wine, tiredness and human error can make someone more likely to make typos. This is mn, not an application to the ahrc for goodness' sake.

I'm with Yellowtip. Uni's jumped out at me too....

If OP is a lecturer at a decent university she should be able to be articulate, MN/ wine/ phone or not. It's got sod all to do with being a cow.

RG lecturers demand a decent standard from their undergrads, so a decent standard should be asked of them.

Nothing precious about that.

Thanks best :)

It should be, and is, asked of them at work. She's not at work now. She also gave quite a full and detailed response to the actual issues at stake here, which you have ignored in favour of being unpleasant about some typing errors. The only reason, for example, that I put 'mn' in my last post is that the iPad offered mums eat, mums the or mums net. Had I not noticed, any of those could have got through.

You're being unpleasant and rude and I think you should stop it.

I'm simply saying that if people come on to MN holding themselves out as RG lecturers and starting a discussion based on the elitism of the RG then they should spell, on duty or off. Literacy doesn't end at 5pm.

I expect my kids to be taught by people who are at least as articulate as they are, not less so, or why are they borrowing money to pay exorbitant fees? That surely isn't much of an ask?

When was the RG founded, because I'm sure no one mentioned it when I did my degree, Leeds, Exeter and Durham would have been as well thought of as Birmingham and probably as hard to get into. I applied to Queen Mary's, but hated the area.

Oh and yellow shut up, spelling ability is a very poor measure of intelligence. My DSIS isn't in the least academic, but she's a jolly good proof reader.

RG lectures should be both. All my tutors were.

Bugger. lecturers.

I expect Durham would have been better thought of, and Exeter too.

See how easily it can happen?

Agree with yellowtip. Nothing to do with typing errors, although they 'definately' didn't help. It's more that the whole post comes across as badly written, badly thought out, and not even asking a very coherent question.

And it's fewer students, not less - just another one to add to the list.

It's now commonplace for people to think that poor grammar, poor spelling and poor sentence construction are basically fine and don't detract from general understanding. They do.

FGS, OP makes perfect sense. What a strange thing to have a go about yellow. Let's be nice to each other, eh?

@ Chub Not exactly.

Lecture and lecturer yes. Definately and definitely no. Certaintly and certainly no.

'unless they are certain of brilliance of having a less than AAB insurance offer' - no. Definitely no. I'd tell my kids to ask for their money back, for sure.

Thanks doctor :)