3.57 Although lectures still predominate, our research (Report 3) showed that over the last five years staff have been widening their repertoire of teaching methods.

Views on teaching methods
3.59 Students in our survey (Report 2) generally feel that the teaching they receive is well-prepared whether it is presented in the form of lectures, tutorials or seminars. There is rather less satisfaction with computer-based learning packages. Many students are, however, critical of the scale of academic support available to them and especially about the feedback they get on their work. This is a matter of particular concern to part-time students. Our survey of academic staff (Report 3) found that around half of those taking small group sessions feel that the numbers of students is too high and two fifths of the students we surveyed would like more opportunity to learn in small groups.

Resources for learning
3.60 Libraries received little attention in the Robbins report which suggests that they were not a significant cause for concern at that time. It is different today. The expansion of student numbers, the rapid increase in the costs of printed materials, changes in teaching and learning methods, and the additional opportunities and costs presented by information technology have led to the adequacy of library provision becoming a major concern. There is pressure on space and on the supply of books. In some institutions students have limited access to popular texts, supplemented by heavy use of reprographic facilities. In response to these concerns, the Funding Bodies set up a committee, under the chairmanship of Professor Sir Brian Follett, which reported in 1993, and made recommendations on the need for additional library space, the potential role of information technology and the need for collaboration.¹⁴ Even so, nearly half the students in our survey (Report 2) were dissatisfied with library provision. The level of complaint was higher at the 1992 universities and other higher education institutions than in the pre-1992 universities.

3.61 The use of communications and information technology (C&IT) as a tool for teaching and learning has increased rapidly in the last few years. In SuperJANET, the UK has the most advanced academic information technology network in the world. Various projects and initiatives have been carried out, with varying degrees of success, to try to exploit the potential of new technology for learning and teaching. The largest of these, the Teaching and Learning Technology Programme (TLTP), has involved investment of over £32 million by the Funding Bodies to launch over 70 projects to develop computer-based teaching and learning course materials. This has had some beneficial outcomes, and students have reacted positively to the flexibility offered, but communications and information technology are far from being embedded in the day-to-day practice of learning and teaching in most higher education institutions. One barrier is the shortage of staff skilled in developing computer-based course materials, but the main reason is that many academics have had no training and little experience in the use of communications and information technology as an educational tool. Our survey (Report 2) showed that nearly all full-time students have access to the computing facilities at their institution. Their concerns are not so much about access as about the level of support that is available in using the information technology facilities.

Quality of higher education

3.62 The pre-1992 universities have always had their own degree awarding powers. Responsibility for maintaining and assuring the standards of awards has rested with the institutions themselves, assisted by the external examiner system. Until the establishment of the current Funding Councils, there was no external scrutiny of the quality of programmes offered by pre-1992 universities. The polytechnics and colleges of higher education did not have degree awarding powers. Students from these institutions received degrees of the Council for National Academic Awards, set up in response to a recommendation of the Robbins Committee. Programmes at these institutions were inspected by Her Majesty’s Inspectors.

3.63 As a result of the 1992 Further and Higher Education Act, there are now two major forms of quality assurance in the UK known as ‘audit’, carried out by the Higher Education Quality Council, and ‘assessment’, carried out by the Funding Councils, which cover all higher education institutions. These functions have included a quality enhancement component. The two activities are now being made the responsibility of a single body, the new Quality Assurance Agency (with the exception of assessment in Scotland which remains with the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council). In addition, professional bodies conduct their own accreditation arrangements for particular vocational professional programmes. Higher National provision – Higher National Certificates (HNCs) and Higher National Diplomas (HNDs) – are regulated by Edexcel and the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA).¹⁵

3.64 There has been a clear trend over time, though varying between subjects, for institutions to award an increasing proportion of first and upper second degrees. There are variations in the proportion of higher class degrees awarded by different institutions. One explanation put to us was that degree class is now increasingly dependent on continuous assessment, in which students perform better than in terminal examinations.

Views on quality and standards
3.65 Many of those giving evidence expressed concerns both about the quality of students’ experiences and about the standards of degrees. A persistent strand of criticism, which might be characterised as ‘more means worse’, surfaces when higher education expands. As already mentioned, academic staff are concerned about the amount of support, and therefore quality of experience, which they can offer to students. The students in our survey are, by contrast, generally content with their higher education, but the National Union of Students articulates more concern about the quality of the students’ experience, especially the level of support and guidance on academic and non-academic matters.

3.66 There are differences of views over standards. Although most institutions believe national standards should be maintained, there are some, particularly among the pre-1992 universities, who argue that standards differ across the sector and that this is an inevitable consequence of a mass system of higher education which should be formally recognised.

3.67 Employers expressed strong views to us about standards. The Institute of Directors was particularly strong in its comments, suggesting that the growth in participation seen over the last decade is not compatible with the maintenance of standards. Other employer organisations expressed similar views, but less forcefully. The Confederation of British Industry, while expressly supporting wider participation, is concerned that the intellectual demands made on some students (most commonly those of the 1992 universities) may be inadequate and that others (most commonly those of the pre-1992 universities) may not have their generic skills adequately developed. The concerns about standards are greatest in the areas of engineering and science.

The overseas reputation of UK higher education
3.68 Higher education institutions in the United Kingdom have long attracted great respect around the world. The UK remains one of the more popular destinations for students wanting to study overseas. However, there have been a few worrying reports of some loss of confidence overseas about the quality and standards of UK awards. A number of factors could account for this. The increasing trend to franchise provision to overseas institutions has led to some problems where a very small number of institutions have embarked on such ventures without a sufficient understanding of the risks or of how to ensure quality and standards at a distance. It has been suggested that the expansion of UK higher education has weakened arguments about its highly selective entry route supporting the three or four year honours route (Report 11: ‘The development of a framework of qualifications: relationship with continental Europe’). Whatever the principal cause of concern, any justified criticisms of UK higher education would be damaging if the cause were not dealt with.

Research

3.69 The mediaeval universities, from which some of the UK’s oldest universities are directly descended and from which many other of our higher education institutions take their traditions, were self-governing communities of scholars. The academics in them pursued studies of their own choice and made a living by teaching students. The functional link between teaching and research was regarded as sacrosanct until the expansion of the university system in 1992. Although the number of universities approximately doubled then and student numbers have grown rapidly, funding for research in higher education has not increased correspondingly.

3.70 The large increase in the number of academics has called into question the assumption that all academics should conduct research. The ranks of academic researchers, from PhD students to professors, have expanded greatly. Robbins identified some 22,500 graduate teaching staff involved in research.¹⁶ In 1992, around 43,000 academic staff were entered for the Research Assessment Exercise; by 1996, this had risen to 48,000.

3.71 Further pressure has come from the increase in the cost of research, particularly in the field of science and technology, which has risen faster than the rate of inflation. Together these factors have served to increase the competition for research funds.

Funding of research
3.72 Overall UK spending on research is over £14 billion, with higher education spending making up nearly a fifth of the total.

International comparisons
3.74 Research expenditure in the UK compares unfavourably with competitor countries. Table 3.5 shows that of the G7 countries, the UK – from all sources public and private – spends the third lowest proportion on research as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and its spend on civil research and development is even lower. The UK Government makes one of the smallest contributions of the G7 countries.

3.76 Given the time lag from the conduct of research to publication and citation, today’s success is related to past expenditure. More recently there has been a decline in the UK’s relative citation rate. This could be a result of the maturing, and therefore relative advancement of science systems elsewhere in the world, or it could relate to current concerns about the research infrastructure in UK universities. There is a general perception that the UK is weaker in applying the results of research than many of its competitors.

Rest of chapter