How is the current module system restricting learning?

Students attend university expecting to be enlightened and have their landscape of knowledge greatly improved; it's their first opportunity to explore the depths and reach of their interests.

However, the way in which courses are structured obstructs this process. Students are provided limited academic freedom as courses are broken down into exclusive batches of content, which students are then permitted to select a few of to study. By only being able to choose 3-4 units a term, they're exempt from pursuing units which they'd otherwise be fascinated by.

One of the problems is that they aren't presented with the chance to explore content beyond their chosen subjects. Throughout my degree, I would've loved to have been able to combine knowledge from different arenas of thought and ultimately come to a broader understanding of the world, but the rigid and straight-edged structure of my studies prevented me from doing so.

More problematically, the inclusion of 'compulsory units' forced me into studying courses which didn't interest me in the slightest. Compulsory topics are the foundation for a lot of subjects, but their necessity narrows the breadth of content matter which can be studied.

Being forced into taking units which I didn't actively want to study thwarted any freedom to explore topics of interest, and this was frustrating given the already-limited number of classes I had at my disposal. During my studies in philosophy, having to take mandatory units such as metaphysics consumed valuable time which I could have used for exploring genuine interests. My passions resided in political philosophy and the question of why governments are justified in exercising control over my life; not "at what exact point do you stop walking on flat-land and start walking up the mountain" (yes, this was a genuine question).

The consequences

In 2013, tuition fees were raised to £9000, putting universities under pressure to deliver a high standard of academic experience to their students, and reforming the module system could've been instrumental in elevating the university experience. But the content and structure of its delivery weren't innovated in tandem with the rise in fees, and students have expressed their disappointment as a result. Of 17,000 students polled across the UK in 2013, 29% responded that their courses were not good value for money. This was a 13% rise from the last time that the same survey was carried out in 2003 (16%).

The course structure hasn't changed, and and in 2014 The Telegraph reported that over 20,000 students filed complaints against their university, including reasons pertaining to the quality of academic teaching and the course content itself. It's abundantly clear that the current system limiting students to a finite number of classes isn't giving students the academic experience they expect, and the lack of malleability over content is clearly a factor in this.

The consequences of a dissatisfied cohort of students can amount to far more than headlines on newspapers. One student dropping out costs universities £18,000 of revenue and dents the reputation of both the university itself and higher-education generally. This loss of revenue then has internal ramifications, affecting both private and public funding. If universities continue to push a system which violates the expectations of their students, they'll increasingly look for alternatives to university.

How can universities change?

Universities need to innovate the way that they're delivering content as well as the underlying structure, and there are an abundance of ways in which universities can go about providing a more innovative learning-environment.

Students shouldn't be paying such vast sums of money to be compelled into taking units they aren't interested in, and universities should act swiftly to provide more freedom outside of core units. Core units do have an important role to play in laying the basic foundation students need to progress in their academic career, but the time and energy consumed to complete these units is excessive and needs to be addressed. By providing students with a more flexible agenda, there'd be more opportunity to pursue modules relevant to their interests, boosting engagement and ultimately student satisfaction.

Allowing students to meander through a variety of subjects would bless them with a more comprehensive outlook on the world. I acknowledge that students can't freestyle their degree, but they should be encouraged to invest time in multiple academic realms. Universities could actively integrate and combine relevant content/units from a variety of courses. For example, a unit on evolution could be combined with one on environmental ethics. This would give the philosophy students scientific context to the normative theory, and contrastingly provide an ethical framework for those of a scientific background to broaden their understanding of the theory of evolution.

However, these structural changes would only facilitate student exploration. Students must have the desire to discover a variety of subjects before universities change their unit structures, and the most effective way of fostering the right mindset is by generally exposing them to content beyond their degree. By encouraging students to read into and explore beyond their subject, universities would be fostering a culture of independent and interested students, which is not only key for university satisfaction, but also for a smooth transition into the professional world. As employers are increasingly searching for versatile and multifaceted candidates, it's important that students are learning a variety of skills during their studies. Organisations are shifting towards more collaborative structures, where different functions work together and departments do not operate in isolation. For an employee to be successful, cross-functionality and adaptability are therefore necessary.

Overall, universities need to continuously reinvent their course delivery and allow students to explore broader and more personalised learning journeys. By persevering with the current outdated model, students will be increasingly dissatisfied, and universities will inevitably suffer.