Category Archives: Uncategorized

“Good” Degrees

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We all know that gaining a good degree is important, perhaps more so now than ever. The increasingly consumerist approach by students might be enshrined in “what do I need to do to get a 2(i)?”, but in many cases this is also accompanied by a commitment to work that was perhaps less of a focus when I first studied. That might be also be attributable to the changing perceptions that students have of their higher education – seeing it as a transaction in which they engage to gain clearly defined outcomes, rather than the wider exploration that HE might have been considered to have been in some non-existent golden era.

A good degree is understood to be a benefit to the individual – it’s likely to help open doors in getting that first graduate job. It’s also beneficial for institutions for their students to be successful in this way: all university league tables include “good degrees” or some variant thereof in their analysis, and so the university that awards high numbers of good degrees can expect to reap the rewards in league table position. Of course there is also virtuous circle effect here – universities that are at the top of the tables may be the most selective, and able to recruit the students with the highest entry tariff scores in the anticipation that they will thrive. Other institutions will argue that they provide a greater amount of value added to students with lower entry grades.

In January, HESA published its first data release, which showed the range of degree classifications as follows:

071277_student_sfr210_1314_chart_9

72% of first degrees undertaken through full-time study in 2013/14 achieved first or upper second classifications compared to 54% of those undertaken through part-time study.

Now that more detailed data has become available through Hedi, then we can look to see how the different institutions perform on this measure – and whose outputs have changed significantly.

So here are the top 10 universities for awarding good degrees in 2013-14:

Institution 2013 % 1sts and 2(1)s 2014 % 1sts and 2(1)s difference
The University of Oxford 92% 92% 0%
Conservatoire for Dance and Drama 91% 91% 0%
Guildhall School of Music and Drama 87% 91% 4%
Central School of Speech and Drama 88% 88% 0%
The University of St Andrews 88% 88% 0%
The University of Cambridge 87% 88% 1%
University College London 87% 88% 1%
Royal Academy of Music 77% 88% 11%
Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine 88% 87% -1%
University of Durham 85% 87% 2%

And at the other end of the results….

Institution 2013 % 1sts and 2(1)s 2014 % 1sts and 2(1)s difference
London Metropolitan University 51% 55% 4%
University of Bedfordshire 48% 55% 7%
The University of East London 54% 54% 0%
Glynd?r University 54% 54% 0%
University College Birmingham 46% 54% 8%
University Campus Suffolk 56% 53% -3%
University of Wales Trinity Saint David 49% 51% 2%
SRUC 44% 51% 7%
The University of Buckingham 43% 51% 8%
The University of Sunderland 54% 50% -4%

For those of us who have an interest in league tables, then the interesting thing to look at will be those universities which have seen significant changes in the percentages of good degrees that they award. Hence we might look to see some league table gains (ceteris paribus) for the following:

Institution 2013 % 1sts and 2(1)s 2014 % 1sts and 2(1)s difference
Leeds Trinity University 56% 69% 13%
Royal Agricultural University 51% 63% 12%
Royal Academy of Music 77% 88% 11%
Bournemouth University 65% 76% 11%
Glasgow School of Art 59% 69% 10%
The University of Wolverhampton 50% 59% 9%

noting that Wolverhampton doesn’t engage in league tables.

The biggest drops are for:

Institution 2013 % 1sts and 2(1)s 2014 % 1sts and 2(1)s difference
University Campus Suffolk 56% 53% -3%
Writtle College 52% 49% -3%
Heythrop College 83% 79% -4%
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland 79% 75% -4%
The University of Sunderland 54% 50% -4%
The Royal Veterinary College 75% 66% -9%
University of the Highlands and Islands 71% 58% -13%

As well as looking at the percentages of good degrees, with a little bit of Heidi magic we can look to see how various student characteristics have an impact on outcomes. A particular interest of mine is attainment of students from a BME background, and in considering how any attainment gap can be reduced. This will form the subject of a later post.

Emerging Technology Trends in HE

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This year’s NMC Horizon report on higher education has just been published. This is a collaboration between The New Media Consortium  and The Educause
Learning Initiative. Our own Dave Parkes is a contributor.

Trends that affect technology adoption in HE are identified, along with challenges to adoption and important developments. the developments are identified with suggested times to adoption.

horizon2015

Important Developments in Educational Technology for Higher Education
Time-to-Adoption Horizon: One Year or Less

> Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)
> Flipped Classroom

These two are worth commenting on  – as we are developing new specifications for classrooms across the institution, then clearly we recognise that our students will increasingly be bringing their own technology to class. And when they get there, then they will be expecting to be putting that technology to good use in constructing their learning, not in passively listening to lectures. For that they’ll bring their own technology too, but mainly as a distraction and to engage in other parts of their life.

As the report states, proponent of BYOD cite:

personal mobile device use as a way for students to engage with learning material more effectively; they have instant access to more resources to gain a better understanding of the subjects at hand.202 The BYOD movement is enabling students to learn using the technology with which they are already familiar

 

However the downside is the danger of reinforcing a “digital divide” and so institutions need to be aware of ensuring all students are able to engage with learning.

Flipping the classroom has been talked abut for many years, and in some subjects, such as design, engineering, computer programming and games design, then this approach has been used for a long time. The support fro the flipped approach is documented as:

Beyond watching recorded video lectures, other technologies such as e-books with collaborative annotation and discussion software enable instructors to be more in tune with their students’ learning patterns. By reviewing the comments and questions that students pose online, instructors can better prepare for class and address particularly challenging ideas. The learning environment transforms into a dynamic and more social space where students can participate in critiques or work through problems in teams

The two trends expected to have an impact in the next year are particularly relevant to SU, as we roll out our new Problem and Practice Based Learning approaches in one of our faculties, at the same time as we are reviewing our technology enhanced learning offer, our teaching room specification and our information provision.

Time-to-Adoption Horizon: Two to Three Years

> Makerspaces
> Wearable Technology

Time-to-Adoption Horizon: Four to Five Years

> Adaptive Learning Technologies
> The Internet of Things

Significant Challenges Impeding Technology Adoption in Higher Education

Of as much interest as the potential technologies that will be used, are the challenges to adoption. Some of these remain the same from previous years of the report.

Solvable Challenges: Those that we understand and know how to solve
> Blending Formal and Informal Learning
> Improving Digital Literacy

Difficult Challenges: Those we understand but for which solutions are elusive
> Personalizing Learning
> Teaching Complex Thinking

Wicked Challenges: Those that are complex to even define, much less address
> Competing Models of Education
> Rewarding Teaching

Inevitably people will focus on the problems that are solvable – and the two cited can be linked. The blend of formal and informal learning arises when social media is used effectively, and when we learn to recognise and accredit learning that takes places outside of the usual recognised formal systems. Our approach to volunteering and recognition of work based learning support this. While improving digital literacy is cited as a problem we know how to solve. I’m not quite so sanguine – while staff and students are willing to use technology for many aspects of their lives, and to do so with no instruction, when it comes to using it for education, then sometimes it all seems too difficult. As well as ensuring that we provide opportunities for staff and students to develop digital literacy or fluency, we also need to make sure that our systems are as easy to use as products we use in everyday life.

A final comment on the wicked challenges.  Rewarding teaching is in there again. In a year when the UK has just had the results of the Research Excellence Framework, ,when promotion to professorships are based on research (in fact if not in policy), then we still have some way to goo to provide reward and recognition for anything that is not research based.

One final point – Stephen Downes has taken a look at the report – he criticises the NMC methodology:

We can observe the following trends:

Last-minute predictions of things that already happened open content, ebooks, mobile

Fad-hopping: MOOCs, makerspace, flipped class

One major successful prediction: notably, learning analytics

Failed prediction: gamification, augmented reality, gesture-based

So what does it tell us about the methodology? Mostly, that it sways in the breeze. It’s strongly influenced by the popular press and marketing campaigns. It’s not based on a deep knowledge significant technology developments, but rather focuses on surface-level chatter and opinion. And that is why I think NMC should be obligated to re-examine its methodology.

All valid – but I think one benefit of the NMC report is that provides a starting point for discussions in institutions on how we might prepare for educational futures.

Doing what it says on the tin.

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A new publication from Which? came out last week, following on from their last HE report “Degrees of Value”.

This time, the consumer group are focusing their attention on the information that is provided to students regarding course changes and fee changes in “Higher education: a review of providers’ rights to change courses”. In turn this is linked to the guidance provided by the Competition and Markets Authority.

The report is based on FOI requests to universities, and according to the Times Higher:

Of these universities, one in five uses terms that Which? deems to be unlawful and in breach of the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations set out by the Competition and Markets Authority. Almost a third (31 per cent) use terms that the consumer-rights charity considers to be bad practice and likely to be unlawful.

The report itself goes on to list universities in various categories: best practice; good practice; needs improvement; bad practice; unlawful practice, and inadequate information.

Leaving aside the idea that institutions can be judged, and indeed named, to have engaged in unlawful practice without any process of law, then there are some important points to take away from this piece of work.

As students increasingly behave in a consumerist way towards higher education, then institutions do need to ensure that they provide accurate information that does not mislead.

However, as I have written before, it is not helpful to consider higher education as a consumerist paradigm, since the “market” does not work in the same way as that for the purchase of other goods or services. Students need to be engaged partners in the learning process, not just passive recipients of knowledge transmission.

Universities are required to map all their processes regarding provision of information to the QAA Quality Code Part C but to cite QAA processes on this matter would be the last refuge of a scoundrel.

Higher education is a dynamic and ever changing area, and so courses do inevitably change with time. There is an opportunity here for institutions to be much clearer about how they manage those changes, and in particular how the student voice is part of that decision. Indeed, students should be part of that co-creation process.

In order to avoid complaints, then as well as providing clear and lawful terms and conditions, universities need to be able to demonstrate clearly to students and others exactly how changes might be made to the range of option modules, the change to a syllabus etc. Although the Which? report highlights negative experiences of students, we have to also recognise that courses change all the time, with the intention that those changes will improve the student experience and outcomes

So, universities do need to be mindful of CMA rules on the information that they provide and  work to the QAA code, but more usefully we should also engage openly with our students on how and why we can work in  partnership to make necessary changes .

 

Aiming Higher: Race, Inequality and Diversity in the Academy

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A new publication out this week from the Runnymede Trust, “Aiming Higher: Race, Inequality and Diversity in the Academy” looks at race equality in UK universities.

As David Lammy MP writes in the foreword:

Given lower admissions rates, degree attainment and employability, BME people will increasingly ask whether or not they are getting equal value for the £9,000 in tuition fees now charged for many courses. While higher education institutions cannot achieve equality by themselves, they must do more to pull down barriers and promote equality of opportunity

This fits with the comment we have made at SU regarding this as a business risk as well as an issue of equality.

A number of authors have contributed to the report, which is presented as a series of essays

To pick out a couple of highlights, Andrew Pilkington of Northampton University writes on “The Declining Salience of Race Equality in Higher Education Policy” and reflects on the efficacy of institutional policies on equality, suggesting that “writing documents and having good policies becomes a substitute for action.”

Pilkington refers to  an ethnographic investigation he carried out of one university in the decade following the publication of the MacPherson report, which considered how “Midshire University” performed against a definition of institutional racism. The original study is available as “Institutional Racism in the Academy: A Case Study” (or you can borrow my copy). On reviewing the state of universities today, Pilkington concludes:

that individuals from minority ethnic communities disproportionately experience adverse outcomes in higher education.And yet universities are extraordinarily complacent.They see themselves as liberal and believe existing policies ensure fairness and in the process ignore adverse outcomes and do not see combating racial/ethnic inequalities as a priority.

Pam Tattlow of Million+ looks at “Participation of BME Students in UK Higher Education”, identifying that “Twenty five per cent of all BME students study at 30
universities compared to an institutional average in the
UK of 16 per cent”. Tatlow goes on to consider the type of universities that have this disproportionate population mix and provides a number of recommendations for the sector:

  • more respect for the university choices made by BME students and the universities at which they study should be acknowledged, valued and promoted
  • government needs to scrap the measure of social mobility introduced by the former Education Secretary
  • whole sector challenge to address the gap in degree outcomes
  • impact of research funding distribution on BME students and staff needs to be addressed
  • too much complacency and too little research about the impact on BME students of the 2012 fee reforms and the reforms in further education

The last essay I’ll highlight is by Gary Loke of the Equality Challenge Unit on “Breaking the Race Inequality Cycle in Higher Education: A Change of Focus is Needed to Break the Statistical Groundhog Day”. as someone who has repeatedly looked at the differences in degree attainment between different groups of students at my own institution, then the idea of Groundhog Day appeals. Loke also refers to the idea of risk, but approaches it from a different angle. He proposes that reputational risk is seen as an excuse for inaction, and alternatively proposes that “we believe that institutions that have the courage to be transparent and openly discuss the challenges of addressing race inequality can enhance their reputation.”. Loke refers to a deficit model, where the focus is on changing the individual, whereas a more effective approach is a change to institutional culture,

However, instigating long-lasting, meaningful culture change is complex. There is no quick fix; to create an inclusive culture the whole institution needs to be involved, with strong commitment from senior leaders, signalling that they are prioritising the equality agenda and will be investing time and resource in pushing forward change.

Overall, a welcome addition to the writing on equality issues in the academy, and should provide plenty to think about, to anyone working in one of our diverse and exciting universities.

 

 

What do MPs think about universities?

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A new survey has been carried out by ComRes, asking current and possible future MPs about their views on higher education.

Politicians were asked what they wanted to hear about from universities, and also how the rated the performance of universities.

From the ComRes website:

MPs are most likely to say that they would be most interested in hearing from UK universities about their engagement with business and enterprise (43%) followed by the employability of graduates (42%).

Future MPs are most likely to say that they would be most interested in hearing from UK universities about their activities relating to widening participation and improving social mobility, and about the employability of graduates (48% for both).

Of the statements tested, MPs and Future MPs are most likely to say that they are interested in the external work of UK universities, rather than teaching and learning. Just 14% of MPs and 16% of Future MPs say that they would be interested in hearing about the teaching and learning at universities.

When asked about how well universities perform, then while 78% though universities did well at world leading research and 71% though they did well at competing internationally with other HE sectors, only 56% thought universities did well at producing highly skilled and employable graduates and 48% thought they did well at contributing to local employment and the local economy in their areas. More worryingly only 38% thought universities did well at using their funding efficiently (funding from their assets, students, the government and others).

There were also large variations in opinion depending on the political party, so for instance when considering how well universities are perceived on issues that my university might be concerned with, then the results are:

producing highly employable graduates Using their funding efficiently Widening participation
Conservative 46%

 

 33% 47%
Labour 62%

 

 48% 29%
LibDem

(Other minority parties not shown in results)

 70%

 

 26%

 

 42%

 

 

So why does this matter?

With an election now 3 months away, then universities need to recognise that with only 24% of MPs thinking that universities perform well on engaging with MPs and other stakeholders, that there is work to be done on making it clear what our contribution is to local and national economies and to show how we create highly employable graduates.

Also, we need to be aware that the two main parties have different preconceptions about what it is that we do well, or otherwise, meaning we might need to tailor our messaging. We might also need to find out what the other, currently minority, parties think.

Yet More League Tables?

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As if analysing and reporting on the main UK league tables (Complete University Guide, Guardian Guide and Times/Sunday Times Good University Guide) wasn’t enough, then there are plenty of other to keep policy wonks busy in the winter months.

First out this month is the People and Planet University League. This is most notable this year for two things: firstly the methodology and level of detail have changed from last year, and secondly, the refusal of a large numbers of universities to take part.

As reported in the Guardian

A number of universities seem to have become frustrated over time with the “green league”, which has also this year been renamed to remove the word “green” from the title. Concerns centred on the time involved in collating the information required, some criticisms of aspects of People & Planet’s methodology, and perceived goal-post changing.

Our own position appears to have fallen this year, no doubt in part to the changes in methodology and the kinds of data requested. The diagram below shows the relative rankings of million+ universities

greenleague 2014

The second ranking that is about to come out will be launched in February. Spiked Online, a website that promotes free speech, and also supports a campaign against the “no platform” policies of Students’ Unions, is launching the Free Speech University Rankings.

Before the Charlie Hebdo tragedy, #JeSuisCharlie and the inevitable post-Hebdo backslide into the illiberal status quo, free speech was already a flashpoint issue in UK universities. A combination of a creeping, risk-averse bureaucracy at the heart of university administrations and an openly censorious culture in students’ unions devastated freedom on campus. It undermined the traditional role of the academy as a space in which students and academics could think the unthinkable and say the unsayable…….In February, spiked is launching the Free Speech University Rankings (FSUR), the UK’s first ranking of universities according to their commitment to freedom of speech. Researched and developed in partnership with students across Britain, it’s a nationwide study that will provide students and academics with the weight of evidence they so badly need to take their censorious institutions to task

In light of the discussions taking pace across universities on the approach we should take to free speech on campus, then this looks like an interesting addition to the debate. At a time when individual staff feel that certain topics may be considered “unsafe” to discuss, and when the proposed new powers in the Counter-Terrorism and Security Bill put a duty on specified public authorities, including universities, to “have due regard, in the exercise of its functions, to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism”, then a robust understanding of freedom of speech and expression becomes central to the role of a university.

UCAS 2014 Data Release

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UCAS have now released their analysis of the 2014 entry and acceptance cycle. A detailed report is available at the UCAS website.

The key points that come out are:

  • For the first time over half a million people placed in higher education through UCAS
  • More acceptances from both within and outside the UK
  • Acceptance increase for all age groups, 25 and over by 9 per cent to a new high of 52,300
  • Largest increases in 2014 are for English acceptances and to English providers
  • 18 year olds living in England and Wales more likely than ever to enter Higher Education
  • 18 year olds more likely than ever to enter higher education holding BTEC qualifications
  • Over 40 per cent of young people in England enter higher education by age 19
  • Entry rates increase for all ethnic groups in 2014 but large differences remain between groups
  • Young women a third more likely to enter higher education than young men
  • Entry rates for disadvantaged jump by over 10 per cent to highest ever levels across the UK
  • Differences in entry rates between advantaged and disadvantaged fall to a new low
  • Recruitment to 2014-15 increases to all provider types, higher tariff providers at record levels

Although the picture overall seems one of good news, within the overall statistics are some significant variances.

When looking at the “winners and losers” in terms of acceptances, then there is quite an amount of movement in the market. Providers other than universities have seen some hinge rises in acceptances and equally other non-university providers have seen huge falls. Within the more traditional university sector there are also gains and losses – the chart below shows the percentage change in acceptances from 2013-14 to 2014-15. It is difficult to discern a clear trend here, but factors that have already had an effect was the impact of unlimited recruitment to ABB+ applicants – some high tariff universities have chosen to grow their undergraduate numbers. The forthcoming year will be more interesting again – removal of any student number controls will mean a variety of different behaviours. Some universities may choose to grow no further, and to maintain their position of enrolling high tariff students who will benefit them in league tables. Further down the pecking order though, competition may become tougher as middle ranking universities seek to grow through student numbers.

ucas2014 2

 

In addition, UCAS have published two analysis notes.

The first of these indicates the rise in applicants and students accepted onto places who hold Btec qualifications.The second shows the gender difference between subject disciplines.

Firstly on entry qualification – if on a given course or module, there is an increased number, or indeed majority, of students holding Btec qualifications, are we ensuring that our learning and teaching strategies, and in particular types of assessment, are designed to ensure that these students can succeed. The educational experiences of a Btec entrant will be different from those of an A-level entrant, and so the question must be asked – have our courses been designed with their experiences in mind? In addition, is the institution able to provide detail (ideally at module level) to teaching staff in advance of beginning of teaching, on the typical previous educational experience and success of new entrants There is a possible role in the future for using data analytics for predictive purposes, but in the first instance, some simple information about the cohort would suffice.

Secondly, on gender difference, it appears that there is still a polarisation between certain subjects and despite the need for more engineers in the county, and all the work though Athena Swan and other initiatives, that certain disciplines are still male dominated. Equally Education appears to be female dominated, which again has long terms implications for the diversity of teaching in our schools.

UCAS 2014 1

(From https://www.ucas.com/sites/default/files/analysis_note_2015_01.pdf)

ISMO Conference

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The International Studies of Management and Organisations Conference took place at Greenwich University on 8-9th December 2014, and here are my notes of particular points of interest.

The keynote speaker was Andrew McGettigan (author of “The Great University Gamble”) who spoke on “Third stream mission and beyond –  activities in the new market domain”

Andrew talked about the new bundles of contracts that universities are now working with, suggesting that an old understanding of HE will not aggregate to new models.  Universities were traditionally associated with knowledge and learning, but their mission may be growing beyond that now and so the previous mission may be seen to be less relevant

He proposed that universities have a greater role in “place making” culture. Universities’’ engagement in municipalisation sees them potentially taking over provision that was previously provided by local government. This will inevitable have an Impact on university business plans and  lead to the rise of the civic university.

He suggested that across the political parties there was a growing policy consensus on devolution, with commitment to more local decision making. This will have an impact on tertiary education, and ideas such as this will have informed the recent RSA Cities Growth Commission reports. It was clear that these kinds of ideas were now being taken up by treasury eg the recent announcement of the Northern Powerhouse.

Andrew also reminded us that Greg Clarke is now Minister for Cities and Universities and that we should take note of that explicit linkage. The idea now is that the growing knowledge economy is about the regions not just limited to  London and is not about financial services

He proposed that in future universities will rely on a broader definition than that usually used for 3rd stream income (eg knowledge transfer), but in getting value from buildings and other assets and we can expect other sources of income to increase eg catering and other services that might be provided to cities.

Universities could be expected to become one stop shops for advice not just knowledge transfer. They may become a  replacement of local authority and local provision, for example after the closure of libraries sports centres. There are already plenty of examples of university activity in these spheres already, for instance the bus companies at Herts and Brookes, Cambridge housing association for staff as well as students.  Northampton University’s regeneration plans in the city were cited as they have led  to the Treasury underwriting a major bond issue. Although this increase in third stream activity is so far still piecemeal, there is a one notable change which is in education, through the sponsorship of academies, free schools UTCs etc.

One of the outcomes of universities diversifying in this way is their increased access to private investment and then borrowing increasingly. There has been an increase in debt to income ratio from 20% to 30% although we cannot yet assess what ratio would mean universities become unsustainable.

A major question for universities diversifying in this way however is that of democracy. So far we have not considered any democratic deficit in universities as they have not been as concerned with local or civic affairs However, as they become more involved in local services then questions are more likely to be asked. Are they well run? Are they democratic? If not, how can or should they contribute to local economy? Further expansion of a university into local functions should need a review of their governance (see review of governance in Scotland by Ferdinand von Prondzynski) so that they become more accountable. Governance should  be open to public and journalists with places on the board to be advertised and for there to be staff and student representations.

In conclusion, Andrew McGettigan expected that we will see policy announcements will be about cities and universities which will have implications for civic participation.

 

Another speaker of note was Simon Brown who talked about ERDF and NW enterprise.

  • Key was getting to the students- needs to be all the time not just GEW.
  • Differs between unis – those Unis which are research rich can get to students through societies as students are there all the time
  • Unis that are more vocational did it through curriculum, need to get through tutors etc
  • Getting the message across to students is a challenge for everybody
  • Getting message to tutors is also a challenge- do they see it as a changing role?
  • Universities going through seismic changes Previously tenure position based on your body of knowledge that you transferred to students. Not any more.
  • Enterprise and entrepreneurship aligned to employability. Employability no longer just in careers Not just the domain of business schools!
  • Staff need to be educated to help them as they got to where they are by knowing “stuff”
  • Don’t just get a degree in business, get a degree for business.

Overall, a conference well worth attending – my own paper was well received – but the most interesting comments were from Andrew McGettigan and leave me asking – do we relaise how much power might be transferred to unelected bodies? But also – what a great opportunity for a university to really drive civic regeneration!

Student Consumers

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This week I gave a presentation at the ISMO conference at Greenwich University which was based in part on a previous blog article which questioned how we needed to treat degree courses still as transformational, when students are increasingly expected to be consumerist in their approaches.

The slides are here:

After a look at Newman and then Collini, I started with the work of O’Byrne and Bond (Darren O’Byrne and Christopher Bond (2014): Back to the future: the idea of a university revisited, Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 2014, Vol. 36, No. 6, 571–584) who considered three paradigms that operate in HE – the academic, managerial and consumerist.

Slide9

I then considered ow we could use a new pedagogy, appropriate use of technology, a subverted interpretation of graduate attributes and a rethinking of leadership to provide a way of satisfying the challenges arsing from the three paradigms.

Slide25

The neoliberal, capitalist view of HE is not going to go away any time soon. Universities will still continue to recruit students who try to measure them on simple metrics such as student experience and employment 6 months after graduation. However, universities do themselves a disservice if they choose to respond to student demands in such a simplistic way.

Through the appropriate use of pedagogy, through implementation of the right technology solutions, through a revised approach to expressing the nature of graduate attributes, and through having university leadership models that enable greater participation in decision making and engagement, we will be able to show that higher education is more than a passport to employment and is still transformational.

Poor value in higher education?

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A new report out today by Which? looks at “A degree of value: value for money from the student perspective”, and suggest that a degree offer poor value.

From the Which? website:

One fifth of the graduates surveyed by Which? said their university experience was poor value for money.

In a separate survey of current students, one in ten said their tuition fees had increased part way through their course – a third of whom felt this was unfair.

The top reasons students cited poor value for money were inconsistent teaching quality, not enough support to find a good job and too few contact hours.

Too many cancelled sessions and poor timetabling were also cited as reasons for perceptions of poor value. A third of respondents said they’d be unlikely to go to university now faced with higher fees.

In addition, students were unhappy with their experience: “only half of students said the amount of work they had to do was demanding, with just four in ten saying the content of the work was stretching.Less than half said that seminars were generally worth attending and 26% said you can get away with doing little private study and still get good marks.”

This doesn’t fully tally with what we see in the NSS where overall student satisfaction increases year n year. However that is not to say that we should be oblivious to these comments.

Disappointingly, Which? perpetuate the story that a degree course is something that you buy, and that will lead you into a job, when we should help our students to recognise that HE is more than this simple transaction. hopefully many of our students are savvy enough to realise that the experience they gain over 3 or 4 years is much more transformational.

In conclusion, the Which? report calls for:

Following the investigation, Which? has questioned whether the higher education market is delivering for student and is calling for reform of the sector.

Which? wants to see improved information and advice, with government requiring universities to provide better information, improved consumer protection and minimum standards for complaints handling.

In addition Which? is calling for improved regulation that focuses more heavily on standards to ensure the market works in the best interests of students

No indication is given of how the sector should be reformed – and it has actually changed an awful lot in the last few years. Universities are already providing significantly more information on outcomes through KIS, league tables etc, but little effort is made to ensure that student become discerning consumers of information. Finally, what further regulation is needed and what “standards” are we talking about here? Either we operate in a market or we don’t – I thought the whole principle behind the Browne report was that with higher fees and increased information that students would be able to dictate the success of institutions?

Overall, not a very edifying piece of work. While no one would argue that students should be provided with good information, that they should expect certain levels of service and that they should be able to access efficient systems for redress of complaints, the argument that reform and regulation is needed is not well articulated,

However, they may be some things that we could do differently to challenge some of the issues raised:

  • minimise cancellation of classes
  • clearly to articulate all the student led study to be carried out – eg if there is a reading week, we should tell students how to use the time effectively, and describe exactly what they need to work on in that week. For a normal module, show exactly what we expect students to do on a weekly basis in their own time, rather than just “read around the subject”
  • show how a degree course can be transformational through reflection in personal portfolios or mapping of graduate attributes