Re: OT: What is happening to British Universities?

2019-08-30 Thread Daniel J. Matyola 
American universities face many of the same issues.  Our biggest problems
are the excessive cost of a college education and the amount of debt many
students incur via student loans.

Dan Matyola
http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/danieljmatyola


On Fri, Aug 30, 2019 at 1:00 PM mike wilson  wrote:

>
> > On 25 August 2019 at 11:27 Steve Cottrell  wrote:
> >
> >
> > On 25/8/19, mike wilson, discombobulated, unleashed:
> >
> > >No subscription - no read.  Very liberal.
> >
> > Strange, I had no problem reading it.
> >
> > Reproduced below...
> >
> > The UK's reputedly world-class higher education sector has long been a
> source of pride and consolation for a diminished power. At first glance,
> universities have relentlessly expanded without any reduction in standards.
> Since 1990, the number of undergraduate degrees awarded has increased
> fivefold, while the proportion of Firsts granted has quadrupled. But this
> facade of success masks profound and long-standing problems. In this week's
> cover story, Harry Lambert exposes what we call "the great university con".
> For decades, successive governments have systematically undermined the
> value and prestige of a British degree as education has been forced to
> operate under market conditions.
> >
> > In a 2016 OECD study, which assessed basic skill levels among recent
> graduates from 23 countries, England ranked in the bottom third. In spite
> of spending about £21,000 per student (more than any country except the
> United States), England's skill levels are around three times worse than
> the top eight countries (which spend around £15,000 per student). One in
> two recent British graduates is not in graduate work, a rate that has
> consistently risen since 2001.
> >
> >
> > The purpose of university expansion, pursued by both Conservative and
> Labour governments, was once a noble one. Lionel Robbins, a professor at
> the London School of Economics, and the author of the 1963 report on higher
> education, emphasised that "the standard traditionally attached to the term
> 'degree' in this country will be fully maintained".
> >
> > But it has not been. On 12 July, faced with the number of students
> achieving "good honours" - a First or 2:1 - rising from 47 per cent in 1994
> to 79 per cent, Damian Hinds, the former education secretary, emphasised
> that "artificial grade inflation is not in anyone's interests". And yet, as
> Harry Lambert writes, the "perverse incentives" imposed by the state have
> made this a logical outcome.
> >
> > In common with so many current issues, the origins of today's problems
> go back to the market turn of the 1980s. The 1985 Jarratt Report declared
> that "universities are first and foremost corporate enterprises" and
> inaugurated a trend of continual marketisation. As students were rebranded
> as "customers", institutions sought less to test them than to appease them.
> Grade inflation - designed to boost universities' league table standing -
> has followed.
> >
> > Subsequent reforms have merely compounded the problem. The decision by
> the 2010-15 coalition government largely to abolish direct state funding
> for university teaching (replaced by tuition fees of £9,000) introduced a
> system in which money "followed the student", creating an additional
> incentive to manipulate standards and results.
> >
> > The British higher education system retains some formidable strengths
> and the benefits of a university experience extend far beyond the awarding
> of a degree. The stereotype of students as indolent hedonists is undeserved
> (indeed, data suggests they have seldom been more abstemious). But grade
> inflation and the unqualified expansion of universities should end. For too
> long, the higher education sector has allowed its reputation to obscure a
> mediocre reality. British students - who now pay the developed world's
> highest public university fees - deserve much better.
> >
>
> Nothing to argue with there.  In fact, it sums up British education from
> nursery upwards.
>
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Re: OT: What is happening to British Universities?

2019-08-30 Thread mike wilson 

> On 25 August 2019 at 11:27 Steve Cottrell  wrote:
> 
> 
> On 25/8/19, mike wilson, discombobulated, unleashed:
> 
> >No subscription - no read.  Very liberal.
> 
> Strange, I had no problem reading it.
> 
> Reproduced below...
> 
> The UK's reputedly world-class higher education sector has long been a source 
> of pride and consolation for a diminished power. At first glance, 
> universities have relentlessly expanded without any reduction in standards. 
> Since 1990, the number of undergraduate degrees awarded has increased 
> fivefold, while the proportion of Firsts granted has quadrupled. But this 
> facade of success masks profound and long-standing problems. In this week's 
> cover story, Harry Lambert exposes what we call "the great university con". 
> For decades, successive governments have systematically undermined the value 
> and prestige of a British degree as education has been forced to operate 
> under market conditions. 
> 
> In a 2016 OECD study, which assessed basic skill levels among recent 
> graduates from 23 countries, England ranked in the bottom third. In spite of 
> spending about £21,000 per student (more than any country except the United 
> States), England's skill levels are around three times worse than the top 
> eight countries (which spend around £15,000 per student). One in two recent 
> British graduates is not in graduate work, a rate that has consistently risen 
> since 2001.
> 
> 
> The purpose of university expansion, pursued by both Conservative and Labour 
> governments, was once a noble one. Lionel Robbins, a professor at the London 
> School of Economics, and the author of the 1963 report on higher education, 
> emphasised that "the standard traditionally attached to the term 'degree' in 
> this country will be fully maintained".
> 
> But it has not been. On 12 July, faced with the number of students achieving 
> "good honours" - a First or 2:1 - rising from 47 per cent in 1994 to 79 per 
> cent, Damian Hinds, the former education secretary, emphasised that 
> "artificial grade inflation is not in anyone's interests". And yet, as Harry 
> Lambert writes, the "perverse incentives" imposed by the state have made this 
> a logical outcome.
> 
> In common with so many current issues, the origins of today's problems go 
> back to the market turn of the 1980s. The 1985 Jarratt Report declared that 
> "universities are first and foremost corporate enterprises" and inaugurated a 
> trend of continual marketisation. As students were rebranded as "customers", 
> institutions sought less to test them than to appease them. Grade inflation - 
> designed to boost universities' league table standing - has followed.
> 
> Subsequent reforms have merely compounded the problem. The decision by the 
> 2010-15 coalition government largely to abolish direct state funding for 
> university teaching (replaced by tuition fees of £9,000) introduced a system 
> in which money "followed the student", creating an additional incentive to 
> manipulate standards and results.
> 
> The British higher education system retains some formidable strengths and the 
> benefits of a university experience extend far beyond the awarding of a 
> degree. The stereotype of students as indolent hedonists is undeserved 
> (indeed, data suggests they have seldom been more abstemious). But grade 
> inflation and the unqualified expansion of universities should end. For too 
> long, the higher education sector has allowed its reputation to obscure a 
> mediocre reality. British students - who now pay the developed world's 
> highest public university fees - deserve much better. 
> 

Nothing to argue with there.  In fact, it sums up British education from 
nursery upwards.

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Re: OT: What is happening to British Universities?

2019-08-25 Thread Steve Cottrell 
On 24/8/19, Daniel J. Matyola, discombobulated, unleashed:

>Duh!  I forgot the link:



> >I am concerned about the quality of higher education in the US.  I read
> >this article about what is happening in the UK, and would like to see
> >reactions from informed citizens of the UK.

Difficult to make much of it when referring to such a short article big on 
headline but low on detail.

I haven't read anything else recently which highlights a problem in UK 
universities.

As far as I am aware, the UK has some of the top universities int he world, and 
I haven't heard of or worked on any news stories recently which echo the 
sentiment in the article

-- 


Cheers,
  Cotty


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||  (O)  |Live Broadcast News
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Re: OT: What is happening to British Universities?

2019-08-25 Thread Steve Cottrell 
On 25/8/19, mike wilson, discombobulated, unleashed:

>No subscription - no read.  Very liberal.

Strange, I had no problem reading it.

Reproduced below...

The UK's reputedly world-class higher education sector has long been a source 
of pride and consolation for a diminished power. At first glance, universities 
have relentlessly expanded without any reduction in standards. Since 1990, the 
number of undergraduate degrees awarded has increased fivefold, while the 
proportion of Firsts granted has quadrupled. But this facade of success masks 
profound and long-standing problems. In this week's cover story, Harry Lambert 
exposes what we call "the great university con". For decades, successive 
governments have systematically undermined the value and prestige of a British 
degree as education has been forced to operate under market conditions. 

In a 2016 OECD study, which assessed basic skill levels among recent graduates 
from 23 countries, England ranked in the bottom third. In spite of spending 
about £21,000 per student (more than any country except the United States), 
England's skill levels are around three times worse than the top eight 
countries (which spend around £15,000 per student). One in two recent British 
graduates is not in graduate work, a rate that has consistently risen since 
2001.


The purpose of university expansion, pursued by both Conservative and Labour 
governments, was once a noble one. Lionel Robbins, a professor at the London 
School of Economics, and the author of the 1963 report on higher education, 
emphasised that "the standard traditionally attached to the term 'degree' in 
this country will be fully maintained".

But it has not been. On 12 July, faced with the number of students achieving 
"good honours" - a First or 2:1 - rising from 47 per cent in 1994 to 79 per 
cent, Damian Hinds, the former education secretary, emphasised that "artificial 
grade inflation is not in anyone's interests". And yet, as Harry Lambert 
writes, the "perverse incentives" imposed by the state have made this a logical 
outcome.

In common with so many current issues, the origins of today's problems go back 
to the market turn of the 1980s. The 1985 Jarratt Report declared that 
"universities are first and foremost corporate enterprises" and inaugurated a 
trend of continual marketisation. As students were rebranded as "customers", 
institutions sought less to test them than to appease them. Grade inflation - 
designed to boost universities' league table standing - has followed.

Subsequent reforms have merely compounded the problem. The decision by the 
2010-15 coalition government largely to abolish direct state funding for 
university teaching (replaced by tuition fees of £9,000) introduced a system in 
which money "followed the student", creating an additional incentive to 
manipulate standards and results.

The British higher education system retains some formidable strengths and the 
benefits of a university experience extend far beyond the awarding of a degree. 
The stereotype of students as indolent hedonists is undeserved (indeed, data 
suggests they have seldom been more abstemious). But grade inflation and the 
unqualified expansion of universities should end. For too long, the higher 
education sector has allowed its reputation to obscure a mediocre reality. 
British students - who now pay the developed world's highest public university 
fees - deserve much better. 

-- 


Cheers,
  Cotty


___/\__UK Shoot / Edit and
||  (O)  |Live Broadcast News
--
_



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Re: OT: What is happening to British Universities?

2019-08-25 Thread mike wilson 


> On 24 August 2019 at 23:27 "Daniel J. Matyola"  wrote:
> 
> 
> Duh!  I forgot the link:
> 
> https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/education/2019/08/leader-great-british-university-con

No subscription - no read.  Very liberal.

> 
> Dan Matyola
> http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/danieljmatyola
> 
> 
> On Sat, Aug 24, 2019 at 1:52 PM Steve Cottrell  wrote:
> 
> > On 24/8/19, Daniel J. Matyola, discombobulated, unleashed:
> >
> > >I am concerned about the quality of higher education in the US.  I read
> > >this article about what is happening in the UK, and would like to see
> > >reactions from informed citizens of the UK.
> >
> > Oh, and what is happening in the UK?
> >
> > --
> >
> >
> > Cheers,
> >   Cotty
> >
> >
> > ___/\__UK Shoot / Edit and
> > ||  (O)  |Live Broadcast News
> > --
> > _
> >
> >

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Re: OT: What is happening to British Universities?

2019-08-24 Thread William Robb 
On Sat, Aug 24, 2019, 4:28 PM Daniel J. Matyola 
wrote:

> Duh!  I forgot the link:
>

That's pretty ironic...

Sorry Dan. I just couldn't resist that one.

>
>
> https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/education/2019/08/leader-great-british-university-con
>
> Dan Matyola
> http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/danieljmatyola
>
>
> On Sat, Aug 24, 2019 at 1:52 PM Steve Cottrell  wrote:
>
> > On 24/8/19, Daniel J. Matyola, discombobulated, unleashed:
> >
> > >I am concerned about the quality of higher education in the US.  I read
> > >this article about what is happening in the UK, and would like to see
> > >reactions from informed citizens of the UK.
> >
> > Oh, and what is happening in the UK?
> >
> > --
> >
> >
> > Cheers,
> >   Cotty
> >
> >
> > ___/\__UK Shoot / Edit and
> > ||  (O)  |Live Broadcast News
> > --
> > _
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List
> > PDML@pdml.net
> > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
> > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and
> > follow the directions.
> >
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Re: OT: What is happening to British Universities?

2019-08-24 Thread Daniel J. Matyola 
Duh!  I forgot the link:

https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/education/2019/08/leader-great-british-university-con

Dan Matyola
http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/danieljmatyola


On Sat, Aug 24, 2019 at 1:52 PM Steve Cottrell  wrote:

> On 24/8/19, Daniel J. Matyola, discombobulated, unleashed:
>
> >I am concerned about the quality of higher education in the US.  I read
> >this article about what is happening in the UK, and would like to see
> >reactions from informed citizens of the UK.
>
> Oh, and what is happening in the UK?
>
> --
>
>
> Cheers,
>   Cotty
>
>
> ___/\__UK Shoot / Edit and
> ||  (O)  |Live Broadcast News
> --
> _
>
>
>
> --
> PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List
> PDML@pdml.net
> http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
> to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and
> follow the directions.
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Re: OT: What is happening to British Universities?

2019-08-24 Thread Steve Cottrell 
On 24/8/19, Daniel J. Matyola, discombobulated, unleashed:

>I am concerned about the quality of higher education in the US.  I read
>this article about what is happening in the UK, and would like to see
>reactions from informed citizens of the UK.

Oh, and what is happening in the UK?

-- 


Cheers,
  Cotty


___/\__UK Shoot / Edit and
||  (O)  |Live Broadcast News
--
_



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OT: What is happening to British Universities?

2019-08-24 Thread Daniel J. Matyola 
This is for the list members in the UK.

I am concerned about the quality of higher education in the US.  I read
this article about what is happening in the UK, and would like to see
reactions from informed citizens of the UK.

To avoid getting into political discussions, it might br preferable to send
me any comments or reactions off-list.

TIA, Dan

Dan Matyola
danmaty...@gmail.com
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