Latest news with #MichaelDraper
Telegraph
4 days ago
- General
- Telegraph
Public confidence in the Chancellor's judgment is lower than ever
SIR – During my career as a journalist and producer, I worked at TV-am as an occasional researcher for Sir David Frost. A highlight was a post-show breakfast one Sunday in 1989 with Sir David and a guest I had booked for the show – Frederick Forsyth (Obituaries, June 10). It was fascinating listening to both men discuss their careers, Mr Forsyth's writing and the general state of the world – over plates piled high with eggs and bacon. Mr Forsyth was kindness and civility personified, and, at one point, deep into a trenchant analysis of the geopolitical future of Russia, turned to me and said, 'What do you think, Gary?' I nearly fell off my chair To this day, I treasure my battered copies of The Day of the Jackal and The Odessa File, which he signed for me that morning, but I treasure more the kindness and encouragement he offered to that young hack. Sometimes it's great to meet your heroes. Gary Curtis Wexford, Ireland SIR – I first met Freddie Forsyth in 1968, when he was a journalist in Biafra, and was often at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital at Umuahia. If wounded Biafran soldiers were being brought in, it meant the Biafrans were advancing; if none were injured, the front was in full retreat. Freddie was always hungry for a story and, knowing that I was associated with the relief airlift, he would trade cigarettes for information. Many years later, in 2000, he kindly wrote a foreword for my book, Shadows, and came to a launch party in the House of Commons. Michael Draper Nether Wallop, Hampshire SIR – For the past 13 years, Frederick Forsyth had table seven in our pub, The Jolly Cricketers, booked on a permanent basis. The reservation sign simply said 'Freddie 1pm'. He would arrive through the front door, with a copy of The Telegraph folded under his arm. He would then nod and smile at the landlord, before taking his seat for lunch, and he always completed the crossword before leaving. Freddie was a loyal supporter of the pub and a dear friend. He was our 007. We had a plaque put on the wall to mark Crossword Corner. Chris and Amanda Lillitou Seer Green, Buckinghamshire SIR – I was sorry to hear of the death of Frederick Forsyth. As well as greatly enjoying his books, I was always uplifted by reading his excellent and thoughtful letters to The Telegraph. I shall miss his common sense.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Yahoo
The latest crisis in education: many university degrees may now be obtained by fraud
Here's a moral conundrum. Would you cheat in an exam by getting outside help if no-one knew you were doing it? No? Well, would you cheat in an exam if you were nearly sure that everyone else was cheating and, by being honest, you'd put yourself at a disadvantage? That's a tougher ask. And if the difference between a stellar result and a middling one might have an effect on your career, wouldn't that be the point when you'd think: to hell with it? If your answer is no to all the above, I salute you. But you're probably outnumbered by the rest. This isn't an abstract question. It's the position that many universities, including the top ones, are putting their students in. Two academic assessment experts, Philip Newton and Michael Draper, at Swansea university used Freedom of Information requests to find out if, five years since Covid, universities were still using online remote exams. And the thing about remote exams is that no one knows if you get your brainy room-mate or your mother or your old teacher to help you do the work. Of the 119 universities that responded, 78 per cent used this model. That's nearly 100 institutions. What's more, they included almost all the elite Russell Group universities, apart from Imperial College. Birmingham didn't respond. So…that's 22 out of 24. To make matters worse, three quarters of them did not use any invigilation service; only ten said they used remote supervision of candidates for all online exams. Not surprisingly, the academics observed in their report that 'widespread' lack of invigilation should raise concerns about the validity of these examinations as an assessment format and the quality assurance of degrees relying on them. They noted too that ChatGPT made it worse. I'd go further. The results based on remote exams aren't worth having. Employers shouldn't take them seriously. Universities are issuing degrees based on results that they know are probably obtained by fraud. Worse, students have a perverse incentive to cheat. As Prof Newton put it: 'Students are forced to choose – do they cheat, or risk getting lower marks than peers who did cheat, with consequences for employability?' Any exam that isn't based on supervised work, preferably pen and paper at a desk in an exam hall, under the nose of an alert invigilator, is useless; unless it's an oral exam where the candidate can be questioned. Anything else isn't worth having. The same goes for any kind of coursework, unless it's art, craft or technology which is essentially practical. To put it another way, any examination that allows the candidates' parents, friends or helpers to contribute is an incentive to cheat. It's not just university degrees that are affected by remote working. My daughter is doing English A level and an eighth of her marks are awarded for an essay done outside school. 'Lots of people's parents are helping them', she observed. I bet they are. The middle-class parents especially will make sure that their child's university place isn't compromised by sub-par coursework. I can see the point of an extended essay, but what's wrong with doing it on school premises? This is serious. The integrity of British degrees is being blatantly compromised by universities and it's time the minister responsible for higher education, Jacqui Smith, issued a statement on what's being done about it. If universities can't be bothered to conduct fair examinations, then they shouldn't be in business. As Prof. Newton told me: 'the simple solution to this is for the Office for Students and/or the Quality Assurance Agency to make a statement that these sorts of exams are not valid under the terms of registration/accreditation. Universities would cease to use them immediately.' So, Jacqui Smith…what's stopping you? Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
03-04-2025
- Telegraph
The latest crisis in education: many university degrees may now be obtained by fraud
Here's a moral conundrum. Would you cheat in an exam by getting outside help if no-one knew you were doing it? No? Well, would you cheat in an exam if you were nearly sure that everyone else was cheating and, by being honest, you'd put yourself at a disadvantage? That's a tougher ask. And if the difference between a stellar result and a middling one might have an effect on your career, wouldn't that be the point when you'd think: to hell with it? If your answer is no to all the above, I salute you. But you're probably outnumbered by the rest. This isn't an abstract question. It's the position that many universities, including the top ones, are putting their students in. Two academic assessment experts, Philip Newton and Michael Draper, at Swansea university used Freedom of Information requests to find out if, five years since Covid, universities were still using online remote exams. And the thing about remote exams is that no one knows if you get your brainy room-mate or your mother or your old teacher to help you do the work. Of the 119 universities that responded, 78 per cent used this model. That's nearly 100 institutions. What's more, they included almost all the elite Russell Group universities, apart from Imperial College. Birmingham didn't respond. So…that's 22 out of 24. To make matters worse, three quarters of them did not use any invigilation service; only ten said they used remote supervision of candidates for all online exams. Not surprisingly, the academics observed in their report that 'widespread' lack of invigilation should raise concerns about the validity of these examinations as an assessment format and the quality assurance of degrees relying on them. They noted too that ChatGPT made it worse. I'd go further. The results based on remote exams aren't worth having. Employers shouldn't take them seriously. Universities are issuing degrees based on results that they know are probably obtained by fraud. Worse, students have a perverse incentive to cheat. As Prof Newton put it: 'Students are forced to choose – do they cheat, or risk getting lower marks than peers who did cheat, with consequences for employability?' Any exam that isn't based on supervised work, preferably pen and paper at a desk in an exam hall, under the nose of an alert invigilator, is useless; unless it's an oral exam where the candidate can be questioned. Anything else isn't worth having. The same goes for any kind of coursework, unless it's art, craft or technology which is essentially practical. To put it another way, any examination that allows the candidates' parents, friends or helpers to contribute is an incentive to cheat. It's not just university degrees that are affected by remote working. My daughter is doing English A level and an eighth of her marks are awarded for an essay done outside school. 'Lots of people's parents are helping them', she observed. I bet they are. The middle-class parents especially will make sure that their child's university place isn't compromised by sub-par coursework. I can see the point of an extended essay, but what's wrong with doing it on school premises? This is serious. The integrity of British degrees is being blatantly compromised by universities and it's time the minister responsible for higher education, Jacqui Smith, issued a statement on what's being done about it. If universities can't be bothered to conduct fair examinations, then they shouldn't be in business. As Prof. Newton told me: 'the simple solution to this is for the Office for Students and/or the Quality Assurance Agency to make a statement that these sorts of exams are not valid under the terms of registration/accreditation. Universities would cease to use them immediately.' So, Jacqui Smith…what's stopping you?
