Elite universities exposed as second-rate

[Catseye]

The TEF was created by the previous Conservative government to establish an evidence base for teaching quality at British universities. In future, tuition-fee increases will be linked to higher standards in teaching, with only the holders of gold and silver awards able to raise them in line with inflation.



Gold (59 providers)
Including: universities of Oxford, Cambridge, Birmingham, Exeter, Essex, Leeds, Surrey, Royal Northern Academy of Music, Liverpool Hope, Solihull College, South Devon College.

Silver (116 providers)
Including: King’s College London, universities of Bristol, York, Hull, Manchester, Warwick, Sunderland, Wakefield College, London South Bank, Guildhall School of Music & Drama.

Bronze (56 providers)
Including: LSE, Southampton, Liverpool, St George’s, London, Goldsmiths, London, British School of Osteopathy, Plymouth, Plumpton College, Cumbria University, Bradford College.

The LSE, Southampton and Liverpool, all members of the elite Russell Group, were handed the lowest bronze award in the first Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF). They shared the ranking with the likes of Accrington and Rossendale College and Grimsby Institute of Further and Higher Education.

Employers take note. tbh, reputation will still trump teaching quality imho.

[Guest55]

I think a full list is needed - why only name the above?

Full list here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-40356423" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

RG means very little in industry these days ...

Here is how grading is awarded:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-40354138" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Note this says:
"The Higher Education Policy Institute said: "In this early guise, the TEF is far from a perfect assessment of teaching and learning.

"While it tells us a lot of useful things, none of them accurately reflects precisely what goes on in lecture halls."

It urges university applicants to use the results in their decision-making, but to do so with caution, as the ratings are for whole universities rather than individual courses."

Like any League table it has flaws ...

[Bumblebeez]

Please note that several institutions did not take part.

There will be significant discrepancies within institutions, as with the REF. It's going to be much more interesting and useful next year, when the awards will be subject specific.

[Catseye]

why only name the above?

Because most here are only interested in the " elite universities " Clickbait

RG means very little in industry these days ...

Really ?

The public gets what the public wants- no need to shoot the messenger, this world is not of my making.

[mike1880]

Does anyone care about this one? It's just about as meaningful and useful as the EBacc or an Ofsted inspection report (or an ISI report!) imo.

[quasimodo]

Does anyone care about this one? It's just about as meaningful and useful as the EBacc or an Ofsted inspection report (or an ISI report!) imo.

In a perverse way any parent wouldn't want the University to gain a silver or gold attainment for any University or College of Further education your child is attending so that they can raise tuition fees in line with inflation.Particularly as inflation has been increasing and is now at 2.9%.

I see C you are quoting one of the headlines on the front page of the Times as your subject title.The article begins about poor teaching at the LSE which I suspect most people are already aware of, we certainly were from what its students were telling us when we looked at the University about 5 years ago. I don't understand how it undermines the quality of a degree from one of this countries leading institutions which is very difficult to get into and to receive an offer from for both students here and abroad ?

[KenR]

So it follows that sixth form students should reject offers from the LSE or Liverpool and opt for Solihull College instead

[Tinkers]

I noticed that my sixth form college has a silver. They weren't even offering degrees when I was there doing my A levels.

[2childmum]

I'm not quite sure how you assess quality of teaching without actually seeing any going on!

I have a musician friend with a son at the Royal Academy. He went there himself many moons ago He is appalled at the teaching his son is ( or should I say isn't) getting - yet it managed a gold!

[Catseye]

Durham, Liverpool, Southampton and York in revolt over ‘irrational’ university rankings.

Sir Christopher Snowden, vice-chancellor of Southampton University, said the rankings were irrational, lacked credibility and had needlessly damaged the reputation of British higher education, generating negative headlines across the globe.

Four Russell Group institutions — Durham, Liverpool, Southampton and York — lodged appeals on Tuesday against the TEF, which is in its first trial year and has allocated gold, silver and bronze awards.

Along with the London School of Economics, which is not appealing, they received lower ratings in the framework than some further education colleges criticised by Ofsted.

So universities are taking the TEF seriously hopefully it may motivate them to improve their teaching experience- why are tuition fees so high especially for non-STEM/ Medical degrees ?