Before the ink has dried on the Sunday Times league table we have
advance warning of another - from the Guardian.
Apols if you've already seen this, but this letter from the Guardian was
posted to the admin-cvcpr list and will be of interest to members of
this list.
Unfortunately the University who posted it didn't actually keep a copy
of the questionnaire - if anyone has a copy of the questionnaire
perhaps they could post it to the list (and pass it on to their PR
office for posting to the cvcpr list)?
I had some discussions with Guardian staff earlier in the year, and
pointed out that subject based tables were fraught with difficulties as
there are different bases for compiling statistics - RAE UoAs, QAA UoAs,
HESA subject groups, HESA/Funding Council Cost Centres, etc. The Times
got into this difficulty in their last subject tables when some
Universities' Built Environment and Engineering RAE, QAA and A level
scores got scrambled. The quantification of what constitutes a
'subject' varies tremendously across the sector - with many 'subjects'
eg Business, Health, Technology-related ones having terrible problems of
overlap. Like-with-like comparisons are very difficult in many
'subjects'.
Just another thing to keep us busy over a 'quiet' summer!
Mike Milne-Picken
Head of Planning
University of Central Lancashire
-------------------------------------
From: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Guardian league tables
Date: 27 July 1999 09:05
_____________________________________________
The Secretary
xxxxx Department
University of X
15 July 1999
Dear Sir/Madam,
As part of The Guardian's forthcoming guide to higher education
we are seeking the opinion of senior academics on the best
teaching departments in their own fields.
We want to know which universities your head of department
would recommend a prospective undergraduate student who
wishes to study [THE NAME OF SUBJECT WAS HERE]. Please
pass on the enclosed questionnaire to the head of department or
the most senior member of academic staff available. If your name
is mentioned on the completed questionnaire, you will be entered
into a prize draw to win a weekend break for two in either Paris,
Amsterdam or Bruges.
To explain - rather than compare universities as a whole, The
Guardian guide will give detailed information on a subject-by-
subject basis for undergraduate applicants. This, we believe, will
not only be more useful for individual students but help to raise
the profile of teaching in higher education.
The 'insider' view from the leaders of the profession will
complement staffing and spending figures gathered by the Higher
Education Statistics Agency and the Quality Assurance Agency's
subject review reports in the compilation of our tables. The focus
will be on undergraduate teaching.
Completed questionnaires should be returned to ICM Research by
August 16th. All information will be confidential and used for
statistical purposes only.
Thank you for your co-operation.
Yours sincerely
Donald MacLeod
Editor, Guardian Education
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