VICE CHANCELLOR DEFENDS UNIVERSITY REPUTATION
By Stephen Portlock
The vice-chancellor of Westminster University has attacked a report, which
will claim that former polytechnics are of a lower quality than more traditional
universities.
The Greater London Authority report, to be released at the end of March,
also described post-1992 universities, such as Westminster, as resembling
US-style Community Colleges. It said that such universities have prevalence
for poor and ethnic minority students, and that graduates have a lower
chance of getting prestigious jobs.
Dr Geoffrey Copland, the vice-chancellor, admitted that a two-tier university
system exists, but put this down to snobbery rather than any real difference
in quality. He said that the University of Westminster is proud that 47%
of students are from ethnic minorities, and that 80% of 1999/2000 graduates
moved straight into jobs.
Dr Copland said: “In the UK there is a common view that former polytechnics,
are somehow less desirable to students than the traditional courses.
"Our problem is trying to convince big employers, the general public
and the ministers that what happens [here] is what everybody says they
want: social inclusion, widening participation, high academic standards
[and] employable graduates.”
Dr Copland said that favouritism still extends towards universities like
Oxford, Cambridge and Nottingham.
He said: “All universities have the same level of funding for teaching,
but old ones have more for research. This creates a misrepresentation
since league tables use research as the most important factor for comparison,
rather than the quality of students, teaching and output.
“The Government is putting more and more money into a small number
of researching Universities who traditionally have lots of money anyway.”
Dr Copland is optimistic that the University of Westminster can raise
its profile. Warwick, Sussex, York and Bath faced prejudice in the sixties,
but are now viewed as some of the leading universities in the country.