The Higher Education Green Paper
The Higher Education Green Paper, Fulfilling our Potential: Teaching Excellence, Social Mobility and Student Choice, signals one of the most significant changes to the national framework for higher education in a generation. It covers a number of areas including:
• the introduction of a teaching excellence framework
• objectives for improving access of socially disadvantaged students into the sector
• changes to the process and requirements governing entry of new providers into the system
• the regulatory and policy architecture of the sector.
This briefing summarises the proposals.
Quality assurance and teaching excellence
Quality assurance
A consultation on quality assurance has recently been carried out by the Higher Education Funding Council for England and so detailed questions on quality assurance are not considered in this Green Paper. However, it does reiterate a commitment to a risk-based approach using shared metrics between the quality assurance system and TEF where possible to avoid unnecessary burden.
Introduction of the TEF
The TEF is intended to give prospective students more information about the teaching they will receive on courses, and incentivise excellent teaching. It will consist of a number of levels of award that can be applied for, and will have a staggered introduction with only the first level of TEF awarded in the first year of the new regime.
This first level will be tied to quality assurance baseline, and as such assessment against it will be mandatory. It is expected that in the first year of operation the ability to increase fees in line with inflation, for new students in 2017–18, will be tied to achieving this first level.
From year two of the new regime higher level awards will be available for institutions to apply for, with tiers up to Level 4 proposed. Applying for these higher levels will not be mandatory.
TEF assessments
While (at least in the first instance) the first level of the TEF will be linked to quality assurance mechanisms, higher levels will be made on the basis of applications made by institutions.
These applications will involve certain core elements including metric measures supported by a narrative element, and be made on the basis of the judgement of expert panels. The metric measures, which might include graduate outcomes and widening participation measures, will be benchmarked by institution to account for factors such as the prior attainment of students.
Incentives
As the higher levels of award are introduced, fee caps corresponding to each level achieved will be set each year. The Green Paper suggests that uplifts to the fee caps would not exceed real terms increases.
If granted a higher award, the institution would maintain this award for a number of years – the Green Paper suggests three years or five years – unless reappraisal were triggered by the body responsible for TEF in response to concerns, or as a result of changes at the institution.
To view the full briefing and agenda please open the PDF below.