Other institutions now had this as one of their activities and Birkbeck was no longer the sole provider. But none made it their sole focus and in this respect Birkbeck was unique. A distinction was made between excellence and standards . The second represents the putting in place, the publishing, the enforcing and monitoring of basic norms- practices which virtually any teacher or student would see as necessary and right. But the group insisted that any code of practice or set of guidelines had to be based not on excellence i.e. what an ideal teacher and student would do in ideal circumstances, but on what is realistic and what those involved would actually sign up to and be willing to be held to.
Unrealistic codes are to be avoided.
For example a contract which says that work will be handed in by a particular date and returned so many days after may be impossible to respect given the pressures Birkbeck students work under. But a majority of the group believed that a set of negotiated guidelines and standards from which there could be negotiated departures was better than no guidelines at all and a sine qua non of any strategy. From the teacher s side, the guidelines could say Provided work is handed in on time it will be returned within x days . There is no doubt that it is more congenial for anyone not to be bound by any prior commitments but that cuts both ways. It s a question of the guidelines being sensible and flexible.