Is this a good school?

Question

This the kind of question that is asked on Y!A from the US.  From the UK it is often which university course can I do with these subjects.

What I am interested in knowing is the difference in attitude.  The US questioners are really interested in the quality of the education.  The UK ones seem to be prepared to go anywhere as long as it is called a university.  Why the difference in attitude?

Cantra · Answer

The title of 'University' in the UK has real and protected meaning. The UK university system is government funded and regulated, and has a strong international reputation. Therefore you're pretty much guaranteed it's 'good' based on that fact alone, graduating from any UK university means more to an employer than a diploma from a college or other centre for higher education. Yes, some do hold more prestige than others, obviously Oxford and Cambridge, but for UK students, the struggle is to find which university offers which courses, not whether that particular institution is 'good', they all are.

In the US, 'University' has no such protection, and the US Department of Education has no authority to regulate such schools or the quality of the degrees they are issuing (unlike the UK in which only the accredited Universities offer them). The teaching quality may turn out to be poor, the facilities poor, they might be graduating unfit students to make themselves look good, etc. There could be all sorts of problems. So yes, for a US student, finding out whether a certain location is 'good' is something the UK students do not have to worry about.

Anonymous · Answer

no

Is this a good school?

2 Answers