Isn't it ironic that a government that dismisses the results of public opinion polls when it decides to go to war should expect future students to base their university choice on surveys of graduate recollections?
It will require a robust methodology to extract representative evaluations. For example, was the teaching style of the professor on whom graduates depend for a reference "sufficiently challenging"? How critical will a graduate be if this could reflect on the qualification s/he has received?
Uncritical nostalgia for life at the alma mater, on the other hand, will be much appreciated by institutions if they become increasingly dependent on alumni endowments.
John Wakeford
Missenden Centre for the Development of Higher Education