Measure of the metrics

With a review of the Teaching Excellence Framework about to be published, here is what must change if the TEF is to last.

It’s been four years since the Conservatives won office with a manifesto which included a pledge to introduce “a framework to recognise universities offering the highest teaching quality”. Since then, the Teaching Excellence Framework has evolved through numerous consultations and pilots and we now await the findings of Shirley Pearce’s independent review, due to be published this summer, which will inform the future of the scheme.

The review will be thorough: Pearce has commissioned an analysis from the Office for National Statistics to assess whether the statistical information is suitable for generating TEF ratings. It will also have consequences: the conclusions will be received by government before implementation of the full subject-level TEF. The framework is now at a stage where its design should stabilise, so changes made this year may be in place long into the future.