STUDYING AT UNIVERSITY
University of Southampton
Studying at University is intended above all as a
manual for students. It aims to offer guidance to those in sixth forms and
colleges who are thinking about applying to university and want to know more
about university life. It sketches what modern universities are about and what
being a student involves. And it offers advice to new and to existing university
students on how they should set about their studies. It is thus a book to be
referred to again and again over the years of sixth form and university study.
There are, of course, many books of advice for students. This one
differs for three reasons. First, it is written not by a professional
educational adviser or psychologist, but by an historian who for more than
twenty-five years has been teaching in higher education, both at what was then
a polytechnic, and later at a research-led university. It thus reflects
varied experience of teaching a
demanding subject, rather than contrived experiments or explorations in theory.
Secondly, it combines an idealistic defence of university study at its best and
a realistic assessment of what being a student means in practice in a world of
underfunding. It shows what students can achieve but it also describes
realities. Thirdly, it reflects my experience as an historian in that I believe
firmly that students will study better and have a greater understanding of what
they are about if they have some sense of the history - or background - of
universities and of the current context, political, financial and social, in
which universities find themselves.
These features make this book unique. It complements the detailed annual
guides to universities, courses and entrance requirements which are largely
factual, and offers prospective students facing difficult choices a way through
the thickets of information. It complements the practical guides to student
life such as Aidan Macfarlane and Ann McPherson, Fresher Pressure
(1994), which has chapters on where to live, money, friends, loneliness, sex
and relationships, contraception, sexually transmitted diseases, harassment,
food, drink and cigarettes, exercise and sport, illegal drugs, and then -
perhaps not surprisingly - stress and anxiety: but just one of the twenty
chapters is about how to study! This proposal is distinct from study guides
such as David Rowntree's Penguin because it does not reduce study to a largely
mechanical formula or a series of stage-by-stage exercises drawn from
educational psychology. This book draws instead on years of practical
experience of university teaching. The belief underlying this book is that
students will study better if they understand what universities are about.
There is nothing in print that offers the realistic assessment of universities
given here. More half a century ago Bruce Truscot [pseudonym of Professor
Allison Pears] wrote for Penguin a classic account of the Red Brick University
(Penguin: 1950) (and associated works such as
First Year at University (1947)): in its characterisation of
universities and student life, this book attempts to do what Truscot did so
splendidly for the universities of his time for the universities of the present
day.
Doubtless this book will be most valuable for those thinking of studying
history and subjects in the humanities and social sciences. But while I have
drawn on my experience as an historian and in places chosen historical examples
to illustrate my points, those points are intended to have more general
significance. And students of different subjects can usefully reflect on what
it is that makes their subject distinctive.
CONTENTS
STUDYING AT UNIVERSITY
PART ONE: What universities are about
Chapter One
How universities began
Chapter Two
What makes universities
special
Chapter Three
What makes some
universities better than others
Chapter Four
How you can benefit from
studying at university
Chapter Five
Are too many students like
this?
PART TWO: How to make the most of
your studies
Chapter Six
Before you come up to
university
Chapter Seven
Routines of study
Chapter Eight
Lectures and lecturers
Chapter Nine
Classes, seminars,
tutorials
Chapter Ten
Preparing essays and
assignments
Chapter Eleven Writing
essays and assignments
Chapter Twelve
Revising for examinations
Chapter Thirteen Examination technique
Chapter Fourteen Feedback: how am I doing?
Conclusion
Study skills?
The first chapter
offers a brief sketch of the development of universities, drawing special
attention to the rise in student numbers. The second chapter maintains that
what makes a university distinctive is the research that lecturers do, and
explains exactly what research means. The third chapter rejects most of the
conventional criteria used for ranking universities and suggests a
fundamentally different approach, based on the funding that universities
receive: this is the most useful criterion that prospective students should use
in choosing which universities to apply to. The fourth chapter sets out an
ideal of what university students can achieve. The fifth chapter shows how
students commonly fall short of such ideals. The second half of the book,
divided into eight chapters, offers practical advice - distilling my experience
of teaching over twenty five years - but these tips are designed to encourage
students to reflect on what they are doing and on how best they can take advantage
of studying at university.
CHAPTER SUMMARIES
PART ONE: What universities are about
CHAPTER ONE How universities began
How did universities
emerge? How did they come to be as they are now? This chapter begins with a
brief sketch of medieval universities (characterised by fixed syllabuses,
organised teaching, licenses to grant degrees). It then outlines nineteenth
century developments - the University of London and 'Redbrick' universities -
and emphasises in particular the waves of expansion in the later twentieth
century. Particular attention is given to the numbers of students: for example,
the striking detail that there are now as many university students, 54,000, in
Newcastle-upon-Tyne alone, as there were in the whole of the United Kingdom
just before the Second World War.
CHAPTER TWO What makes universities special
Research is what makes
universities distinctive. This chapter sets out to explain what 'research'
means. It begins by sketching the differences between teachers in schools and
university lecturers, and by looking at how people become university teachers.
Research is defined as studying intensively, doing things at first hand, taking
nothing on trust, searching for patterns, discussing findings with colleagues,
writing and publishing articles and books. That their teachers are actively
engaged in research greatly influences the experience of students. It is if
they are similarly attracted by the prospect of taking their studies further in
depth that students benefit most from their studies. This leads on to a warning
to prospective students to be cautious about embarking on supposedly vocational
degrees unless they are indeed sure of their vocation.
CHAPTER THREE What
makes some universities better than others
Prospective students
often feel overwhelmed when deciding where to apply. This chapter urges them to
disregard the league tables that newspapers have increasingly been publishing
that supposedly show the 'best' universities. Such league tables lump together
many different so-called 'performance indicators', and, above all, are too
heavily based on official surveys of research and teaching. Unfortunately both
Research Assessment Exercises and Teaching Reviews are deeply flawed, and
prospective students should not, for reasons explained here, rely on them for
guidance on the relative standing of different universities and departments.
Instead, this chapter claims that the quality of the student experience depends
on how well a university is funded. There is a brief outline of what
universities need funding for - the salaries of lecturers, buildings,
libraries, laboratories and equipment, computers - and how they are funded.
Prospective students are then advised that they should consider carefully the
tables presented here that rank and group universities in terms of their
funding for research. Why and how such research funding affects students -
something that may not immediately be obvious - is then explained. And that
leads on to tips to prospective students (both high-flyers aiming at Oxbridge,
and mature students aspiring to study at their local university) on how to make
the best choices, and how to formulate their applications.
CHAPTER FOUR How you can benefit from studying at
university
Most students go to
university more in the expectation that the experience will prove of benefit in
their later careers than from love for their chosen subject. This chapter sets
out the transferable intellectual skills that students can hope to acquire. It
is a deliberately idealistic vision.
CHAPTER FIVE Are too many students like this?
'How many students do
you have in your department', a professor was often asked: 'about one in
three', he habitually replied. Many students drift into university because it
is a rite of passage, because everyone they know does, because the social life
is enjoyable. Such students do not really make the most of their studies. This
chapter sketches the realities of the lives of all too many students.
PART TWO: how to make the most of your studies
CHAPTER SIX Before you come up to university
Many about-to-be
students are confused about what, if any, preparation they should do. The
advice offered here is that they should do what would deepen and extend their
background knowledge and understanding of their chosen subject (for example, a
prospective history student could make a point of getting to know buildings
from different historical periods).
CHAPTER SEVEN
Routines of study
This chapter
emphasises that university students are expected to study under their own steam
without detailed daily supervision. Students should therefore plan their time
so that they work efficiently. Advice is offered on how much students should
study: the purpose of study is not to work so many hours, but to master a
subject. University students should expect to be stretched but they should not
worry about their studies.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Lectures and lecturers
Lectures are a staple
of university teaching. Students will derive the greatest benefit from lectures
if they think about the different styles of lecturers and respond accordingly. Students
should practice taking notes: the best notes are designed to give someone who
was not present a vivid impression of what was said.
CHAPTER NINE
Classes, seminars,
tutorials
Seminars and classes
have increased in importance (though also in size). Their success depends upon
the preparation of students and the skills of teachers. Here students are
advised on how to get the most from them. There is also a consideration of the
special demands of Oxbridge-style tutorials.
CHAPTER TEN
Preparing essays and
assignments
Students are expected
to read widely: this chapter offers advice on how to read and how to take
notes.
CHAPTER ELEVEN Writing
essays and assignments
Essays, projects,
dissertations increasingly contribute to the class of degree students take.
This chapter offers advice on how to plan, structure and write such
assignments.
CHAPTER TWELVE Revising
for examinations
CHAPTER THIRTEEN Examination
technique
Examinations, while no
longer the only assessment that counts in most universities, remain important.
These two chapters offer advice on revision and on techniques to use within the
examination room.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN Feedback: how am I doing?
Most students feel
anxious about how they are doing. This chapter explains the difficulties in
giving speedy feedback and encourages students not to worry about their
progress.
CONCLUSION Study skills?
The total text is
currently 42,000 words, roughly equally divided between the two parts of the
book.
MARKET
The market for such a
book is large. The most important market is that of students. There are over a
million university students in the UK: every year over 300,000 new students
take up university places. Prospective students will find this book invaluable
in making decisions about going on to higher education, and then when making
applications; new students, and students already on course, will find the tips
in chapter 6 on how to make the most of their studies especially helpful. For
them, this is a book to read through but also to refer to again and again: they
would thus benefit from buying their own copy, rather than relying on the
library.
But this book is
intended to appeal to three further audiences. The first is that of parents.
Many parents have little personal experience of universities, while the great
changes that have taken place in the past decade mean that even those who are
themselves graduates risk being out of touch with latest developments. The
second is that of schoolteachers. Sixth form teachers in particular will find
this book's insider's guide to what is happening in higher education invaluable
when they advise prospective students on university entry, and also in
developing their teaching as a bridge between school and university study. The
third is that of university lecturers. University teachers are increasingly
being called upon explicitly to teach study skills to their students in formal
courses. They would find this book invaluable in preparing such teaching.
This book is written
with students in British universities in mind. It would also be helpful for
overseas students considering studying in the UK. Much of the discussion of
university study, for example the place of research, and most of the tips to
students nonetheless have a much wider appeal, and there would be some potential,
in the medium term, for treating the text as containing a core on to which
country-specific sections could later be grafted to suit different markets.
MARKETING
Sixth-formers should
be reached by advertisements in the annual publications listing universities,
courses and entrance requirements. Schoolteachers might best be alerted by
advertisements at strategic points in the year (September or October) in the Times
Educational Supplements. Journalists might refer to the book in the
increasingly common newspaper guides to university entrance. University
teachers might best be reached through subject associations and journals (eg History
Today, BBC History, the Historical Association, the Royal Historical
Society). University students are increasingly taking formal courses in study
skills: this book would be an obvious recommended text. And, of course, many
sixth-formers, university students and parents, when looking for guides, simply
see what they can find on the shelves of high-street and university bookshops.
AUTHOR
G.W. Bernard, Reader
in History in the University of Southampton, where he has taught since 1980,
was previously a lecturer at what was then Wolverhampton Polytechnic. He was an
Open Scholar of St Catherine's College, Oxford, where prepared his D.Phil.,
subsequently published as The Power of the Early Tudor Nobility: the fourth
and fifth earls of Shrewsbury (Harvester, 1985). His publications include War,
Taxation and Rebellion in Early Tudor England (Harvester, 1986), (as editor)
The Tudor Nobility (Manchester, 1992), and most recently Power and
Politics in Tudor England (Ashgate, 2000). He has been much involved
nationally in matters of concern to the historical profession, serving on the
Steering Committee of the History at the Universities Defence Group since 1983
(Secretary 1987-90) and twice as an elected member of the Council of the Royal
Historical Society (1992-6, 1998-2001). In July 2001 he was appointed
joint-editor of the English Historical Review.
SOUNDBITE
Studying at
University has two purposes. First, it offers advice to
those in sixth forms and colleges who are thinking of applying to university.
It attempts to sketch what universities are about and what being a student
involves. Secondly, and partly as a way of achieving its first aim, it offers
advice to new and existing students on how they should set about their studies.
It differs from existing student guides because it is written not by a
professional educational adviser or psychologist but by an historian who has
for twenty-five years been teaching in higher education, and thus reflects long
experience of teaching a demanding subject, rather than contrived experiments
or explorations in theory, and because it offers both an idealistic defence of
university study at its best and a realistic assessment of what being a student
means in practice in a world of underfunding.