Dear colleagues,
I agree with Gertrud's anger, but Stuart is obviously not the one to blame.
Well-meant statements can turn into something very different in the mind of a
nervous applicant who is, after all, about to commit four years of his/her life
to a course of study. I try never to say anything except good, if I can't find
something good to say about a competing department - at the least "Yes, that is
the kind of place I see as on a par with Cardiff" - I say nothing, but I still
can't guarantee that someone will not come away thinking they have received
knocking copy. Occasionally applicants actually ask for a view on another
department - but then they usually know what they want to hear, and may go away
thinking they have heard it.
What I do think is legitimate is to say what we think are our strengths, and
advise applicants to compare with other departments for themselves.
Yours
Alfred
Professor Alfred D White
Director of Studies in German
please note new address:
Cardiff School of European Studies
Cardiff University
65-68 Park Place
CARDIFF
CF10 3AS
United Kingdom
phone +44(0)29 2087 4253
fax +44(0)29 2087 4946
website www.cf.ac.uk/euros
>>> Dr Gertrud Reershemius <[log in to unmask]> 24/02/05 3:19 PM >>>
The struggle to keep up student numbers seems to have entered a new
dimension: I received a phone call from a very nervous applicant who
had put down Aston as his first choice for Single Honours German. He
went to another university - he was hesitant to name the institution
- for an Open Day where applicants were treated to an assessment of
competing German departments. The applicant was told among other
things that in Aston students of German would be taught within a
narrow curriculum with single emphasis on translation studies. I
don't need to underline that this is simply untrue and that I
consider this sort of assessment as slander. Am I being naive in
assuming that this is not common practise but an unprecedented low?
Gertrud
--
Dr Gertrud Reershemius
Senior Lecturer in German Linguistics
Director of German Studies
School of Languages and Social Sciences, Aston University
GB - Birmingham B4 7ET
Tel: 0044-121-2043787
FAX: 0044-121- 2043766
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