Universities consider switch to four terms

RADICAL changes in higher education, including a four-term year and accelerated degree courses, may be inevitable, according to a confidential paper discussed yesterday by university vice-chancellors.

The paper lays out the key issues facing a working group chaired by Lord Flowers, a former vice-chancellor of the University of London. The group has been jointly commissioned by universities and colleges, and the English and Welsh funding councils, to review the academic year.

It suggests that universities could teach students throughout the whole year, not just for 30 weeks as at present. There could be two separate intakes a year, with Finals exams being held every term. It might involve schools also changing to a four-term year.

A four-term year would enable the introduction of accelerated courses 'which may be increasingly attractive given financial pressures on students and the rise in mature student numbers'.

The paper states: 'The political reality is that it would be extremely difficult to attempt to defend the status quo, ie continuation of traditional academic organisation. To do so it would be necessary to provide watertight arguments that students' education and academic content would suffer significantly if these were changed; and to convince government of this. Moreover there are signs from individual universities that the status quo is already being challenged.'

The paper, which went before vice-chancellors at their annual conference in Exeter, warns that the quality of the student experience could suffer from changes to the academic year. Shorter degrees would mean time would be lost for revision, reflection and for ideas to mature. There would have to be changes in staff appointments - some lecturers might be employed on 'teaching only' contracts and others released from undergraduate teaching to concentrate on research.

A four-term year, and no long summer vacation, would seriously reduce conference trade, which offsets the costs of student accommodation. It would also be necessary to consider how universities would update libraries or repair and maintain buildings; at present such work is done in the summer vacation.

Spelling test for students, page 3

GCSE defended, page 5

UCCA/PCAS vacancies, pages 16-19