2006:14 R

Evaluation of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in biology at higher education institutions in Sweden

As a rule, programmes in biology are organised as local programmes in which it is the major subject accounting for at least 60 or 80 credit points. In addition to this, biology is offered as a single-subject course. In some degree programmes, the teaching of biology is strongly influenced by vocational programmes such as the programmes in horticulture, agriculture and forestry offered by the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. At other institutions a major influence on the subject is that it is mainly taken by students in teacher-training programmes.

There are also cases where biology is merely an ancillary subject in other programmes and where few students take it as a major subject up to bachelor´s level.

One of the general problems for biology is that the subject attracts relatively few applicants to the fairly large number of places offered. This means that as places are not filled finances suffer when the student numbers cannot sustain the costs of programmes.

This also has an impact on the quality of the programmes when students with poor qualifications and little motivation are admitted. However all the higher education institutions are undertaking active recruitment drives to arouse interest in programmes in biology. These range from brief study visits to placement weeks and opportunities for pupils in the upper-secondary schools to take a few university credit points in biology. Some measures are aimed at pupils in their early years at primary school or at career advisors or student counsellors.

Several higher education institutions admit students who have taken the social sciences and humanities in the upper-secondary school to degree programmes in biology. The University College of Kalmar provides special courses in biology, chemistry, physics and mathematics before these students begin biology in earnest, whereas the University College of Gotland allows them to start straight away. The panel of assessors can see some risk that enrolling students with a background in the social sciences or humanities may lead to a reduction of the standard and requirements in degree programmes to make up for their lack of previous study of the natural sciences. At the same time the panel points out that it is unreasonable for students who have taken the effort to study natural sciences in the upper-secondary school to then have to adapt the level of knowledge of students who have taken social sciences and humanities.

In order to make funds last, several higher education institutions organise joint programmes of study for biology students and students on teacher training programmes who will specialise in biology. This causes no problems at several institutions but there are some where the needs and ambitions of the teacher trainees dominate biology programmes completely. Examples can be found where more advanced study of the subject, its academic grounding and critical and creative thinking have to give way to some extent to consideration of educational issues and ways of teaching the subject.

At most higher education institutions those involved with biology state that the resources available for the subject are increasingly inadequate. In addition to the empty places, the new and more heterogeneous groups of students give rise to greater costs.

As a result, classroom teaching and the characteristic features of biology programmes, laboratory work and excursions, have been cut back in many places. This is a negative development as they are central elements in the programmes and a requirement for future professional careers.

There are a number of reasons why the workloads of the teachers are frequently described as oppressive. The new and more heterogeneous groups of students also make new demands of the programmes and those teaching them. Variations in the prior knowledge of the student pose a challenge and require teachers to adapt their methods to enable students to succeed without lowering demands or the standards of the programmes.

In addition to their teaching, teachers are also expected to devote time to course administration, evaluation and follow-up as well as enhancing their own skills and undertaking their own research. The teachers are also expected to develop new courses, establish and maintain cooperation and interact with the surrounding community. In many cases they must themselves also apply for external funding to finance their own posts.

There is a clear need for several higher education institutions to cooperate with each other, for instance on the question of what courses and specialisations to offer. At the same time it is important for the programmes to adopt their own profiles, on the basis, for instance, of the possibilities offered by the qualifications of the teaching staff, their infrastructure or the local environment.

Labour market links are weak or diffuse in many places in undergraduate programmes. It can be difficult to strike a balance between offering a programme with explicit vocational links which is at the same time scientifically based and has tangible research support. At the same time it may also be a case of making it clearer to students what in the programme is what.

The infrastructure is, with a few exceptions, very good and on the whole access to premises, computers and laboratory equipment is very good even though there are exceptions. Most libraries also maintain very high standards and in many cases have librarians with qualifications in biology. From a Nordic point of view, it seems as if greater priority has been given to investments in infrastructure than in enhancing the qualifications of the teachers or improving their working conditions.

The gender balance in biology programmes is uneven both among undergraduate students and teachers. This is both problematic and extremely remarkable as considerably more men can be found among the permanently employed teaching staff, professors and fellows while women predominate among the lecturers and those with short-term appointments.

The labour market is weak for biologists irrespective of whether they start to look for work after their undergraduate studies or on completion of a PhD.