His council book is det not a asp?conf soft book touch: last year it described asp?conf many universities' student assessment arrangements as "amateurish book and id=1 ill-conceived". book It is an audit based book on interviews with staff rather than id=1 an assessment of them in action. book book det Dr Roger id=1 Brown, book the quality council's chief executive, det says: "We report on institutional management of quality asp?conf id=1 while the book book det funding asp?conf id=1 council reports on teaching and lecturing at the chalkface. asp?conf Senior academics, nominated by vice-chancellors, visit det universities to check that their procedures for assuring quality are appropriate.

The Higher Education Quality Council, set up and financed by the universities themselves, also visits and requires another set of paperwork. The council is a successor to the body set up by vice-chancellors to head off the threat of government-backed assessment. Kenneth Clarke, former secretary of state for education, was not impressed and went ahead with the funding council scheme.To the outsider, the co-existence of the two appears curious, and talks are in progress about how they might draw closer together.The quality council, however, points out that its role is very different from the funding council's. If it goes on like this, one half of the university system will be spending all its time inspecting the other half."For the funding council is not the only body in the university assessment business.

Ted Nield of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals recognises that the Government has to check up on what is happening to £3bn of public money but questions whether the amount of staff time required to produce the paperwork and the effort expended on inspection are worthwhile."There are 12,000 courses in UK universities," he says "One visit to every department is an immense task. Originally, Dr Milton suggests, the old universities were reluctant to nominate candidates because they disapproved of the scheme. Now they are at least resigned to it.The view from the universities is less sanguine. Having successfully scuppered one system, they are not sure that its replacement is much better. These are all academics recommended either by professional bodies such as the Royal Society of Chemistry or by individual universities. "Once the cutting edge of excellence has disappeared we shan't get the business of some universities becoming very upset because one of their departments hasn't been rated excellent."He says the calibre of assessors has improved. Visits will take place every six or seven years.Will they make universities happier? Dr Peter Milton, associate director of the funding council's quality assessment division, thinks it should.