Association for Learning Technology
publishes response to HEFCE proposals on Research Excellence
Framework
The Association for Learning Technology
(ALT) today published its response to the Higher Education Funding Council for
England (HEFCE)’s proposals for the new Research Excellence Framework (REF),
urging HEFCE to adopt clear guidelines to ensure that interdisciplinary fields
such as learning technology are properly judged in the
REF.
In its response to the HEFCE
consultation, ALT warns that many of its members - as with many others in
interdisciplinary areas - are located in departments, units and centres that are
not themselves responsible for compiling submissions. For this reason it is
important that the REF does not systematically militate against individuals
working on learning technologies being entered into the REF in appropriate units
of assessment.
On the vexed subject of “impact”,
learning technology is a discipline whose impact can be judged: but the most
informative accounts of impact may well be based on changes to ‘host’
institutions. For this reason the REF should include among indicators of impact
the impact within a researcher’s own institution.
Concerning interdisciplinary research,
of which learning technology research is an example, ALT warns that many HEIs
are likely to discriminate against interdisciplinary research being reported in
the REF and against researchers representing themselves as interdisciplinary.
This is already having an impact on the work of individual researchers as they
bid for project funding and write research outputs. Already ALT detects that advice is being
given to our members in their institutions to make sure that they have the right
number of “mainstream” outputs rather than those that are interdisciplinary in
character. A commitment to ensure
that major interdisciplinary groups are represented on panels and to a more open
process needs to be articulated very early in the cycle so as to be credible.
Professor John Cook, Chair of the ALT
Research Committee, and Professor of Technology Enhanced Learning at the
Learning Technology Research Institute said:
“The basic premise of our submission is
that steps need taking to ensure that interdisciplinary fields like learning
technology are supported rather than thwarted by the
REF.
“Collaboration between institutions in
research and development areas such as learning technology is a particularly
strong part of Government policy. It is regrettable that this emphasis on
collaboration is not as strongly reflected in the REF, and this issue needs to
be addressed.
“In particular, vigilance by panels and
clear guidelines from the funding councils will each be needed to curtail the
tendency for institutions to discriminate against interdisciplinary research
being reported in the REF, and against researchers describing their work in the
REF as interdisciplinary.
“In order to save burden on the system,
we urge HEFCE to delay the REF being finalised to 2011, and for it take place in
2014, since activities timetabled for 2010 may need to be significantly
reworked, in the light of the likelihood of new funding strictures, and to allow
time for the new-style REF to be fine tuned to take account of responses to the
current consultation.”
ALT’s response was submitted on 10 December.
For a full copy of the submission, please go to http://repository.alt.ac.uk/683/.
The Higher Education Funding Council
for England (HEFCE) Research Excellence Framework (REF) is the new (to be
implemented under current proposals in 2013) system for assessing the quality of
research in UK higher education institutions (HEIs). In previous years, research
quality has been assessed periodically through the Research Assessment Exercise
(RAE).
The REF will focus on three elements,
which together reflect the key characteristics of research excellence. These
are:
·
Outputs
The primary focus of the REF will be to identify excellent research of all
kinds. This will be assessed through a process of expert review, informed by
citation information in subjects where robust data are available (for example,
in medicine and science).
·
Impact
Significant additional recognition will be given where researchers build on
excellent research to deliver demonstrable benefits to the economy, society,
public policy, culture and quality of life. Impacts will be assessed through a
case-study approach that will be tested in a pilot
exercise.
·
Environment
The REF will take account of the quality of the research environment in
supporting a continuing flow of excellent research and its effective
dissemination and application.
The consultation, which closes on 16
December 2009, sets out proposals for all key aspects of the framework.
About
The Association for Learning Technology (ALT)
is a professional and scholarly association which brings together those with an
interest in the use of learning technology. It has over 200 organisational
members and over 650 individual members, including academic and other
researchers who are creators of educational digital content as well as
contributors to research and policy. Visit http://www.alt.ac.uk/ and
http://www.alt.ac.uk/ALT_2009_Research_Strategy.html.
Association for Learning Technology, Gipsy
Lane, Headington, Oxford, OX3 0BP
Tel: +44 (0)1865 484 125 Fax: +44 (0)1865 484
165 Email: [log in to unmask]
URL: http://www.alt.ac.uk/
For media information on
Catherine Dhanjal, TheAnswer Ltd
Tel: 01883 650434 or 0794 166
9925
Ref: TA588
14 December 2009
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