Examination of Witnesses (Questions 320
- 325)
MONDAY 9 MARCH 2009
PROFESSOR BOB
BURGESS, PROFESSOR
GINA WISKER,
PROFESSOR JAMES
WISDOM AND
PROFESSOR GEOFFREY
ALDERMAN
Q320 Mr Marsden: Can I ask you about
the Higher Education Achievement Report?
Professor Burgess: The Higher
Education Achievement Report as referred to in our final report—I
think we had in mind a paper version. We have now moved in the
implementation process to say, "How could we develop it electronically?
How could the Higher Education Achievement Report be used cumulatively,
particularly across second and third year work done at undergraduate
level?" I think in that sense it meets the requirements of
portability and flexibility. It would suit part-time students
because you would be able to have a running record of what you
had achieved. It would also allow you to demonstrate how you had
achieved different aspects of your work, so whether you were good
in engaging in project work as opposed to timed examinations,
and vice versa. I think in that sense we have looked at something
which suits the contemporary university with the way in which
students go along different routes, full-time, part-time, modular,
and so on.
Q321 Chairman: Can we get a response
on this issue, in terms of the Higher Education Achievement Report?
What is your view on that?
Professor Wisdom: I think it is
going to work. What I really want is something slightly different.
I want the students to know how good they are, rather than to
be told how good they are by universities. When you leave university
I would like you to be in a position to be able to make a judgement
of your own work, and that changes the terms of trade slightly.
So I am not that bothered about how we describe students, but
I am very bothered about how well they understand themselves.
Q322 Dr Harris: There is this question
of league tables. There is some evidence that as soon as you have
league tables people want to be high on them, it is a natural
thing, that is why they have been introduced. It is a way for
the Government to show with the Health Service that everything
gets better and the problems are due to the people at the bottom,
and there is always someone on the bottom. So if you have in this
Higher Education Achievement Report a quantum, a measure, then
it is going to be converted by people employed by the Times
newspaper into a league table and so there will be this incentive
to score people higher on that as well. Will you not, Professor
Burgess, just be repeating some of the same problems if there
is a measure in there that you have with the degree classification
system?
Professor Burgess: I do not think
you will have the identical problem because you will have greater
detail, greater depth, and I suspect it will mean that as long
as the degree classification is kept in place then people will
move to using the summative judgement to create league tables.
Basically, as far as I can see whatever system we devise in whatever
walk of life, a journalist will quickly convert it into a league
table, no matter what you do in order to try and prevent it.
Q323 Dr Harris: Is not the flip side
of the standards issue the desire in the market just to recruit
as many, for example, international students as possible? Would
we not be better off without such a market-driven approach? I
am conscious that you are from the University of Buckinghamshire,
but nevertheless you might still agree that the market does not
always work so well on these issues?
Professor Alderman: I would look
towards a regulated market, Chairman.
Q324 Dr Harris: Just one more question,
very briefly, you said that you thought you were satisfied plagiarism
was not a problem. I put that to Professor Alderman because he
mentioned this in his evidence, whether he can be as confident
as Professor Burgess that plagiarism is not a problem because
these programmes exist?
Professor Alderman: Alas, Chairman,
I cannot be as confident.
Q325 Chairman: The programmes do
not work?
Professor Alderman: The software
programmes are highly controversial, and secondly we have, of
course, moved on from what I will call classic plagiarism to bespoke
essay writing services, which is another problem altogether.
Professor Wisdom: I think good
teachers design plagiarism out of their courses.
Professor Alderman: Chairman,
that is true where you have good teachers.
Chairman: You are taking over my Committee,
and I cannot allow that! You have been an absolutely splendid
group of witnesses and I thank you very, very much indeed. We
could have spent a great deal longer on this, but thank you very
much indeed Professor Burgess, Professor Wisker, Professor Wisdom
and Professor Alderman.
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