Is the 'Open University' relevant to transport education?
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E concept of a University of the Air, with instruction based on television viewing supplemented by radio programmes, was part of this Government's 1964 election platform. Since then a working party has been set up under the chairmanship of Miss Jennie Lee and in a White Paper produced last year (HMSO Cmnd 2922) the ethereal title changed to the more prosaic "Open University".
The contents of the White Paper, too, indicate willingness to face issues in a down to earth fashion and, from the point of view of transport studies, the open university could have a number of direct bearings.
The revolutionary idea is propounded that there should be no entrance qualifications at all to begin a course of study in the "university"; only enrolment and registration fees would be required.
It is also clearly recognized that only a few studying through viewing programmes on a separate channel would be able to face the rigours of a 40-hour viewing week for the normal minimum of five years required for a degree award.
Great importance is attached to the idea of awarding certificates and diplomas to mark the successful finish of a part of a course and to the award of "credits" when component elements of a course are completed. These "credits" could be accumulated and lead to a recognized professional qualification.
What subjects are proposed for the open university? Here the White Paper deliberately avoids any commitment. Not more than 10 subjects will be offered and subjects to be included should be "of contemporary, social, industrial and commercial significance".
Surely a study of transport would fit perfectly into this definition? But the claims of transport as a subject would only be considered if the transport .educational organizations stood together with operators and other interested sectors, like town planners, and made out a strong case for the subject's inclusion.
Like the coming of close-circuit television programmes in training and education, the open university provides another challenge for the interested parties to ,come together as a pressure group intent on furthering the claims of transport education.
It is little use taking an ostrich-like attitude by claiming that the concept of the open university will never see the light of day. It might—indeed, a further White Paper is now imminent—and if transport studies are not included in the future subject scheme, it will be too late to repair the omission. This is the moment for definitive action.
Transport education is now in the difficult rut of having too few teachers of the right calibre with too many students residing too far from viable classes of instruction. The open university, like close-circuit television, could be the means of climbing out of the rut by the novel method of viewing on a screen with a follow-up in the form of teaching notes and an advisory service. At the very least, the concept deserves serious thought.