Further education colleges celebrate TEF ratings

Further education colleges across the country are celebrating today as the Office for Students’ Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) ratings are published.

The ratings, which are awarded by a panel of independent academic experts and student representatives, are designed to identify excellent undergraduate teaching and student outcomes and help prospective students to choose their courses.

In colleges with a gold rating student experience and outcomes are typically outstanding, in silver rated colleges student experience and outcomes are typically very high-quality, and in bronze the student experience and outcomes are typically high-quality with some very high-quality features.

Around 39 colleges have been awarded a rating in this year’s TEF, six of which were gold, 22 were silver and 11 were bronze.

Dr Arti Saraswat, Senior Policy Manager, Higher Education at Association of Colleges, said:

“I want to offer my congratulations to all the further education colleges who have received a rating from the Office for Students in this year’s exercise. Today’s TEF results are a testimony to the excellent teaching and positive student experience for those studying higher education at further education colleges. Participation in TEF is not mandatory for many FE colleges however colleges are deeply committed to delivering high quality teaching and delivering positive outcomes for students.”

The following colleges received ratings:

Gold

• Weston College of Further and Higher Education
• South Devon College
• City College Plymouth
• Morley College Limited
• The Northern School of Art
• Blackpool and Fylde College

Silver

• Cornwall College
• Solihull College and University Centre
• The Oldham College
• Middlesbrough College
• Bridgwater and Taunton College
• Lincoln College
• Leeds College of Building
• New Collage Durham
• South Essex College of Further and Higher Education
• Myerscough College
• The Sheffield College
• DN Colleges Group
• City College Norwich
• Bradford College
• York College
• TEC Partnership
• University Centre Peterborough
• Truro and Penwith College
• Furness College
• RNN Group
• Loughborough College
• DCG (Derby College)

Bronze

• Blackburn College
• Trafford College Group
• Barnsley College
• Tyne Coast College
• Farnborough College of Technology
• City of Sunderland College
• Nottingham College
• Leicester College
• Reaseheath College
• East Sussex College
• Heart of Yorkshire Education Group