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| Universities told to prove value for money By: Greg Hurst From: The Times |
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Universities will have to publish exactly how many hours students will spend in lectures, seminars and in contact with teaching staff next year to justify charging students much higher fees, The Times has learnt. The data, for every course, will make it easier for teenagers choosing a degree to compare universities and see which offers the best value for money. The change has been led by the Higher Education Funding Council, and will press vice-chancellors to be more upfront about what students will get in return for paying up to three times as much for tuition. Janet Beer, chairwoman of the higher education steering group on information for prospective students, said that she hoped universities would begin publishing the details in the autumn. For the first time the information will be made available course by course and displayed in a uniform way. Professor Beer, who is also Vice-Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University, told The Times: ―I am very concerned, particularly with the new funding regime that is to be brought in, that students have access to straightforward, good information. Details of contact time and teaching methods across a university would not be provided because of the variation between courses, she added. The move coincides with a growing mood of assertiveness on campuses, with students increasingly acting to confront complaints of poor teaching. The amount and nature of contact hours will be part of a ―key information set that universities will have to publish on their websites as a condition of state funding from next year. Other elements include the proportion of graduates in well-paid or lower-paid jobs, further study or who are unemployed six months after completing the course. More general details about the university, such as weekly rent for living in halls of residence and the size of available bursaries, will also feature. The rest of this information is already published in different locations but contact hours and assessment methods have not previously been collected for every course. The data will be available in one place for the first time. It presents a challenge to universities, which must prepare for higher expectations from future students paying up to £9,000 a year but whose teaching grants have been cut twice this year. Although the annual National Student Survey shows generally high levels of satisfaction with teaching, the picture for some universities is patchy and there are frequent complaints that departments value research above teaching skills when promoting academics. Last year’s survey showed that 81 per cent of full-time university students were satisfied with the quality of their course, but this fell to 69 per cent for advice on study choices and to 73 per cent for general academic support. Yet behind these figures lie tales of frustration from students. Politics students at Manchester university run a Facebook forum to share their disappointment at their department and press for better service, which was launched amid complaints about feedback, contact hours and cuts to courses. Joe Sheffer, a third-year politics and international relations student at Manchester, logged all contact time during his course and calculated it averaged 8.5 hours a week during the first semester of his first year and six hours a week in the equivalent period of his second year. A first-year student at Warwick told The Times of his frustration that a large part of his lectures was spent going over concepts unfamiliar to weaker students. ―The level of things that were being covered seemed a bit basic at times, he said. He asked that neither he nor his course were identified. Aaron Porter, president of the National Union of Students, likened the change to the introduction of the National Student Survey in 2005, which brought pressure on universities to improve the undergraduate experience. ―It will start to bring some much needed focus on the quality of teaching within institutions, he said. By http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/education/article2912346.ece |
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