AC Grayling’s private university accused of copying syllabuses

New College of the Humanities, whose students will pay £18,000 a year, offering courses available at University of London at half the price A new private university college founded by the philosopher AC Grayling and staffed by celebrity professors will teach exactly the same syllabuses as the University of London, which charges half the price, it has emerged. Students of the New College of the Humanities will pay £18,000 a year to take courses in history, English literature and philosophy that are already on offer at Birkbeck, Goldsmiths and Royal Holloway for £9,000 or less. Academics complained that syllabuses listed on the New College website appeared to have been copied from the University of London’s own web pages in a move some said amounted to plagiarism. Grayling launched his venture with the claim that it would help save humanities education from government cuts by bringing together teachers including Richard Dawkins, Niall Ferguson and Stephen Pinker. “Every university is worried about students plagiarising essays,” said Justin Champion, a senior historian at Royal Holloway college, who spotted that the titles of modules he wrote were reproduced on the New College website. “Here we have a whole degree programme being plagiarised. I personally feel quite insulted because I wrote quite a lot of the syllabus. If the University of London didn’t exist and public money hadn’t been used to draw up these syllabuses, they wouldn’t have been able to do this, or they would have had to invest a lot of money.” The New College philosophy syllabus includes: “Logic, epistemology, Greek philosophy: Plato and the pre-Socratics, ethics: Historical perspectives, modern philosophy: Descartes, Locke, Berkeley and Hume”. The University of London course details use exactly the same wording. The syllabus for the literature and history degrees is also identical. Grayling has said that New College students would receive University of London degrees, but the university has since made clear there is “no formal agreement between the University of London and the NCH concerning academic matters”. However, it said it was “legitimate for NCH, as an entirely independent institution, to provide tuition to students of University of London international programmes, as other institutions in London and around the world do”. On Monday, David Latchman, master of Birkbeck, announced that Grayling had resigned from its teaching staff, adding in an email to staff: “Birkbeck has no links with New College and no agreement to provide New College with access to any of its facilities.” Amanda Vickery, a TV historian and history professor at Royal Holloway, was one of the first to spot similarities between the syllabuses. She posted on Twitter : “New College of Humanities seems to have ripped off London Univ’s international programme in history,” adding: “Perplexed to see my own course ‘Experience, Culture & Identity: Women’s lives in England 1688-1850′ at NCH.” Colin Jones, president of the Royal Historic Society and a professor at Queen Mary college, said: “Despite a light scattering of international stardust, this seems to be a somewhat cynical repackaging operation.” Grayling strongly denied the charge, and said teaching at the college would be more extensive, with “value added” by courses in logic, scientific literacy and applied ethics, as well as professional skills. “It is a complete misunderstanding,” he said. “We offer University of London international programme degrees, so that is the syllabus we are preparing the students for. It is reductive to describe it as repackaging … There is a quarter more content, contact with some rather distinguished people, and preparation for professional life.” Amid a growing backlash from students and lecturers, Dawkins sought to clarify his role, saying on his website: “This is the brainchild of AC Grayling, not me … Professor Grayling invited me to join the professoriate and give some lectures.” He said “the financial inducement was attractive” and indicated he would use the fees to fund his charitable foundation. London’s mayor, Boris Johnson, backed Grayling’s idea, saying “it fully deserves to succeed and to be imitated”. It prompted him, Johnson added, to recall his own idea of founding “Reject’s College, Oxbridge”, which would be “aimed squarely at the wrathful parents – many of them Oxbridge graduates – who simply could not understand how their own offspring could rack up three A-stars and grade 8 bassoon, and yet find themselves turned down”. Higher education Birkbeck, University of London Humanities Royal Holloway, University of London University of London Robert Booth guardian.co.uk

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