Note of informal meeting with staff at
Imperial College London on 19 March 2009
PARTICIPANTS
Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Committee
Mr Phil Willis MP, Chairman
Imperial College London
Sir Roy Anderson, Rector
Ms Michelle Coupland, Director of Planning
Professor David Lloyd Smith, Dean of Students
Professor David Nethercot, Head of Department
of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Mr David Robb, Chair of Admissions Committee
Ms Melanie Thody, Director of Access and Head,
Imperial Outreach
Mr Willis put a number of questions to the
Rector and staff and this note records the points made in reply.
GRADE INFLATION
Mr Willis pointed out that applicants for places
in higher education were coming forward with better A-levels than
previously and more potential students had grade A's than any
other grade. He asked what effect this had had on Imperial College's
admission policies. In reply it was pointed out that although
the number of A grades has increased in state schools, fewer pupils
were studying mathematics and the science subjects necessary for
admission to Imperial College. The Rector and the staff were clear
that Imperial College could not adjust its entry criteria as the
College had to maintain the standard of its degrees, which had
international recognition and prestige, and that it was essential
to attract the best students. After a fall in the number of applications
to the College in the 1990s the number of applications had increased
in recent years. It would be in no-one's interest to admit students
who could not cope with courses. Imperial College did, however,
have a clear and successful strategy for making access as wide
as possible. The Rector said that the key was to ensure that teachers
in state schools encouraged and inspired pupils to study mathematics
and science and to challenge those who encouraged the study of
softer options. The College had underpinned this approach with
its Inspire programme to improve the quality of science teaching
in schools. It had a number of schemes which placed students in
London schools, concentrating on schools that were under-represented
with pupils going to university.
Mr Willis asked whether Imperial would follow
Cambridge and introduce a requirement for an A-star grade for
admission. The staff explained that Imperial College had introduced
a requirement for A-star for mathematics in a number of its departments.
This was because grade inflation in mathematics had been disproportionate
to that in other subjects; a table was circulated to illustrate
the difference between mathematics and other science subjects.
The Rector commented that the requirement on applicants to have
proficiency in mathematics acted as a break on over-expansion
and ensured that standards were maintained.
TEACHING AND
RESEARCH
Mr Willis asked what difference the research
programmes undertaken in the College made to teaching undergraduates.
The staff explained that the most able researchers wanted to carry
out teaching and that researchers such as Professor John Burland,
who had corrected the Leaning Tower of Pisa, were an inspiration
to undergraduates, enabling teaching to be informed by the latest
research developments. The College would not be able to attract
the academics if they were restricted only to teaching. The Rector
said that in his experience the best researchers were often the
best teachers. Staff were required to undertake training and qualifications
in teaching, which was underpinned with a review of teaching performance.
The Rector said that staff listened and took
note of students' views. Student surveys had identified a need
for more tutorials and a perception that feedback needed to be
improved. These were matters which the College was examining and
would be addressing. All staff were required to have the PGCE
qualification, which was underpinned with a review of teaching
performance which had a external element. The Rector said that
one of his top strategic objectives was to improve the student
experience at the College. On feedback, the Envision 2010 project
in the Faculty of Engineering, which was examining how the Faculty
could improve its educational ethos, its facilities and infrastructure
and its level of educational innovation, had identified the need
to challenge students with more feedback and less activity. The
outcome would be more discourse between staff and students.
DEGREE CLASSIFICATION
Mr Willis asked whether there had been degree
devaluation at Imperial with greater numbers of firsts and upper
seconds awarded that a generation ago. The Rector said there had
been none and that consistent standards had been applied. He said
that the performance of the Russell Group had been distorted by
Oxford and Cambridge. Other staff pointed out that the lower second
was still frequently awarded at Imperial College. Some academics
at the College had noticed that masters students who graduated
from other universities with first class honour degrees sometimes
struggled at Imperial College. When staff from Imperial College
acted as external assessors for other institutions that did not
have a previous history of producing first rate students they
often found within these institutions a small band of excellent
students who were the equal of the best at Imperial but the profile
of students' abilities, in contrast to Imperial College, often
fell sharply.
No one agreed with UUK's view expressed to the
Committee that the level of understanding required between different
universities was broadly equivalent.
EXTERNAL ASSESSORS
Mr Willis asked what value external examiners
provided to the assessment of degrees. The Rector said that they
were good at identifying potential issues and bringing them to
the attention of the Colleges. For example, while students from
Imperial matched the intellectual abilities of those from Oxford
and Cambridge, additional support was often needed to enhance
and develop their presentational skills. Most of Imperial College's
external assessors came from institutions in the Russell Group,
though they also included industrialists who had a clear view
of the requirements and standards expected by employers. The staff
at the meeting believed that external assessors should be trained.
PLAGIARISM
Mr Willis asked whether plagiarism was a problem.
The staff said that, to ensure that standards were maintained,
it was essential to bear down on plagiarism. The College used
a number of IT programmes to assist in the detection of plagiarism
and that, when detected, punishment was swift and severe—for
example, for a first offence all examination and course results
for a year would be cancelled. To avoid the risk of inadvertent
plagiarism students were given guidance during induction and staff
in the library were on hand to give additional advice during the
year. Often differences in cultural attitudes to plagiarism needed
to be addressed.
PRE-ADMISSION
INFORMATION
Mr Willis asked whether prospective students
were given an indication of who would be teaching them if they
came to Imperial College. In reply, it was pointed out that some
departments in the College had over 50 members of staff each with
a particular specialism and so it was impossible to say who would
be teaching individual students until students' elective modules
in the fourth year, when they could select which module to study.
FINANCIAL SUPPORT
AND DEBT
Mr Willis said that the students he had met
earlier had been concerned about the costs of studying in London
and about the level of debt that they would be incurring. The
staff said that they were aware of students' concerns. The staff
pointed out that the College had taken steps to ease the transition
to university—for example, by guaranteeing a place in a
hall of residence during their first year. The Rector commented
that it was the pattern in the US for students to work and that
universities there employed students where possible on campus—for
example, in garden maintenance. Both outreach and financial supported
were noted to be advanced by the fact that Imperial College employed
over a thousand students to act as role models for outreach into
schools and other organisations. In addition, about 100 students
each year volunteered to go to classrooms in primary and secondary
schools to assist teachers, share specialist knowledge and to
provide positive role models. There were also benefits to the
students: some were paid for these activities and they could refine
their communication skills. The schools benefited with extra tuition
and the pupils found out what it was like to go to university.
Mr Willis asked for a note setting out the work done by Imperial
College as outreach giving details of the projects.
Mr Willis then asked whether Imperial College
was likely to increase its tuition fees to the maximum if the
Government raised the cap on fees next year. he Rector pointed
out that, unlike Oxford and Cambridge, Imperial College had no
endowments and therefore had a greater dependence on state support
and income from fees. He said that the College hoped to expand
its income from international students as there was a large pool
of students with high proficiency in mathematics and science subjects
looking to come to universities in Europe or North America.
Mr Willis thanked the Rector and staff for taking
the time to meet him and to answer questions.
March 2009
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