According to Times Higher Education survey, of which 1000 academic staff were interviewed, 48% of academics do not think that students are adequately prepared for university study.
It is believed slipping standards are to blame:
“Each year, the entry requirements for undergraduate programmes are reduced, meaning we get a high number of students who are almost illiterate.”
A senior academic from a university in northern England explained:
“We can now see a whole generation of registered nurses who cannot read critically or write coherently but who have somehow passed a degree – this is worrying”.
33% of academic staff felt that international students do not have adequate language skills to study at university. Plagiarism remains a concern, according to the survey, with 60 per cent of academics saying that they have caught students cheating at least once, and 28 per cent saying that they “regularly suspect” undergraduates of cheating.
Education leaders informed leading newspaper The Telegraph there is a fear the The Higher Education and Research Bill, currently being debated in the House of Lords, will lead to a dangerous culture where university staff are forced to pander to the demands of students , undermining the quality of students finishing university.
