UCU outraged and astonished as Denham blames poor teaching for increase in university dropouts

In a letter to the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), Denham said: 'No doubt there will be a number of factors to explain why certain institutions have particularly low retention rates. However, it seems likely that the quality of teaching and the student experience will be important components.'
 
UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: 'I am outraged and astonished that the minister is trying to suggest that the reason for an increase in dropouts is down to poor teaching. His comments are another kick in the teeth for lecturers whose reward for all their extra hard work has been an insulting pay offer of just 0.4% and the news that, as students numbers increase again this year, 100 universities are planning to axe jobs.
 
'The number of students attending university has increased considerably in the past few years and it is lecturers who continue to deliver high quality teaching despite rising class sizes and increased workloads. John Denham's comments show a lack of understanding of the key pastoral work so many UCU members undertake in providing support above and beyond the call of duty for students struggling at university. If he is looking for reasons why students are dropping out, it may be worth him considering the record levels of debt that the government is saddling them with.'
 
The figures released this morning by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) revealed that:

• the percentage of young entrants to full-time first degrees from the lowest socio-economic groups (4-7) in 2007/08 was 29.5% - a drop from 29.8% the previous year
• the percentage of all young full-time first degree entrants (starting in 2006/07) not continuing in higher education after their first year was 7.4% - an increase from 7.1% the previous year.

The full performance indicators can be found on the HESA website and the union's full response to the figures can be found here: UCU responds to university dropout rate figures