Plan to tag Bristol University courses
In a shake-up expected to be announced tomorrow, courses will list their drop-out rates, graduates' future earnings and the number of contact hours students can expect with tutors.
In May this year undergraduates at Bristol University staged a tuition fees rebellion, complaining about reduced teaching hours and attempts to have essays marked by undergraduates instead of lecturers.
About 600 students reading economics and finance signed a complaint arguing that the university had failed to improve since fees were raised to more than £3,000 in 2006.
The move to tag the courses will be modelled on a food-labelling system and is part of a consumer revolution in higher education to be unveiled this week by Lord Mandelson, the universities secretary.
Students should be treated more as paying customers and given better information about the quality of their courses before they embark on a degree, the new government framework for universities is expected to say on Tuesday.
The plan reflects the fact that there is growing anger among undergraduates about how their £3,225-a-year fees are being spent.
Under the plans for England, each course will come with a list setting out what the subject involves, how much teaching time students can expect, how often they will have tutorials with star academics and how much work they will be expected to do independently. It will also state the assessment methods and how often they will be examined.
Drop-out rates and statistics on employability of graduates will be given for six months and three years after they complete their studies. Future earnings could also be factored in to calculate the premium of studying high-intensity courses such as engineering and medicine.
The Government is expected to launch a consultation about how the system would be introduced. There could be a central website or universities could be expected to publish details in their prospectuses.
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