Review-of-Why-I-Am-Not-a-Professor-or-The-Decline-

Reviewof“WhyIAmNotaProfessororTheDeclineandFalloftheBritishUniversity”IntroductionSufferingfromthegreatdepressionbroughtbytheWWII,theBritishgovernmentundertookaseriesofreforminhigher-educationsystemtoguaranteeaccesstouniversityforallstudentsandprovidemoretalentsforthepersonnelmarket.However,hasitmetitsprospectivegoalsvirtually?Underthetitle“WhyIAmNotaProfessororTheDeclineandFalloftheBritishUniversity”,MarkTarver,aformerlecturerofSchoolofComputingatUniversityofLeeds,statesthattheBritishuniversityundergoesadeclineafterimplementingthereform.Heclaimsthatthe“modularisation”messesupthestudents’degreestudiesandthepreparationfortheassessmentsoccupiesmostofthelecturers’time.Ultimately,itleadstoaslumpintheeducationquality.Inhisarticle,Dr.Tarverdoespresentsomethought-provokingproblems,buthisargumentslacksomeadequateevidencestobeconvincing.Besides,heisapttobeshackledbyhisidentityofbeingalecturer,hencethearticlefallsshortofobjectivity.SummaryInhisarticle,Dr.TarverclaimsthattheBritishUniversityisexperiencingadecline,thenhegivesananalysisoverhowtheBritishUniversitymakesitsdescent.Heowesthedown-turntothetwomeasuresthattheschooltakes-oneisthe“modularization”,andtheotheristheassessmentofteachingandresearch.Accordingtotheauthor,the“modularization”,whichallowsstudentstoselectwhatevercoursestheylike,mixesstudents’degreestudiesandproducesmanyunqualifiedgraduates.Furthermore,theoptionsallottedtothestudentstriggerthedrop-offofsomehardtraditionalsubjects,makingitimpossibleforbrilliantstudentstolearn.Additionally,theassessmentsaremerelyasortofideology.Thelecturerswritepapersindustriously,thoughtheirproductsarejustvalueless“emptysets”.Finally,heconcludesthatwhatthesystembroughttothestudentsis“debtanddegreeinflation”,andthestudentshavelittlecommunicationwiththeirlecturerswhodedicatethemselvestowritingpapers.ArgumentsandEvaluationsDr.Tarverpointsoutagreatmanyproblemsthatpopupsincetheadoptionofthereforms,forexample,thegeneraldegenerationofstudents’academicperformance.Then,herevealssomeseriousphenomenaprevailinginBritishuniversities,suchas“scaling”andnotfailingstudentsfortheirmoney.Andthemetaphorheemploys,“Figuresrecordyetanothertriumphantover-fulfillmentofthefive-yearplanwhilethepeasantsdropdeadofstarvationinthefields”,vividlypresentsthescenariothattheleturersareblindlyscribblingforpilesofpaperstogetapromotion.However,thearticlelackssomesufficientevidencestosupportitsarguments,andalltheargumentsaretoosubjectivetobepersuasiveenough.Firstofall,theauthorfailstorecognizethemeritsof“modularization”.AccordingtoAbigailBairstow,agraduatefromtheSchoolofComputingatUniversityofLeeds,whoisnowabusinessconsultantworkingatSystemsAppliedIntelligence,saysthat“Eachlecturerwehadfordifferentmoduleswerepassionateandenthusiasticaboutthemoduletheywereteachingwhichhelpedintereststudentsasitmadeitmoreinteractive.”Ashesaid,themodularizationenableslecturerstospecializeinonespecificmodule,andtherebyitalsohelpsstudentsacquireprofessionalknowledge.“TheSchoolofComputingcourseswererightup-to-dateandclearlyrelevanttobusiness.Notonlydidtheycovertechnicaltopicsbutalsomorebusiness-orientedsubjectssuchasstrategy,“saysTimKormornick,analumnusofSchoolofComputing,whileaskedaboutwhyhechosetheUniversityofLeedsduringaninterview.Thatthemodularizationcoveringavarietiesoftopics,ensuresitscourseskeepabreastwiththetimes,attractsmorestudents.Second,theauthortakesnoaccountofthatcarryingoutthereformtakestime,whilesayingthehundredsofpapersarejust“emptysets”sevenyearsago.AsisshownonthewebsiteoftheShanghaiRanking,“IntherecentRAE(whichassessesthequalityofresearchinuniversitiesandcollegesintheUK),morethanhalfourschoolswererankedinthetop10inthecountry-and61%ofourresearchwasjudgedtobe‘worldleading’or‘internationallyexcellent’”,thequalityofresearchisgoingup.Finally,theauthor’sconcludesthatstudentshavelittleopportunitytocontactwiththeirlecturerswhoaretoobusyfillingouttheformsandchasingmoney,whichseemstobetotallygroundless.“Also,whenIneededhelpwithcourseworketc,theywerealwayswillingtohelpandprovideassistance,whentheycouldhaveeasilysaidnoastheyweretoobusywiththeirresearch,”JohnHitchon,anotheralumnusrecalled.Actually,thelecturersarealwaysveryenthusiasticincommunicatingwithstudents,despitetheirbusyresearch.ConclusionFromtheaspectofthecontent,wecandrawaconclusionthatthereformdidbroughtsomeproblemstotheBritishhigher-education,however,astimegoesby,italsoillustrateditsbenefitstotheeducationsystem.Fromtheaspectofthewriting,theinsufficientsupportingdetailsandone-sidedperspectiveinthearticlereduceitscredibilityandweakentheitsarguments.Documentations:UniversityofLeeds.StudentandAlumniProfile.n.d.Web27Oct.2014ShanghaiRanking.AcademicRankingofWorldUniversities.n.d.Web27Oct.2014