Standard of Education in DIT, Bolton Street

I’ve heard from quite a few people at this stage that the standards are sliding.

Is it the facilities? of the standard of tutelage?

I see that the students in the Limerick Institute of Technology are rebelling on the Architectural technicians course. As far as I know, the college downgraded the level of teh course, the RIAI then recinded their recognition of the course.

Perhaps the students in DIT need to take affirmative action.

As a student of Architecture in DIT, Bolton St. I am disappointed with the standard of education I am receiving. As stated above, we are rapidly losing our youngest and most enthusiastic staff members. The head of our department seems not to care about our education as much as he cares about his own self promotion and that of his peers. To prove this point, this years “architecture week”, usually a student orientated week, forgot the student. The title of the week “education in Architecture” in theory was a great idea, a time when we, the students, got to discuss with qualified people; architecture, our education, the standard of education world-wide and got to voice some of our problems. In practise, this was a cover up, a clever promotional act for Bolton St. and its’ name. We were begrudgingly invited to the lectures, but asked not to attend the discussions afterwards, who knows what we could have let slip, the need for computers, security for studios, photocopiers, areas to display work etc. within architectural education, aswell as quality tutelage and varied opinions from a range of lecturers.
Architecture in Bolton St. has a good name, but this will slip unless badly needed improvements are made in all areas. I, like most of my fellow students, enjoy architecture, but there is only so much we can teach ourselves, without facilities, stimulating lectures and dedicated staff.

I work in a local architectural firm and I hope to begin studying architecture this september, in either Bolton St. or UCD. obviously this discussion’s contributions are not very encouraging if I end up in Bolton St., but this is not the first time I have heard complaints of this kind about the place.
I was a student of design in DIT Mountjoy Sq., and it seems to me that the problems experienced in Bolton St. are very similar to those in Mountjoy Sq., so it appears that there is a problem within the DIT in general.
In my opinion, the basic ingredient for a good education is a creative and competent educational staff, whose motivation and brief is to understand and engage with its students in order to challenge them and act as a sounding board for their ideas.
From the top down, the focus of an education should be the students, not the curriculum. If a college believes in its own selection procedures, it should be prepared to be flexible with its curriculum in order to educate.
The key is ENGAGEMENT. An educator should understand its student – that way it best understands how to impact on the student in order to achieve the desired effect: learning. To understand, one must engage.
The students in Bolton St. seem desperate to engage with the college, but the feeling is not mutual. This is pathetic, and can only be destructive for the students and the college. These people are the architects of our society: it’s about creativity.

[This message has been edited by ef (edited 27 April 2000).]

What do you mean, telling that standards are sliding?

MidGart has made one post as of the date of this post by me.

Well spotted on the original date – you sometimes see zombie threads coming back to life…

ONQ.