Oral history is a different field from folk music. Writing songs based on oral history is not, in my opinion, adding to the tradition per se. Some songs may become (to the chagrin of their authors) "trad" (take a bow John Connolly), some may be good songs which are widely sung for a few years and then vanish (how much of Ewan MacColl's output is still widely sung?).

Remould Theatre did this type of work (The Northern Trawl et al) as across the country have done countless other Drama Groups. Writing songs or plays about history doesn't somehow validate the course or the people on it. I am not sure that the purpose of the course is to turn out people who can write songs about disappearing worlds, just as my degree (Economic History) didn't condemn me to a life of history.

Statistically very few students end up in jobs directly relevant to their degree although the skills they learn in doing their degree may well be important in their future career. For the students on the course (like most students) I suspect that the bottom line will be "do I get a job at the end of it?"

All the best

Steve