The team to raise the standard

THES reporters turn the spotlight on the working groups set up so far by Sir Ron Dearing as part of his inquiry into the future of higher education. A head teacher, a student, a training chief, a banker, an educationist, a few vice chancellors and a couple of college principals, make up the biggest of Sir Ron Dearing's working groups.

The group's area of inquiry comes under the banner Teaching, Quality and Standards. It will be chaired by Sir Ron himself and has been asked to consider higher education's role in personal development both for the benefit of individuals and for society. In the process, it will look at the implications of changing employment patterns and a bigger variety of students.

It is probably no accident that members of the group are drawn from such a range of backgrounds. The academic community is represented by Madeleine Atkins, dean of education at the University of Newcastle; Sir Ron Oxburgh, rector of Imperial College; David Watson, vice chancellor of Brighton University; Adrian Webb, vice chancellor of the University of Glamorgan; John Rae, principal of the College of St Mark and St John in Plymouth; and Simon Wright, the only student representative, who is academic affairs officer for the student union at the University of Wales, Cardiff.

From the further education sector there is John Bolton, principal of Blackburn College; and from the schools' sector Pamela Morris, head teacher of the Blue School in Wells, Somerset. There is also Anne Bailey, head of educational training for the Engineers Employers Federation and Sir George Quigley, chairman of Osterbank.

During its research and analysis the group should draw on the work of the Higher Education Quality Council and the Higher Education Funding Council for England. In particular, the definition of "graduateness"; its look at "threshold standards" and the impact of modularisation; and its analysis of the impact of new vocational qualifications. Hefce's research and reports on postgraduate education; access courses; higher education in FE; and the effectiveness of initiatives to boost recruitment to engineering courses; are also highly relevant to the issues specified in the terms of reference.

These issues involve a trawl of course content, teaching methods and modes of delivery, and asking how they relate to new demands from students and employers.

Finally, the group will tackle contentious questions on quality and standards. HEFCEhas already proposed a new single quality agency and incentives to improve the quality of teaching and learning. But some academics are opposed. As one senior official put it, "There is the feeling that if we can't agree on a new system, we can always leave it to Dearing to sort out."