Consecuencias para la salud, sociales y legales de las drogas.

Existing arrangements for safeguarding standards are insufficiently clear to carry conviction

with th o se w h o p e r c eiv e p r e sen t quality and sta n d a rd s to b e

u n sa tisfa cto ry . 10.2

There is n a tio n a l c o n c e rn about th e m a in ten a n ce o f sta n d a rd s o f ach ievem en t at

all levels of education..10.54

T here is similar c o n c e rn ab ou t th e stan d ard required fo r th e aw ard o f higher

education d egrees. 10.55

Given the large increase in the num ber of students taking degrees over the last 20 years,

and a marked rise in the proportion awarded First or Upper Second class honours, m any

th in k th a t it is n o t p la u sib le to say th at sta n d a rd s have n o t d eclin ed 10.55

W e h ave n o t a ttem p ted to m ake an in d e p e n d e n t in v e stig a tio n o f the standards o f d eg rees a n d th e ev id en ce w e receiv ed did n o t p ro v id e a firm

b a se o n w h ic h to c o n clu d e w h eth e r th ey have fa lle n o v er tim e. N ev erth eless, w e are se n sitiv e to th e p u b lic co n cern th a t e x ists ab ou t sta n d a rd s and to the

significant body of opinion in h igh er ed u ca tio n w h ich h o ld s that, at th e broad

su b ject level, little precise comparability of standards exists, e x cep t p erh a p s w h ere th ere is an ex tern a l valid a tin g or accred itin g body. 10.57

From the evidence put to us, it appears that th e n e e d fo r th e se th r esh o ld stan dards is

m o re u rg en t in s o m e su b jects th an in o th ers. 10.65

As the practice of franchising has been expanding rapidly, w e h ave co n cern s th at so m e

fu rth er ed u c a tio n in stitu tio n s, seeking to provide a wide range of options for students,

may be extending themselves too broadly and entering into too many relationships to be

able to e n su r e qu ality and stan dards. 10.74

We believe that in the interests of extending opportunity and encouraging lifelong

learning, fra n ch isin g sh o u ld co n tin u e, but only on the strict understanding that it

m u st n o t p reju d ice th e a ssu ra n ce o f quality and m a in ten a n ce o f standards.

10.76

We concluded that this situation had arisen as a result of a ‘m ark et sy ste m ’ operating

during a period of increased demand for postgraduate qualifications w ith o u t an adequate

fra m ew o rk o r co n tro l m ech an ism . 10.11

If greater market influences were to be introduced w ith o u t an ad eq u a te fram ew ork

o r m ec h a n ism s to e n su r e th e c o n siste n t u se o f title s and corresponding level of

award, g rea t dam age co u ld b e d o n e ..10.12________________________________________

One linguistic featu re w ithin ch ap ter 10 an d exem plified in Table 5.1 is: an assertio n follow ed by extrapolation of th a t assertion. S tatem en ts have th e c o n stru ctio n “because this, th e n th is ’ a n d by th is m ech an ism b u ild a particu lar im p ressio n w hich is th e n fu rth e r exaggerated by a n o th e r overlaid suggestion to create an a d d ed d ram atic im pact:

Exam ple:

We concluded that this situation had arisen as a result o f a ‘a market system’

operating...without adequate fram ework or control mechanism. (10.11)

I f greater market influences were to be introduced without an adequate framework or mechanisms to ensure the consistent use o f titles and level o f award... (then) great damage could be done. (10.12).

A n o th er fe a tu re o f th e above is th a t th e criticism s p re se n te d a re u n -a ttrib u ted , o th e r th a n to:

• ‘th e p u b lic’;

• ‘th o se w ho perceive’; • ‘m an y th in k ’;

• ‘th o se w ho have re p re se n te d ’.

In a d d itio n no evidential b ase is claim ed fo r th e assertio n s m ad e in ch ap ter 10. So w hilst th e re is m u ch u se o f suggestion in th e extracts in th e tab le to convey a n im p ressio n o f a p a rtic u la r failing by th e sector, th e am biguous statu s of th e se a sse rtio n s becom es evident w hen ju x ta p o sed w ith sta te m e n ts in o ther p a rts o f th e ch ap ter:

Exam ple

1"...diversity is not an excuse fo r low standards or unacceptable quality” 10.7

2 “...many think that it is not plausible to say that standards have not declined”

10 . 5 5

3

o f degrees and the evidence we received did not provide a firm base on which to conclude whether they have fallen over time”. 10.57

I p ro p o se th a t th e fe atu res o f u n su p p o rte d assertio n s, in n u e n d o a n d repetition evident in th e above ex tracts are su p po rtiv e o f th e th e m e o f co n stru ctio n being arg u ed for.

As well as low sta n d a rd s c h ap te r 10 alleges in co n sisten cy a n d lack o f clarity a b o u t sta n d a rd s. The tab le below show s how th is im p ressio n is b u ilt up.

TABLE 5.2 Statements from chapter 10 which imply opacity and