[grc27]

Would love to hear thoughts.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/m.../08/do0806.xml


Scottish universities say No to dumbing down?

By Alan Cochrane
Last Updated: 12:01am GMT 08/01/2008

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There are welcome signs - straws in the wind though they might yet prove to be - that our best universities are beginning to resist the pressure applied to them almost continuously in recent years to be more "accessible."

The last word, of course, adopts an entirely different meaning in the education "industry", where to all intents and purposes increasing access means lowering standards.

University principals have been browbeaten for years to increase, by hook or by crook, the number of students from the poorest areas to their establishments.


This has led to fears that standards would inevitably have to drop if universities were to obey the diktats of their political masters.

The latter, admittedly of all parties, have been wedded to the principle of increasing the proportion of school leavers in higher education, even if that higher education does little or nothing for the employment prospects of those young people.

However, perhaps the worm - in the shape of those who run what are termed our elite universities - is turning.

In England, both Cambridge University and the London School of Economics are set to reject pupils who apply for degree courses armed only with so-called "soft" A-level passes.

Included in the latter category are subjects such as media studies, business studies, design and technology, photography, PE and travel and tourism.

The Russell Group of Britain's 20 top universities, which includes Glasgow and Edinburgh, said many were preparing to issue guidance to would-be undergraduates on which combination of exam passes were preferred.

Hard on the heels of this announcement comes news that Scotland's four oldest universities - St Andrews and Aberdeen, as well as Glasgow and Edinburgh - are seeking to ensure that they continue to provide the best education for the best students, no matter their background.

Their initiative follows the perennial demand for wider access to degree courses for people without the necessary educational qualifications.

At present, students can progress to universities using qualifications gained at Higher National Diploma or Higher National Certificate level and there is pressure for the scheme to be extended.

However, the older universities - who have no difficulty attracting students - believe those with vocational qualifications should be directed towards newer seats of learning, such as Glasgow's Caledonian or Edinburgh's Napier universities.

Inevitably, perhaps, the suggestion has led to accusations of elitism being hurled at the Big Four, especially as there are few signs that the politicians' demand for more children from poor areas to go to university is being met.

There are twice as many students from the most affluent 20 per cent of areas as from the poorest 20 per cent at Scottish universities.

This is the same proportion as in 2001 - an absolutely shaming statistic and further proof that social mobility is getting worse, not better.

Better by far, surely, to improve things in our schools so that more children attain the high academic standards required by universities than to force those universities with international reputations to either drop their entrance criteria or "reserve" places for those with no qualifications.

It is to its credit that the SNP administration is said to have a genuinely open mind on the issue and to Labour's discredit that it has joined in the cacophony of those shouting "elitist" at the older universities.

For the Tories, Liz Smith, maintained her reputation as her party's best performer by concentrating her fire on the SNP's poor showing on this issue.

Indeed, it's a pity that the Nats couldn't have selected higher education as a subject for debate this week. This would have taxed and tested both their ministerial team and their commitment to maintaining the highest of standards in Scotland's universities.

Instead of that, they're going for the easy shot with another moan about Westminster, this time over the Commons' insistence that it should retain control of Scottish elections. Anything for a row with London seems to be Alex Salmond's watchword as we enter the new year.

Meanwhile, and in a welcome departure from the norm, Stephen Timms, the enterprise minister and David Cairns, from the Scotland Office, met representatives of small businesses to reassure them that their problems are better addressed on a UK-wide, rather than a Scottish, basis. Quite right, too.

[Cirrus]

I don't see why Universities should dumb down there courses... I wish my university would raise there entrance grades rather than put them down. If they do dumb them down they are just going to give a bad reputation for themselves and therefore people would rather not go to them... If they can't make the grade, they can't go to that university... not everythign should be handed on a silver platter.

[Captain Biggles]

Of course they should say 'no' to any dumbing down. Prospective employers will take one look at the graduate and realise his/her degree isn't worth the paper it's written on, let alone including the price of printing it. I'd hate to go through a 5-year degree program only to find that a company I had set my sights on joining thinks my degree is useless because the university lowered its entry requirements a few years after I started the course, which will inevitably be the case.

I'm sorry, but the government should be concentrating on getting secondary school children achieving top marks rather than letting those who honestly are not suited to university-style learning through the net. It's an absurd concept really.