Regulator’s probe objects to student ‘sleeping in class’

Further government-initiated investigations into the quality of business and management courses by the Office for Students have found five “areas of concern” at Buckinghamshire New University, where assessors noted finding a student who “appeared asleep” during a class, and one at the University of Wolverhampton.

In May 2022, the OfS announced investigations into business and management courses at eight providers after a letter from ministers which said they “would expect a significant number of investigations to be initiated” at larger universities falling short of the regulator’s new B3 quality baselines, which cover student continuation and completion, and graduate progression to “professional employment”.

At Bucks New, the OfS’ team of assessors found five concerns, including that the university was “not consistently providing a high-quality academic experience”, as a result of factors such as teaching and learning resources being “not consistently up-to-date”.

Another concern was that “the cohort of students recruited by the university required high quality resources to support their independent learning”, but “the quality of the virtual learning environment (VLE) was not consistent”.

The assessment team also found that there was “considerable variability between the pedagogical and teaching skills of different academic staff across business and management courses”.

Detailing their concern about the quality of the academic experience, the assessor team says that in one teaching session observed there was “an evident lack of engagement from many students in attendance. The assessment team observed one student who had their head on the table and appeared asleep. Two others were on phones. While the tutor tried to engage the students in the activity, only certain core students repeatedly answered.”

A Bucks New statement said the university “has a strong reputation for the quality of its programmes and we always take quality extremely seriously”. When the OfS started its investigation “in spite of our requests, [it] would not divulge to us the precise reasons why they had done so”, the statement added.

“We therefore conducted our own review of our business and management courses,” the statement continued. “Alongside much good practice, our review also found some inconsistencies in teaching delivery and in the provision of electronic resources. Since then, we have worked hard to make sure these issues were properly addressed.”

It added: “The OfS assessors rightly paid much attention to the National Student Survey but we are perplexed that the assessors did not consider our results for NSS 2023.”

At Wolverhampton, the OfS’ assessors area of concern was that the “September and January cohort of students on the revalidated BA (Hons) business management were permitted a different number of attempts at the same assessments, with no supporting pedagogic rationale”, meaning “the students registered on this course are not required to demonstrate knowledge and skills in a consistent manner”.

Gill Knight, pro vice-chancellor for academic leadership and student experience at Wolverhampton, said: “We welcome the thorough findings of the Office for Students assessment of our business school course offer. Prior to, and since the assessment team visited in early 2023, we have been reviewing our academic regulations with a view to ensuring they remain both robust and supportive in delivering student outcomes. The review has brought about one recommendation for a change to our reassessment regulations that directly addresses the finding in this report, and this will be considered by our academic board this academic year. 

“We continue to focus our efforts on providing a high-quality academic experience for our students with courses that are up to date and relevant.” 

In relation to both investigations, the OfS said it would “now look closely at the findings of the assessment teams and consider the next steps in the investigation, which may include considering whether any regulatory action is appropriate”.

Previous OfS investigations on business and management courses found four “areas of concern” at the University of Bolton, three concerns at the University of Bedfordshire, no concerns at London South Bank University and no concerns at the University of East London.

john.morgan@timeshighereducation.com