What does a degree result mean?
Charting UCL’s current journey from Honours Degree Classification to GPA
Speaker:
Professor Michael J. Worton, Vice-Provost, University College London (UCL)Date: November 22, 2011 (Tuesday)
Time: 12:30 – 2:00 p.m.
Venue: LG-06, Hui Oi Chow Science Building
Language: English
Organized by: Teaching and Learning Quality Committee
Abstract
This presentation will describe why UCL has decided that the honours degree system is no longer fit for purpose, outlining the main arguments against this system, whilst also articulating reasons why this degree classification system has continued to be used for so long. The talk will describe the context of UK debates around measuring and recording of achievement over the past several years and explain why UCL has decided that now is the moment to re-visit this issue and move towards a new system, ranging from changes in education globally, economic drivers, expectations of both students and employers, etc.
The presentation will also set out options on the way forward and a series of issues that will need to be considered before making a final decision.
The presentation will be followed by a discussion with
Professor Michael T. Prosser
Visiting Professor
Centre for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning
Professor Amy H.L. Lau
Director of School of Business
Chair Professor of Accounting
Faculty of Business and Economics
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About the speaker
Professor Michael Worton is Vice-Provost of UCL.
He is Higher Education Advisor to the British Council. He has spoken widely throughout the world on the internationalisation of Higher Education (HE) and the purpose and responsibilities of universities in the 21st century. He was a founding member of the Arts and Humanities Research Board, later the Arts and Humanities Research Council, on which he served from 1998-2006, chairing several of its major committees. He is also a member of the Comité International de Consultation en Sciences Humaines et Sociales de l’ANR and of the Advisory Board for the Programme of Artistic Research of the Austrian Research Council (FWF). He has been a member of the European Reference Index for the Humanities (ERIH) Steering Committee since work began on the European Science Foundation’s ERIH project in 2002. In 2009, he undertook a personal review of language provision in HE for Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and the UK Government.
He is an Officier of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques, Chevalier of the Legion d’Honneur and in 2009 was awarded the Medal of Honoured Worker in HE by the Republic of Kazakhstan. He has published 11 books and nearly 80 articles and chapters in books.
