institutions. In responding to feedback from employers and in considering the case for further differentiation of degree classifications, some universities were considering ways to recognise wider achievement. As one participant noted, ‘that’s an interesting thread that goes through the sectors in many senses’ (University focus group participant 2). It was suggested that improvements to transition would require stronger communication between schools, further education colleges and universities. It was, however, acknowledged by several members of the university focus group that although wider qualities and attributes were important, grades remained the primary determinant of admission to university. The sheer volume of students we consider squeezes us, like employers, down to some very brutal decisions. (University focus group participant 6) Unless you’re going to go back to the days of interviews, you’re not really going to have a particularly reliable way of getting access to their wider qualities. I think although it’s a nice idea I’m not quite sure if you could actually put it into practice. (University focus group participant 4)
The emphasis placed on interdisciplinary learning was welcomed. Expressions of concern about the influence of discipline ‘silos’ on university courses paralleled teacher and local authority concerns about secondary school subject ‘silos’. Support was expressed for the promotion of literacy, numeracy and communication skills across the curriculum. Representatives from university admissions’ teams had been involved in the consultation on new assessment proposals. In common with feedback from some teachers and local authority officers, concern was expressed regarding a perceived emphasis on end-point qualifications rather than the purposes of assessment for and of learning that might better support the intentions of Curriculum for Excellence. There was a lot made about qualifications and maybe not as much on the uses and purposes of assessment which I think actually sits better with Curriculum for Excellence but I don’t think it featured all that strongly. (University focus group participant 7) The assessment scheme will undermine it because it’s not talking about the purposes of assessment. We’re talking about now about the names for the new certificate and I think that’s really dangerous. (University focus group participant 4)
In examining examples of the Draft Experiences and Outcomes, university participants voiced similar reservations to many teachers regarding a lack of clarity to support judgements about progression. Clarity was regarded to be important so that university tutors might better understand the skills and prior learning that undergraduates bring with them from their school experience. When you try to distinguish what’s a third or a fourth level of performance you find the word ‘independent’, but what exactly does that mean? It’s that kind of detail that requires careful consideration and isn’t happening...It would be very useful to have a clear handle on what skills we are expecting students to have when they come in so that we can design our activities to try and build on these skills. (University focus group participant 8)
University participants, in common with representatives from the voluntary sector, expressed a request for stronger linkage between different elements in the curriculum puzzle. This included strengthening internal organisational links between faculties of education, admissions offices, teaching and learning committees and QA enhancement teams; as well as local links with schools, colleges of further education and local authorities.
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