Striking progress by City Polytechnic
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AFTER a quiet start in 1968, the City of London Polytechnic's transport option, within its honours degree in business studies, suddenly made startling strides. The only degree with transport content under the auspices of the Council for National Academic Awards (the national degree awarding body for approved courses in local authority colleges), the City of London began this course with some 12 students two years ago. Eight of these students remain in their third year, but coming on behind are 21 in their second year and the maximum number of 25 have now taken up their places in their first year.
The first year is full-time study but the remaining three years are developed on a sandwich basis of six months study and six months taking specific jobs over a wide range of transport occupation, including road transport. The first year is a foundation course in business studies with economics, accounting, commercial law, statistics, management communication and data processing among the main subjects. The special transport option begins in the sandwich period with study in depth in the same group of subjects plus quantitative methods, geography and the "control of transport systems-. Although the scheme appears rather formal, it should be remembered that in each subject it is the transport content which is under review, although naturally, the syllabus must keep to its main purpose as a degree in business studies.
Just as valuable-some may think more valuable are the guided periods of training in which a student can gain a good insight into many of the problems of the transport industry. By performing a specific job under supervision, a student obtains most useful experience which should give a start over the normal graduates who move into transport. Indeed, it will be interesting to see how the City of London graduate fares in comparison with the student who has taken a full-time academic course. Certainly some of the tasks are highly relevant to management training. In the road passenger field, for example, students are making most useful surveys of particular routes in relation to their suitability for transfer to one-man operation.
One of the most striking features of the progress in this degree course is the fact that for this session just over 100 applied for the 25 places and all those applying were school leavers. This has come as a great surprise, as in view of the sandwich nature of the course it was expected that a number would be industry-sponsored students. Encouragingly, it looks as if the schools are not so backward in their knowledge of transport courses and, further, the value of training on the job within a degree course has been clearly recognized by a number of headmasters.
Emboldened by this most promising situation. the City of London Polytechnic hopes to double the number of places in the session 1971-72 by admitting a further 25 in February, in addition to the normal 25 beginning in September. Another useful innovation has been in the presence of transport employers-both road haulage and passenger operators have participated to the full---at the interviews for places so that very close links are being forged with the industry.
The big future question is; should this become a separate transport degree, divorced from the general umbrella of business studies? I was heartened to hear that there are distinct possibilities that such a move will be made within the next five years. Bearing in mind that there is only one first degree in transport-at Salford-the prospect of a second is long overdue. Much will depend on gaining staff of the right calibre, and in transport there is a desperate shortage.
It is quite clear that City of London Polytechnic is going to make an important contribution in the transport education in the next few years.