Study course design

A current problem The 1961 White Paper, “Better Opportunities in Technical Education”, drew attention to the need for courses of study to be well‐suited to the students concerned. The origins of the White Paper were in the unduly high failure rates which arose from a lack of care to ensure that courses and students were well‐matched and high failure rates indicated frustration of teachers as well as of students. During the last decade, a great deal of effort has gone into designing courses; apart from the General Courses and Technician Courses recommended by the White Paper, there have been the Dip. Tech. and CNAA Degree Courses and, at the other end of the academic scale, Operative Courses associated with developments in industrial training. The revision of National Certificate Courses has posed some nice design problems in setting academic standards at an appropriate level for students who would find a degree course too ambitious.