Top Marks for Cambridge Biology Teaching

A student in a first-year practical class in the Department of Plant Sciences Teaching Laboratory.

Following the full marks awarded to the Experimental Psychology Department, Cambridge has once again received a top score for teaching quality - this time for "Organismal Biosciences": the courses taught mainly by the Departments of Plant Sciences and Zoology, but including several inter-departmental courses.

The 24 marks out of 24 were awarded after a rigorous week-long review process, during which the six members of the Quality Assessment Agency (QAA) Review Panel pored through information painstakingly gathered by University staff over the previous months. They also observed lectures, practicals and supervisions, and met students and key members of staff. Collating and organising the vast quantity of material involved has itself been a major exercise for academics and administrators, and staff are jubilant.

The Head of the Department of Plant Sciences, Professor Roger Leigh, said:

"There can be no better recognition of the excellence and dedication of the staff in these Departments, and of their commitment to teaching. This is a fantastic achievement, and a great reward for the efforts of the past months."

Professor Malcolm Burrows, Head of the Zoology Department, agreed:

"To receive 24 out of 24 is an exceptional result by any standards, and coming so soon after Psychology's equally impressive score, it shows that Cambridge has good reason to be proud of its biology Departments."

Students studying Part IA Biology of Organisms, which was one of the courses reviewed by the assessors. Other inter-departmental courses included in the review were Part IB Ecology and Part II Neuroscience.

The full marks were awarded in six separate aspects:

The Chair of the Panel, reporting the assessors' conclusions to the Pro-Vice-Chancellor, concluded by saying that he had run out of superlatives! Among the many aspects the Review Panel singled out for praise were the high quality of the curriculum; the enthusiastic and highly qualified staff; the outstanding quality of the refurbished lecture theatres and laboratories; the fact that teaching was based on internationally renowned research; and the excellence of the College supervision system.