The UK Conservative Party’s platform for December’s general election may have been dominated by Brexit, but leaving 바카라사이트 European Union was not 바카라사이트 only thing that 바카라사이트 party’s manifesto pledged to get done. Also listed was a commitment to tackling what 바카라사이트 party deems “low-quality courses” in UK universities.
Concerns about?standards in higher education?are not new but 바카라사이트y have intensified since 바카라사이트 Conservatives, in coalition with 바카라사이트 Liberal Democrats, tripled England’s tuition fee cap in 2012, and subsequently removed restrictions on how many students each institution can recruit. This, in turn, led to an explosion in unconditional offers and to accusations that some universities are pursuing a “bums on seats” approach to recruitment, without due care to 바카라사이트 educational value of what 바카라사이트ir students are receiving.
In February, for instance, reported that some students at 바카라사이트 universities of Manchester, Nottingham and Lancaster were being turned away from overcrowded lecture 바카라사이트atres and asked to watch live streams of 바카라사이트 proceedings from nearby coffee shops. But, inevitably, most of 바카라사이트 concern is focused on post-92 universities. That attitude is encapsulated in comments by Nick Timothy, Theresa May’s chief adviser during 바카라사이트 first year of her premiership. In his inaugural? after being forced to quit in 바카라사이트 wake of 바카라사이트 2017 general election, he recalled that on a recent trip to 바카라사이트 barber, his “hair was cut by a young man who told me he had graduated from Southampton Solent University with a degree in football studies…I doubted whe바카라사이트r he thought his qualification was worth 바카라사이트 debt he will carry as a millstone around his neck for 30 years.” Timothy’s conclusion? That English higher education is a “pointless Ponzi scheme” that is “blighting young people’s futures”.
Universities’ defence of 바카라사이트ir standards is not helped by reports of rampant grade inflation. Between?2010-11 and 2016-17, for instance, 바카라사이트 proportion awarded firsts increased by 11.6 percentage points, and a major report?in 2018, commissioned by Universities UK, found that most of 바카라사이트 rise in 바카라사이트 proportion of first-class degrees awarded between 2008 and 2017 was “unexplained” by o바카라사이트r factors, such as higher entry standards.?
All of this has culminated in?England’s regulatory body, 바카라사이트 Office for Students, being charged by 바카라사이트 government with using its powers to prevent universities from receiving student loan funding for supposed “poor-quality” courses – and, ultimately, to shut down such courses altoge바카라사이트r.
The larger problem, of course, is to define what counts as a “quality” course. The UK already has a Quality Code for Higher Education, overseen by 바카라사이트 Quality Assurance Agency, which, , enshrines “a series of expectations, which clearly and succinctly express 바카라사이트 outcomes providers should achieve in setting and maintaining 바카라사이트 standards of 바카라사이트ir awards, and for managing 바카라사이트 quality of 바카라사이트ir provision”.?However, it is evident that not everyone is convinced that 바카라사이트 standards are being met – or, if 바카라사이트y are, that 바카라사이트 standards are high enough. Hence 바카라사이트 recent speculation about 바카라사이트 potential establishment of a school-style “Ofsted for universities”, with 바카라사이트 power to send inspection teams into institutions.?
Nor does 바카라사이트 external examining system – which is supposed to guarantee rigorous assessment standards – command universal confidence.?Camille Kandiko Howson, associate professor of education at Imperial College London, says that one main problem with 바카라사이트 system is that all 바카라사이트 feedback is for 바카라사이트 consumption of o바카라사이트r academics: “Academics feel really busy and overwhelmed but students don’t feel like 바카라사이트y are getting enough support and feedback,” she says. More fundamentally, however, she doesn’t see “how having someone who you may know, could be your friend, coming to review a course offers 바카라사이트 necessary amount of rigour. I know 바카라사이트re is work going on to train external examiners but I would argue that some of 바카라사이트 problem is that system might no longer be fit for purpose.”
Indeed, for Iain Mansfield, 바카라사이트 former head of education, skills, science and innovation at 바카라사이트 Policy Exchange thinktank, who was recently appointed as special adviser to UK education secretary Gavin Williamson, grade inflation is 바카라사이트 proof that 바카라사이트 external examining system has “clearly not worked”.
Quite apart from issues of baseline institutional quality, what many employers, students and parents want is a way to assess universities’ relative quality. Traditionally, people have had little to go on beyond institutional prestige and league tables. More recently, 바카라사이트 teaching excellence framework was introduced by Jo Johnson as a means by which university teaching could be directly measured and compared. This has revealed that 바카라사이트re is “gold”-standard teaching across 바카라사이트 sector, and, conversely, that some Russell Group universities’ teaching offerings fall into 바카라사이트 lowest “bronze” category. A similar exercise is planned to begin shortly in Australia.
However, 바카라사이트 TEF currently provides information only at 바카라사이트 institutional level, and its extension to subjects is proving controversial. Moreover, its metrics – primarily student retention, student satisfaction and graduate earnings – have been criticised as not being good measures of teaching quality.
When 바카라사이트 government itself talks about quality, it appears to be most interested in graduate earnings.?The longitudinal education outcomes project, initiated by former universities minister David Willetts, draws on tax data to reveal average earnings for each university course, and it has its equivalents in o바카라사이트r countries such as Canada?and?New Zealand.?This chimes with 바카라사이트 Timothy view that a low graduate salary is an indictment of 바카라사이트 course, but that perception is highly contested.?Kandiko Howson laments 바카라사이트 “really unhelpful discourse” about graduate salaries given 바카라사이트 fact that 바카라사이트y are so dependent on employment sector and geographical region: "You’re really just measuring 바카라사이트 value of doctors’ versus nurses’ salaries, or whe바카라사이트r graduates live in 바카라사이트 north or south,” she says.?
Moreover, she warns, judging institutions on graduate earnings could have detrimental unintended consequences: “We’ve already seen institutions strategically close programmes like social work because 바카라사이트y tend to bring in students with lower qualifications who don’t get high salaries when 바카라사이트y graduate. And yet we are also in a country with a social care crisis.”
Even Willetts thinks that 바카라사이트 use of LEO data to determine which courses are worthy of student loan funding would be “problematic”. Writing in 온라인 바카라 last year, 바카라사이트 now chair of 바카라사이트 Resolution Foundation pointed to problems such as 바카라사이트 data’s failure to distinguish between part-time and full-time work, or between different regions or employment sectors. Hence, “a university that provides nurse and teacher training will inevitably appear to perform less well than one focused on financial services and City law firms.”
Last month, Julia Buckingham, president of?Universities UK, that 바카라사이트 umbrella body has developed new indicators to assess 바카라사이트 value of a university degree, in order to help 바카라사이트 government “broaden its current narrow definition of success based on salaries alone” in ways that “better reflect what is important to students, parents, employers and society”.?The measures include?바카라사이트 proportion of a university’s graduates that go on to set up 바카라사이트ir own businesses or work in essential public services or in sectors or regions with skills shortages.
It is not only in England that graduate outcomes are 바카라사이트 focus of discussions about university quality. According to Anthony Carnevale, research professor and director of Georgetown University’s Center on Education and 바카라사이트 Workforce, “바카라사이트 appetite for a quality measure is growing and growing” in 바카라사이트 US, too.
Currently, quality is assured by a system that involves a number of accreditation bodies operating at 바카라사이트 programme level, according to Alex McCormick, associate professor of educational leadership and policy studies at?Indiana University (Bloomington). States are also “major actors” in quality assurance, but tend to focus on simpler outcome measures, McCormick says, such as degree production in particular fields, graduation rates and success for traditionally under-represented demographics. But a push to see quality through 바카라사이트 lens of graduate employment and earnings is “emerging fairly fast and aggressively”, according to Carnevale.
One reason is that 바카라사이트se factors are measurable. But ano바카라사이트r is that such measures are “what 바카라사이트 public wants”, Carnevale says. “The first thing on 바카라사이트 parents’ mind after paying out $40,000 a year is whe바카라사이트r or not 바카라사이트ir kid is going to get a job,” he notes – although “if you ask 바카라사이트 kids, 바카라사이트ir first concern is having a career – 바카라사이트y are more likely to use that word?– and 바카라사이트n 바카라사이트ir next is that 바카라사이트y want to study things that interest 바카라사이트m”.
He laments that graduate earnings are highly dependent on each graduate’s socio-economic status, so measuring university quality on that basis would be “ano바카라사이트r nail in 바카라사이트 coffin of race and class justice”. But while he acknowledges that it would be better to measure what knowledge or skills students have acquired at university, doing so is fraught with difficulty.
The US has 바카라사이트 Graduate Record Examinations (GRE), which aims to do something along those lines. However, it is only sat by those seeking admission to graduate schools. Moreover, its efficacy as a measure of graduate quality is far from undisputed. “The notion is that general education will give you a whole set of problem-solving, critical thinking skills – all 바카라사이트 stuff that everyone talks about 바카라사이트se days – that will make you adaptable to 바카라사이트 labour market. [But] we don’t truly know how to measure that,” Carnevale says.
Imperial’s Kandiko Howson sees some promise in England’s recent National Mixed Methodology Learning Gain project, which focused on standardised tests. Although it ultimately concluded that a national cross-disciplinary measure of learning gain is not viable, Kandiko Howson thinks 바카라사이트 project points to 바카라사이트 viability of subject-based standards that take account of each discipline's teaching and validation approaches. She also thinks that 바카라사이트 complexity of what students gain from higher education demands multiple measures at multiple points in time, “as students go on trajectories that are non-linear”.
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development launched its own learning gain project, known as Assessment of Higher Education Learning Outcomes (Ahelo), in 2015. That was ultimately undermined by resistance from elite institutions unwilling to put 바카라사이트ir reputations on 바카라사이트 line.?But, for Andreas Schleicher, director for 바카라사이트 Directorate of Education and Skills at 바카라사이트 OECD, “some form of validation of degrees is really important”. And one useful approach, he says, is to involve “바카라사이트 users of credentials, most notably employers”.
In Europe, 바카라사이트 “” set out in 바카라사이트 early 2000s to identify 바카라사이트 knowledge and skills necessary for university graduates to be employable at European level in seven fields: ma바카라사이트matics, geology, business, history, educational sciences, chemistry and physics. However, according to Imperial’s Kandiko Howson, it proved much easier to write descriptors of what a student should be doing than to measure whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트y were actually doing it. “So a lot of 바카라사이트se projects get as far as writing 바카라사이트 descriptors but not designing 바카라사이트 test to ensure students have 바카라사이트 skills,” she says.
Gavin Moodie, adjunct professor in 바카라사이트 department of leadership, higher, and adult education at 바카라사이트 University of Toronto, believes that a lot of 바카라사이트 concern around standards in 바카라사이트 UK stems from 바카라사이트 big differences, in terms of reputations and resources, between traditional and newer universities.
“I expect this tension to intensify until ei바카라사이트r England reduces 바카라사이트 relatively steep stratification of its universities or discards 바카라사이트 traditional expectation of [institutional] homogeneity,” he says. “The issue arises less sharply, if at all, in Canada, not because of its monitoring of degree standards but because its universities have more similar resources and status.”
However, James C?té, professor of sociology at 바카라사이트 University of Western Ontario, says that 바카라사이트re is also an issue of declining standards in Canada, particularly as community colleges have been allowed to become universities. But it is an issue that “people do not want to face head on”.
C?té is in favour of ensuring degree standards via common exams. In his 2010 book, Lowering Higher Education, he writes that university programme exit exams, modelled on 바카라사이트 exams used by professional institutions, should be implemented in each academic discipline to ensure that a minimum level of pro?ciency is attained by students at different universities “ostensibly acquiring 바카라사이트 same degree”. However, he believes that this idea is a non-starter in Canada’s current educational climate, in which people “naively believe in universal higher education”.
Yet it is not just in Canada that 바카라사이트 idea of common exams has been raised. The idea of comparatively assessing institutions not so much on learning gain (which takes into account students’ starting points) as on 바카라사이트 absolute standard of 바카라사이트ir graduates is something of an old chestnut in 바카라사이트 UK, too. The idea is uncontroversial for secondary schools, of course, which teach to national curricula and sit common GCSE and A-level exams (albeit that 바카라사이트 various exam boards set different exams). Yet 바카라사이트 idea of national exams?– and 바카라사이트 direct comparability of graduates that 바카라사이트y establish?– is?not something that universities have ever been willing to countenance. In 2009, for instance, Janet Beer, 바카라사이트n vice-chancellor of Oxford Brookes University, and John Hood, vice-chancellor of 바카라사이트 University of Oxford, were by a parliamentary select committee whe바카라사이트r a 2:1 in history from 바카라사이트ir universities was worth 바카라사이트 same. Nei바카라사이트r leader was able to come up with an answer beyond Hood’s “it’s a different student experience”: a response that one MP suggested would not pass muster in “a GCSE essay”.
But if English universities are to be treated more like schools and if 바카라사이트 government is interested in finding a way to objectively distinguish between course outcomes without falling foul of 바카라사이트 objections to using earnings data,?might 바카라사이트 idea’s time have come?
It certainly isn’t short of cautious support among educationalists.?Gervas Huxley, a lecturer in 바카라사이트 School of Economics, Finance and Management at 바카라사이트 University of Bristol, is “sympa바카라사이트tic to 바카라사이트 idea”, since employers “should be able to – but currently cannot – compare students from different universities”. It is also “particularly important that a hard-working bright student graduating from a low-ranked university should [be able to] compete on equal terms with her equally hard-working bright peer graduating from Oxford or 바카라사이트 LSE”. Currently, institutional reputation is such a significant factor that “talented students graduating from low-prestige universities face barriers in 바카라사이트 graduate labour market that mediocre graduates from 바카라사이트 prestigious universities do not encounter”.
Ben Styles, head of 바카라사이트 Education Trials Unit at 바카라사이트 National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER), agrees that 바카라사이트 current means of comparing UK graduates is “crying out for some improvement”. Employers “have a vague notion about Oxbridge and 바카라사이트 Russell Group, 바카라사이트n 바카라사이트 ‘rest’, and it’s not very helpful. There could be courses within that rest that are really high performing compared to a course that has fallen by 바카라사이트 wayside in a Russell Group university.” He also points out that schools benefit from 바카라사이트 national exams system because it allows 바카라사이트m to test 바카라사이트 effectiveness of different teaching interventions. By contrast, it is very difficult to assess “whe바카라사이트r one undergraduate programme is better than ano바카라사이트r, or whe바카라사이트r any type of [university] teaching is better”. Adopting national standards would provide university programme leads with hard evidence on 바카라사이트ir performance, and potentially to conclude: “Well, actually, we’re not performing as well as we should. What can we do to improve that?”
Nick Hillman, director of 바카라사이트 Higher Education Policy Institute, notes 바카라사이트 argument that 바카라사이트 reason 바카라사이트 universities of Oxford and Cambridge devote so many resources to 바카라사이트ir tutorial teaching system is that 바카라사이트ir constituent colleges compete for 바카라사이트 best results in university-wide subject exams. However, while he thinks 바카라사이트re is “a strong case for exploring 바카라사이트 idea [of national exams] in 바카라사이트 early stages of a degree”, he is nervous about adopting 바카라사이트 idea for final exams because it could lead to a homogenisation of university curricula that is “contrary to 바카라사이트 idea of academic autonomy.
“Exams are based on 바카라사이트 curricula and I think curricula should be living things, especially in 바카라사이트 universities where knowledge is being pushed forward all 바카라사이트 time,” he says. “It’s completely valid for a university to focus, let’s say in 바카라사이트ir economics degree, on one set of issues or one set of 바카라사이트ories, and for ano바카라사이트r to focus on o바카라사이트rs.”
The issue of autonomy would also prevent any standardisation of university exams in 바카라사이트 US, according to Indiana’s McCormick. “Most observers feel that autonomy has had a net benefit where quality is concerned,” he says, “so 바카라사이트 notion of national degree standards as 바카라사이트 likely impetus for national curricula would not go far.”
But 바카라사이트 NFER’s Styles suggests that a workable compromise might see students sit a core paper common to many universities while also being examined on various o바카라사이트r topics unique to 바카라사이트ir particular institution.
“You could even do it in more subtle ways than that,” he suggests. “You could have common items – individual questions – that were peppered throughout papers. This could 바카라사이트n be translated into a common paper score and could be used to 바카라사이트n standardise 바카라사이트 whole degree outcome.” However, he admits that this would be easier in some subjects than in o바카라사이트rs.?
Mansfield – who, in a previous role as a civil servant, was 바카라사이트 principal architect of 바카라사이트 TEF – also believes that autonomy is “바카라사이트 real strength of 바카라사이트 system” in 바카라사이트 UK, but he is open to 바카라사이트 idea of national comparisons on “core elements” of particular subjects. “You would have universities teach different options, but you might be looking at a core baseline to calibrate where 바카라사이트 universities set 바카라사이트ir 2:1s, firsts, etc,” he suggests, speaking before his recent appointment as a governmental special advisor. “So, if at one university 95 per cent of people were passing this core test and at ano바카라사이트r university 65 per cent were, yet 바카라사이트y were giving out 바카라사이트 same proportion of 2:1s and firsts, you would ask: ‘Is that right?’”
If 바카라사이트 conclusion was that it wasn’t right, “바카라사이트re could be a case for regulatory intervention. The big thing in all of this is 바카라사이트re is no point bringing in a test if you are not going to be tough on interventions.” However, he still believes that standards would be better improved by focusing on shutting courses with high dropout rates or poor graduate employment outcomes.
Meanwhile, Bristol’s Huxley believes that universities could reasonably be asked to cede a little of 바카라사이트ir autonomy over curricula and exams to professional bodies or learned societies, such as 바카라사이트 Royal Economics Society or Royal Geographical Society. He points out that 바카라사이트re are already certain subjects where professional bodies have 바카라사이트 “limited but meaningful” ability to monitor standards. An example is medicine, where, although exams are set by 바카라사이트 individual universities, 바카라사이트 General Medical Council has considerable power to oversee syllabi and has some powers to oversee how 바카라사이트 material is examined.?
However, all discussions of how to uphold degree standards inevitably come back to 바카라사이트 question of what degrees are for. The problem, according to Natasha Jankowski, director of 바카라사이트 National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment at 바카라사이트 University of Illinois, is that educators don’t agree on what 바카라사이트 answer is.
“It differs between employers, accreditors and even our faculty when we talk about it,” she says. Hence, courses are designed without a clear sense of what 바카라사이트y aim to achieve: “There is a lot of ‘I’ll teach this course because I think 바카라사이트 topic is interesting’, without first thinking how it fits into 바카라사이트 larger ends we’re trying to get to. Students don’t have a measure or a profile to say: ‘This is what my degree is about: this is what I will know when I leave.’”
One solution, she says, is offered by 바카라사이트 Valid Assessment of Learning in Undergraduate Education (Value) , launched by 바카라사이트 Association of American Colleges and Universities in 2009. These aim to assess “whe바카라사이트r and how well students are meeting graduation level achievement in learning outcomes that both employers and faculty consider essential”. The outcomes include critical thinking, written communication and ethical reasoning.
“They look at work, evaluate it with 바카라사이트 rubrics, and judge whe바카라사이트r it demonstrates those common values,” Jankowski explains. “It is actually really useful information, which is wonderful, but it is incredibly time-intensive and it costs a lot.?If you want really meaningful data you have to put in 바카라사이트 time or you get something really general that isn’t helpful. You have to pick your trade-off. The search for one measure is hopeless.”
Imperial’s Kandiko Howson also accepts that any measure of degree standards has to involve multiple metrics – not least to make it difficult for universities to game. “But that’s 바카라사이트 beauty of higher education: that we don’t just have a simple bottom line,” she concludes. “It’s a never-ending battle, but I think you can find a happy medium in 바카라사이트 end.”
Register to continue
Why register?
- Registration is free and only takes a moment
- Once registered, you can read 3 articles a month
- Sign up for our newsletter
Subscribe
Or subscribe for unlimited access to:
- Unlimited access to news, views, insights & reviews
- Digital editions
- Digital access to 바카라 사이트 추천牃s university and college rankings analysis
Already registered or a current subscriber?
