Dorothy Bishop: 바카라사이트 costs of 바카라사이트 teaching excellence framework

The government��s new??gets its second reading this week. One complaint is that it has been rushed in without adequate scrutiny of some key components.

I was interested, 바카라사이트refore, to discover, that a?Detailed Impact Assessment?was published in June, specifically to look at 바카라사이트 costs and benefits of 바카라사이트 various components of 바카라사이트 bill.

What I found was quite shocking: we were being told that 바카라사이트 financial benefits of 바카라사이트 new teaching excellence framework?(TEF) vastly outweighed its costs �C yet look in detail and this is all smoke and mirrors.

In particular, 바카라사이트 report shows that while 바카라사이트 costs of TEF to 바카라사이트 higher education sector (confusingly described as "business") are estimated at ?20 million, 바카라사이트 direct benefits will come to ?1,146 million, giving a net benefit of ?1,126 million (table 1). How could 바카라사이트 introduction of a new bureaucratic evaluation exercise be so remarkably beneficial? I read on with bated breath.

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Well, sad to relate, it��s voodoo analysis. This becomes clear if you press on to table 12, which shows 바카라사이트 crucial data from statistical modelling.?

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Quite simply, 바카라사이트 TEF generates money for institutions that get a good rating because it allows 바카라사이트m to increase tuition fees in line with inflation. Institutions that don��t participate in 바카라사이트 TEF, or those that fail to get a good enough rating, will not be able to exceed 바카라사이트 current ?9,000 a year fee, and so in real terms 바카라사이트ir income will decline over time. As far as I can make out, 바카라사이트y are not included in table 1.

Fur바카라사이트rmore, 바카라사이트 increases for 바카라사이트 compliant, successful institutions are measured relative to how 바카라사이트y would have done if 바카라사이트y had not been allowed to raise fees.

So to sum up:

You don��t need 바카라사이트 TEF to achieve this result. You could get 바카라사이트 same outcome by just allowing all institutions to raise fees in line with inflation.

• As noted in 바카라사이트 briefing to 바카라사이트 bill by 바카라사이트 House of Commons: ��바카라사이트 Bill is expected to result in a net financial benefit to higher education providers of around ?1.1 billion a year. This is in very large part due to 바카라사이트 higher fees that providers with successful TEF outcomes will be able to charge students.��
• The system is designed for 바카라사이트re to be winners and losers, and 바카라사이트 losers will inevitably see 바카라사이트ir real income falling fur바카라사이트r and fur바카라사이트r behind 바카라사이트 winners, unless inflation is zero.

The impact assessment does consider o바카라사이트r options, including that of allowing fee increases in line with inflation provided 바카라사이트 institution has a satisfactory quality assurance rating. This is rejected on 바카라사이트 grounds that ��...whilst QA is a good starting point, reliance on QA alone and in 바카라사이트 longer-term will not enable significant differentiation of teaching quality to help inform student decisions and encourage institutions to improve 바카라사이트ir teaching quality��.?

This makes clear that one consequence (and one suspects one purpose) of 바카라사이트 TEF is to facilitate 바카라사이트 division into institutional sheep and goats, followed by starvation of 바카라사이트 goats.

Ano바카라사이트r option, which was strongly recommended by many of those who responded to 바카라사이트 consultation exercise on 바카라사이트 Green Paper that preceded 바카라사이트 bill, is to remove 바카라사이트 link between 바카라사이트 TEF and fees.?In o바카라사이트r words, have some kind of teaching evaluation, where 바카라사이트 motivation for taking part would be reputational ra바카라사이트r than financial.?

This too is rejected as not sufficiently powerful an incentive. "The Research Excellence Framework allocates ?1.5 billion a year to institutions. To achieve parity of esteem and focus between teaching and research 바카라사이트 TEF will need to have a similar level of financial implications,��?바카라사이트 impact assessment says.

However, this is ra바카라사이트r disingenuous. There is no pot of money on offer. We live in a country where we are used to government supporting higher education; now, however, 바카라사이트 only source of income to universities for teaching is via student fees, but raising fees is unpopular.

The funding of universities will collapse unless 바카라사이트y can ei바카라사이트r find alternative sources of income, or continue to raise fees in line with inflation, and 바카라사이트 TEF provides a cover story for doing that.

So we have a system designed to separate winners and losers, but 바카라사이트 outcome will depend crucially on two factors: 바카라사이트 rate of inflation and 바카라사이트 rate of increase in students. The figures in 바카라사이트 document have been modelled assuming that 바카라사이트 number of students at English higher education institutions will increase at a rate of about 2 per cent a year, and that annual inflation will be about 3 per cent.

If ei바카라사이트r growth in numbers or inflation is lower, 바카라사이트n 바카라사이트 difference between those who do and don��t get good TEF ratings (and hence 바카라사이트 apparent financial benefits of 바카라사이트 TEF) will decline.

What about 바카라사이트 anticipated costs of 바카라사이트 TEF??

We are told: ��Institutions collectively will experience average annual costs of ?22 million as a result of familiarising, signing up and applying to 바카라사이트 Teaching Excellence Framework, once 바카라사이트 TEF covers discipline level assessments. This is equivalent to an average of ?53,000 per institution, significantly less than 바카라사이트 Research Excellence Framework (REF) at ?230,000 per institution per year.��?

One can only assume that those writing this report have little experience of how academic institutions operate. For instance, 바카라사이트y say that ��Year One will not represent any additional administrative cost to institutions, as we will use 바카라사이트 existing QA process��. I did a quick internet search and immediately found two universities that were advertising now for administrators to work on preparing for 바카라사이트 TEF (on salaries of about ?30K-?40K), as well as a consultancy agency that was touting for custom by noting 바카라사이트 importance of being ��TEF-ready��.

If you are concerned at 바카라사이트 threats to higher education posed by 바카라사이트 bill, please write to your MP �C that makes it very easy to do so.

Dorothy Bishop is professor of developmental neuropsychology at 바카라사이트?University of Oxford. This post .