Liverpool University has become the fourth university to fail a teaching quality inspection. One of its prestigious nursing degrees does not meet statutory requirements for professional nurse training, writes Phil Baty.
Quality Assurance Agency inspectors found that students on the bachelor of nursing degree in adult nursing were spending too little time on clinical placements to meet the rules set by the English National Board of Nursing. Students were falling short by 300 hours of the board's demands that a minimum of 4,600 hours is spent on the course.
They also found that Liverpool had failed to balance theoretical and practical work properly as required by the board.
The QAA report published this week gave Liverpool the lowest possible grade for the quality of its curriculum design, content and organisation - grade one, which indicates "many shortcomings". A grade one in any of the six inspection areas means the quality of all the courses inspected are "not approved".
It said that Liverpool had failed to meet its stated claim that students on the degree will be able to meet ENB requirements. It concluded: "There are major shortcomings that must be rectified."
The problems were identified with one of the four courses inspected. The QAA found a BSc nursing degree and two masters courses to be satisfactory.
The inspectors also identified more general problems with the staff:student ratio, with too few teachers per student. "The department is able to call on the teaching resource of the faculty of medicine, but this dependency on resources outside the department leaves nursing courses vulnerable to changes elsewhere," the QAA report said. It added that external examiners were "not always used consistently".
Liverpool joins Derby, Leeds and Bournemouth universities and five higher education colleges on the list of teaching quality assessment failures.
Other aspects of provision at Liverpool were praised. The review team found that all programmes were satisfactory "in terms of the achievement of the theoretical learning outcomes" and they were all found to properly "equip students with appropriate subject knowledge and understanding, cognitive and transferable skills".
The university was given the top grade in three of the six criteria, including student support and guidance and student progression and achievement. It was singled out for commendation in nine areas.
The inspection was carried out in October 1999, and Liverpool has been acting to rectify the problem since. The provision will be re-inspected within a year