Second year at the top for teaching

Huddersfield heads figures for teaching excellence in English higher education

FOR the second year in succession, the University of Huddersfield is the clear leader at the top of a table that reflects teaching excellence in English higher education.

New figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) show that 93 per cent of lecturing staff at Huddersfield hold an academic teaching qualification.  The second-placed institution has 86 per cent, with many universities returning much lower figures.  The average for all of the 133 institutions surveyed is just 51 per cent.

When equivalent statistics were issued at the close of 2016, the University of Huddersfield came out first, with 92 per cent of staff holding a teaching qualification.  In September 2017, the University was the inaugural winner of the Global Teaching Excellence Award, beating a shortlist of over 20 leading institutions across five continents.  Earlier in 2017, the University was one of just 59 in the country to receive a Gold Award in the new Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF), alongside the likes of Oxford and Cambridge.

The high proportion of staff with teaching qualifications, alongside factors such individualised learning support and rapid feedback on coursework, helped to secure the coveted TEF Gold status.  The TEF was introduced by the Government to “provide clear information to students about where the best provision can be found”.

The University of Huddersfield has developed a number of strategies to ensure that its teaching standards are among the best in the country.  In addition to the excellent record regarding teaching qualifications – newly confirmed by the latest HESA findings – all full-time, permanent lecturers have doctorates or are enrolled on doctoral programmes. 

The University’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Bob Cryan, is delighted by the latest HESA findings, commenting that “these latest figures are a further confirmation of Huddersfield’s leading position as an outstanding university for teaching excellence, recognised nationally and internationally for our distinctive professional focus”.