Loughborough University tops Times Higher Education’s mock teaching assessment
Loughborough University has topped a mock exercise run by the Times Higher Education (THE) magazine that anticipates how the UK’s 120 universities might perform in the new Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF).
According to the THE, Loughborough is one of the ‘new elite’ – campus-based, research-active institutions, which offer outstanding education and the best all-round student experience.
The TEF was one of a number of initiatives outlined in the Government’s recently published White Paper, which sets out a range of reforms to the higher education and research system. The TEF will assess higher education providers on their educational standards, to give students better information about where teaching quality is outstanding.
The THE’s analysis is based on the three metrics that will be at the heart of the TEF: retention, student satisfaction and graduate employment. However, the analysis is unable to take into account qualitative evidence, which in the TEF will be submitted by institutions alongside the core metrics in order to reach a decision on an institution’s rating.
Professor Robert Allison, Loughborough’s Vice-Chancellor, is delighted by the results of the THE’s mock assessment, which he says will challenge perceptions of what constitutes university excellence.
I’m in no doubt that in the TEF there will be some of the Russell Group right at the top and I won’t be surprised if there are some quite a long way down.
Will the Russell Group implode as a consequence? I doubt it. But will that challenge the message that the Russell Group gives out that ‘we are the country’s elite universities’? I hope it does, because if there is evidence to suggest constructs like that are true, I’m pleased it reinforces it. But if there is evidence that indicates constructs like that aren’t necessarily everything they are made out to be, that would be an interesting consequence.
Professor Robert Allison, Vice Chancellor, Loughborough University
Loughborough is one of the country’s leading universities, with an international reputation for research that matters, excellence in teaching, strong links with industry, and unrivalled achievement in sport and its underpinning academic disciplines.
It has been awarded five stars in the independent QS Stars university rating scheme, named the best university in the world for sports-related subjects in the 2020 QS World University Rankings and top in the country for its student experience in the 2018 THE Student Experience Survey.
Loughborough is in the top 10 of every national league table, being ranked 4th in the Guardian University League Table 2020, 5th in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2020 and 8th in The UK Complete University Guide 2020.
Loughborough is consistently ranked in the top twenty of UK universities in the Times Higher Education’s ‘table of tables’ and is in the top 10 in England for research intensity. In recognition of its contribution to the sector, Loughborough has been awarded seven Queen's Anniversary Prizes.
Specialising exclusively in postgraduate-level study, Loughborough University London is based on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and offers cutting-edge master’s and PhD degrees, as well as business collaboration, research and enterprise opportunities.
The seven specialist institutes at Loughborough University London include: Design Innovation, Digital Technologies, Diplomacy and International Governance, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, International Management, Media and Creative Industries, and Sport Business. Close industry partnerships with a wealth of leading businesses and creative organisations means teaching and learning is informed by real-life challenges and driven by true industry pressures.