The Great University Con: How The British Degree Lost it's Value

Vonnegut · Nov 22, 2019

Harry Lambert of Newstatesman.com said:

Never before has Britain had so many qualified graduates. And never before have their qualifications amounted to so little.

This summer, a department at the University of Sheffield sent an email to students. A group of them had complained about their marks for an end-of-year essay. While a few had received Firsts, these students were given 2:2s and Thirds. “Thank you for raising the issue,” began the email, “and thank you also for your patience.” After reflection, the head of department and the director of “learning and teaching” had decided that, “our normal procedures… failed us. For this we apologise unreservedly”. The department had decided to “uplift all the marks… less at the top and more at the bottom”. The poorly performing students had their marks raised by nearly 40 per cent. The few who had done well saw their marks barely change. “Again, our apologies,” the message concluded, “but we hope that this is a satisfactory resolution.”

What happened at Sheffield is one part of a national story: the great university con. Over the past 30 years, successive governments, from Thatcher to Blair, to Cameron and May, have imposed a set of perverse incentives on universities. Their effect has been to degrade and devalue the quality of British degrees. Academic standards have collapsed. In many institutions, it is the students who now educate the universities, in what grades they will tolerate and how much work they are willing to do. “We have got to protect ourselves from complaints,” says Natalie Fenton, professor of media and communications at Goldsmiths, University of London. “It’s an endless process of dealing with students who haven’t been able to buy the grade they wanted.”
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LINK

Kizmet · Nov 22, 2019

https://www.degreeinfo.com/index.php?threads/the-great-university-con.56140/#post-526562

Vonnegut · Nov 22, 2019

Kizmet said: ↑

https://www.degreeinfo.com/index.php?threads/the-great-university-con.56140/#post-526562
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Rich Douglas · Nov 22, 2019

Good thing I kept the receipt....

Kizmet · Nov 23, 2019

Vonnegut said: ↑

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Vonnegut · Nov 23, 2019

Kizmet said: ↑

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Sorry... I have a headache...

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The Great University Con: How The British Degree Lost it's Value

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