Exeter will participate in the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) subject level pilot scheme, it has been announced.

Exeter to participate in TEF subject level pilot scheme

The University of Exeter will participate in the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) subject level pilot scheme, it has been announced.

The scheme, which will run during the course of the 2017-18 academic year, is designed to inform future developments of TEF and to test how individual subjects could be assigned ratings.

These ratings could potentially be used by students to gain more detailed information about the subjects and how they compare, to give them more detailed information when choosing where to study.

The first subject pilot will run from now until the summer of 2018, and will evaluate how two models could generate subject-level TEF ratings.

Fifty education providers will take part in the pilot, with 19 taking part in one model, 19 in a separate model, and 12 taking part in both. Professor Janice Kay CBE, Provost and Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Exeter, has been appointed to the key role of Chairing the panel overseeing the pilot scheme. The pilot scheme is being implemented by HEFCE, on behalf of the Department for Education (DfE).

The University of Exeter will participate in “Model B” where the Assessment is 'bottom-up' meaning that each subject is fully assessed to give the subject-level ratings and these feed into the provider-level assessment and rating. This compares to “Model A” which is 'by exception' and subjects are awarded the same rating as the provider, where the initial hypothesis is the same. There is then a fuller assessment (and potentially different ratings) for subjects where their initial hypothesis differs from the provider.

Professor Tim Quine, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) of the University of Exeter said: “The University is delighted to have been chosen to participate in the pilot of Subject-Level TEF. By taking part in this pilot we are able to continue to improve the quality of teaching and education within the University and to recognise and reward our already excellent teaching”.

The University of Exeter’s commitment to providing world-class teaching has already been recognised, after it was awarded a “Gold” rating in the first national Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) assessment.

The University is one of 43 Higher Education Institutions to be recognised as offering gold standard teaching, learning and student outcomes in the TEF assessment, published in June.

The prestigious gold rating was given in recognition of Exeter’s strong commitment to delivering outstanding teaching quality, a top class learning environment and outstanding outcomes for its students in terms of graduate employment. The TEF Panel judged that Exeter students, from all backgrounds, achieve outstanding outcomes.

The Teaching Excellence Framework has been introduced to ensure excellent teaching quality, learning environment and student employability outcomes are at the heart of the UK higher education system. The framework will put clear information into the hands of students so they know where there is high quality teaching and what benefits they can expect to gain from their courses.

Date: 13 November 2017