UOW #1 Most Satisfactory?! ... NO (2 Viewers)

[treelovinhippie]

From: University of Wollongong ranked No. 1 for student satisfaction - News & Media @ UOW

Really?

ok, I like UOW, I'm going into my 4th year of a 3 year degree (yeah, a few fails and course change)... it's a great uni to go to in the sense that the environment, the culture, the way of life is very relaxed and inviting. Basically it's a nice place to go to uni rather than having to deal with a bustling city with strict guidelines and stressful environments.

Buuuut, here's what I hate about UOW:

1) The IT infrastructure

--- We have a 500MB download limit per session (1st year I used this in 1 week)
--- We have a 14MB email limit running on an extremely old-school software script
--- The "eLearning" system which is the main software platform to get access to lecture slides and other materials for subjects, is a piece of shit. It is some pre-1999 era, java system that crashes, and is overall a pain in the arse to use
--- First year I lived on-campus (Campus East), and to get Internet access I had to pay $25 for 500MB of download (run-out, buy more) or on a per hour basis... since they were running through an ISP called Chariot which had/has a monopoly over the on-campus net access. That year I must have spent over $1000 for simple Net access

2) The staff

--- I haven't had too much contact with faculty staff, but when I have, I've always felt the full effect of the "business". They don't care about individuals within the university system. They only care about getting the numbers to run the subjects, to pay the professors, and to push the students through the system out the other end with a piece of paper ready for some company to pick them up and have them work to reach upper-middle management.

My degree is a Bach of Business Administration. I was doing Computer Engineering and Commerce before but since my goal is to become an entrepreneur I wanted to do an all-round degree in business. I went to the Dean of Commerce and was basically told my decision was stupid, that I should specialise and something about 10 years down the track I will regret my decision. Fat prick of a Dean he was. 10 years down the track he'll have heart disease

--- I have had a few professors who see through the university system and actually want to teach and excel students, not just regurgitate the facts in the textbook.

3) The business/commerce degree

--- Out-dated, not for me
--- Both the Bach of business admin and Bach of commerce are the same here: they appear to be structured to train a mindless workforce for those wanting to get jobs at most in upper-middle management in large firms... that is not education people, that is modern-day enslavement
--- The perfect example of the degree being out-dated is the mandatory 2 subjects worth of manual accounting. Yeah, the type of accounting not even accountants have used since the computer was invented. Yes it is nice to know the core basics of accounting, but not 2 subjects worth, and especially when I'm not planning to become an accountant. If I'm thinking of issuing shares or going public with a company, I'm going to employ a f$%king accountant to do that.
--- No entrepreneurship degree??! WTF is that. And they only have 1 entrepreneurship subject which I did as an elective. Um, entrepreneurship is the foundation and core of business. Oh no, that's right, they're only training people for upper-middle management.

4) The "Course Handbook"

--- Students are spending $900+ per subject and the best we can find out about a subject before studying it is the title and a one paragraph description full of ambiguities.
--- e.g. find a subject, have a read: Course Handbook @ UOW

5) Parking

--- Don't bother. If you live within an hour walk/ride you may as well ditch the car, parking spaces are a rarity

6) Clubs and societies

--- ... are all too politicised and "formal" to actually work



That's about all I can think of right now.

Anyone else at UOW have these issues?

Or is this more a symptom of the entire university structure around Australia?


cheers

 

[lionking1191]

i just find it hilarious that your first and biggest criticism of the uni is that you get capped at 500mb

 

[Js^-1]

Not having attended yet, I can't really complain about it. So far the University has been pretty good; Answering questions and trying to work things out when it's a little confusing. About the Internet, that is quite a low amount. But when you think about it, the Quota is meant for University related use, not downloading music or other things. If you used it for research and things like that, you certainly wouldn't go through 500Mb in a week. Still, if it's such a big deal, see someone about it. I'm certain that there are comittees you can see about things like that. Find out why it's like that, and if it's possible to change it. If the problem is funding, organise a fundraiser. There are things you can do about the things you are angry about. Take some action and try and fix those things. Highlighting these issues is the first step, now let someone who can actually do something about it, know.

 

[blomster]

I tend to agree with you in some ways (although I don't feel so strongly) but

1) The IT infrastructure
Campus East is now on Everywhere Internet - $150 for 6 months for unlimited internet

2) The staff
Welcome to life. Whether you like it or not there are around 23000 students at uow and they can't really care for individuals and the role of a university is to churn students out with a piece of paper in their hands.

3) The business/commerce degree
I can't comment on this biz/com but I know the engineering faculty has fully revamped civil, mining and enviro degrees for 09 and got rid of all the subjects that are no longer relevant.

4) The "Course Handbook"
Contact the coordinator and have a chat maybe? Talk to people who have done the subject?

5) Parking
Is a problem at every university I know of. Some people just won't 'stoop low enough' to take public transport and then bitch about how little parking there is or that they have to walk all the way over from robsons rd cause they arrived at uni 5 minutes before their class started

6) Clubs and societies
Are variable. I joined a few last year and nothing ever happened in them. I think that its one of those things that if you are very interested that you can go and get involved and make something happen.

 

[Cookie182]

I respect that you have had your own experiences and hence formed an opinion, but your criticisms appear to be quite harsh and mainly concern trivial matters. Almost every one of my uni friends and myself has had a positive experience at UOW so far (many have transferred down from Sydney Uni’s) and I believe the verdict clearly does reflect the majority of student’s.

I have to agree with the academic advice you were given by the Commerce staff. Firstly, I think you need to clearly define your version of "entrepreneur", as it is largely contextual. If you want to invest in and run a number of businesses or even head a large company, a BCom (Accounting + Finance) + CA is still going to put you in a way better position as opposed to an EXTREMELY generalist degree. It also gives you a much more secure future, given that relying on ‘entrepreneurial’ skill alone for your sole income/employment can be very difficult and risky (also if this is your goal, and the BBA is purely for knowledge, you could basically scrap the degree altogether, take a year off, work full time, save and study a variety of motivational/entrepreneurial books and also probably doing a TAFE diploma in Financial Services/something property related would be more practical for you).

Additionally, what professional recognition does a BBA obtain on their undergrad alone? Depending on major selection, BCom graduates can be recognised by FINSIA, FPA (eligible to begin CFP, given post uni experience), CPA/CA (eligible to begin, given experience), various marketing/management associations such as the Australian HR Institute, Australian Marketing Institute etc

Of course UOW is NOT a ‘perfect’ institution, it’s newer and holds less of an academic reputation in areas like Law and along with every uni it has its share of expenses and problems. However, one could certainly guarantee that at least half the things you mentioned (which were mainly trivial) occur throughout all universities to varying degrees- parking problems, internet quotas, IT problems, staff issues...

IMO Wollongong has been a fantastic uni so far and I have found the Commerce staff friendly and helpful with any problems I've had. So if you’re a first year just about to begin, don’t lose your excitement purely based on the OP’s experience

 

[Cookie182]

I tend to agree with you in some ways (although I don't feel so strongly) but

1) The IT infrastructure
Campus East is now on Everywhere Internet - $150 for 6 months for unlimited internet

2) The staff
Welcome to life. Whether you like it or not there are around 23000 students at uow and they can't really care for individuals and the role of a university is to churn students out with a piece of paper in their hands.

3) The business/commerce degree
I can't comment on this biz/com but I know the engineering faculty has fully revamped civil, mining and enviro degrees for 09 and got rid of all the subjects that are no longer relevant.

4) The "Course Handbook"
Contact the coordinator and have a chat maybe? Talk to people who have done the subject?

5) Parking
Is a problem at every university I know of. Some people just won't 'stoop low enough' to take public transport and then bitch about how little parking there is or that they have to walk all the way over from robsons rd cause they arrived at uni 5 minutes before their class started

6) Clubs and societies
Are variable. I joined a few last year and nothing ever happened in them. I think that its one of those things that if you are very interested that you can go and get involved and make something happen.

Geez I probably know you! My mate does engineering, and I think there is only like 23 girls. Do you know Leon or Dave?

 

[treelovinhippie]

... If you used it for research and things like that, you certainly wouldn't go through 500Mb in a week. Still, if it's such a big deal, see someone about it. I'm certain that there are comittees you can see about things like that...

Yep, even with simple research and uni-related browsing I still go through my quota in a week or two. It's quite a pathetic cap, and really doesn't shine well on our International reputation.

Ever been to or heard of the Internet at all American colleges? ... they have completely free, unlimited, >10mbps access (and they come over here to feel the full wrath of a technologically backward country and university)

And yes I have complained to the upper-echelons of the uni and IT department, and even had a meeting in first year with IT officials... nothing has changed.

...

@Cookie182

I guess it depends what you see "business" as too. If you see it as working in a business with a piece of paper from a uni, then the Commerce degree at UOW is perfect... it does a great job at creating a group of employable young people with the same way of thinking and the same knowledge irrelevant to business as it operates today.

I just wish the degree and faculty would put more effort into creating better students. We should be training the next generation of entrepreneurs (people who innovate in establishing and growing new startups), not the next generation of job monkeys.

 

[iamsickofyear12]

My problems with UOW...

- Parking: Public transport is not a real alternative to a lot of people. There is no excuse for continuing to increase enrollments and not create more parking.

- Too many international students who don't have the English skills to be there. I have had my marks dragged down because of international students in my group so many times I stopped counting. I have had to sit through hundreds of presentations that I could not understand. That takes away from my learning and it is just generally a waste of my time.

- Some of the staff have absolutely no business teaching. They may be good at their research but their knowledge in the area they have been assigned to teach is poor. Also, too many of the lecturers are from overseas and are too difficult to understand. It is impossible to learn anything when you can only understand every 4th word that a lecturer says. There are some excellent staff but good luck getting one.

- The lack of university oversight when it comes to subject difficulty, workload and marking: All these things are determined by the subject coordinator and it seems like they can pretty much do whatever they want. If they feel like making their subject so difficult that half the people fail they can do that. If they think that a D is a really good mark they can just decide never to give out HD's no matter how well people do.

 

[Cookie182]

Yep, even with simple research and uni-related browsing I still go through my quota in a week or two. It's quite a pathetic cap, and really doesn't shine well on our International reputation.

Ever been to or heard of the Internet at all American colleges? ... they have completely free, unlimited, >10mbps access (and they come over here to feel the full wrath of a technologically backward country and university)

And yes I have complained to the upper-echelons of the uni and IT department, and even had a meeting in first year with IT officials... nothing has changed.

...

@Cookie182

I guess it depends what you see "business" as too. If you see it as working in a business with a piece of paper from a uni, then the Commerce degree at UOW is perfect... it does a great job at creating a group of employable young people with the same way of thinking and the same knowledge irrelevant to business as it operates today.

I just wish the degree and faculty would put more effort into creating better students. We should be training the next generation of entrepreneurs (people who innovate in establishing and growing new startups), not the next generation of job monkeys.

True, I see your point, but no degree is ever going to teach you how to 'create' the new future etc. I think that is part of an interpersonal skill, a combination of knowledge, drive, passion and of course determination. Some of the greatest entrepreneurs had little formal education- Henry Ford, Steve Jobs, Richard Branson, Walt Disney etc. I'll assume you have read "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill along with the collection of other business books. Also, looking at profiles of many top executives they hold MBA's as their 'generalist' business qualifications and they mainly receive them from top institutions such as Harvard Business, MIT, Oxford etc (I guess here I'm more referring to directors of multi-national organisations)

I also think that computer engineering would have been great to stick with- some of the greatest 'entrepreneurs' were engineers or inventors with a passion to build a business around their specialised product knowledge. Either way, best of luck in your endeavours.

 

[Tulipa]

Ever been to or heard of the Internet at all American colleges? ... they have completely free, unlimited, >10mbps access (and they come over here to feel the full wrath of a technologically backward country and university)

There is absolutely no point to comparing anything about the American system with the system here. First of all, the internet for everyone is cheaper and faster over there. Secondly, they pay ridiculously higher fees up front. You about ready to do that? Or are you pretty comfortable with a HELP debt instead?

I agree that it needs to be revamped but it is a pretty trivial concern.

 

[Cookie182]

My problems with UOW...


- The lack of university oversight when it comes to subject difficulty, workload and marking: All these things are determined by the subject coordinator and it seems like they can pretty much do whatever they want. If they feel like making their subject so difficult that half the people fail they can do that. If they think that a D is a really good mark they can just decide never to give out HD's no matter how well people do.

Now that is a true criticism and the biggest and probably only thing that pisses me off as well.

 

[treelovinhippie]

- Too many international students who don't have the English skills to be there. I have had my marks dragged down because of international students in my group so many times I stopped counting. I have had to sit through hundreds of presentations that I could not understand. That takes away from my learning and it is just generally a waste of my time.

I'll second that one. Last session I did a 3rd-year marketing subject and since I missed the first week of tutorials, I was placed in a group of 5 (myself, and 4 Japanese students). Every single meeting we had for the group-work they all spoke Japanese amongst themselves while I sat there waiting for the brief moments of them trying to explain to me in English what the plan was.

Funny thing is that subject had a massive weighting on the mid-session and final exams which consisted of 2 essays in each. I failed both, I wonder how those full-fee paying Japanese students went?

 

[dt673]

Regarding the internet quota (419mb, not 500), its meant for academic purposes. If you exceed it, apply for more. If you've used it for academic purposes there won't be a problem.

I definitely agree with the email capacity being limiting but you might be in luck, alot of the staff are being migrated to exchange, so mirapoint may get the inbox sizes increased.

The wireless network's known blackspots are a pain. I dont get why they haven't installed wireless routers in the 2nd and 3rd floors of the library, yet theres coverage half way across the western carpark.

 

[van.tango]

Maybe I'm missing the point, but I don't really see how a university can train you to be an entrepreneur. I thought that was all about thinking a little left of field and then having the determination, ambition and people skills to get others to believe in your ideas and develop them into something. They're pretty natural qualities, and if you really want them, I think you can work on them yourself. Bill Gates, possibly the world's most successful entrepreneur/computer nerd, dropped out of university to pursure the entrepreneur path and look at him now. If that's really what you want, by all means, go to uni, but I think you're relying on yourself to come up with a way to become entrepreneurial.

Alternatively, you could just transfer to an Arts degree and feel like a complete waste of space, like me.

 

[Cookie182]

Maybe I'm missing the point, but I don't really see how a university can train you to be an entrepreneur. I thought that was all about thinking a little left of field and then having the determination, ambition and people skills to get others to believe in your ideas and develop them into something. They're pretty natural qualities, and if you really want them, I think you can work on them yourself. Bill Gates, possibly the world's most successful entrepreneur/computer nerd, dropped out of university to pursure the entrepreneur path and look at him now. If that's really what you want, by all means, go to uni, but I think you're relying on yourself to come up with a way to become entrepreneurial.

Alternatively, you could just transfer to an Arts degree and feel like a complete waste of space, like me.

Well said

go pick up the "Richest Man In Babylon" or read some Tony Robbins.

 

[ziggyboy]

Seriously though.... (and sorry if I offend anyone doing these degrees)...

but business management or administration are not good undergraduate degrees to do. First of all, you don't exactly learn a specialised skill. Management and administration aren't things you can learn from a textbook. Furthermore, I do not know of anyone who has jumped straight into a manager role. Even entrepreneurs have some sort of experience with what they're doing.

Every manager I know in a business has started as a grunt in different fields, which require more hands on/specialised work. You're better off doing a specialised degree, and when you're ready to move up, do a diploma or masters in management (MBA?).

I personally have a degree in computer science, worked in IT at the bottom of the ladder, and now a senior business analyst so I get a bit of senior/management responsibilities in my role. I decided to do a master of technology management part-time and find that I'm really able to contribute in discussions more than a mgmt subject I did in my undergrad. Like when someone talks about company beurocracy, I can give direct input on it...and not input an undergrad reads from a magazine. It's a really different experience so I guess you'll just have to wait and see when you're in my shoes.

To me, management skills are something that you augment a specialised skill. It's not mutually exclusive.

 

[kevinx2]

What do you hate about UOW thrad

 

[treelovinhippie]

I definitely agree with the email capacity being limiting but you might be in luck, alot of the staff are being migrated to exchange, so mirapoint may get the inbox sizes increased.

I don't know why they don't just use this: Google Apps

Yes, yes Google, privacy blah blah. But technology is an exponentially growing thing and there is no way UOW internal IT can keep-up with demands now, let alone 5 years down the track.

If they had Google handling all the hardware and software upgrades all would be fine and dandy.

Oh and I recently sent an email to IT complaining about these things (one of many I've sent over the years). Apparently it was forwarded to the "right people" but that was over a week ago and I don't expect to hear back from them. Typical.

Maybe I'm missing the point, but I don't really see how a university can train you to be an entrepreneur.

Why not? It's a learned skill that can be taught.

Imagine if UOW had a greater focus on teaching students across all faculties to think for themselves, be innovative and run programs that encouraged entrepreneurship across the board.

It's been proven over and over that entrepreneurs, those that actually take the risk to create new markets and launch new innovative startups, are the dominant force for economic growth and job creation (an extreme necessity in this current economic climate).

Imagine if UOW ran an entrepreneurship program in all faculties, in unison with existing degrees, that produced brilliant entrepreneurs by the end of their degree.

Imagine if just 1% of those graduates started their own companies while completing their degree or within 3 years of graduating. That's 150 undergrads starting new and innovative businesses straight out of university.

And starting a business straight out of university, at a young age is THE BEST time to start. There are very little risks, young people aren't yet warped by the corporate job system (and so think out of the box far greater), and with technology and technical information growing at an EXPONENTIAL rate... the sooner students use their learned knowledge, the better.

 

[Cookie182]

I don't know why they don't just use this: Google Apps

Yes, yes Google, privacy blah blah. But technology is an exponentially growing thing and there is no way UOW internal IT can keep-up with demands now, let alone 5 years down the track.

If they had Google handling all the hardware and software upgrades all would be fine and dandy.

Oh and I recently sent an email to IT complaining about these things (one of many I've sent over the years). Apparently it was forwarded to the "right people" but that was over a week ago and I don't expect to hear back from them. Typical.



Why not? It's a learned skill that can be taught.

Imagine if UOW had a greater focus on teaching students across all faculties to think for themselves, be innovative and run programs that encouraged entrepreneurship across the board.

It's been proven over and over that entrepreneurs, those that actually take the risk to create new markets and launch new innovative startups, are the dominant force for economic growth and job creation (an extreme necessity in this current economic climate).

Imagine if UOW ran an entrepreneurship program in all faculties, in unison with existing degrees, that produced brilliant entrepreneurs by the end of their degree.

Imagine if just 1% of those graduates started their own companies while completing their degree or within 3 years of graduating. That's 150 undergrads starting new and innovative businesses straight out of university.

And starting a business straight out of university, at a young age is THE BEST time to start. There are very little risks, young people aren't yet warped by the corporate job system (and so think out of the box far greater), and with technology and technical information growing at an EXPONENTIAL rate... the sooner students use their learned knowledge, the better.

No uni has that program though

One reason I can think of- there is no proven 'method' or 'correct way' despite relentless technical knowledge in your choosen market, a hell of a lot of persistance, albeit luck particularly when it comes to getting financial backing and good priced loans (along with market turns early on) and probably most importantly- intelligence/creativity which makes the 'entreprenuer' that one in a million person every talks about.

+ Who would they get to teach it? Anyone who has been successful is way too busy out there making money and running their company as oppossed to letting some newbie kids in on their 'secret'. It's purely something you have to learn on your own, otherwise everyone would be doing it.

 

[treelovinhippie]

No uni has that program though

Really? ... 30secs searching found these:

Top 50 Entrepreneurial Colleges for 2008 – Entrepreneur.com
RMIT - Entrepreneurship – Bachelor of Business
Brown University Entrepreneurship Program
CDE Masters in Innovation and Entrepreneurship, University of South Australia, Adelaide
Graduate Certificate in Innovation and Entrepreneurship | Programs and Courses
USC runs program to empower entrepreneurs - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia
RMIT - Bachelor of Business (Entrepreneurship)
Directories:University Entrepreneurship Programs - SmallBusiness - Small Business Resources
Australian Graduate School of Entrepreneurship Home Page
Entrepreneurship@Cornell: Classes, Faculty, and Entrepreneurship and Business Resources at Cornell University


Yes, they're mostly in American colleges... but why can't Australia do this? ... there is a reason why the rest of the world see us simply as the place to buy raw-materials... we're not encouraged to be something more in our education system.

UOW is good for engineering, mostly thanks to BlueScope being here. But business really sucks at UOW (and Id prefer not to move to Sydney or overseas).

+ Who would they get to teach it?

This guy: Les Kirchmajer Lecturer - Management @ UOW

... he's the only professor I've come across that sees the university system for what it is and encourages students to be entrepreneurial, rather than mindless drones preparing for corporate jobs.

Plus I would think they'd bring in those already successful entrepreneurs as mentors and guest speakers.

... and again, I don't want to see just a dedicated entrepreneurship degree, but a over-arching program across all faculties and degrees to encourage entrepreneurship amongst students. Heck, even someone doing an arts degree can establish an innovative new startup in their area of study.