So the Worms Turn.

I had to admire the students from Manchester who decided they were fed up with poor teaching and complained. This is the first high profile case we have seen, but I suspect it wont be the last. Not if universities continue to focus on research and research funding for their overblown self importance at the expense of ordinary fee-paying students.

I notice from the article, reproduced below that the university chose to blame lecturers for not being good enough, despite having to go through an interview process and probably a teaching presentation. Of course they would blame the lecturer, you cry, they would hardly blame their emphasis on money by any means and go hang the students.

My university sent round an email the other week saying that they were fully focused on REF in terms of the quality of work submitted and on external funding. I did not see anything about teaching in there, and, to be honest, I have never seen an email encouraging us all to focus on our teaching and learning abilities. Either it is assumed we are all brilliant, or they do not really care. If they did care, they would not send round documents asking us to specify days we are unavailable for teaching because we are researching, acting as external consultants or out somewhere making money for the university.

I for one hope more works turn, it is about time these money focused bods got a kick up the rear.

 

POOR TEACHING FORCES UNIVERSITY TO CUT STUDENTS

Jack Grimston

ONE of Britain’s biggest universities is to reduce its intake of students by 1,000 and hire more than 100 extra academics to tackle complaints about sub-standard teaching and overcrowding.

The move by Manchester, which has more than 28,000 undergraduates and is a member of the Russell Group of elite research universities, comes as` its vice-chancellor admitted that students were dissatisfied with the teaching they were receiving.

The move provides evidence that higher fees are making students more vocal in their criticism of perceived poor standards: t will add to existing concerns that some academics view the teaching of undergraduates as a second-class activity compared with research.

Critics say the funding system provides many incentives for high-quality research but few for teaching.

During a meeting with students last month, the vice-chancellor, Dame Nancy Rothwell, admitted: “The most important [reason for dissatisfaction] is cultural. A small proportion of staff clearly do not think that students are important.”

Rothwell acknowledged problems with student numbers, poor organisation of lecture times and the attitude of some staff, saying ‘those “who don’t like: students should not be here”.

Manchester, which will charge fees of £9,000 a year from this autumn, will lower its intake from 8,736 in 2010 to 7,544 by 2014, a 14% fall. The additional academics are intended to reduce the number of students served by each staff member.

It is also spending more than £30m on refurbishing its library and building new teaching facilities.

Leeds University is considering a. reduction in student numbers of up to 5% this year, in part to improve educational standards.

Poor teaching at Manchester, which has three Nobel prize winners on its staff, has dragged the university down the league tables. It is rated sixth for research out of 122 institutions in the Sunday Times University Guide but only 110th for teaching, giving it an overall ranking of equal 37th.

Rothwell heard grievances from about 100 undergraduates and the meeting was reported in the student newspaper, the Mancunion.

Sunday times 08/01/12

The Good and The Complex

I took a break from marking to revel in the enjoyment of preparing presentations now that the new term has started. I have to say I am often taken aback by the time it takes to make a good presentation work, with how simple it ends up looking. I suppose that is the beauty of a good presentation, in that it does not look that complex, but it is actually an art to getting that right.

I have now given a few this week and they seem to be going down well as the feedback has been positive. So, I have to keep up the good work.

On another note, students have been coming up to me this week and saying how glad they are that I am taking them for classes again. This has included students I have not taught in a year or so. It has taken me aback to be honest as I am not used to anyone saying how much they appreciate my efforts. My line manager has a habit of saying that I am a rubbish lecturer. It has been said so often that I am almost afraid to say that I began to believe they might be right. So it is nice to have the unencumbered audience voluntarily surprise me with their effusiveness for my work. I suppose it would be nice if they told my line manager, but then they might be moved to rage and try to make my life even more painful. However, I do suspect that it may get back to them as the students have been ‘biggin me up’ to other lecturers apparently.Why does something so positive fill me with trepidation? Why should I be made to feel afraid of doing a good job?

We will see what next week brings, maybe I can do bad lectures and smooth out the pain?

Enter the Dragon

I feel like one of those martial arts people, focusing for hours on end on the tip of my finger.

Why? because I have been marking for the past few days. It is like nothing else matters at all, just marking. My latest stint was 6 hours straight. I did have a break half way through, but it was still a long slog.

Tomorrow will be the same, another 6 hours.

I think I will take a break then and the next day will take some time to prepare myself for the next semester. There is plenty to do if I am honest, not least because my line manager has held me up with pontificating about what I should be doing. I do not see why they should be telling me what to do as I am teaching the same course as before, but that is just their way; they like to feel useful – or should that be useless?

Forever Tomorrow

There are more meetings tomorrow about next year. These will be doom and gloom meetings that seem to do nothing more than demoralise my colleagues and I.

It never ceases to amaze me that management have failed to learn the lessons of industry, that if you sell it short you will sell yourself into oblivion. That is why ‘new management’ rhetoric is so upbeat, even when the waters are lapping around their feet on the deck of a sinking ship. The theory goes, there is always some hope until the water covers your nose. Not it seems in HE, where doom and gloom reigns supreme.

I will attempt to inject a modicum of sanity into the proceedings, but I suspect it will just be ignored as is usually is – at least for a year.

I found out last week that an idea I had put forward a year ago as necessary for the new fees regime, but had had rejected as a waste of time, has now been ‘reinvented’ by my head as their own idea and put forward at a meeting I was not invited to attend!

In some ways I am flattered that my idea has found currency at last. However, it would have been nice to have had my contribution acknowledged.

As it was not, I decided to remind them of my prescience.

Silence ensued.

I did not get a reply. I do not expect one, but just maybe next time I will be listened to?

Application

It is about time something was done to the terrible system of applying for a degree course. It all seems so much like an anxious Christmas, waiting to see if your parents remembered to buy the things you had informed them you wanted or not. Much better in our contemporary times to be given the money and allowed to buy the actual gifts you wish for.

Of course, there are plenty of questions to answer before you can just change the traditional UCAS system. Timing being one of the most important. At present students wait until August to hear their results, which allows them over a month to get used to the idea that they will be going to a specific university. However, if we are to change the process, to reverse it in effect, we will need more time to arrange places and courses.

The announcement today of proposals to start the application process only after the results come out is a sensible one, allowing students to make sensible choices. It also means that universities can make offers in complete knowledge of results. Yet, it places an even greater sense of lottery on the process for a number of reasons. The main foreseeable problem is that students become runners in a horserace of sorts. Once results are announced they then have to chase round universities finding a place to study as universities will accept students on a first come first served basis until full. While not a complete disaster, it will place even more pressure on students to rush their choices as they find no places at one university and have to move on to the next. All this does is replace one pressure with another. At least under the present system the majority will be offered a place in advance of their results and the student can focus on achieving their grades, knowing that if they do so, they will automatically gain entry. Under the new proposed system, they will have to wait anxiously for six weeks or so to find out their results and then rush around like mad flies trying to find a place.

Swings and roundabouts I know, but still no real solution.

D-Day

D-Day stands for ‘decision day’, the day prospective students decide if they will put themselves into the mix for admissions.

It seems that many more students are willing to pay increased fees as there is slightly less than no other prospects for them.

A new BBC survey found that only 1 in 10 students were put off applying for next year. While that should ease the fears of university managers over their income, it will not stop the finance cull they have put in motion; greed, always breeds more greed, until someone notices.

There is of course the worrying trend that more students will seek to study abroad. It is a welcoming option that combines both education and the gap year. Sadly it will mean we do not get the money.

Worship Money

I see that Nottingham University is asking for a philanthropist or two to come forward and give them £150m.

So, this is your chance to have a building named after you in perpetuity. What are you waiting for.

By the way, my university would settle for £100k in these straightened times.

Even Better By You

It never ceases to amaze me how some managers think they know best, particularly when they do not and have not taught a certain subject.

So it was no surprise when my manager told me that ‘we’ needed to re-think how ‘we’ taught one of my subjects.

Now, ordinarily I am quite happy to receive constructive criticism in order to make what I tech mre interesting and relevant to students. However, what I do take umbrage about is when I am not involved in the discussions and am only informed about what has to be done. I consider it very rude not to consult the person whose teaching it is before you think you know best how to change a module. I would not do it myself, and do not expect to be on the receiving end either.

To cap it all, not only has the structure and thus content changed, but also the assessment. Of course they have decided not to waste time thinking up an assessment themself – obviously it is too much work for them; so instead they have asked my colleagues to it, as though I did not exist! Am I not capable of coming up with my own assessments? Why do they think I am incompetent?

I did attempt to offer my input to my own subject, but was flatly turned down and told the ‘we’ had decided on the strucutre and format of the subject. I am not sure if I am included the ‘we’, but I do not feel as though I am as I have not had the opportunity to ‘discuss’ anythng other than in a way that has made me feel I am not important.

I suspect they are wishing to cut their staff bill sooner rather than later and have singled me out for the chop. There is of course the possibility that I may have to sue for constructive dismissal at some stage as this is not the first time this person has undermined me and I doubt it will be the last. Unfortunately the are too stupid to see what is hapening.

This leads me to wonder why it is always the idiots who get promoted?

Better by You, Better Than Me

A new study of the teaching of 1,000 final-year students by the private heads body HMC, has found that HE students prefer their secondary teachers to us.

Some 61% rated school teaching more highly. That is damming really, though only if you take it out of context.

Much of HE teaching is about the students finding a way of learning for themself. It means less hand-holding and more self-directed learning. We want out students to think independently.

However, I have a sneaky feeling that that a little more structure in HE teaching would not go amiss.

Are you listening here HoD?

Pound of Flesh

I see David Willetts has been holding court to the private educational sector over the summer. We knew he was up to something with the ‘for-profit’ organisations, but it seems he has been getting into bed with some bad company.

It turns out at least two of the organisations are being sued or have been sued for billions in America. I suppose one way of paying your court fines is to get the money off another country, particularly one where you can bump up the prices that are charged for the service. Not a subtle reference to ‘rip off Britain’, but a true one nevertheless.

When will the Tories learn that private companies make profit for shareholders, not the workers, or students they are in charge of.