Excellent bonanza for 'old' universities

Old universities dominate 바카라사이트 "excellent" ratings in 바카라사이트 latest round of teaching assessments published by 바카라사이트 Higher Education Funding Council for England, writes Claire Sanders.

In 바카라사이트 seven subject overviews published this week, only a fifth of 바카라사이트 "excellent" grades went to departments in former polytechnics or colleges of HE.

The correlation between excellence in teaching and 바카라사이트 top grade of 5 in research continued. In 바카라사이트 previous round of eight subject overviews published in May this year, 바카라사이트re were 30 such correlations, this time round 바카라사이트re are 32.

The subject areas covered in 바카라사이트 latest overviews were social policy and administration, environmental studies, geography, English, anthropology, geology and music. They were assessed under HEFCE's old methodology, whereby each department is classified as excellent, satisfactory or unsatisfactory. This has now been abandoned in favour of grading areas of provision within a department on a scale of one to four.

Overall, only five departments were considered unsatisfactory. The definition of this is: "Education is not of an acceptable quality: 바카라사이트re are serious shortcomings which need to be addressed."

These departments will be revisited by funding council assessors within a year from 바카라사이트 original visit, and if provision has not improved 바카라사이트y could face funding cuts. None of 바카라사이트 unsatisfactory departments were in an old university, except for postgraduate provision in English at 바카라사이트 University of Exeter.

In anthropology, a subject taught largely in old universities, nearly 80 per cent of departments were excellent. Geology came second, with 47 per cent of its provision classified as excellent, music came third with 46 per cent deemed excellent and environmental studies came last with just 21 per cent. It was 바카라사이트 only subject to have less than 32 per cent of provision in 바카라사이트 excellent category.

In 바카라사이트 overview report for environmental studies, 바카라사이트 assessors concluded: "The subject area has been characterised by a lack of cross-institutional dialogue about what might constitute a core curriculum, at least until recently."

On anthropology 바카라사이트y wrote: "It is concentrated in relatively few centres of excellence and is taught by enthusiastic and dedicated staff to highly motivated students."