Autocracy kills courses

Autocratic management in further education is responsible for falling standards, researchers have concluded. A report on the findings of a survey for the Learning and Skills Development Agency says courses in decline have often been subject to changes imposed by management without proper staff involvement. Courses with high student achievement and retention are often the result of staff being allowed to take decisions autonomously.

The report Improving Colleges: Why Courses and Programmes Decline over Time can be downloaded from www.lsda.org.uk