The University of the West of England (UWE Bristol) has been awarded gold status in the latest Government rankings for higher education providers.
UWE Bristol has been recognised with the highest possible rating in the Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework (TEF) 2018. Gold-standard institutions have provision that is consistently outstanding and of the highest quality found in the sector.
Advancing from the silver rating awarded in 2017, the University has been praised by assessors for outstanding graduate employability outcomes and successful approaches to personalised learning.
The framework led by the Office for Students (OfS) measures the performance of all UK universities and higher education providers based on a wide range of factors including graduate employability, National Student Survey (NSS) results and learning environment.
Introduced two years ago to recognise and reward excellent learning and teaching, the TEF has been designed to help students choose where to study by providing clear information about teaching provision and student outcomes.
In its 2018 assessment, UWE Bristol received recognition for:
* Outstanding performance with regard to sustained employment and graduate earnings
* Students from all backgrounds achieving consistently outstanding outcomes
* Student satisfaction with academic support, and the rate of progression to highly skilled employment or further study, being above the University's benchmarks
* Outstanding learning resources with extensive facilities for lecture capture
* Successful approaches to personalised learning, with effective support arrangements for specific student groups, that secure the highest levels of student engagement with learning.
Overall, the TEF panel of assessors judged that the combination of UWE Bristol's performance data and its submission met the criteria for a gold award, which is valid for up to three years.
The University is ranked in the top quartile of all higher education providers in the UK and is among only five universities in the South West to hold gold TEF status.
Professor Steve West, Vice-Chancellor at UWE Bristol, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to receive this gold award. It recognises the importance we place on the student experience and teaching, and how our practice orientated and professionally accredited courses consistently equip our students for graduate level jobs.
“A huge thank you goes to all our staff on what is a very proud day for the University. Their hard work and commitment has made a vital contribution by ensuring students receive the best possible higher education experience.”
The award of a gold rating in the TEF comes one week after UWE Bristol was named in the top 40 of the annual university league table compiled by the Guardian. The University climbed to its highest ever position of 37th out of 121 UK institutions following strong performance in the NSS and an increase in spend per student.
