Quality Assessment Report by the HEFCE for

University of Birmingham

Music

October 1994

Contents

Introduction

Aims and Objectives

Student Learning Experience

Student Achievement

Conclusions and Recommendations

Introduction

1. This Report presents the findings of an assessment in October 1994 of the quality of education provided in music by the University of Birmingham.
2. The University of Birmingham is one of the longest established universities in the United Kingdom and comprises seven faculties. The Department of Music is in the Faculty of Arts and is linked with the Department of Drama and Theatre Arts to form the School of Performance Studies. The Department enjoys close association with the University's Barber Institute of Fine Arts and the Birmingham Conservatoire, located at the University of Central England in Birmingham.
3. Music is offered on the following courses:

   BMus (Honours) in Music

   BA (Honours) in Combined Subjects with Music

   BA (Honours) in General Studies (Music)

   MA in Music (Composition or Musicology), full-time and part-time.

   In addition to its taught programmes, the Department offers several postgraduate research degrees which were outside the scope of this assessment.

4. In the academic year 1993-94, there were 141 undergraduate students, of whom three-quarters were registered on the BMus degree, and 13 were pursuing the postgraduate taught courses. The establishment staff comprises two professors, one reader, three senior lecturers and three lecturers. The staff-student ratio is 1:13.85, but was 1:11.8 in 1992-93. Ancillary academic tuition is provided by two part-time academic teachers, a part-time instructor, and seven postgraduate research students; performance tuition is supplied by staff of the Birmingham Conservatoire.
   
   

   Aims and Objectives

5. The mission of the University is `to advance learning to the highest levels attainable through research, teaching and the dissemination of knowledge for the benefit of its students and society at large'. This mission is amplified by the aims and objectives of the Department, which are clearly described in the self-assessment. The aims and objectives stress the importance of producing educated graduates whose contribution to society may or may not be as professional musicians, and define the Department's courses as being led by the desire `to stimulate imagination, creativity and critical inquiry and to promote their expression in composition, musicology and performance'. Emphasis is also given to the encouragement of familiarity with music technology and the development of transferable skills.
6. The assessors consider that the Department's approach to the curriculum fully reflects the breadth of coverage demanded by its aims and objectives. The basic heritage of music from high Western culture is usefully complemented by studies in electro-acoustic composition and music theatre. The Department has a history of student-led collaboration with its sister Department of Drama in presenting enterprising opera: the assessors would wish to encourage this association and its potential to enrich the curriculum.
7. First-year students encounter a broad spectrum of music, ranging from the late medieval to the present day, practise the main forms of musical study, and develop a wide range of academic, practical and technical skills. Subsequently, BMus and BA students choose nine options from a menu whose wide range varies from year to year and reflects students' demands and performance plans as well as staff interests. The Department is well advanced in its preparations for modularisation in 1995-96. The taught MA programmes are new and are the product of the major revision and consolidation of earlier courses. Whilst the delivery of these courses is tailored very closely to the abilities and academic aspirations of individual students, the Department recognises the need to document their course aims and learning strategies as thoroughly as it does for undergraduate programmes.
8. The performance of music is enhanced by the cultural ambience of the Barber Institute of Fine Arts, by the fact that the University is a sizeable community with an active Music Society run by the Department and, in particular, by the Department's long-standing and beneficial association with the Birmingham Conservatoire. Participation in practical music is required throughout all years of the BMus and BA programmes, and the provision of Conservatoire tuition on two instruments (or instrument and voice) is a particularly attractive feature.
9. In summary, the aims and objectives of the Department are relevant, up to date and, generally, clearly articulated in the self-assessment and other departmental documentation. Teaching and learning strategies are well understood by staff and students, as are the curricula and syllabuses through which the intended education is delivered.
   
   

   Student Learning Experience

10. The range of teaching methods, including the predominant use of seminars, is appropriate to the content of the degrees and is well matched to their aims. The student workload appears to be well calculated for the BMus and postgraduate programmes. Combined honours students have a much greater workload than BMus students, particularly in the first year, but the planned modular scheme should rectify this anomaly.
11. Student induction is extensive, and the use of second-year `parents' to provide preparatory support for first-year students is a particularly striking feature. The departmental handbook provides a valuable and well-written tool for students. There is an effective personal tutoring system, which is backed up by the University's Student Support and Counselling Service and current students and graduates commented on the very good informal pastoral care. The staff-student relations are excellent.
12. The assessors observed a sample of classes, a substantial majority of which were seminars and workshops. Approximately 33 per cent of these classes were judged to be excellent and the remainder satisfactory. There were no unsatisfactory classes. The excellent classes exhibited clear exposition of learning objectives, effective use of audio-visual aids, high levels of staff-student interaction, which frequently capitalised on students' prepared work, and variation of pace to ensure that students were assimilating content. The satisfactory classes could have displayed clearer teaching objectives, higher levels of student participation and more incisive testing of student learning.
13. Assessment methods are described in the self-assessment, with regular coursework and essays predominating over formal examinations. Levels of coursework feedback are satisfactory, but in some instances could be more rapid and informative. Arrangements for monitoring student progress in performance are largely confined to confirming satisfactory attendance at obligatory music-making sessions: they could be made to assume both greater evaluative character and a profile more commensurate with the importance that the Department attaches to performance. Nevertheless, assessment methods are generally appropriate to the intended learning outcome and they encourage students to savour their academic achievements.
14. Teaching and teaching-related accommodation in the Department is generous in scale, but is split between the Barber Institute and the Faculty of Arts building. Virtually all teaching takes place within the latter and the accommodation there could be improved in respect of sound transference. The departmental library is particularly rich in holdings of music of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, both printed and in manuscript. There are 15,000 monographs, 52,000 scores, 25,000 vocal and orchestral parts in sets and approximately 10,000 audio recordings in various formats. Reading and listening facilities are generally adequate. Two CD-ROM workstations are available for multi-media work and several computer clusters are available for word-processing and computer-aided music typesetting. Recent pressure on the supply of practice rooms should be alleviated by the imminent commissioning of a new, purpose-built block. There is a plentiful and well-used supply of early musical instruments, as well as six high-quality electro-acoustic music studios.
15. The University's Careers Advisory Service approaches students twice during the course of their studies and extensive advice is taken up by three-quarters of students. Students and graduates are enthusiastic in their approval of the systems for guidance.
16. The academic staff are of high calibre and are well matched to the demands of the provision. All full-time members of staff hold doctoral degrees and are actively engaged in research, publishing and music-making; a large majority hold external examinerships. The Department has particular strengths in electro-acoustic work, in which it has established an international reputation. There is an effective and well-respected appraisal system for staff. Although staff participate in a variety of courses offered by the University's Staff Development Unit, greater use might be made of the expertise in this unit to encourage the dissemination of the existing best teaching practice throughout the Department.
17. The Head of Department is responsible for all academic, financial and administrative arrangements concerning the Department. Two members of staff reporting to the Head of Department are responsible for the Department's teaching function and assessment and examination processes. There is a weekly or fortnightly departmental staff meeting which addresses academic and course management matters and termly meetings of the Staff-Student Liaison Committee. The assessors are satisfied that the Department's association with the Birmingham Conservatoire is managed with a high order of competence and commitment. The self-assessment describes the processes by which the Department is subject to annual general review and quinquennial in-depth review on behalf of the University. The assessors are impressed by the seriousness with which the Department responds to these reviews, and the generally very favourable tone of their conclusions.
    
    

    Student Achievement

18. The Department's policies on student applications and admissions are appropriate: open days, interviews and auditions are conducted during the academic year before entry and this procedure is highly regarded by students. Within the context of rising numbers of entrants, the proportion of BMus applicants to places has been not less than 12:1 since 1990. GCE A-Level points scores rose substantially for BMus students from 22 points to 25 points between 1990 and 1993 and scores for the BA Combined Honours entrants have been at a consistently high level. Such a profile accords with the Department's policy on admissions and its aims and objectives. The gender mix of the student population, which is predominantly female, is the converse of that of the staff, but the assessors found no evidence of this being an obstacle to excellent staff-student relations.
19. Student progression and completion rates are highly praiseworthy and wastage is minimal. Transfers into and out of the Department of Music are insignificant, although a number of BA combined honours entrants switch to single honours Music or Drama.
20. The quality of student work examined by the assessors varied, but was usually high. Examination results and the number of students proceeding to further study reflected a good level of academic achievement. External examiners found little to comment on adversely and praised highly the dedication and fair-mindedness of the staff and the strength of the BMus programme. First destination data indicate impressive levels of progression to high-quality employment or postgraduate study. Graduates exhibited considerable enthusiasm for their programme and commented favourably on the collaborative and transferable skills which give them an advantage in their employment, even in fields outside music.
    
    

    Conclusions and Recommendations

21. The University of Birmingham claims to provide an excellent education in music. The assessors come to the overall conclusion, based on the assessment visit and an analysis of the self-assessment, together with the statistical indicators, that the quality of education in music at the University of Birmingham is excellent.
22. There are several excellent features of the provision, which the assessors believe merit acknowledgement. These include:
    • The wide-ranging curriculum and the potential for specialisation afforded by the scholarly and research activities of the staff.
    • The clarity with which undergraduate course curricula, syllabuses, and teaching and learning strategies are documented and understood by staff and students.
    • The range of learning methods employed and the extensive use of small group teaching. Some 33 per cent of sessions observed were graded excellent.
    • The caring and supportive learning environment, and the quality of staff-student relations and pastoral support.
    • The calibre of the academic staff, whose qualifications and experience are well suited to the provision offered by the Department.
    • The Department's collaboration with the Birmingham Conservatoire and the effectiveness with which that relationship is managed.
    • The commitment of the Department to monitoring and managing the quality of the education it provides.
    • The calibre, progression and achievements of students admitted to the BMus and Combined Honours degrees particularly.
23. The University of Birmingham can build upon these excellent features by considering the following recommendations:
    • Greater collaboration between the Department of Music and the Department of Drama and Theatre Arts should be encouraged.
    • The documentation supporting the taught masters degrees should be improved to the level of that for the undergraduate programmes.
    • The workloads of combined honours students are excessive in comparison with single honours students and this should be rectified in the process of modularisation.
    • Present arrangements for monitoring student progress in performance could be re-examined, with the aim of maximising opportunities for evaluating and promoting progression.
    • The Department should explore additional methods of disseminating its best teaching practice to all members of staff.
    • Efforts should be made to reduce sound and noise transference between teaching rooms and other accommodation where this is intrusive.

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