Does Grading Method Influence Honours Degree Classification?

Variation in mark-spread is very evident in degree classification data provided by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). Previous empirical investigations suggested that, at the level of the module, the spread of results might, in some subjects, be influenced by the method of grading (percentage marking or shorter grade-point scale). The availability of degree classification data from HESA made it possible to test whether the effect perceived at module level carried through to the honours degree classification. The empirically-generated hypothesis was that subjects characterised by a relatively narrow spread under percentage marking would show a wider spread when a grade-point scale of around 20 divisions was used, with the effect being detectable in honours degree classification data. The hypothesis was tested, using HESA data for academic years 1994-95 to 1998-99, on those new universities in England and Wales for which the existence of an institution-wide grading approach could be established. Tests were undertaken at the level of the HESA subject area, and at the more fine-grained level of the individual subject where numbers permitted. Results from the analyses are mixed. The analyses have probably been influenced by weaknesses in the way that HESA has collected award data, but nevertheless suggest lines for further inquiry into a matter that is of importance for equity within institutions (especially where modular schemes are being operated) and more broadly across the higher education sector.     

Structural evolution of protein-biofilms: Simulations and experiments

The control of biofilm formation is a challenging goal that has not been reached yet in many aspects. One unsolved question is the role of van der Waals forces and another is the importance of mutual interactions between the adsorbing and the adsorbed biomolecules ("critical crowding"). In this study, a combined experimental and theoretical approach is presented, which fundamentally probes both aspects. On three model proteins-lysozyme, α-amylase, and bovine serum albumin-the adsorption kinetics is studied experimentally. Composite substrates are used enabling a separation of the short- and the long-range forces. Although usually neglected, experimental evidence is given for the influence of van der Waals forces on the protein adsorption as revealed by in situ ellipsometry. The three proteins were chosen for their different conformational stabilities in order to investigate the influence of conformational changes on the adsorption kinetics. Monte Carlo simulations are used to develop a model for these experimental results by assuming an internal degree of freedom to represent conformational changes. The simulations also provide data on the distribution of adsorption sites. By in situ atomic force microscopy we can also test this distribution experimentally, which opens the possibility to, e.g., investigate the interactions between adsorbed proteins.     

Enigmatic Variations: Honours Degree Assessment Regulations in the UK

The debate in the UK about the continued existence of the honours degree classification led to a survey of the assessment regulations in 35 varied higher education institutions. This revealed considerable variation in the way in which honours degree classifications are determined, and also in the handling of weak performances by students. Such variability, deriving from a system in which institutional autonomy is to the fore, raises a question about equitability in the treatment of students. A brief allusion is made to the variability in assessment regulations in the US and Australia.     

Non-completion of full-time and sandwich students in English higher education: costs to the public purse, and some implications

The costs to the public purse of the non-completion of full-time and sandwich students' programmes of study was calculated to be of the order of £91.5 million for the academic year 1994–95. The influences on non-completion arise at three levels: those of the educational system, the institutions, and the students themselves. The reduction of the costs of non-completion is of considerable importance to a higher education system that is under continuing financial constraint, and the article concludes by pointing to some areas in which savings may be possible.     

The development and initial use of a survey of student ‘belongingness’, engagement and self-confidence in UK higher education

Students’ sense of ‘belongingness’ and their engagement in academic study have been identified as key contributors to student success. A short instrument that can identify changes over time in students’ sense of belonging to their institution, their academic engagement and their self-confidence has been developed and used in conjunction with the ‘What Works? Student Retention and Success Change Programme’ (supported by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation and the Higher Education Academy). This article outlines the instrument, its rationale (including its relationship with other survey instruments) and its technical characteristics, and presents analyses of the data. The practical utilisation of the survey is also discussed.     

MICROTEACHING AND CLASSROOM PERFORMANCE

Many claims have been made for the effectiveness of microteaching programmes but, although there is evidence that they can be successful in ‘teaching laboratories’, the use of criteria relating to classroom performance gives results which cast doubts on some of the assertions which have been made. Behavioural approaches are being called into question to an increasing extent, and there seems to be a growing belief that a ‘cognitive perspective’ might make an important contribution to an underlying rationale. But, whatever theoretical base is chosen, the validity of the microteaching programme and its transfer‐value to the classroom remain important, but relatively unstudied, areas of research     

Tallying differences between demographic subgroups from multiple institutions: the practical utility of nonparametric analysis

When analysing course-level data by subgroups based upon some demographic characteristics, the numbers in analytical cells are often too small to allow inferences to be drawn that might help in the enhancement of practices. However, relatively simple analyses can provide useful pointers. This article draws upon a study involving a partnership with 13 UK universities to illustrate a relatively simple methodology that is more widely generalisable.     

Gerald H. Gaither,ed. (1998). Quality assurance in higher education: an international perspective

Tertiary Education and Management -     

Endless summer: What kinds of games will Suits’ utopians play?

I argue that we have good reason to reject Bernard Suits’ assertion that game-playing is the ideal of human existence, in the absence of a suitably robust account of utopian games. The chief motivating force behind this rejection rests in the fact that Suits begs the question that there exists some possible set of games-by-design in his utopia, such that the playing of (a sufficient number of) its members would sustain an existentially meaningful existence for his utopians, in the event of a hypo-instrumental culture of material superabundance obtaining. But the set of utopian games is unknown and unknowable. Thus any implications of Suits’ vision for the utilization of our leisure time in the present are vitiated by the collapse of his normative ideal: his ‘metaphysics of leisure’ misses its mark.     

Formative assessment in higher education: Moves towards theory and the enhancement of pedagogic practice

The importance of formative assessment instudent learning is generally acknowledged, butit is not well understood across higher education.The identification of some key features offormative assessment opens the way for adiscussion of theory. It is argued that thereis a need for further theoretical developmentin respect of formative assessment, which needsto take account of disciplinary epistemology,theories of intellectual and moral development,students' stages of intellectual development,and the psychology of giving and receivingfeedback. A sketch is offered of the directionthat this development might take. It is notedthat formative assessment may be eitherconstructive or inhibitory towards learning. Suggestions are made regarding research intoformative assessment, and how research mightcontribute to the development of pedagogicpractice.