A number of the University and Union staff woke up this morning excited to open their inboxes in expectation of the long awaited results of the ‘Teaching Excellence Framework’ (TEF).
The TEF is a new government-led tool that evaluates the quality of the student experience in terms of teaching at Universities across the UK. It was brought in partly to counter-balance the REF – the Research Excellence Framework – and bring a focus back on teaching and taught courses now that students are paying considerable fees during their undergraduate studies. The government introduced the TEF as a way of rewarding teaching excellence within universities.
Metrics that are used to assess each University include results from the National Student Survey (NSS), and the Destination of Leavers in Higher Education (DELHI) survey, and Universities were also asked to produce a TEF Submission outlining how they ensure and strive for teaching excellence. The SU was involved in our University’s Submission.
The TEF takes into account teaching quality, the learning environment and student outcomes, as well as other factors such as student support. It also takes into account the demography of students who attend the University e.g. if there is a higher proportion attending from more disadvantaged backgrounds. In this regard, some say it is more of a leveller for Universities as it measures how well students do during and after their studies, as compared with where they started from. It is meant to provide an alternative to league tables that are driven by research scores and give more chance to shine for non-Redbrick Universities.
Each institution has now received either a Bronze, Silver or Gold award, based on their metrics and submissions. We are very pleased to share with you that the University of Worcester received a SILVER rating! This is really great news and a reflection of all the hard work that has been put in to the student experience here at Worcester. Some of the positive feedback the University received in the report included:
- “Teaching that encourages high levels of student engagement and commitment to learning and study including excellent levels of contact time, and schemes which involve students in the enhancement of their learning experience and strategic enhancement projects.”
- “High quality digital and physical learning resources which are used by students to enhance learning.”
- “An established University-wide culture that facilitates, recognises and rewards excellent teaching, which results in a high proportion of staff with recognised teaching qualifications.”
The next goal is for the University to achieve a Gold award and the Union will continue to work with the University to ensure student engagement in their learning and teaching is commonplace and exemplary.
The TEF is in its early days and this assessment is on an institution-wide basis. In future years, assessments will be extended to drill down into disciplines and courses. It may in the future, although not yet, be linked to a University being able to raise its fees and, therefore, result in more variable fees nationally (variable fees were expected by the government when the £9k fee was originally introduced but this did not happen as very few wanted to charge lower than £9k and risk being viewed as ‘cheap and cheerful’). We will keep you posted on any developments around the TEF. Do get in touch with me if you have any comments or questions on this at e.morrison@worc.ac.uk