World-class institutions or enabling world-class individuals?

University World News has published a fascinating debate, asking if too much emphasis is being put on world-class universities to the detriment of issues like widening participation.

Should all universities strive to top league tables and aim to be the best of the best?

: photo by Stefan

Ellen Hazelkorn makes the following statement:

“Governments and universities must stop obsessing about global rankings and the top 1% of the world’s 15,000 institutions. Instead of simply rewarding the achievements of elites and flagship institutions, policy needs to focus on the quality of the system-as-a-whole.” [Source]

Another piece, by Parra, Bozo & Inciarte, considers universities in developing countries. But in some ways, it may be worth considering the following in terms of UK institutions too:

“…there cannot be a single model for universities. Rather, different models of universities or other higher education institutions that respond to diverse needs and are substantially different in quality, status and content need to coexist.

“Some universities will reflect the top research centre model; others, the training or professionalising model; and there will be universities that focus their performance on social needs such as community engagement, social service, the micro-economy and social mobility.”

Difficulties arise for widening participation when different levels of higher learning develop, so nothing is simple. Making certain institutions more appealing to disadvantaged young people, for instance, somewhat misses the point. Yet it’s also crucial to consider a diverse range of individual needs and pathways.

It’s easy to say that Oxbridge isn’t necessarily for everyone. But how easy is it to say that the lowest ranked university in the country might be best suited to a top-grade student?

I bet the second statement doesn’t fit so comfortably. My question is, should that be the case?

Success has many faces and comes from many places. As Doug Belshaw argues, “You can strive to be élite (as an individual, organisation or country) without being élitist”. Therefore, in the right circumstances, world-class achievement can arise from a humble position.

Next time you hear someone make a basic comparison or simply state that one thing is better than another, remember that the remarks can only be subjective. Even considerable attempts to back up what’s being said won’t usually result in unarguable fact.

Higher education encompasses so much that institutions can struggle to shine in their many roles and competitive situations. That is why different models of engagement should be welcomed, “otherwise focus is increasingly replaced by dilution“.

Could a world-class graduate emerge from a low-ranking university? I say it’s just as likely as finding a mediocre graduate from a world-class institution.

What say you?

Further reading from the University World News debate:

Edulinks – July 2011 – 20 Super Study Links

Welcome to the second part of the July EduLinks update.

Here are 20 fab links you need to devour:

How to write and leave the research for later. As simple as XXX.
Can students really rely on their SUs to cut the mustard?
Should you shake hands at graduation? Imperial Spark says if you are going to risk it, here’s how to make an effective shake.
Yes, the sheer amount of online content created is huge. But shouldn’t the main concern be that of quality & accuracy?
Choosing between extra curricular work & study.
All things being equal? Equality and diversity in careers education, information, advice and guidance.
How to Write Better and Faster (Lifehack)
Why Being Certain Means Being Wrong (Harvard Business)
9 Easy Ways to Create Ideas (Psychology Today)
7 Speed Reading Tricks by a Former Book-Hater (Lifehack)
The Hacker’s Guide to Finding a Job: 9 Tactics No One’s Using
How to cure deep procrastination (Study Hacks)
Cambridge Journals makes content from 2009 & 2010 free until end of August.
Make more marvellous mistakes!
Life plans set at 18, or keeping an open mind?
Listen to questions. Don’t dismiss them.
Peer pressure influences our memories (MindBlog)
How likely are you to be employed? Search by university & course.
Teaching and learning: “The two are not one and the same.”
“Not knowledgeable but knowledge-able.” – You should watch @mwesch on student work (5min10sec in):

Edulinks – July 2011 – News

A lot can happen in a month. Let’s recap in a two-post monster.

News links abound in this post. In the other, I’ll treat you to some of the best student linkage.

In HE news, two big things happened. You know, BIG big.

White Paper Fun

First up, a government White Paper on higher education was published. Some people wanted it to go further. Others wondered why postgraduate issues weren’t addressed. A lot has been said since its publication.

I covered the White Paper on TheUniversityBlog the day it came out. So many others were quick to comment. Here’s just some of what’s out there…

Understandably, Times Higher Education had a lot of articles on the paper:

THE’s editor, Ann Mroz, naturally led on the White Paper too, saying it was big…you know, BIG big. But with no grand plan.

The Guardian said that while some will win, others will be ‘screwed’.

VC of Salford, Martin Hall, called the White Paper “Both bad and dangerous” and described the proposals as “pale and disappointing”.

Shortly after the paper’s publication, a range of campaign groups set out a not exactly glowing response to its content, producing an alternative to the White Paper.

Leicester’s Third University subsequently suggested an alternative to the alternative…

Richard Hall took the White Paper’s title, “Putting students at the heart of the system” and suggested, “You are not been paying attention“.

More recently, more commentary has arrived. It’s unlikely to be the last!

Andrew McGettigan lists ten things everyone working in or studying art should know about the White Paper.

Patrick McGhee, VC of the University of East London, says we “need to challenge the fees model itself” if we are not to sleepwalk into problems similar to those in the US system.

NUS President, Liam Burns, writes in the Guardian, “Ministers must answer this question — does an identifiable fee put students off?”

OFFA the scale…

Okay, I’m guessing you’ve had enough White Paper linkage. What was the second BIG big thing to happen in the HE sector?

I’ll put you out of your misery. The other big development in July was the Office For Fair Access (OFFA) agreeing to fees set by the country’s universities.

Yes, higher fees have been confirmed throughout the land. I did a rough and ready calculation to work out average fees:

Estimated average fee = £8376
Average fee after waivers = £8136
Average fee after likely financial support = £7801

This is slightly different to the Times Higher Education information, which is available in an easy to browse spreadsheet, but it’s close enough, so I didn’t revisit the calculations. Give or take a few pounds won’t matter much, if we’re to believe that a huge rise in fees shouldn’t bother future students.

As you’d expect, the final fees agreements got a lot of media coverage:

The Independent published the full list of fees for 2012/13.

What does this mean for poor families? William Cullerne Bown looks at OFFA’s focus on “outcomes and targets”

Phew!

If you’re looking for study-related links instead of this recent events malarkey, you’ve got all that to come in the next post. Oh, happy days!

Find the right reasons to read ahead

You might think that reading ahead can only be positive. By knowing in advance what you’re meant to read, why shouldn’t you just read it now?

photo by lusi Erin E. Templeton writes in ProfHacker, “the act of reading ahead is often exceptionally damaging to our work together in the classroom”.

Templeton, an English professor, notes that many students read ahead just to get it out of the way. Instead of engaging academically, the aim is to finish the task of reading as if that’s what matters.

What are your reasons for reading ahead? If it’s just another box ticking exercise to get another activity off your to-do list, you may be doing yourself a disservice. More than that, Templeton argues, you may be doing the whole class a disservice.

Your reasons are important. I loved reading ahead, even before I went to university. I wanted to get the initial reading and course texts understood in advance, because I knew there’d be so much more to deal with upon hitting campus.

Anyone who has been through their first year at uni will know what I mean. Overwhelm isn’t exactly difficult as a Fresher. Due to this, I would always suggest that future students swot up in advance, even if they continue to remain in the dark over most of the concepts and arguments.

I loved reading ahead. I worried less about confusing content, because I knew that lectures, seminars and tutorials would deliver clarity where I needed it. I would come armed with questions and specific goals. I was prepared to revisit the text and discover more.

This type of reading ahead is not what concerns Templeton. Unfortunately, this type of reading ahead isn’t common in Templeton’s experience. What she sees is a type of reading that severely limits critical engagement with the text:

“The study of literature is…not only reading a certain selection of texts in a particular order. Instead, a good class takes the book list as a foundation and collaboratively generates an extended conversation through discussion and debate, analysis and critique. The themes and issues which emerge from our collective experience and conversation are not always (or even often) ones that can be predicted ahead of time. In fact, the best of these are ones that cannot be anticipated precisely because they arise organically from the confluence of time, place and participants.”

Reading ahead is clearly not a problem in itself. However, you must be prepared to ‘read again’ to give close and careful reading of the text.

Without a critical eye, you might as well be reading for enjoyment.

Enjoying what you read is fantastic. I always preferred reading something I could appreciate beyond cold and critical study.

Perhaps reading ahead is crucial, then. It may be the only effective way to bridge that gap between enjoyment and engagement when studying subjects like English. Consume the texts in advance for your own fun, then read again with deeper focus.

How do you tackle your mountain of reading?