Patchy use of web2.0 in UK universities — Times Higher Education May 8, 2009
Posted by Jonathan Hewett in : delicious links , 1 comment so farA preview of the findings of the Committee of Inquiry into the Changing Learner Experience:
"The committee's report, Higher Education in a Web 2.0 World, will also say that universities face a "digital divide" when it comes to the ability of tutors to use social networking in their teaching.
While some academics have embraced the use of websites such as Wikipedia, MySpace, Facebook and Bebo, others lack the technological knowhow or are "hostile to all but the most cursory engagement with ICT".
Use of Web 2.0 technologies in learning and teaching was "considerable but patchy", and driven by the enthusiasm of individuals or small groups.
The inquiry found that students as yet only "dimly perceived" the potential of Web 2.0 as a learning tool, and could be uncomfortable with staff-initiated online discussion."
QAA reports on public concerns about academic standards March 27, 2009
Posted by Jonathan Hewett in : delicious links , add a commentQAA lines up more work, saying it has found "evidence to support further scrutiny of […] concerns in the following areas:
– the range of contact hours appropriate to the student learning experience
– guidance offered to international students about UK higher education and the support arrangements that international students should expect from higher education institutions
– processes use to identify, train and support external examiners
– the assessment and degree classification practices used by higher education institutions
– effective ways of informing the general public about academic standards and quality in higher education and the ways they are assured."
Universities' millions in Iceland — BBC NEWS | Education October 17, 2008
Posted by Jonathan Hewett in : delicious links , add a commentDemise of Icelandic banks hits some UK universities. Any more to follow? Best not to think about their pension funds at the moment…
"Universities' secretary John Denham said a total of 12 English universities had £77m at stake though none of the institutions was in jeopardy.
Oxford University and its colleges have £30m – or 5% of their overall cash deposits – invested in three of the troubled banks or subsidiaries. Cambridge faces losses of £11m…
On Wednesday it emerged that three Welsh universities had £8.1m at risk…
Manchester Metropolitan University said it was hopeful it would get back the £10m it had invested…
The University of Manchester said it had £5m of its general investments in the banks…
The Open University said it had invested £6.5m in UK subsidiaries with the Icelandic banks."
Times Higher Education: Bologna Process and UK: The long and the short of it October 5, 2008
Posted by Jonathan Hewett in : delicious links , add a commentThe Bologna gap between universities in the UK and much of Europe:
At the heart of the debate is the British one-year masters degree. The accord does not require a two-year masters degree, but most European universities offer a qualification of this type as standard. Across continental Europe, the masters is a research-intensive course aimed at preparing students for a PhD and a career in academia. In the UK, it performs a quite different function – offering the high-level professional skills required by the workplace.
As such, the one-year masters offered by UK universities could be seen as minimalist, even lazy. According to the Hepi report: "If the Bologna brand were to become well established, and if the UK was seen not to be 'Bologna-compliant' – and there are undoubtedly a number of our competitors who would like to create that impression – then that could damage the UK's attractiveness to international students.