Universities UK (UUK) has today published a report to the
independent review of the future of the Teaching Excellence
Framework (TEF). In this report, UUK – representing 136
university members – states that overall the TEF is having a
tangible effect on the sector, but there is still some way to go
to improve the system.
In particular, UUK calls on the government to reconsider plans
for subject-level assessment following the challenges arising
from pilots in 89 universities, and to look again at its value
for students, universities and taxpayers.
The report contributes to the independent review of the TEF being
led by Dame Shirley Pearce. In it, UUK concludes:
- The
TEF is having an impact on the sector, in teaching and learning
strategies and the monitoring of outcome measures.
- It is
however hard to gather conclusive evidence of its contribution to
teaching and learning experience and outcomes.
- Its
definition of excellence is weighted heavily towards employment
outcomes, without full consideration of a student’s overall study
experience and the wider benefits of teaching and learning for
students and society.
-
Awareness of the TEF is still low among students while gradual
and piecemeal changes have made it complicated for them to
understand or to use it most effectively.
- New
governance arrangements should be made to ensure the government,
the Office for Students, students and providers have a clear
stake in strategic decision-making.
- A year
into piloting subject-level assessment, there is considerable
doubt over whether this will drive real value for students, while
it is adding significant complexity and cost which could divert
resource from other student-focused areas.
UUK believes that plans for subject-level TEF should not
proceed until the limitations of the methodology, its resource
impact, and the actual value of its contribution to student
decision-making, have been fully considered.
Estimates from UUK put the cost of taking part in year two of the
TEF at £4 million for participating universities, a figure which
would increase significantly with a full roll out of
subject-level assessment. UUK is calling for further
consideration to be given to whether the aims of subject-level
assessment could be met through existing or alternative
information sources such as Unistats, university websites and
league tables. Further work into this area should also look at
the risks of the subject-level TEF; including concerns around the
quality of the data and metrics, and their ability to support
students in important and complex decisions.
Professor Debra Humphris, Chair of UUK’s Student Policy
Network, said: “We support an effective TEF as a
tool to help students find the right place of study for them.
Done well the TEF could make a positive contribution to enhancing
the teaching and learning experience of students across the whole
sector.
“However, the increasing complexity of the TEF process risks
undermining its purpose, and this is a particular risk for
subject-level TEF. While universities have engaged constructively
with the pilot, there is no denying its potential to add
complexity and considerable cost burdens to institutions. This in
turn could force a diversion of resource away from other
investment programmes from which students benefit more clearly.
“This report to the independent reviewer also highlights our
concerns about continuing to incentivise a narrow targets culture
to the detriment of the range and richness of academic practice
and the long-term quality of the sector. We hope the review panel
will listen carefully to the sector and considers our proposals.”
The independent review of the Teaching Excellence and Student
Outcomes Framework continues, and is due to conclude in summer
2019.
ENDS
Notes
- 1. The Teaching Excellence and
Student Outcomes Framework (TEF) is a national exercise,
introduced by the government in England. It assesses excellence
in teaching at universities and colleges, and how well they
ensure excellent outcomes for their students in terms of
graduate-level employment or further study.
- 2. At its creation, the TEF was
said by government to be the world’s first government-led
university rating system, ranking universities as gold, silver or
bronze, and measuring them by the level of high-quality teaching
and graduate outcomes.
- 3. The £4 million cost of taking
part in year two of the TEF for participating universities comes
from the responses to UUK’s survey, which found that
participating higher education institutions spent a total of £3.3
million in salary costs, which when NI and pensions are added in
rises to £4.1 million.
- 4. UUKs
report The future of the TEF – report to the
independent reviewer can be
found here.
