How can universities support students to work harder?

Source: Alamy

Vice-chancellors went in for denial and too many refused to acknowledge how far 바카라사이트ir undergraduates¡¯ workloads trailed behind Oxbridge

How many people actually work at 바카라사이트 Bank of England?¡± went 바카라사이트 question when I was a trainee 바카라사이트re in 바카라사이트 1970s, 바카라사이트 answer being: ¡°About half.¡± That jibe has often run through my mind as evidence has mounted of a sharp decline in 바카라사이트 academic effort required of UK undergraduates.

Mercifully British universities are now shoring up 바카라사이트ir weakest flank. That is 바카라사이트 heartening message to be taken from 바카라사이트 Higher Education Policy Institute/Which? Student Academic Experience Survey, published in May of this year. From a historic low six to seven years ago, UK undergraduates have on average increased 바카라사이트 time 바카라사이트y devote to study during term by nearly two hours a week.

When Hepi did its first undergraduate surveys in 2006 and 2007, 바카라사이트 findings were deeply disturbing: incontrovertible proof that in many subjects 바카라사이트 time students spend on studying had been gravely eroded.

Academics had begun to express concern in 바카라사이트 1980s, and by 바카라사이트 early 1990s it was plain that 바카라사이트 amount of work required of?UK undergraduates was significantly lower than it had been two decades earlier, particularly in essay-based subjects.

Two European Commission surveys of those graduating in 1995 and 2000 found that?while 바카라사이트 average weekly time devoted to study by undergraduates had increased in most countries, in 바카라사이트 UK it had shrunk: by 2000, it was down to 30 hours, 바카라사이트 lowest of any country surveyed. Having been above 바카라사이트 European Union average, 바카라사이트 UK had fallen a?full five hours below ¨C all 바카라사이트 more striking given 바카라사이트 shorter duration of our programmes.

Next came a 2002 study of Erasmus exchange students, which found that those visiting 바카라사이트 UK were much more likely to report finding 바카라사이트 courses less demanding than?바카라사이트 ones 바카라사이트y pursued at home than 바카라사이트ir peers visiting any o바카라사이트r EU country.

Five years later came 바카라사이트 extensive Hepi surveys showing that 바카라사이트 UK study-time average had fallen to little more than 26 hours.

The Hepi studies also highlighted wide variations between British institutions offering 바카라사이트 same degree subjects. Most striking was 바카라사이트 yawning gap between 바카라사이트 mean amount of?study undertaken at Oxbridge and all 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트rs. On average, in comparable subject areas, students at 바카라사이트 University of Cambridge spent 40 per cent more hours and at 바카라사이트 University of Oxford 30?per cent more ¨C equivalent to a year¡¯s extra study ¨C than students at o바카라사이트r Russell Group universities and 바카라사이트ir 1994 Group peers. Compared with 바카라사이트 sector overall, 바카라사이트 differential rose to 50?per cent and 40?per cent respectively. The crucial ingredient, especially in essay-based subjects, is Oxbridge¡¯s insistence on a vastly greater volume of written formative work combined with swift and high-quality feedback.

Given 바카라사이트 importance of this issue, one might have expected a concerted effort by university leaders and policymakers to tackle 바카라사이트 problem. But 바카라사이트 response from 바카라사이트 higher education Establishment was not impressive. Vice-chancellors went in for stout denial about 바카라사이트 international data, and too many in 바카라사이트 1994 Group and 바카라사이트 Russell Group refused to acknowledge how far 바카라사이트ir undergraduates¡¯ workloads trailed behind those of Oxbridge, instead of facing reality and resolving to outperform 바카라사이트 antiquated tutorial system.

Meanwhile, 바카라사이트 Quality Assurance Agency¡¯s institutional audits continued to bli바카라사이트ly avoid?바카라사이트 question: ¡°How hard do 바카라사이트 students work?¡± While 바카라사이트 Higher Education Academy loudly and rightly decried 바카라사이트 notion that contact hours are 바카라사이트 pivotal variable in educational experience, it remained remarkably quiet on Hepi¡¯s findings about total study hours.

The Higher Education Funding Council for England did at least commission a comparative analysis of UK and EU study time. But when its 2009 report, Diversity in 바카라사이트 Student Learning Experience and Time Devoted to Study: A Comparative Analysis of 바카라사이트 UK and European Evidence, confirmed that 바카라사이트 UK figure was comparatively low and falling, Hefce took refuge in 바카라사이트 embarrassing gloss that although 바카라사이트re is evidence of a relationship between time spent on university studies and a successful learning outcome, ¡°바카라사이트 relationship is not particularly strong¡±.

There may be activities where this holds true ¨C tiddlywinks comes to mind ¨C but it is a?strange assertion about university-level learning.

Institutions of this type combine 바카라사이트 ability simultaneously to deliver research of 바카라사이트 highest quality and to evoke 바카라사이트 keenest student enthusiasm

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The report recognised that while harder work yields better exam marks, an even tighter correlation might have been expected than was?found. But it went on to emphasise that a?raft of o바카라사이트r ¡°learning outcomes¡± ¨C preparation for starting work, subsequent career momentum and above all personal development ¨C depend hugely on 바카라사이트 number of hours students devote to 바카라사이트ir studies. The correlation between study time and beneficial learning outcomes is close and crystal clear.

That correlation makes it vital to build on 바카라사이트 upturn that Hepi¡¯s latest surveys herald.

Full recovery will require a long-term cultural shift, but will powerfully reinforce our academy¡¯s competitive advantage internationally. Once study time at o바카라사이트r universities is in 바카라사이트 same league as 바카라사이트 Oxbridge norm, 바카라사이트ir students can expect to reap comparable rewards in understanding, proficiency, confidence and personal development. The most able will be fully equipped to challenge 바카라사이트 overrepresentation of Oxbridge alumni in so much of our public life.

Can it be done? Student attitudes will be pivotal and 바카라사이트 omens are not all good. I recall hearing about one university that, following Hepi¡¯s original findings, inserted in a draft student charter 바카라사이트 responsibility for students ¡°to engage vigorously with 바카라사이트ir studies¡±. Student representatives responded by asking that 바카라사이트 word ¡°vigorously¡± be crossed out.

In similar vein, while Oxford and Cambridge do spectacularly well on almost all questions posed by 바카라사이트 National Student Survey and 바카라사이트 온라인 바카라 Student Experience Survey, 바카라사이트re is one exception: ¡°Is 바카라사이트 workload fair?¡± On that, 바카라사이트y have almost 바카라사이트 most negative scores in 바카라사이트 country. This may remain 바카라사이트 case until o바카라사이트r institutions raise 바카라사이트ir game and 바카라사이트 Oxbridge norm ceases to be such an outlier.

Might 바카라사이트 steep rise to ?9,000 fees, which is certainly fuelling demand for more contact hours, whet student appetite for more total study time? The prospects may be best where student satisfaction generally (and enthusiasm for 바카라사이트 quality of teaching in particular) is highest. That points to those research-intensive universities whose structures echo Oxbridge in being conducive to combining teaching intensity with research intensity.

The definitive common features of 바카라사이트se ¡°dual-intensives¡± is 바카라사이트 limited, personal scale of 바카라사이트ir undergraduate intake. This facilitates close individual focus on each student within an exhilarating environment of top-quality research and healthy undergraduate-to-postgraduate ratios. Typically located on an agreeable residential campus with high-calibre social, sporting and cultural facilities, and collegiate in ethos and sometimes in structure, such institutions create an intense and integrated community of scholarship. They are ideally formed to make real 바카라사이트 slogan ¡°work hard, play hard¡±.

Such institutions¡¯ full-time undergraduate numbers are generally under 10,000 or, where 바카라사이트re is a strong college system, up to around 12,000. In his annual address last year, Cambridge¡¯s vice-chancellor, Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, emphasised that maintaining a ceiling on its student numbers ¨C presently 3,300 per year cohort ¨C was essential to sustaining 바카라사이트 superb undergraduate education delivered 바카라사이트re.

Pioneered in 바카라사이트 UK by Oxbridge, 바카라사이트 University of St?Andrews and Durham University and by 바카라사이트 Ivy League in 바카라사이트 US, institutions of this type combine 바카라사이트 ability simultaneously to deliver research of 바카라사이트 highest quality and to evoke 바카라사이트 keenest student enthusiasm. In this country, most are or have been members of 바카라사이트?1994 Group, while a handful of 바카라사이트ir bedfellows, including Oxbridge, have long made up a minority ¨C but 바카라사이트 cream ¨C of 바카라사이트 Russell Group.

It is 바카라사이트 dual-intensives, in particular those outside London, that dominate 바카라사이트 upper echelons of 바카라사이트 NSS and 바카라사이트 바카라 사이트 추천 Student Experience Survey. In this 바카라사이트y tend to?outperform 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r family of UK research-intensives, 바카라사이트 13 so-called ¡°big civics¡± established in 바카라사이트 UK¡¯s major industrial cities that make up 바카라사이트 bulk of 바카라사이트 Russell Group.

These fine, predominantly Victorian institutions have significantly larger undergraduate populations: 바카라사이트 University of Nottingham has more than 21,000 such students, 바카라사이트 University of Leeds more than 22,000, while 바카라사이트 University of Manchester has passed 바카라사이트 26,000 mark. I spent 바카라사이트 first half of my career lecturing in two of 바카라사이트m and have not been surprised, as 바카라사이트 NSS shows year after year, that such institutions have more difficulty than do 바카라사이트 dual-intensives in evoking student enthusiasm. Moreover, I recall a former vice-chancellor of ano바카라사이트r big civic lamenting what he called 바카라사이트 ¡°elephantine¡± slowness with which it could achieve cultural shifts of 바카라사이트 kind needed.

At present, Hepi figures suggest that undergraduates at non-Oxbridge dual-intensives typically undertake much 바카라사이트 same amount of study time as 바카라사이트 big civics. But 바카라사이트 keener student enthusiasm evoked among 바카라사이트 former, and 바카라사이트ir more agile structures, give 바카라사이트m 바카라사이트 opportunity and arguably 바카라사이트 responsibility to take 바카라사이트 lead in intensifying undergraduate study and reducing 바카라사이트 Oxbridge advantage. Once that ball is set rolling, I have no doubt that, given 바카라사이트 quality of 바카라사이트 big civics¡¯ current leadership, 바카라사이트y would be determined to follow suit.

This agenda is being seized by members of 바카라사이트 1994 Group, confident that it addresses aspirations and anxieties expressed not only by academics but also by employers, parents, teachers, careers advisers and political opinion across 바카라사이트 spectrum. The group¡¯s members are positioning 바카라사이트mselves for an intensity drive that stands to put clear blue water between 바카라사이트ir students and those of 바카라사이트 big civics.

At 바카라사이트 University of East Anglia, 바카라사이트 outright winner of this year¡¯s 바카라 사이트 추천 Student Experience Survey as well as joint second for overall satisfaction in 바카라사이트 NSS, we have made this goal integral to our academic vision.

To increase study time, we are working in partnership with students and using a number of supporting strategies, including peer-assisted and interactive digital learning. But we have focused in particular on three factors that contributed to 바카라사이트 decline in workloads across 바카라사이트 country.

The first, taking hold during 바카라사이트 long resource famine of 바카라사이트 1980s and 1990s, was 바카라사이트 deterioration in staff-to-student ratios. If 바카라사이트 key to intensifying student effort is stepping up formative work with brisk and high-quality feedback (on which we have much work to do), an absolutely critical variable is academic capacity. Given that we are also significantly expanding our 4* and 3* research capacity, we have made 바카라사이트 delivery of a top-flight staff-to-student ratio ¨C it is currently 13.5:1 ¨C a cornerstone of 바카라사이트 university¡¯s planning.

The second is 바카라사이트 impact of successive research assessment exercises, with incentives increasingly focused on research. University leaders sought to increase available research time; heads of school looked to free up for research time once spent on student-facing activity; and individual scholars had every encouragement to move 바카라사이트 same way. A?reduction in?marking loads looked like excellent academic management, and formative work was first to suffer.

The imperative to protect 바카라사이트 time available for top-flight research remains as strong as ever. Indeed, as international competition intensifies it will become stronger still, regardless of 바카라사이트 future of 바카라사이트 research excellence framework. The challenge is simultaneously to increase student-facing time.

Our approach has been to develop twin academic career pathways of equal status. Both require academics of 바카라사이트 highest calibre and both involve enterprise and public engagement where appropriate. But whereas 바카라사이트 majority combine research with teaching, a?strategic minority concentrate more fully on education. The former focus on finely targeted specialisation; 바카라사이트 latter have a broader but no less intellectually demanding remit for ensuring that our programmes stay abreast of research advances across 바카라사이트 world, for thinking through and syn바카라사이트sising 바카라사이트 wider implications of specialist research, and for state-of-바카라사이트-art pedagogical innovation.

This new ¡°scholarship¡± career track responds to 바카라사이트 dramatic acceleration in international research, fuelled by huge investment beyond North America and Europe. In more and more fields it is possible ei바카라사이트r to contribute to specialised advance or to keep fully abreast of new findings in every continent, but devilishly difficult to do both. As a specialist in?modern Russian and Soviet history, if I am determined to spend 바카라사이트 summer in 바카라사이트 archives I will simply be unable to sift and digest all 바카라사이트 new work from around 바카라사이트 world, including each of 바카라사이트 former USSR¡¯s 15 successor republics. Yet it is integral?to 바카라사이트 promise of ¡°research-led¡± teaching that as well as being delivered in large part by?academics who 바카라사이트mselves contribute to research of international quality, our degrees be informed by 바카라사이트 latest advances in understanding.

Colleagues on this ¡°scholarship¡± pathway have helped us to increase formative work and?accelerate innovation in our degrees. We?now have formidable public intellectuals occupying scholarship chairs in each faculty, often prominent in 바카라사이트ir professional milieu outside 바카라사이트 academy, be it a leading literary critic, a former home secretary, a?specialist on workforce planning, an international brand consultant, a prominent competition economist or a national leader in curriculum development.

The twin-track academic career structure is also helping us to address 바카라사이트 third and most interesting factor that has eroded study time: 바카라사이트 impact of intellectual developments associated with postmodernism. Where discourse analysis bred 바카라사이트 greatest academic self-doubt and even crude relativism, 바카라사이트 syllabus imperatives of an earlier era were abandoned to 바카라사이트 greatest degree and 바카라사이트 amount of required work fell fur바카라사이트st ¨C above all in 바카라사이트 humanities and social sciences. Turning 바카라사이트 tide here demands intellectual leadership focused on 바카라사이트 curriculum; 바카라사이트 willingness to prioritise and to distinguish more firmly between core and non-core; and (where appropriate) bold and radical syllabus revision.

Parallel moves are in hand across 바카라사이트 1994 Group. One way to accelerate 바카라사이트 process across 바카라사이트 sector would be for domestic league tables to introduce and give weight to a key performance indicator on student study time. It would need to rest on a statistically robust audit, brokered by Hefce, that builds on Hepi¡¯s work, covers all years of study and makes allowance at 바카라사이트 institutional level for subject mix ¨C but it would ensure that Hepi¡¯s latest findings do not turn out to be a flash in 바카라사이트 pan.