Top unis rated ‘bronze’ in government’s new ranking system
Some of the UK’s leading universities have failed to get top marks in the Teaching Excellence Framework results, which were released today. How did your uni fair?
You know that gut-wrenching feeling you get when your exam results come through and they’re not as good as you were expecting?
Well, today the tables have turned and it’s the unis themselves that’ll be waiting for an acceptable time to hit the pub and drown their sorrows (or, in some cases, celebrate a better-than-expected result!).
The results of the government’s controversial new rankings system have been released, and it’s bad news for some of the UK’s top universities.
The Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF), which the government just introduced this year, assesses universities using criteria such as dropout rates, graduate employment levels and student satisfaction, in order to help students make more informed choices about which uni to go to (in theory!).
However, the government also revealed plans to use the TEF results to increase tuition fees each year, which most of you told us you opposed.
Many students also chose to boycott the National Student Survey (which was used to assess student satisfaction in the rankings) in protest, and even the House of Lords unexpectedly voted against the link between TEF and uni fees, which has resulted in the link being delayed until 2020.
TEF results biggest shocks
295 universities across the UK opted into TEF, but only 59 of those received a gold award, whereas 116 got silver and 56 received bronze.
One of the biggest shocks of the results was the London School of Economics being given the lowest rating despite ranking second in the world for social sciences in the QS global uni rankings.
Russell group unis Liverpool and Southampton will also be feeling the pressure today, as they were awarded bronze, whilst new unis such as Coventry and Nottingham Trent got gold!
Are the TEF results reliable?
The introduction of TEF has been really controversial for a number of reasons, and whilst the rankings shouldn't be ignored completely, our position (like many of those in Higher Education) is that the results should be taken with a large pinch of salt.
The reason for this is that the rankings are rely solely on data rather than inspections of lectures or assessed teaching. This means that results can be pretty crude - particularly when there’s only three awards involved!
TEF have even clarified that although a university might rank bronze, it might have elements of gold, and likewise a gold-awarded university might’ve scored bronze in some areas.
Nick Hillman, Director of Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI), has said:
I hope university applicants will use the results in their decision-making - but they should do so with caution.
Oh, and in case you're interested in knowing which universities opted out of TEF...
I'm delighted to congratulate the great Scottish & UK universities who offer excellent teaching and didn't take part in the #TEF #TEFresults pic.twitter.com/vFpUELsVgT
— Hannah Graham (@DrHannahGraham) June 22, 2017
TEF university rankings
| HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTION | TEF RANKING |
|---|---|
| University of Abertay Dundee | Silver |
| ABI College Limited | Provisional |
| Abingdon and Witney College | Silver |
| The Academy of Contemporary Music Limited | Provisional |
| Access to Music Limited | Provisional |
| Accrington and Rossendale College | Bronze |
| Activate Learning | Silver |
| ALRA | Provisional |
| Amersham & Wycombe College | Bronze |
| Anglia Ruskin University | Silver |
| Anglo-European College of Chiropractic | Silver |
| Architectural Association (Incorporated) | Provisional |
| The Arts University Bournemouth | Gold |
| University of the Arts, London | Silver |
| Askham Bryan College | Bronze |
| Assemblies of God Incorporated | Provisional |
| Aston University | Gold |
| Aylesbury College | Bronze |
| Bangor University | Gold |
| The University of Bath | Gold |
| Bath Spa University | Silver |
| University of Bedfordshire | Silver |
| BIMM Limited | Provisional |
| Birkbeck College | Silver |
| The University of Birmingham | Gold |
| University College Birmingham | Silver |
| Birmingham City University | Silver |
| Bishop Burton College | Bronze |
| Bishop Grosseteste University | Gold |
| Blackburn College | Bronze |
| Blackpool and the Fylde College | Gold |
| BMC (Brooksby Melton College) | Bronze |
| The University of Bolton | Silver |
| Bournemouth University | Silver |
| Bournville College | Provisional |
| BPP University Limited | Bronze |
| The University of Bradford | Silver |
| Bradford College | Bronze |
| University of Brighton | Silver |
| University of Bristol | Silver |
| Bristol Baptist College | Provisional |
| Brit College Limited | Provisional |
| The British School of Osteopathy | Bronze |
| Brunel University London | Silver |
| The University of Buckingham | Gold |
| Buckinghamshire New University | Bronze |
| Calderdale College | Silver |
| University of Cambridge | Gold |
| Cambridge Regional College | Bronze |
| Canterbury Christ Church University | Silver |
| Canterbury College | Silver |
| Cardiff Metropolitan University | Silver |
| Cardiff University | Silver |
| Cardinal Newman College | Provisional |
| University of Central Lancashire | Silver |
| University of Chester | Silver |
| The University of Chichester | Silver |
| Chichester College | Silver |
| The Chicken Shed Theatre Trust | Silver |
| Cirencester College | Provisional |
| City and Guilds of London Art School Limited | Provisional |
| City College Plymouth | Gold |
| City of Bristol College | Silver |
| The City of Liverpool College | Gold |
| City, University of London | Silver |
| Cleveland College of Art and Design | Gold |
| Colchester Institute | Silver |
| The Conservatoire for Dance and Drama | Gold |
| Cornwall College | Silver |
| Courtauld Institute of Art | Silver |
| Coventry University | Gold |
| University for the Creative Arts | Silver |
| Croydon College | Provisional |
| The University of Cumbria | Bronze |
| CWR | Provisional |
| Darlington College | Silver |
| De Montfort University | Gold |
| University of Derby | Gold |
| Doncaster College | Bronze |
| University of Dundee | Gold |
| University of Durham | Silver |
| Ealing, Hammersmith & West London College | Provisional |
| The University of East Anglia | Silver |
| East Durham College | Silver |
| East End Computing & Business College Limited | Provisional |
| East Kent College | Provisional |
| University of East London | Bronze |
| East Riding College | Bronze |
| Edge Hill University | Gold |
| The Edward James Foundation Limited | Provisional |
| The University of Essex | Gold |
| University College of Estate Management | Provisional |
| University of Exeter | Gold |
| Exeter College | Gold |
| Fairfield School of Business Ltd | Provisional |
| Falmouth University | Gold |
| Fareham College | Provisional |
| Farnborough College of Technology | Bronze |
| Furness College | Silver |
| Futureworks Training Limited | Provisional |
| Gateshead College | Silver |
| University of Gloucestershire | Silver |
| Goldsmiths College | Bronze |
| Grafton College Limited | Provisional |
| Greater Brighton Metropolitan College | Silver |
| University of Greenwich | Silver |
| Grimsby Institute of Further and Higher Education | Bronze |
| Guildhall School of Music & Drama | Silver |
| Hadlow College | Bronze |
| Halesowen College | Silver |
| Harper Adams University | Gold |
| Hartlepool College of Further Education | Silver |
| Hartpury College | Gold |
| Heart of Worcestershire College | Silver |
| Hereford College of Arts | Silver |
| Heriot-Watt University | Silver |
| Hertford Regional College | Silver |
| University of Hertfordshire | Silver |
| Highbury College Portsmouth | Bronze |
| Holy Cross College | Provisional |
| Hopwood Hall College | Bronze |
| The University of Huddersfield | Gold |
| Hugh Baird College | Gold |
| The University of Hull | Silver |
| Hull College | Bronze |
| Hy Education Limited | Provisional |
| ICMP Management Limited | Provisional |
| Imperial College London | Gold |
| Kaplan Open Learning (Essex) Limited | Silver |
| University of Keele | Gold |
| Kensington Education Foundation Limited | Provisional |
| The University of Kent | Gold |
| The Kingham Hill Trust | Provisional |
| King's College London | Silver |
| Kingston College | Silver |
| Kingston Maurward College | Bronze |
| Kingston University | Bronze |
| Kirklees College | Silver |
| KLC Limited | Provisional |
| The University of Lancaster | Gold |
| The University of Law Limited | Gold |
| The University of Leeds | Gold |
| Leeds Beckett University | Silver |
| Leeds City College | Bronze |
| Leeds College of Art | Silver |
| Leeds Trinity University | Silver |
| The University of Leicester | Silver |
| Leicester College | Gold |
| University of Lincoln | Gold |
| Lincoln College | Silver |
| The University of Liverpool | Bronze |
| Liverpool Hope University | Gold |
| The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts | Gold |
| Liverpool John Moores University | Silver |
| University College London | Silver |
| London Bridge Business Academy Limited | Provisional |
| London College of Creative Media Limited | Provisional |
| The London Institute of Banking & Finance | Provisional |
| London Metropolitan University | Bronze |
| London School of Business and Management Limited | Provisional |
| The London School of Economics and Political Science | Bronze |
| London School of Management Education Limited | Provisional |
| London School of Science & Technology Limited | Provisional |
| London School of Theology | Provisional |
| London South Bank University | Silver |
| London Studio Centre Limited | Silver |
| Loughborough College | Silver |
| Loughborough University | Gold |
| Luther King House Educational Trust | Provisional |
| Macclesfield College | Provisional |
| The University of Manchester | Silver |
| LTE Group | Silver |
| Manchester Metropolitan University | Silver |
| Met Film School Limited | Provisional |
| Middlesbrough College | Gold |
| Middlesex University | Silver |
| Milton Keynes College | Bronze |
| Moorlands College | Provisional |
| Myerscough College | Silver |
| Nazarene Theological College | Provisional |
| NCG | Silver |
| Neath Port Talbot College | Silver |
| Nelson College London Limited | Provisional |
| New College Durham | Bronze |
| New College Stamford | Silver |
| Newbury College | Provisional |
| University of Newcastle upon Tyne | Gold |
| Newham College of Further Education | Provisional |
| Newman University | Silver |
| Norland College Limited | Provisional |
| North East Surrey College of Technology | Bronze |
| North Hertfordshire College | Silver |
| North Lindsey College | Silver |
| North West Regional College | Provisional |
| The University of Northampton | Gold |
| Northampton College | Silver |
| Northern College of Acupuncture | Provisional |
| Northumberland College | Bronze |
| University of Northumbria at Newcastle | Silver |
| Norwich University of the Arts | Gold |
| The University of Nottingham | Gold |
| Nottingham Trent University | Gold |
| Oaklands College | Silver |
| The School of Oriental and African Studies | Bronze |
| University of Oxford | Gold |
| Oxford Brookes University | Silver |
| Oxford Business College UK Limited | Provisional |
| Pearson College Limited | Provisional |
| Petroc | Silver |
| Plumpton College | Bronze |
| University of Plymouth | Bronze |
| Plymouth College of Art | Bronze |
| Point Blank Limited | Provisional |
| University of Portsmouth | Gold |
| Preston College | Bronze |
| Queen Mary University of London | Silver |
| The Queen's Foundation for Ecumenical Theological Education | Provisional |
| Ravensbourne | Silver |
| The University of Reading | Silver |
| Reaseheath College | Bronze |
| Redcar & Cleveland College | Silver |
| RNN Group | Silver |
| The Robert Gordon University | Gold |
| Roehampton University | Bronze |
| Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance | Gold |
| The Royal Academy of Music | Gold |
| The Royal Agricultural University | Silver |
| The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama | Gold |
| Royal College of Music | Gold |
| Royal Holloway, University of London | Silver |
| Royal Northern College of Music | Gold |
| The Royal Veterinary College | Gold |
| RTC Education Ltd | Provisional |
| SAE Education Limited | Provisional |
| The University of Salford | Bronze |
| Salford City College | Bronze |
| The Salvation Army | Provisional |
| Selby College | Silver |
| The University of Sheffield | Silver |
| Sheffield Hallam University | Silver |
| Solihull College and University Centre | Gold |
| South & City College Birmingham | Silver |
| South Devon College | Gold |
| South Tyneside College | Silver |
| South West College | Provisional |
| University of Southampton | Bronze |
| Southampton Solent University | Bronze |
| Southport College | Bronze |
| Sparsholt College | Silver |
| Spurgeon's College | Provisional |
| University of St Andrews | Gold |
| University of St Mark & St John | Silver |
| St Mary's University, Twickenham | Silver |
| St. George's, University of London | Bronze |
| Staffordshire University | Silver |
| Stockton Riverside College | Silver |
| Stratford College London Limited | Provisional |
| Strode College | Silver |
| University of Suffolk | Bronze |
| University of Sunderland | Silver |
| Sunderland College | Silver |
| The University of Surrey | Gold |
| University of Sussex | Silver |
| Sussex Coast College Hastings | Provisional |
| Sussex Downs College | Silver |
| Swansea University | Silver |
| Teesside University | Silver |
| Tertiary Education Services Limited | Provisional |
| Tresham College of Further and Higher Education | Provisional |
| Trinity College (Bristol) Limited | Provisional |
| Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance | Bronze |
| Truro and Penwith College | Gold |
| Tyne Metropolitan College | Bronze |
| UCK Limited | Provisional |
| UK College of Business and Computing Ltd | Provisional |
| Wakefield College | Silver |
| University of Wales Trinity Saint David | Bronze |
| The University of Warwick | Silver |
| Warwickshire College | Bronze |
| West Herts College | Gold |
| West Kent and Ashford College | Silver |
| The University of West London | Silver |
| University of the West of England, Bristol | Silver |
| The University of Westminster | Bronze |
| Weston College of Further and Higher Education | Gold |
| Wigan and Leigh College | Silver |
| Wiltshire College | Bronze |
| University of Winchester | Silver |
| University of Wolverhampton | Bronze |
| University of Worcester | Silver |
| Wrexham Glyndwr University | Silver |
| Writtle University College | Bronze |
| University of York | Silver |
| York College | Silver |
| York St John University | Bronze |
