Welfare reform on the Web (September 2006): Education - UK- Higher

An institutional response to changing student expectations and their impact on retention rates

B. Longden

Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, vol.28, 2006, p.173-187

Participation in higher education by working class students in the UK has increased, with the not unexpected consequence of a rise in rates of non-completion of courses. This paper presents a case study of strategies used by a UK university to reduce student drop out rates.

What counts as reasonable adjustment? Dyslexic students and the concept of fair assessment

S. Riddell and E. Weedon

International Studies in Sociology of Education, vol.16, 2006, p.57-73

This article focuses on the construction of dyslexia in higher education and explores the nature of negotiations between students, lecturers and academic institutions over diagnosis, support and assessment. Disabled students are now entitled, under the terms of the Disability Discrimination Act, to reasonable adjustments in assessment. However, there is continuing debate about the nature of dyslexia and the extent to which requests for reasonable adjustments threaten to compromise academic standards.

Who do they think they are? The changing identities of professional administrators and managers in UK higher education

C. Whitchurch

Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, vol.28, 2006, p.159-171

Contemporary universities, serving mass higher education markets, find themselves delivering complex, broadly based projects such as student support and welfare, human resource development and business enterprise. This paper considers the impact of these changes on the roles and identities of professional administrators and managers. It notes the emergence of hybrid multi-professional staff, who not only work across functional and organisational boundaries but also contribute to the formation of new fields of knowledge.