Times Higher ranks Kent fifth in UK for teaching performance

Posie Bogan
Picture by University of Kent

Kent has been ranked fifth out of 120 UK universities in a mock Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) exercise modelled by Times Higher Education (THE).

According to THE, it modelled the potential results for the TEF using the three supposed core aspects of teaching performance that the government recently confirmed it will measure in the early stages of the TEF. These are graduate employment, student retention and student satisfaction.

THE also suggests that the mock exercise endorses the view that campus-based, research-active institutions, such as Kent, offer the best student experience in the UK.

Professor John Baldock, PVC, said ‘We are pleased to see the results of the THE’s mock TEF. Kent focuses on providing the best possible teaching and student experience. Our first-class study facilities, academic strengths and a wide selection of undergraduate programmes combine to give our students one the best university experiences in the country.’

The TEF was recently introduced by the government as a mechanism to monitor and assess the quality of educational standards in England’s universities. The process is at its earliest stage, with the results of what is being referred to as TEF 1 scheduled for 2017-18.  These results will depend on complex benchmarking, and all universities will have to wait until then to see the real outcome of the TEF.