Academic standards
Encyclopedia
Academic standards are the benchmarks of quality and excellence
in education
such as the rigour of curricula
and the difficulty of examinations. The extension of higher education
to an increasingly large proportion of the population has led to concern that this has resulted in dilution of the academic elite
and so caused a lowering of academic standards.
(QAA) and the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual). The Dearing Report
considered the matter in 1997 and recommended that benchmarking be used to measure and improve academic standards in higher education
.
.
Benchmarking
Benchmarking is the process of comparing one's business processes and performance metrics to industry bests and/or best practices from other industries. Dimensions typically measured are quality, time and cost...
in education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
such as the rigour of curricula
Curriculum
See also Syllabus.In formal education, a curriculum is the set of courses, and their content, offered at a school or university. As an idea, curriculum stems from the Latin word for race course, referring to the course of deeds and experiences through which children grow to become mature adults...
and the difficulty of examinations. The extension of higher education
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
to an increasingly large proportion of the population has led to concern that this has resulted in dilution of the academic elite
Academic elitism
Academic elitism is a charge sometimes levied at academic institutions and academics more broadly, arguing that academia or academics are prone to undeserved and/or pernicious elitism; the term "ivory tower" often carries with it an implicit critique of academic elitism...
and so caused a lowering of academic standards.
UK
In the UK, standards are maintained by inspection by bodies such as the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher EducationQuality Assurance Agency for Higher Education
Established in 1997, the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education works to ensure that higher education qualifications in the United Kingdom are of a sound standard. It protects the public interest by checking how universities and colleges maintain their academic standards and quality...
(QAA) and the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual). The Dearing Report
Dearing Report
The Dearing Report, formally known as the reports of the National Committee of Inquiry into Higher Education is a series of major reports into the future of Higher Education in the United Kingdom, published in 1997. The report was commissioned by the UK government and was the largest review of...
considered the matter in 1997 and recommended that benchmarking be used to measure and improve academic standards in higher education
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
.
USA
In the USA, regulation is at state level by bodies such as the Standards and Assessment Division of the Arizona Department of EducationArizona Department of Education
Arizona Department of Education is an Arizona state agency overseeing public education. It is headquartered at 1535 West Jefferson Street in Downtown Phoenix, Arizona, United States.-External links:*...
.