21.11.07
1994 Group gives qualified welcome to research assessment plan
The 1994 Group of research-intensive universities welcomes the HEFCE consultation on the future of research assessment, but notes that there is a danger of potential "planning blight" for the subject areas not included in the full bibliometrics exercise.
Professor Steve Smith, chair of the 1994 Group and vice-chancellor of the University of Exeter, welcomed "a further step taken towards a lighter touch RAE based on a basket of metrics in the STEM subjects ".
He commented: "We are pleased to see that academic credibility will be maintained through the retention of expert panels in the assessment process.
"But it is important that the consultations lead to a clear overall assessment structure for all disciplines and that decisions are made quickly so that universities can plan sensibly for the post-2008 era.
"And it is absolutely essential that the overall framework for assessment is the same for all disciplines. Expert panels must be core to the assessment of all subject areas but with outputs evaluated by bibliometrics in the sciences and by light touch peer review in the non-sciences."
Professor Smith said that although the assessment of the arts, humanities, social sciences, mathematics and statistics would not take place until after 2013, it would be helpful if decisions on how these disciplines would be assessed (and funded) were to be made sooner, rather than later.
"There is a clear danger of planning blight for these other subject areas. Planning for the 2008 RAE is over, and institutions are already considering their approach to the next assessment exercise. If they are to do so effectively and efficiently, they need to know as soon as is possible how research funding is to be allocated.
"If UK HE is to continue to be a world leader in research, the success of the current system must not be weakened by continued uncertainty over the future."
Notes for Editors
- The 1994 Group was established in 1994 to promote excellence in research and teaching. It brings together nineteen internationally renowned, research-intensive universities.
- The Group's members are small- to medium-sized institutions, and are generally campus-based. They operate on a human and personal scale, maximising student-staff contact and ensuring an adaptable and inter-disciplinary approach to both research and teaching. Research-led teaching is key to the 1994 Group¡¦s mission, and a large majority of the top academics who achieved the Group¡¦s outstanding results in the 2001 Research Assessment Exercise teach students.
- Member universities are: University of Bath, Birkbeck University of London, Durham University, University of East Anglia, University of Essex, University of Exeter, Goldsmiths University of London, Royal Holloway University of London, Lancaster University, University of Leicester, Loughborough University, Queen Mary University of London, University of Reading, University of St Andrews, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of Surrey, University of Sussex, University of Warwick and University of York.
- *The STEM subjects are science, technology, engineering and mathematics
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