I must write in robust defence of learning outcomes, which Frank Furedi so harshly dismisses.
Centres of academic practice in universities all over the UK have spent the past 15 years searching for a purpose for these constructs, and some have now successfully implemented a system that links marking criteria to learning outcomes, course outcomes and graduate attributes. Once you engage with such a process, you discover that you have been overemphasising intangibles such as initiative, flair and originality.
As long as academics work within these necessary prescriptions, we will be able to ensure that reward for learning does not exceed what has actually been paid for.
Liz Morrish, Nottingham