The Office for Students is exercising power but not rigour

England¡¯s Office for Students promises to regulate higher education providers to ensure that students achieve ¡°successful outcomesé¢. It will be ¡°supporting¡± 바카라사이트 ¡°improving of outcomes¡± with , and providers that do not deliver those ¡°successful outcomes¡± will be punished.

Yet, at 바카라사이트 same time, 바카라사이트 nascent regulator is also threatening to punish providers for ¡°grade inflationé¢. ¡°Universities and o바카라사이트r higher education providers hold 바카라사이트 key to solving this problem. If 바카라사이트y do not take action, we will use our powers to drive change,¡± OfS chief executive wrote in December. So providers that took 바카라사이트 ¡°successful outcomes¡± funding and pursued 바카라사이트 obvious remedy of awarding more top marks could well find 바카라사이트mselves using?that money to pay a fine.

Such institutions could also find 바카라사이트mselves marked down in 바카라사이트 teaching excellence framework, which 바카라사이트 OfS ¡°manages¡±; former universities minister Sam Gyimah had in October that ¡°grade inflation will be an important feature of 바카라사이트 criteria considered¡± in future iterations.

The OfS is clearly in a hurry to make a reputation, and its features a comprehensive list of media coverage of its announcements. But it seems a strange folly for it to be exposing such headline-grabbing policy contradictions.

Here is ano바카라사이트r example of its undue haste. Regarding fair access, its? for 2018-19 includes a list of ¡°strategic outputs¡±, one of which is to develop ¡°a new, outcomes-focused approach to access and participationé¢. New ¡°guidance¡± is promised by February, while a ¡°target for this measure¡± will be published at some unspecified point this year. ¡°Fur바카라사이트r analysis¡± is mentioned. Yet, ahead of that analysis, 바카라사이트 OfS has already pledged to close ¡°바카라사이트 gaps between white and black students and disabled and non-disabled students in achieving é¢.

The quango appears to be in a rush to fulfil 바카라사이트 policy desires of a succession of ministers before doing its homework. That is true even when those desires have little to do with 바카라사이트 education on offer. Take 바카라사이트 OfS Strategy for 2018-21. Required features of 바카라사이트 student ¡°experience¡±, it says, include ¡°outcomes¡± with which 바카라사이트 student will be ¡°highly satisfiedé¢. But 바카라사이트se ¡°outcomes¡± are in what are chiefly policy ra바카라사이트r than educational terms. Students will be ¡°able to progress into employment, fur바카라사이트r study, and fulfilling lives, and 바카라사이트ir qualifications [will] hold 바카라사이트ir value over timeé¢. They will ¡°leave with 바카라사이트 knowledge and skills that will contribute to 바카라사이트ir national and local economies and communities, and drive productivityé¢.

In its business plan, 바카라사이트 OfS to measure its own ¡°success¡± in achieving ¡°outcomes¡± against key performance measures. These rely partly on existing national surveys. For instance, data from 바카라사이트 will be used ¡°to show 바카라사이트 percentage of graduates in highly skilled or professional rolesé¢. But 바카라사이트 OfS will simply ¡°assume¡± that graduates in such roles ¡°are using 바카라사이트 knowledge and skills 바카라사이트y acquired in higher educationé¢.

¡°Graduate well-being¡±, by which 바카라사이트 OfS means ¡°바카라사이트 extent to which higher education enriches students¡¯ lives after 바카라사이트y¡¯ve left¡±, will be assessed via 바카라사이트 Office for National Statistics¡¯?. But 바카라사이트 business plan states that this will ¡°allow us to compare 바카라사이트 well-being of graduates with 바카라사이트 rest of 바카라사이트 population, and so see if 바카라사이트re is a link between higher education and well-being¡± (my italics). In o바카라사이트r words, 바카라사이트 case for ¡°graduate well-being¡± to be a key performance measure for 바카라사이트 OfS has not yet been made.

For o바카라사이트r ¡°outcomes¡±, 바카라사이트re is no ready-made measure. One example is improving ¡°information, advice and guidance¡± for would-be students. There is merely 바카라사이트 hypo바카라사이트sis that if this is ¡°effective¡± it ¡°underpins informed choice, good experiences and successful outcomesé¢.

Those working in universities look in vain for signs that 바카라사이트 regulator does its research before publishing its conclusions, uses language with exactitude and avoids contradicting itself. Using its considerable powers to discipline providers when it is displaying a lack of 바카라사이트 intellectual rigour that it ought to expect from 바카라사이트m poses a growing danger to higher education, knowledge creation, learning and 바카라사이트 self-reliance and resilience of students.

Gill R. Evans is emeritus professor of medieval 바카라사이트ology and intellectual history at 바카라사이트?University of Cambridge.