The "Will effect"

It wasn't long ago that St. Andrews University boasted about record highs in applications. Back in Feb 2006 the University of St. Andrews recorded a 11.1% rise in applications, making them the highest in Scotland and one of the highest in the UK. However this is no longer the case as the university has experienced the "Will effect".

St. Andrews University hosted Prince William at the university for the past 4 years, since his graduation from the university applications to the school has fallen over 6%. Prince William was amongst several other famous graduates such as James II of Scotland, feminist writer Fay Weldon, and leader of the Scottish Nationalist Party, Alex Salmond. Other claims to fame of the University and the town of St. Andrews is the golf course, the castle, the abbey and of course the opening scene to Chariots of Fire.

Thanks to Prince William the school experienced an 44% increase in applications during his term there but recently the school has been hit with what many Brits call the "Will effect". I has been over a year now since Prince William graduated from the school and there has been a reported decrease of 6% in applications since his departure. This decrease in applications is actually the highest in comparison to other universities in Scotland.

Looks like St. Andrews is going to have to re-address their recruitment and application process!

A gagging clause

I was really surprised to come across an article in the Hearld on Sunday that was titled "University defends gagging clause in redundancy deals". The article goes into how the University is currently under investigation over spending £1 million on gagging orders for outgoing staff. As a former student of the university or even in the thinking of a current student hearing and seeing press coverage about this is not very settling. Makes you wonder if the university is shelling out public money to buy the silence of outgoing staff rather than putting this money back in towards the university and the services/facilities they offer.

The university and many other education systems across the UK is challenged to make efficiency savings, Glasgow's efficiency savings being £10million. After further investigation it has been revealed that over £1million was used to pay off staff, with a reported 230 reducdancy packages being handed out it is rumoured that gagging orders are coming in at £43,000 per person.

Given that Mordechai Vanunu, the famous peace campaigner is the Rector for the university does make this scandel a little ironic. I think this will be interesting to keep a close eye on what happens and the coverage in the media it attracts.

the Music Department at Glasgow University

Had a recent comment on our e-mentoring blog asking about the Music Department at Glasgow University. I will do my best to answer the questions that came up but I myself did not study in the Music department so can only advise as an outsider based on what I know.

The Department of Music at the university takes an interesting approach to learning about music as they integrate practical and non-practical forms together. Depending on whether you are an undergraduate and postgraduate applying into the program they offer quiet a diverse range of courses, therefore there will likely be courses that are of interest to you whether its classical music – medieval and renaissance or romantics the university really offers everything any music lover would want.

One of the biggest features of the undergraduate program is the flexibility. The undergraduates programs offers degrees in Bachelor of Music , Master of Arts , or Bachelor of Engineering in Electronics with Music.

The postgraduate program really is the ethos of the Music Department. As a postgraduate you can purse degrees such as Mlitt in Popular Music Studies , a Master of Music (Mmus), or a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) and Master of Letters (MLitt).

One of the biggest perks being in the Music Department is the connection’s that they have to professional ensembles across the UK, such as the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the Paragon Ensemble and many more!!!

For further information on the Music Department at Glasgow University have a read over their website – you can find loads more information on the department, courses and also contacts within the university.

Hope this helps answer some of your queries.