- University lecturers could face tougher quality assessments to address a growing number of undergraduate complaints, The Sunday Times reported on 1 March. The results of the assessments 鈥 which will mark down teachers who 鈥渇ail to pay enough attention to their classes鈥 鈥 will be used to decide how teaching grants are allocated, the paper says. 鈥淲e want to make sure that students are getting value for money and the quality they deserve,鈥 said a 鈥渟enior source鈥 close to universities minister Greg Clark, who is apparently considering the plans. Almost no detail about these future assessments was provided, with ministers 鈥渟till studying鈥o what extent they might be similar to the Ofsted ratings鈥 used in schools, the newspaper says. Nonetheless, the assessments will 鈥渂ecome part of the Conservative party鈥檚 election manifesto鈥, which gives party wonks only a few weeks to put together a policy on quality assurance 鈥 probably not what the sector envisaged when it was consulted about the issue last month.
- Princess Beatrice is to take a break from her holidays to study in the US, the Daily Mail reported on 25 February. Beatrice, who has been mocked as 鈥渨ork shy鈥 for embarking on a string of exotic breaks since quitting her post at Sony in December, is apparently set on 鈥渏obs in the area of finance鈥, a royal source said. Of course, she may still be able to go on a few foreign jaunts if she manages her time as well as her cousin Prince William, whose 鈥渋ntensive鈥 10-week land management course at the University of Cambridge last year appeared to leave plenty of time for extracurricular activities.
- David Willetts鈥 zeal in promoting universities鈥 interests while in office did not go down well with his former Cabinet colleagues, The Times reported on 2 March. When the former universities and science minister suggested at a Cabinet committee that foreign student numbers should be doubled rather than reduced, Theresa May was not amused, the paper said. 鈥淭he home secretary looked horrified, the prime minister sat in silence,鈥 according to the newspaper. Since leaving his ministerial post ahead of stepping down as an MP in May, Mr Willetts has stepped up his criticism of Ms May, whose efforts to restrict foreign student numbers are damaging one of the UK鈥檚 strongest export markets, he says. 鈥淯niversity education is our second export to China after motor cars,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t was as if Theresa May was constantly phoning up Jaguar Land Rover and saying stop selling so many cars.鈥
- University Challenge host Jeremy Paxman has been accused of showing bias towards an Oxford college headed by a former BBC executive, The Guardian reported on 26 February. Paxman awarded points to St Peter鈥檚 College, Oxford, despite their not quite giving the right answer. When asked what links Winston Smith鈥檚 home in Nineteen Eighty-Four, Nelson鈥檚 flagship and 8 May 1945, a contestant replied: 鈥淰鈥. 鈥淵eah, we were looking for the word but you鈥檙e quite right that V does link them all, V for victory,鈥 said Paxman. It prompted a viewer to complain but the BBC did not agree that there was bias as Paxman only stressed that he was looking for the whole word after the answer was given. St Peter鈥檚, whose master is former BBC Radio 4 controller Mark Damazer, eventually beat the University of Sussex 205 points to 150 and are still in the competition.
- It hasn鈥檛 been a great week for the University of Westminster after the Islamic State executioner known as Jihadi John was revealed to be a former student. 鈥淭he campus of hate鈥, roared a Daily Mail headline on 28 February, which claimed the day before that Westminster was a 鈥渉otbed for radicals鈥. Leading the criticism was the group Student Rights, which claims that 22 events involving 鈥渟peakers with a history of extremist views鈥 had been organised there since 2012. Westminster has cancelled all forthcoming talks of a potentially contentious nature, saying that it is 鈥渟hocked and sickened鈥 that Mohammed Emwazi was a former student. It said that it was implementing the government鈥檚 Prevent strategy to stop extremism, and it had policies to 鈥減romote tolerance among our 20,000 student community who come to study from 150 nations鈥.
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