A bid for more forethought

The Higher Education Funding Council for England recently invited all higher education institution to submit bids for projects to extend 바카라사이트 teaching year with a third semester. This is not 바카라사이트 first HEFCE scheme for which 바카라사이트 bidding timescale is ludicrously short. On this occasion 바카라사이트 seven-week period allowed included 바카라사이트 Easter vacation and two May bank holidays. Any prospect of widespread staff consultation is undermined.

Ours cannot be 바카라사이트 only institution where structures for monitoring academic quality were by-passed in order to meet bidding deadlines. In our case school and academic boards appear to have been substituted by a brain-storming session of three people and an ad hoc working group.

We hope 바카라사이트 HEFCE will audit 바카라사이트 bidding process to ensure that third semesters had already featured in strategic plans and that academic quality procedures were adhered to, avoiding handing cash to institutions which had not given adequate thought to 바카라사이트 impact of a third semester.

Paul Croney, Hilary Cunliffe-Charlesworth, Jane Mardell, Anthony Meehan, VICKY SEDDON

Academic board, Sheffield Hallam University