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.

For the record I would like to say I have a near perfect command of spelling and grammar, but since using an iPhone to mn it has deteriorated because I am ham fisted when typing with my thumb.

Perhaps use a pick-a-stick type thing?

Dahhhhling... surely there are only two universities... all this RG stuff is just rubbish, surely...

Those two are RG though.

startail The Russell Group was, confusingly, formed in 1994, the same as the 1994 Group. The original differentiation was not in quality but quantity: they were both research-focussed but RG Universities were bigger institutions than 1994s.

How does a university change groups then? 1994 group must be pissed off.

WMDinthekitchen Sounds like hype to me.
And wtf happens to seemingly straightforward posts!!!?? Miaow!

Re "uni's" - if this is short for universities, the apostrophe is marking the omission of some letters so could be correct.

Thank senua that makes sense as I graduated just before that.

I did my first degree at a Russell group, and have an Oxbridge doctorate, and even more relevant a pass in use of English, but my spelling and grammar are rubbish. There is a corner for pedants, try to limit yourself to it.

MaMattoo Oxford and Cambridge are both Russell Group but WMD clearly isn't aware.

I had to read the third paragraph of the OP's second post several times until I understood it, so Yellow does have a point.

I don't think she was being a cow, and no-one really has the right to tell her to post elsewhere either. If I'd spent my day reading badly written applications, I'd be irritated as well.

These things do matter, especially if you work abroad and English is used. Yours has to be correct or you get picked up on it pretty damn quick. I examine GCSEs, and the level of literacy (especially spelling, punctuation and grammar) never fails to depress me.

@thebest I've lectured at an RG university and my spelling isn't great. My publications have all been proof-read by people who can, you know, spell. And the iPhone and iPad in particular are demons for adding in intended apostrophes. However, it is true that I am very hard on minions who either use bad grammar or punctuation. And I have a colleague (we are co-authors of various things) who sends my emails back to me, sometimes, with spelling corrections. So I suppose I can see both sides of this. Ultimately though - important things should not be written on an iPhone. MN isn't important in the big scheme of things.

See? iPad. unintended First time round, I typed unintended, it unilaterally chose to show intended instead (it didn't like unilaterally either. Wanted to reduce it to unilateral).

Myrtille. It's possible that may be the reason why the OP wrote uni's...but unlikely.

I don't give a crap really if the OP is great at spelling or not, or if an ipad or phone inserted a rogue apostrophe (unlikely as that is). I just think it's hilarious that posts on this type of subject are so badly written...

If I were writing a research proposal, I wouldn't say that I was about someone's recent work on X Y or Z as I felt his or her evidence was selective and flawed.

But this is mumsnet. Do you see?

@thebest it is not unlikely at all. I take it you don't own either an iPhone or an iPad? If you did you would appreciate the vagaries of the auto text thingy. For example, you can't type I'll meaning i-l-l meaning sick without disaster. Because look what happens (I left the autocorrect in to demonstrate). Apple tech has a mind of its own and yes you can go back and check and edit but if you are on a phone or a tablet, perhaps on a train or something like that, you probably won't.

It doesn't make you the spawn of Satan. Or thick.

I do have an ipad although I'm not using it now. I didn't say anything about anybody being the spawn of Satan or thick. I'm just saying I think it's funny...

Of course MN isn't important in the grand scheme but best has it exactly: it's the irony of a RG lecturer discussing top universities whilst herself not being able to articulate ideas properly without giving her audience a headache. It's not the spelling so much, if at all (well, slightly).

And RG lecturers are currently on a witchunt about this sort of thing in their ill-educated first years, so it's doubly ironic.

I already had a headache after reading some other tortuous stuff, the two posts just made it worse.

This thread is bloody hilarious

Yellow... "an RG" not "a RG".

I know Chemistry lecturers at RG universities who get 'been' and 'being' the wrong way around. Thing is, I doubt they are lambasting their first years for their grammar and spelling.

What? An Russell Group lecturer? Really? How come?

I just think it's a bizarre thing to flip over. Particularly in view of the frantic bishes that go unremarked. I'd love to mention some of them but that would be Mean. And Rude. So I won't. Even though I want to. :(

Scientists less so Nit. The History crowd are despairing.