Denham questions quality of teaching at universities with high drop-out rates

A huge row has broken out over comments by the universities secretary suggesting poor teaching is to blame for students leaving early


John Denham

John Denham's remarks have triggered a furious response from the lecturers' union. Photograph: Sean Smith

The universities secretary, John Denham, has triggered a huge row today by claiming that the "quality of teaching and the student experience" is behind the low participation rates at some universities.

Denham's comments came in a letter to the funding council Hefce asking it to looking into new figures which today show that, on some measures, widening participation is going into decline, and there is a creeping increase in drop-outs. His concern is that there is too wide a variation between the performance of different universities and he wants the Quality and Assurance Agency (QAA) to look into it.

"I think it would be helpful to stimulate a better public understanding, and a more informed public debate, on retention rates between institutions," he writes. "The wide differences here concern me.

"No doubt there will be a number of factors to explain why certain institutions have particularly low retention rates. However, it seems likely that the quality of teaching and the student experience will be an important component. For this reason, I think there could be role here for the QAA."

The University and College Union is spitting. General secretary Sally Hunt said: "I am outraged and astonished that the minister is trying to suggest that the reason for an increase in drop-outs is down to poor teaching. His comments are another kick in the teeth for lecturers whose reward for all their extra hard work has been an insulting pay offer of just 0.4% and the news that, as students numbers increase again this year, 100 universities are planning to axe jobs.

"The number of students attending university has increased considerably in the past few years and it is lecturers who continue to deliver high-quality teaching despite rising class sizes and increased workloads. John Denham's comments show a lack of understanding of the key pastoral work so many UCU members undertake in providing support above and beyond the call of duty for students struggling at university. If he is looking for reasons why students are dropping out, it may be worth him considering the record levels of debt that the government is saddling them with."

That variation Denham speaks of is, crudely, between the Russell group (excellent staying-on rates, middle-class dominated) and the ex-polys (poorer staying-on rates, but delivering the bulk of the widening participation agenda).

But don't we know about the links between class and completion rates? Instead of asking Hefce to investigate the causes, don't these figures show the need for more support to be given to those universities doing the brilliant job of giving people from non-traditional university backgrounds the chance to do a degreePoll?

Or is Denham right to blame poor teaching for low staying-on rates?

16/07/2009