"Dumbing Down" UK University Standards

BBC:

wo senior academics at a Manchester university have accused it of "dumbing down" higher education.

Sue Evans and Walter Cairns, both lecturers at Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU), said the marks of failing students had been "bumped up".

They also claim the university will not take action against students who fail to turn up for lectures.

Deputy vice chancellor Kevin Bonnett said the comments were an "insult" to the university and its students.

The Daily Mail:

A group of university lecturers have painted a bleak picture of the falling standards of British higher education in a 500-page dossier presented to an MPs' inquiry.

The academics warn of an across-the-board dumbing down with degrees becoming increasingly easy, widespread plagiarism and institutional pressure from university bosses to award students higher grades than they deserve.

The lecturers come from a wide range of universities including Oxford, Birmingham, Cardiff, Sussex and Manchester Metropolitan, reported The Sunday Times.
Graduates throwing mortarboards in the air

The aim of the dossier, which blames the problems on university expansion without adequate funding, is to force Universities Secretary John Denham to take action to safeguard standards of higher education.

One academic to give evidence is Stuart Derbyshire, a senior lecturer in psychology at Birmingham University.

More from Greame Paton and Yojana Sharma.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at March 16, 2009 5:11 AM
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