The ºüÀêÊÓƵ of Worcester has been awarded Silver in the 2023 Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF).
An independent panel of assessors singled out several aspects of the ºüÀêÊÓƵ of Worcester as outstanding, including its learning resources, student engagement in improvement, staff professional development and academic practice and intended educational gains.
All other aspects of the ºüÀêÊÓƵ of Worcester, across student experience and student outcomes, were rated as very high quality.
The panel had high praise for the way the ºüÀêÊÓƵ “effectively supports its students to achieve very high-quality student outcomes and educational gains” and how it has “embedded very high-quality teaching, feedback and assessment practices that are effective in supports its students’ learning, progression and attainment”.
Among the ºüÀêÊÓƵ’s outstanding learning resources, the Hive, Europe’s first joint university and public library was particularly praised for the way it “builds a sense of community and social mobility”.
The value of the ‘student voice’ within the ºüÀêÊÓƵ was also rated outstanding, particularly the way the ºüÀêÊÓƵ “embeds engagement with its students, leading to continuous improvement to the experiences and outcomes of its students”.
Worcester students benefit from being taught by academics who enjoy outstanding professional development academic practice. Of particular note was the fact that “72.4% of teaching staff have fellowship of the Higher Education Academy at some level, compared with a sector average of only 46.1%”.
These factors combined result in outstanding intended educational gains with “excellent graduates outcomes in relation to sustained employment that is ‘meaningful’, ‘relevant’ and ‘fits with future plans’.