Internet update

Citation

Almond, N. (2010), "Internet update", Property Management, Vol. 28 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/pm.2010.11328aag.001

Internet update

Article Type: Internet update From: Property Management, Volume 28, Issue 1

As the new intakes settle into their first year at university or other higher education establishment, so a fresh bunch of students will be thinking about applying for courses in the next year. When I applied for higher education, the internet never really existed in the form it does today. Back then you registered with the likes of Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) and obtained details of courses run at the various universities and the browsed through prospectuses on offer. I recollect looking for real estate courses was not always easy. Course names varied with the likes of Estate Management, Urban Estate Management and Estate Management Surveying to name just a few. So with the internet now really established what is available to the prospective student?

As a starting point I chose the UCAS site (www.ucas.com). The site looks neat from the home page and has large boxes at the top of the screen providing links to further information for different user-groups students, parents, advisers and HE staff. Selecting the student link provided a step-by-step guide to choosing courses, applying, offers, results and the next steps. In some areas you can click on one of the “How to guides” – a short UCAS TV video. I just clicked on the “Choosing courses” video which provided a short tutorial on how to choose the right course for you and how to go about this. It also directly relates to other sections on the web site, for example searching for relevant courses. Also within this section is a list of the various institutions, address details as well as a link to their web site.

If you are lucky enough to know the course you wish to apply for, the easiest approach is to click on the “Course search” link on the left hand side of the homepage. You can search by subject or course code. As I did not have details of the latter, I selected the subject search. This took me to an alphabetical listing of subjects. The search facility utilises keywords, so if you are after real estate, you can find courses under “real”, or indeed under “estate”. I then took the link for real estate and a list of nine institutions emerged and under each the courses on offer. There I found my old University (Glamorgan), which offered one course in Real Estate Appraisal and Management. Others, like Reading, offered four related courses, whilst Sheffield Hallam offered five! Against each course you have details on what qualification is available – is it a fulltime or sandwich degree, a BSc or other related degree. You need to take sometime to play around with the search facility to ensure to cover all the relevant courses, for example trying “valuation” as a keyword. As in the past not all course names or codes are the same, even for similar subjects, so beware!

From the listing page you can click on the name of the institution you wish to view further, which then provides the relevant contact details and links to relevant parts of the institutions web site, covering aspects such as applying for a course, open days, accommodations, prospectus, student life and fees. The site also provides entry profiles for courses, which covers aspects such as the entry requirements, details of the institution, and course, including student profiles. There is also a link to a section on fees, bursaries and financial support for that institution, be it for a home, EU or overseas student.

If you do not have a real idea on the course that is right for you, the site has what it calls the “Stamford test” which through filling out various details online will help match your interests to the course on offer.

If you are trying to find an institution, besides the UCAS web site, you might also want to try out the higher education map on the University of Wolverhampton web site (www.scit.wlv.ac.uk/ukinfo). From the site you can use either the interactive map or the search facility to find a relevant institution – useful if you want to know what is close to home. Clicking on one of the bubbles on the map selects an institution and provides the address. On the right hand side of the screen further details appear including a link to the relevant web site, including a number of useful pages such as the undergraduate prospectus. You can also use the map to view a satellite image of the campus if you zoom into the relevant area, handy if you want to get a basic feel for the local environment.

If you want to find more details, or compare universities, try looking at the Unistats web page (www.unistats.com). Here you can find statistics such as the average number of UCAS points, student satisfaction and a breakdown of students. Select one of the bars and you get a more detailed view on responses, including the number of respondents. It is easier to search by institution, rather than course as I found the latter very tricky.

The Times also provides a guide to universities (www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/ life_and_style/education/sunday_times_university_guide/). Here you can search their league tables to find the best places for employment, research, class of students and even satisfaction. The easiest way to find an institution is to select the full league table and scroll down. You can select multiple institutions if you wish to compare each – handy if you have a couple of possible places in mind.

Finally, there is the issue of finances. The UCAS web site does have some details, but these are mostly linked through to the direct.gov site. If you cannot find the information try: www.direct.gov.uk/en/EducationAndLearning/UniversityAndHigherEducation/index.htm and select the student finance section. You will find details on the cost of education, and access to a finance calculator, which will help establish the likely cost of living while at university. It is also worthwhile exploring the wider site for options on what courses to choose, options for life post graduation, as well as more general information on student life.

The power of the internet has transformed the process of university selection, making it easier for prospective students or even their parents to find suitable courses/institutions from the comfort of their own home.

Acknowledgements

The view expressed are those of the author and not those of DTZ.

Nigel AlmondAssociate Director, DTZ. E-mail: nigel.almond@dtz.com