Wendy (an interesting interview with her is here) has posted a link to the LSE website which touches on the topic of education as a commodity. I guess The London School of Economics would be interested in such a subject. Does it apply to me in any way? The question revolves around the fact that a “degree from a higher education institution can now, to some extent, be purchased like any other commodity.” (Louise Bunce, 15.01.2020)
At the OCA, we purchase by the module. So many £100’s of pounds buys one the next step in the course. It does not however, buy a qualification. To earn enough points for that, one needs to do a certain amount of work to show one has understood what the purchased material is about. The notes are like a ticket to an event and the ticket is not itself the event. Hence, one cannot purchase a degree only an aid towards obtaining it.
The matter is therefore one of perception. Apparently, an increasing number of students see a degree as a passport to a well paid job rather than the chance to pursue a passion. Bunce surveyed 600 students before drawing this conclusion. The change in motivation can be explained by the fact that university education is no longer free and students often have to borrow money to pursue their studies.
I am not in a position where I have to borrow money. OCA fees are much less than the fees from universities; about 30-40% of the cost in my experience. I may not always have the money in my account at the time but usually I can find it.
Bunce was involved in more than one study. Her approach seems to have been comprehensive since many factors were considered even if the survey was largely conducted online.
I do not see a job waiting for me at the end of my studies. That would be nice but unrealistic given the number of people studying for photography and the number of jobs available in photography. Furthermore, I am not pursuing a course in photography to make money rather to open up as a photographic artist. That might make my photography more lucrative yet making worthwhile photography, that is photography that I find meaningful, is of prime importance.
If my work is of a lower academic standard, I do not think it is because I see the course as a commodity. Rather it is because the content seems increasingly to be about ideas and I am not sure this is really part of the thought process that makes art. Hence I find this interview with my tutor stimulating but hard to follow. The idea that one makes photography because one has certain informed ideas rather than making photography because one sees something worth recording and wants to translate that so others can also join in the experience.
Work motivated by a response to what is rather than ideas about what is, though arguably these might be one and the same. We all see the world differently perhaps; for some, the heart is more important than the head and vice the versa.
These days education is presented at a very commercial level and I don’t think that students can be blamed for seeing courses as commercial ventures.
Amano Level Three 