Memorandum 80
Submission from The Royal Society
STUDENTS AND
UNIVERSITIES
The Royal Society welcomes the opportunity to
respond to this consultation. Our response is based on the Royal
Society's reports entitled A Degree of Concern? and A
higher degree of concern (provided in hard copy as background
material) and other relevant policy documents. This submission
has been approved by Professor Martin Taylor, Physical Secretary
and Vice-President on behalf of the Council of the Society.This
response is arranged under the headings of the enquiry's terms
of reference, and clear signposts are given to the relevant document
which deals with the issues more fully.
The Higher Education system underpins the UK's ability
to do well as a nation. In the context of an increasingly competitive
and inter-connected global economy, this means that HE must equip
students individually with the knowledge, skills and aptitudes
to hold their own with the best in the world. At the same time
HE must provide the basis for a skilled workforce that meets the
UK's needs quantitatively and qualitatively. We emphasise:
— the need to place UK developments in
an European and global context, including the contributions that
both students and staff from overseas make to UK HE;
— the importance of a high degree of flexibility
throughout the education system;
— the importance of looking in detail at
individual disciplines, not just broader subject groupings;
— the lack of fluency in basic mathematical
skills shown by many entrants to undergraduate courses;
— the significant premium placed on STM
graduate skills by employers.
For further details of our position on this
issues, please see A degree of concern? (2006) and A
higher degree of concern (2008)
ADMISSIONS
The effectiveness of the process for admission
to Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), including A-levels, Advanced
Diplomas, apprenticeships and university entrance tests
Research commissioned this year by the Royal
Society and the Institute of Physics (Relative difficulty of examinations
in different subjects, 2008) showed that some subjects at A-level
were more difficult than others and that it was easier to achieve
top grades in subjects like Media Studies and Psychology than
it was when taking subjects like Maths, Physics and Chemistry.
The research from Durham University's Curriculum, Evaluation and
Management (CEM) Centre ran contrary to a report released by the
Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) in February this
year, the "Inter-Subject Comparability Study", which
stated that there are "no substantial or consistent differences
in standards between any subjects at any level".
With UCAS points, derived from A level grades earned,
being the clearest determinant of where a student will attend
university, there is concern that students are influenced towards
taking "softer" subjects to obtain the highest points
score and hence the best university places. High grades also assist
a school's position in annual, exam results-based, league tables.
A system that collects and publishes annual data
on the relative difficulty of subjects should be introduced by
Ofqual to allow open but informed discussion on the topic. The
introduction of an annual report that exposes the relative difficulties
of A-levels would encourage a transparent, market-led approach,
helping universities to choose between the brightest candidates.
Honesty about the level of assessment in different subjects will
also encourage the brightest students to tackle the more challenging
subjects, in the knowledge that their achievement will be recognised
and will result in the greatest rewards.
The worry is that some good students are put off
taking Maths and Science A-levels because it is harder to get
a good grade in them. Anything that discourages students from
taking these subjects, which are so important for the future prosperity
of the UK, is to be deplored.
For further details on this issue, please see
Relative difficulty of examinations in different subjects.
The UK's ability to meet government targets for
Higher Education participation and the relevance of these targets
We support the Government's efforts to increase
the percentage of 18 to 30 year-olds in the UK who have had some
experience of higher education to 50% in the UK and believe that
there should be no barrier to able students, regardless of socio-economic
background, ethnic group or other factors, entering HE. Inevitably,
the greater proportion of the UK population now entering HE has
meant that a wider range of individuals are studying at UK universities
than in the past. Universities therefore have to cope with the
challenges involved in teaching a more diverse student body. There
have also been large increases in the number of students who pursue
postgraduate study.
We believe the UK should also move towards a system
of "credits" whereby someone who leaves university after
two years isn't regarded as "wastage", but can claim
credit for having had two years of college, and feel free to return
at a later date. There is concordance, not conflict, between sustaining
excellence and widening access.
For further details of our position on this
issue, please see A higher degree of concern, 2008; and
the 2008 Anniversary Address.
THE BALANCE
BETWEEN TEACHING
AND RESEARCH
Levels of funding for, and the balance between,
teaching and research in UK HEIs, and the adequacy of financial
support for the development of innovative teaching methods and
teaching/research integration
The Society would like to see a diverse HE sector,
in which independent universities draw upon their individual strengths
to undertake teaching, research, community & business engagement
and maintaining international links. These universities should
be funded in part by Government, through mechanisms that meet
the requirements of accountability but also allow institutions
and researchers the freedom and authority to undertake excellent
teaching and research of all kinds, on a sustainable basis. The
dual support system should be retained, augmented by third stream
funding from businesses and charities. Teaching must be fully
funded.
More emphasis must be given to a collaborative approach
to learning between universities and industry, including employer
engagement with curriculum development, matching the emphasis
that has already been placed on knowledge transfer and commercialising
research.
Scholarship is necessary as a background to any professional
activity in the universities and might include undertaking research,
reviewing existing knowledge, understanding the needs of students
and the potential users of research outcomes and funding colleagues
to attend and participate in seminars here and overseas. It is
fundamental to the concept of HE that students, particularly those
on honours first-degree courses, are both exposed to at least
some frontiers within their subjects of study, and enabled to
continue to keep abreast of developments into the future. It is
also important to recognise that "research" means differing
things even within a discipline and certainly across disciplines.
It includes the generation of new knowledge, and the novel analysis
of, and synthesis from, existing knowledge. There is a wide range
of costs associated with these.
For further details of our position on this
issue, please see A higher degree of concern, 2008.
The quality of teaching provision and learning
facilities in UK and the extent to which they vary between HEIs
It is important to recognise the diversity of
education provision that is covered by the terms "higher
education" and "undergraduate education". Within
the UK the usual major distinction is between "first degree"
and "other undergraduate" courses, but the latter cover
a wide range (eg HND, DipHE and some Open University courses).
When developing policies to widen participation and to broaden
access to existing courses, it is important to consider what component
of HE is being looked at.
The Society maintains that the Government's emphasis
should be on achieving the highest quality learning environment,
which includes not only teaching but also "a culture of intellectual
enquiry, sustained by continuing familiarity with original research".
Teaching standards will also be improved in turn by a better understanding
of the needs of the learner and enabling these needs to be fulfilled.
This requires a better appreciation of the different skills of
research and teaching and the need for initial training to be
available to new lecturers. It is also important that the overall
work of the department—undergraduate and postgraduate teaching,
curriculum development, research, and outreach to the community—is
distributed appropriately. Needless to say, the ability to recruit
and retain staff of the highest calibre requires salaries that
are commensurate and competitive.
For further details of our position on this
issue, please see our response to the White Paper on the future
of higher education, 2004.
The suitability of methods of assessing excellence
in teaching and research and the impact of research assessment
on these activities
The Society responded to HEFCE's consultation
on research assessment earlier in 2008. In our response we strongly
endorsed the current dual support system of financing research
in UK higher education, and stated our belief that this should
continue post-2008. The Society believes that dual support is
an effective mechanism to sustain excellent research.
"The future success and sustainability of the
research base involves a number of broader research-related activities
such as public engagement, innovation and engagement with user
communities, and contributions to policy. The Society believes
than an overall research funding system, that includes the Research
Excellence Framework (REF), must properly recognise these activities.
We expressed concern that the consultation was not offering an
integrated perspective that considered how the REF will link with
a consideration of these other aspects. There will be a need for
peer review regarding the recognition and rewarding of these activities.
Our response stated that we believe that existing and proposed
metrics should be used as indicators only, and that to fully assess
the quality of research peer judgement is a necessary part of
assessment for all science subjects."
For further details of our position on this
issue, please see the Society's response to HEFCE consultation
on research assessment, 2008.
STUDENT SUPPORT
AND ENGAGEMENT
The adequacy of UK higher education (HE) funding
and student support packages, and implications for current and
future levels of student debt
The funding available to students, in the shape
of grants, loans or bursaries, can be used to influence student
choice, and therefore encourage (or discourage) the study of particular
courses or subject areas. The Government is able to encourage
more students to study a subject where there is an undersupply
of graduates, or encourage particular career paths through providing
greater financial assistance to students who choose these options
rather than other paths of study. This is already happening for
teacher training courses.
UK-domiciled undergraduate students now pay a contribution
towards their tuition fees (although the situation varies between
the component parts of the UK). The result of this, alongside
the shift from student grants to student loans, is that many UK
students graduate with sizeable debts. There are many implications
arising from this changing financial situation including how students
view themselves, how well they achieve, the courses they choose
to take and the career pathways open to them.
We also believe that the appropriate advice, preparation
and support should be available to students at all educational
stages, allowing individuals to make choices about subjects and
study options based on a full understanding of their implications
in the medium and long term.
For further details of our position on this
issue, please see our response to the White Paper on the future
of higher education, 2004.
December 2008
REFERENCES
Royal Society 2003, Response to the White
Paper on the future of higher education
Available at http://royalsociety.org/document.asp?tip=0&id=1370
Royal Society 2006, A degree of concern?
Available at http://royalsociety.org/document.asp?tip=0&id=5467
Royal Society 2006, Response to Education
& Skills Committee inquiry into the future sustainability
of the higher education sector: purpose, funding and structures
Available at http://royalsociety.org/document.asp?tip=0&id=5885
Royal Society 2008, A higher degree of concern
Available at http://royalsociety.org/document.asp?tip=0&id=7403
Royal Society 2008, Response to HEFCE's consultation
on research assessment
Available at http://royalsociety.org/document.asp?tip=0&id=7452
Institute of Physics and Royal Society, 2008,
Relative difficulty of examinations in different subjects
Available via http://www.cemcentre.org/RenderPage.asp?LinkID=10011000
Royal Society 2008, Anniversary Address
Available via http://royalsociety.org/publication.asp?id=2181
| 
