www.newstatesman.com/politics/education/2019/08/great-university-con-how-british-degree-lost-its-value
Inspired by this New Statesman article by Harry Lambert.
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.”
It's not just Sheffield. All universities are in thrall to students. As the article states, many students are accustomed to being spoon fed from the exam-focused school system. They arrive at university with poor standards of literacy and numeracy, not much experience of reading widely, thinking critically or motivating themselves, but high expectations of what they should be awarded for their money and the doors this will open for them. When they don't get what they want or expect, they complain and the university management fall over themselves to put things right. (Obviously, not all students are like this, but a dispiriting number are - I used to work in a university and saw first-hand the disproportionate focus on student whinges, sorry, complaints.)
I was a student nearly 40 years ago. Things were very different then. It was sink or swim and undoubtedly some people sank. Standards of teaching were not always very good and teaching was low priority for academics compared to research. There was virtually no pastoral care, nor did most students expect any. Drop out rates were high. Accommodation was basic. But the huge, huge benefit we had was that we weren't going to emerge from our undergraduate studies loaded down with debt, and if we managed to complete them, our degrees were really worth something.
The proportion of students getting “good honours” – a First or 2:1 – has leapt from 47 to 79 per cent ... He doesn't say over what time period but I've found another source that says in 1996-7 just over half of students got a First or 2.1. In the year I graduated I think it was well below that. A 2.2 was a perfectly respectable result then. Given that 50% of the population now go to university, has there been some miracle making the UK's young people hugely more intelligent than previous generations? I'm afraid I don't think so.
I wish we could start again. Play-based learning for the very young children, no formal education to 6 or 7, no SATS, far fewer public exams in school, a broad-based curriculum all the way through with a highly educated, trained and regarded body of well-paid teachers delivering it. Decent vocational and technical education/training, with no snobbery about those who choose to go down that route instead of university.