RESOURCES, STUDENT-STAFF RATIOS AND TEACHING QUALITY IN BRITISH HIGHER-EDUCATION - SOME SPECULATIONS AROUSED BY JENKINS AND SMITH

The relationship between the amount spent per student in British universities and the 'quality' of the outcomes (measured by the proportion of students getting a 'good honours degree') is a focus of much contemporary political debate clouded by imprecise definitions of quality. The observed empirical relationship - that as resources have declined, quality has increased - is counter-intuitive. This commentary seeks to clarify the issues and suggests why the paradoxical relationship occurs.