New BA Communications???? (2 Viewers)

[steph francis]

anyone know anything about the revised course?

thanks

 

[kami]

Yes. It's full of fail. It's also completely covered on the UTS: Humanities & Social Sciences faculty site.

You basically just do [insert major] 1 - 6, [insert sub-major] 1-4 and four electives. Apart from those electives there will be no options in your degree once you've enrolled, at all. You will be doing three days a week with about eight or nine contact hours p/wk and at some point there will be a subject where you must work on a project with people outside your own course. Any specialisation within your major will be up to you to pursue and classes will now be larger.

The reason it's been changed is rumoured to be because UTS wants to A) cut costs on staff, B) strengthen bonds in the student community by having everyone doing the same thing and C) force people to take postgrad so as to specialise in the things their generic degree does not cover ... which generates more profit for the uni.

*shrug* It's up to you. The new degree is nothing like the old one though. The old one (which I'm in) is rather cool and is very professional in the way it prepares you for the industry while still giving you quite a bit of choice and specialisation.

 

[frontin]

mmmmmm

I wanted to do Journalism so badly, now I have no idea. This course looks rather broad now. :S

Now I wonder what the requirement will be.. (as in UAI, will there be an interview? Have no clue)
​

 

[kami]

mmmmmm

I wanted to do Journalism so badly, now I have no idea. This course looks rather broad now. :S

Now I wonder what the requirement will be.. (as in UAI, will there be an interview? Have no clue)
​

No interview. Just UAI.

As with every year, UAI will be based on how many people want in and are not controlled by the university's decision to reform the degree.

 

[frontin]

ooooooooo

Thanks for that.

Do you have any guesses on what it may be around?

​

 

[kami]

ooooooooo

Thanks for that.

Do you have any guesses on what it may be around?

​

As the cut off is dictated solely by how many people in your year put it in their preferences, I cannot tell you anything worthwhile.

 

[steph francis]

:S eeek
i'm so confused. i was pretty sure i wanted to do this at uts but now i don't know...
anything good about the new course??

 

[kami]

:S eeek
i'm so confused. i was pretty sure i wanted to do this at uts but now i don't know...
anything good about the new course??

That it's still more professional than most of the others? Or that the system is so flawed the university will probably end up backpedalling.

 

[frontin]

Hey kami,

me again.

I'm hoping you can give me an honest answer on this (I know you're from UTS, so every student has to have their pride lol)

But with what you have said about the new course (I have also talked to other students, lecturers from UTS who think it's going to a bit wanky), do you think it's better to go to like CSU?

I've heard their broadcast journalism is quite reputable and I've always wanted to specialise in this, loving work experience in the newsroom, media etc

 

[nrs1990]

Does the new writing and cultural studies degree have much in the way of writing? Because, looking at the new course... It looks like it doesn't have a lot of the subjects that looked so interesting and relevant to specific fields of writing; which were what made me want to do the old degree.

 

[kami]

Hey kami,

me again.

I'm hoping you can give me an honest answer on this (I know you're from UTS, so every student has to have their pride lol)

But with what you have said about the new course (I have also talked to other students, lecturers from UTS who think it's going to a bit wanky), do you think it's better to go to like CSU?

I've heard their broadcast journalism is quite reputable and I've always wanted to specialise in this, loving work experience in the newsroom, media etc

From what I know, CSU is better in almost every communications area apart from creative writing and social inquiry.

Does the new writing and cultural studies degree have much in the way of writing? Because, looking at the new course... It looks like it doesn't have a lot of the subjects that looked so interesting and relevant to specific fields of writing; which were what made me want to do the old degree.

You will have two creative writing subjects per year, each year, in your degree. That's it. You'll be required to pursue more specific focuses on your own accord as they're just going to be more generalised. It's kind of why I hate the new degree they're proposing for you guys - if you are paying for a creative writing degree then why pursue it on your own personal interest? You might as well do English literature or History or some other artsy field and develop your own writing skills if they want to go by this DIY style.

 

[lexonfire]

From what I know, CSU is better in almost every communications area apart from creative writing and social inquiry.

Is that really true? I know CSU is reputed to be excellent for its journalism degree... but I have a problem with how rigidly it's separated into a print strand and a broadcast strand. I attended an info session on the new BA Comm (journalism) course at uts, and they explained it was reorganised because employers are now preferring people who are flexible, adaptable and aren't pigeonholed into 1 strand. It seems a fair enough explanation to me... but I'm open to what you have to say about it as well. A whole new structure is making me uneasy. (Wish there were more spare electives too).


Is there anything else remarkably different to the writing & cultural studies? Do you think it has improved? The only thing they seemed to emphasise about the new degree is that they've introduced a critical approach to the degree, instead of being purely creative. I've read the short descriptions of the new WCS subjects and they look interesting... but yeah, it definitely seems more generalised... I don't know how we're supposed to develop writing skills if it's left up to us :S

 

[kami]

Is that really true? I know CSU is reputed to be excellent for its journalism degree... but I have a problem with how rigidly it's separated into a print strand and a broadcast strand. I attended an info session on the new BA Comm (journalism) course at uts, and they explained it was reorganised because employers are now preferring people who are flexible, adaptable and aren't pigeonholed into 1 strand. It seems a fair enough explanation to me... but I'm open to what you have to say about it as well. A whole new structure is making me uneasy. (Wish there were more spare electives too).

Is there anything else remarkably different to the writing & cultural studies? Do you think it has improved? The only thing they seemed to emphasise about the new degree is that they've introduced a critical approach to the degree, instead of being purely creative. I've read the short descriptions of the new WCS subjects and they look interesting... but yeah, it definitely seems more generalised... I don't know how we're supposed to develop writing skills if it's left up to us :S

Eh, CSU is excellent because of its practical skills and industrial links - you learn to do your job from the word go. They also specialise in areas that our uni does not cover as substantially and to be honest, the separation of the strands in the journalism degree doesn't diminish a student's experience in print, for example, as it's still part of the core of their degree (there are only two print specific subjects in the later years of our degree) while the specialisation in broadcast comes at the expense of the studies we'd undergo in colonialism or textuality.

And personally, the official arguments put forward by the university seem rather superficial. Any arts graduate stands an equal chance of applying to a communications job, whether creative or 'professional', so long as they've developed the portfolio. Most employers won't look at your specific transcript with each subject and mark and UTS has never specified our majors in the final degree award. Employers seriously don't care when you apply for a journalistic or writing job when it comes to which major you did - it's the practical skills and industrial links we form during our course experience which is what puts us ahead (and UTS doesn't even list which strand we graduate from on the piece of paper). Anyone can submit a good portfolio to the right people but our degree is designed to teach us how to discern what and to whom it is appropriate to submit. Removing the specialisation then just makes our degree into a glorified BA as we'd now learn how to do all of those things in our own time - kind of like all those English Lit, Art History, Classics, Modern History, Gender Studies etc. majors who think the communications industry is something they'd like to work in.

Now, you'll find that if you want that specialisation to come with your uni experience, you might be pushed into doing grad work. A coursework Masters, as you may know, is ridiculously expensive compared to the HECS covered Bachelor and is quite lucrative for an institution, especially one which has pressured to make moves toward abolishing FEE places in the undergraduate course.

Also, if you do a little digging, you'll find that other things are going on in our faculty. For one, most, if not all, of the part timers are being laid off. Instead, our newly consolidated Faculty of Arts, will carry the reduced burden of paying for a core group of tutors running a small pool of subjects that everyone will do together. The up and coming first years will also receive less contact hours than either of us did when we began, which is really not something a first year arts students needs - they need more direction, not less - and it's suspicious in conjunction with all of the other reduced outlay for the uni (less tutoring hours = less wages)

Pretty much every tutor you talk to will admit that this proposed system will collapse - not everyone can teach everything and not every student wants to study everything let alone the smaller group of staff teaching the ever increasing student body. It's a logistical nightmare and eventually they'll have to change again. Of course, none will admit it on record to anyone because their jobs are on the line

Of course, another angle to look at is the fact that with the reduction of staff, so comes a reduction of industry contacts. You may or may not have noticed but in our practicum, we have actual authors, publishers, journalists etc. working as tutors. Cut that number down and suddenly there are less people who you can impress and establish links with down the road. Networking is everything and part of it will be cut away.

And here comes the final straw - any student, part time or full time, double or single degree, who delays their core first year subjects for any reasons. Illness, finance, poor attendance ... whatever your reasons, if you don't have them done pronto then you can't graduate as those subjects will cease to exist. Another angle is that students who are in first year, this year, who are part time or on double degrees, will lose out on the subjects they signed up for. The phasing out of subjects is on a specific plan, '09 and '10 will have retain the most popular second and third year practicum subjects, respectively, for the people who begun in your year but anyone not on that specific three year plan loses out. The subject plan and course structure they started with? Gone.

What is left in its place is a very specific yet, at the same time, generalised degree. Essentially:
Comm core 1 - 6 (no choice)
WCS 1 - 6 (no choice)
Disciplinary 1 - 3 + 3 electives (which there are going to be less of ... )

as opposed to the current:
Writing 1/2 followed by 2 200 lvl subjects chosen from a pool of 6 and 2 300 lvl subjects chosen from a pool of six
Disc. media 1/2
Disc. sociology and history 1/2
Disc. cultural studies 1/2 followed by one 200 lvl and one 300 lvl cultural studies subject from a pool of nine and one 200 lvl and one 300 lvl subject from any disciplinary strand
+ four electives out of every subject at both UTS and any other uni that you meet the prerequisites for, including more WCS subjects for specialisation if you choose.

Another consequence of this change is that transfers become far more difficult. From another uni or degree, a maximum of 24cp (3 subjects i.e the electives) will be counted and even within our own degree, movement between strands will become more limited thanks to the very rigid structure. With the old one, you could move seamlessly from one strand to the other once you'd done your first year with no loss of time. You could do similar transfer arrangements with standard BAs and TAFE courses, too. That will be gone.

This subject, the final comm core, is the only thing I really approve of in the new degree:

58301 Communication Practice Project

This is the capstone subject in the BA in Communication, designed to bring together knowledge and skills gained by students throughout their entire course. They have the opportunity to work on projects that develop creative and innovative responses to communication and/or media issues and problems. Students work collaboratively in cross-program teams which may also work with external 'clients' or partners in projects. At the beginning of the semester, a contract for the project is negotiated between the student group and their 'client'. Students need to assess their progress and write critical reflections and evaluations on the projects and project processes. There may be opportunities for students to organise symposia or conferences to present these reflections. Course professional portfolios - electronic and other media - will be finalised.

It makes people from different specialisations collaborate in a very flexible project. It is unfortunate that your mark will be linked with how you work with another student but it is a necessary skill and a rather practical subject.

I think you can guess my over all opinion of the new course.

 

[lexonfire]

phew, thanks so much for the lengthy reply... that's definitely some food for thought

 

[panicstation]

phew, thanks so much for the lengthy reply... that's definitely some food for thought

Not exactly sure what Kami knows about the journalism course since he is enrolled in Writing and Cultural Studies.

The new course will be different to the one I'm enrolled in but the people who teach it will be the same. They are completely obsessed with people getting work experience, even from first year. Plus they are making the course more about multimedia from the first semester (when we did television, we only did storyboards. When you do it, you will be doing video straight up).

If you've got the marks, you should go to UTS.

 

[lexonfire]

Not exactly sure what Kami knows about the journalism course since he is enrolled in Writing and Cultural Studies.

The new course will be different to the one I'm enrolled in but the people who teach it will be the same. They are completely obsessed with people getting work experience, even from first year. Plus they are making the course more about multimedia from the first semester (when we did television, we only did storyboards. When you do it, you will be doing video straight up).

If you've got the marks, you should go to UTS.

ooh yeah i've heard about that... no i'm pretty convinced of the quality of journalism at uts. i'm just still trying to gather what anyone has to say about the course, there're a lot of things to consider.. at this point im still trying to figure out what i really want anyway

 

[maz5]

Not exactly sure what Kami knows about the journalism course since he is enrolled in Writing and Cultural Studies.

The new course will be different to the one I'm enrolled in but the people who teach it will be the same. They are completely obsessed with people getting work experience, even from first year. Plus they are making the course more about multimedia from the first semester (when we did television, we only did storyboards. When you do it, you will be doing video straight up).

If you've got the marks, you should go to UTS.

And what about Sydney Uni?

 

[panicstation]

And what about Sydney Uni?

If you love writing essays, should be a blast.

 

[AsyLum]

Not exactly sure what Kami knows about the journalism course since he is enrolled in Writing and Cultural Studies.

I suspect a lot more than you credit him for