Elite institutions ‘neglect students’

TOO many elite universities are neglecting students’ learning because they can ‘trade well’ on their brands to stay afloat, the chairman of the Commons education committee will warn today.

Robert Halfon will say that some Russell Group institutions may not deserve their reputations because they are not teaching youngsters well.

In a speech to the Centre for Social Justice thinktank, he will call for the new regulator, the Office for Students, to publish a league table of universities based on teaching standards and employability of graduates. Only eight of the 24 Russell Group universities received the top mark – a gold award – in the Government’s first teaching assessment of higher education. Three – LSE, Liverpool and Southampton – got the lowest award, a bronze, in The Teaching Excellence Framework.

Mr Halfon, Tory MP for Harlow, will say: ‘While some Russell Group universities deserve their recognition as elite institutions, others appear to trade well on their brands, while their less reputable counterparts remain unrecognised.’