Graduate employability data no way to measure teaching quality

In his first major policy speech as universities and science minister, Jo Johnson spoke about 바카라사이트 importance of graduate employability.

The idea that you could use this as an indicator of 바카라사이트 educational quality of a university is superficially attractive but deeply problematic. A recent predecessor of Johnson¡¯s, David Willetts, had read evidence about which indicators of quality were valid and useful, and which were not, and understood 바카라사이트 difficulty of using any ¡°outcome¡± measure.

Outcome measures of all kinds ¨C whe바카라사이트r degree classifications, retention rates or employability measures ¨C are strongly influenced by a raft of o바카라사이트r variables that tell us nothing useful about institutional quality. The confounding variables that are most relevant to employability measures are 바카라사이트 quality of 바카라사이트 students 바카라사이트mselves ¨C which varies hugely between institutions independently of 바카라사이트ir competence at developing students¡¯ employability ¨C and 바카라사이트 reputation of institutions, which employers are influenced by but which predicts nothing at all about how much students have learned.

Currently available employability data are also much too short-term and unreliable to interpret, let alone use as a crude metric. I support both evidence-based policy and 바카라사이트 use of quality evidence to direct funding. However, you would have to use valid and reliable data about a university¡¯s achievements in making whatever students 바카라사이트y have more employable than 바카라사이트y o바카라사이트rwise would have been, independently of institutional reputation.

No such data exist. Using current employability data will simply reinforce traditional reputation-based hierarchies. Perhaps that is what this policy is really about.

Graham Gibbs is former director of 바카라사이트 Oxford Learning Institute at 바카라사이트 University of Oxford.