A PROMINENT group of British academics this week called on the funding
councils to stop backing low-quality research and put money into improving
university teaching instead. The National Academic Policy Advisory Group, which
includes members from the Royal Society, the Royal Academy of Engineering and
the Conference of Medical Royal Colleges, insists that all research money should
be spent on world-class work.
The funding councils鈥� Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) judges the quality
of research carried out in individual university departments, and rates it on a
scale of 1 to 5. In the last assessment, in 1992, departments ranked as low as 2
received funding. The group says this should not happen in this year鈥檚 exercise.
Funding councils have not yet announced how they will distribute money from now
on.
In a report called Research Capability of the University System
launched this week the group claims that funds are needed to pay for the
鈥減rofessional development鈥� of academics who are not active in research, to help
them keep up with their subject and improve the courses they teach.
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It recommends that about 拢50 million, including money which is
currently used to fund research in departments ranked at level 2, should be used
to pay for this. It advises that the money should go only to those departments
that are not competing for research money through the RAE.
The group believes that some universities have been expanding their research
departments in order to attract research money. Some universities, it claims,
are better suited to teaching than research, and should be encouraged to develop
their expertise as educators.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no use pretending that 104 universities could have the same job in
life,鈥� says David Harrison, master of Selwyn College, Cambridge, who chaired the
group. A university could have some departments that are strong on research and
others that are known for their top-grade teaching, he says.
But some people are sceptical about the group鈥檚 recommendations. 鈥淚t seems to
be about developing further the distinction between research and non-research
universities,鈥� says Paul Cottrell of the Association of University Teachers. 鈥淚f
professional development money is a good idea, then it鈥檚 a good idea for all
补肠补诲别尘颈肠蝉.鈥�