The results of the Teaching Excellence Framework provide a new picture of excellence in teaching and learning in UK higher education.

The results and the underlying evidence will help students who are thinking about applying to university or college for autumn 2018, and encourage teaching and learning excellence across the UK.

The Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) was introduced by the Government to build evidence about the performance of the UK’s world-class higher education sector, complementing the existing Research Excellence Framework with an analysis of teaching and learning outcomes.

A total of 295 universities, colleges and alternative providers of higher education voluntarily took part in the TEF. Each provider was rated gold, silver or bronze, or received a provisional award where there was not enough data for a full assessment.

In the assessment, 59 providers were rated gold, 116 were rated silver and 56 were rated bronze.

Excluding those with provisional ratings, a gold award was achieved by 26 per cent of participants, silver by 50 per cent and bronze by 24 per cent.

The TEF awards were decided by an independent panel of experts including academics, students and employer representatives. Drawing on national data, and evidence submitted by each university or college, the TEF measures excellence in three areas: teaching quality, the learning environment and the educational and professional outcomes achieved by students.

The Universities Minister, Jo Johnson, said:

‘These results, highlighting the extraordinary strengths of our higher education system, will help students choose which university or college to study at.

‘The Teaching Excellence Framework is refocusing the sector’s attention on teaching – putting in place incentives that will raise standards across the sector and giving teaching the same status as research.

‘Students, parents, employers and taxpayers all have a shared interest in ensuring that higher education equips the next generation of graduates for success.’

Professor Chris Husbands, Chair of the TEF assessment panel and Vice-Chancellor of Sheffield Hallam University, said:

‘The Teaching Excellence Framework results offer – for the first time – an overview of teaching excellence across the entire UK higher education sector. It has been a privilege to chair this ambitious and ground-breaking assessment.

‘Alongside the headline results, we are publishing all the data and submissions, and statements of the assessors’ findings. Taken together, this is a set of material on teaching excellence which goes further than has been possible for any other university system in the world.’

Madeleine Atkins, Chief Executive of the Higher Education Funding Council for England, said:

‘Students invest significant amounts of time and money in their higher education. They rightly expect a high-quality learning experience and outcomes that reflect their potential. The UK already has a high bar for quality and standards, which all universities and colleges must meet. But the TEF judges excellence above and beyond this, clearly showing the highest levels across the sector.

‘The TEF measures the things that students themselves say they care about: high-quality, engaged teaching and a supportive, stimulating learning environment which equips them with the knowledge and skills they need to achieve their potential, and then to progress to a good job or further study.’

The TEF results and the evidence used in the assessment can be found at www.hefce.ac.uk/lt/tef/.

The TEF awards will also be published on Unistats and the UCAS website, alongside other information, to help inform prospective students’ choices.

More information can be found here