Flight Lessons

"Paul J. Adam" wrote in message
...
In message , Keith Willshaw
writes
"Cub Driver" wrote in message
.. .
And aren't most UK bachelor's-degree programs still three
years in duration?

For the most part yes though there are some colleges that run 2 year
courses for high flyers or those with pre-existing lesser qualiications
such as the HND/HNC technical qualifications.

I wouldn't call a HND a 'lesser' qualification, particularly compared to
A-levels.


Sure but its narrower than a degree

Typically, in mechanical engineering, HND students skipped the first
year of the course that A-level entrants had to plough through; they
then struggled with the hardcore mathematics in Year 2, while
confidently dominating most other fields. (Teamwork paid off, where
students of differing backgrounds supported each other: explain Laplace
transforms one evening, get water-hammer in pipes made understandable in
return)

HND entrants also tended to be significantly older, with several years'
real-world work under their belts (many I knew had earned their HNDs
part-time on the job before going to university) which tended to mean
they spent more time working and less time hung over. Certainly they
tended strongly to cluster towards the top of the class scores.

All this over a decade old, things may have changed since.


Most HND courses were full time, HNC could be the real
killer 1 day and 1 night per week if you got day release or
3-4 nights otherwise, I know having got 2 of the buggers

Keith

In message , Keith Willshaw
writes
"Paul J. Adam" wrote in message
...
I wouldn't call a HND a 'lesser' qualification, particularly compared to
A-levels.

Sure but its narrower than a degree

So are A-levels. Maths, Physics, Chemistry at A-level are narrow as hell
compared to what you need for a Mech Eng degree; the HN crew had more
breadth but less depth, especially in fancy maths. What _is_ a
self-tapping screw? Most A-level candidates wouldn't recognise it even
if you shoved it somewhere tender.


Again, that's why the HN crew skipped the first year, and why they often
struggled with hardcore maths but stormed the "real engineering"
courses.

Maybe I'm biased but I feel they turned out better engineers in two
years, than A-level students in three: certainly the exam boards seemed
to agree. A-level students often seemed to hunker down and focus on
'numbers subjects' that they were comfortable with.

All views personal, all expressed opinions assayed as worth precisely
$0.02, same as usual.

--
When you have to kill a man, it costs nothing to be polite.
W S Churchill

Paul J. Adam