Government university teaching rankings disrupts
the traditional hierarchy in UK higher
education Joy Carter, Chair, GuildHE and
Vice-Chancellor, University of Winchester, said:
"We welcome the publication of the results of the first
teaching excellence framework (TEF). The TEF was a key plank of
the recent Higher Education and Research Act (2017), and whilst
it will need to continue to evolve, it’s right to place teaching
and student outcomes at the centre of the student experience.
GuildHE institutions have always focused on providing excellent
teaching to students which is stretching, engaging and
meaningful, and our members provide a unique learning experience
to students. We are delighted this has been recognised in our
members’ TEF results." Gordon McKenzie, Chief
Executive, GuildHE, said:
"The TEF provides a welcome focus on university teaching
and student outcomes - such as their employability.
The results shake-up many traditional perceptions of "good
universities" and excellent student experiences, which have
relied too heavily on evaluating research performance.”
“Importantly, this new government ranking bench-marks
student data helps take into account the difference a university
makes to a student’s progress. Other league tables
reward universities for taking students with high A-level results
in the first place without considering the distance the student
has travelled”
“We are particularly pleased that the TEF has shown the
strengths of specialist institutions, who are often excluded from
traditional league tables due to small student numbers”.
“The TEF isn’t perfect and has further to go to measure
this ‘added-value’ but has taken a positive step forward.
Its introduction helps acknowledge the value of the UK’s
modern and diverse higher education sector and gives institutions
the chance to compete on a more level-playing field to
demonstrate excellence wherever it is found.”
ENDS
Notes to editors:
1. GuildHE is one of only two formal representative bodies for
higher education in the UK. Its members represent the full
diversity of the HE sector and share a commitment to socially
inclusive higher education which values excellent teaching and
high impact research. It was founded in 1967 as the Standing
Conference of Principals, registered as a company in 1992 and
became GuildHE in 2006.
