Simon Jenkins asserts that: “A university course has barely changed its three-year structure of lectures, essays and exams in a hundred years” (What are our universities for?, Journal, 31 May). It’s true that the sector remains sceptical about two-year degrees, but teaching and assessment methods on most university courses today would be unrecognisable to anyone who was a student 30 years ago.
Current politics students at Liverpool still attend lectures, submit essays and take exams. But they also analyse election data in computer labs, play the “Legislate!” board game designed for training civil servants, write political speeches, make podcasts on African politics, produce and present weekly radio shows, and undertake placements with MPs and in a range of local organisations. If Simon would like to spend a day sampling teaching at a contemporary university, I’m certain we can arrange something.
Dr Stuart Wilks-Heeg
Reader in politics, University of Liverpool