The Importance of Academic Judgement
Hetty ter Haar
The introduction of (top-up) fees means that institutions of higher
education now have to face up to the impact of marketisation with
students increasingly seeing themselves as customers.
Our experience shows there is no 'money-back' guarantee, when it comes
to misrepresentation or faulty goods in academia.
Academia uses the concept of academic judgement to great effect as
academic judgement is the domain of the HE institution, not to be
challenged by the student or, indeed, the courts.
The School of Oriental and African Studies was hiding behind the
concept of academic judgement, while our complaint was really a
matter of misrepresenting a course in the Prospectus and elsewhere.
The 'Report of a hearing to consider a student grievance 2004/05' held
that:
"In the light of the documentation considered and the discussions
held, it was debatable how much of a fundamental change in course
contents had been made in 2004/05 in the [Theory and Techniques of
Comparative Literature] course compared to previous years (and
therefore how much of a change should have been notified to the
students), given it was a matter of academic judgement as to how the
different terms and the course material might be taught."
There was not to be a full refund of the tuition fee (£1200) as we had
asked for, but an ex gratia payment of £300 each in full and final
settlement of our complaint.
"This payment", according to the Report, " is made as an
acknowledgement that the TTCL course did not meet [their] expectations
with regard to explicit reference to African texts, though the
School's hearing concluded that in practice such reference is not a
fundamental part of the course."
The various course descriptions in the Prospectus and elsewhere said:
"An important constituent of the course is the practical treatment of
a selected range of issues and themes in African and Asian literatures
which have been or can best be understood in a comparative
perspective.
It is also designed to introduce and examine appropriate methods for
the study of African and Asian Literatures.
The course places its emphasis on the comprehension of modern
theories, but also on the problematics in applying those theories to
the research of Asian and African literatures.
In order to secure the necessary variety in critical stance and an
appropriate regional range of African and Asian literary texts for
expert presentation, the course is team-taught.
The core course 'Theory and Techniques of Comparative Literature'
introduces the main developments of mainly Western literary theory
over the last fifty years and trains [students] in how these may be
applied critically to Asian and African literatures.
Students will be asked to question how contemporary literary theories
can be applied/adapted in the study of non-Western literatures."
In the academic year 2004/05 there was nothing pertaining to African
(at SOAS 'sub-Saharan') literatures or theories.
When I buy a tin of baked beans and sausages, and the sausages are
missing (analogy not mine), I'll go back to the shop where I bought it
and ask for a refund, which I will receive without further ado.
Why should academia be different in this respect?