The UGC's Research Rankings Exercise

The UGC's ranking of research strengths was part of a wider, radical revision of university funding. Inevitably, the exercise aroused much hostile academic criticism which stemmed from both science-based and arts-based sources: this has focused specifically on the methodology employed, the secrecy surrounding it, and the denial of appellate provision. Additional criticisms made here are: (i) the techniques devised were inadequate for the task; and (ii) that they represented a mechanistic approach to an essentially organic problem. Although the UGC exercise was deeply flawed, evaluation per se seems to have been generally accepted, however reluctantly. The exercise is unlikely to be repeated in the same form since it has been overtaken by events. Proposals for contract funding and a three-tier university system suggest that assessments will be of a different kind in future.