The TEF – Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework – was introduced in 2016 and aims to measure the things students care about to ensure a high quality experience.
It has been designed and implemented by the Government and measures the following:
- excellent teaching
- supportive environments and ways of learning
- whether studying has enabled students to fulfil their potential (usually in employment or further study and training)
The Framework uses scores from the National Student Survey together with information on graduate employment and numbers of students who withdraw from their course to give each institution a rating. This is supported by a narrative submitted by the University that provides evidence of teaching excellence across the institution.
To be considered for a TEF award, the University first must meet a national set of baseline quality requirements. The TEF looks at excellence above and beyond these existing high standards.
The TEF awards are decided by an independent panel of experts which consists of students, academics and employer representatives. Each institution is given one of the following ratings:
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Gold for delivering consistently outstanding teaching, learning and outcomes for its students. It is of the highest quality found in the UK. |
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Silver for delivering high-quality teaching, learning and outcomes for its students. It consistently exceeds rigorous national quality requirements for UK higher education. |
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Bronze for delivering teaching, learning and outcomes for its students that meet rigorous national quality requirements for UK higher education. |
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Provisional. Institutions that meet rigorous national quality requirements but do not yet have enough data to be fully assessed can opt in for a Provisional award. |
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What does this mean for Worcester?
Following its submission in 2017, the University was awarded a Silver rating in the TEF.
The TEF review panel said that Worcester “delivers high quality teaching, learning and outcomes for its students” and “consistently exceeds rigorous national quality requirements for UK higher education”.
It also noted in its ‘Statement of Findings’ that the University excels at teaching that encourages high levels of student engagement and commitment to learning and study, including “excellent levels” of contact time and schemes that involve students in the process of enhancing their own learning experience. Based on the evidence, the panel also reported that “students achieve excellent outcomes” at Worcester.
A copy of the University’s TEF Statement of Findings together with the University’s TEF submission and metrics are available.
TEF in the future
The TEF currently assesses institutions as a whole. From 2020, participating universities and colleges will also receive TEF awards for each subject.
More information on the TEF is available