In summary: our TEF Gold rating

Today we were delighted to announce the outcome of the University of Portsmouth’s Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) 2023 submission – the TEF panel has awarded us a Gold rating overall.

Additionally, the panel considered the aspect ratings to be as follows: Student Experience (Gold) and Student Outcomes (Silver). 

In this blog we summarise the headline findings from both aspects and the respective features of excellence. The full report is available here.*

*The report is produced by the Office for Students and that we are aware it may not be accessible for everyone. For details on how to request an alternative version of the report please visit the OfS website.

Student Experience (Gold)

SE1: Teaching, assessment and feedback

Rating: Outstanding

• Highly effective teaching, assessment and feedback practices that support students’ learning, progression and attainment are embedded across the University. Examples include the introduction of Blended and Connected Learning, innovative blended and connected pedagogy that promotes student engagement and success, institutional culture which celebrates outstanding innovative learning and teaching, the use of a team-based (enABLe) approach to course and module design and co-creation with students, and evidence of student feedback.

SE2: Course content and delivery; student engagement in learning and stretch

Rating: Outstanding

• The University’s course content and delivery inspire students to actively engage in and commit to their learning, and stretch students to develop knowledge and skills to their fullest potential. Portsmouth’s Digital Success Plan, how students are stretched through real-life and simulated practice across courses and also through research-informed curriculum/learning, and faculty members offering relevant co-curricular activities were all highlighted.

SE3: Research, innovation, scholarship, professional practice and/or employer engagement

Rating: Outstanding

• Courses are embedded with research, innovation and employer engagement through a tailored approach to subject requirements, employer skills needs and the career aspirations of their students, including those wanting to progress into postgraduate study. Evidence includes undergraduate courses comprising a research-focused dissertation or professional practice-focused project, employer networks embedded into course and curriculum development, and student input to employer-led projects developing Hallmarks of a Portsmouth Graduate. 

SE4: Staff professional development and academic practice

Rating: Very high quality

• There is very high quality support for staff professional development and excellent academic practice is promoted. Staff who teach and support students are actively encouraged to gain appropriate levels of Fellowship from AdvanceHE – 48% of the provider’s 1,360 academic staff have Fellowships awarded through an AdvanceHE accredited CPD scheme, which is above the sector average – and education specific pathways for academic promotion are detailed. 

SE5: Learning environment and academic support

Rating: Outstanding

• The University ensures a supportive learning environment, and its students have access to a wide and readily available range of outstanding quality academic support tailored to their needs. Examples include the critical role of personal tutors to supporting academic progress, helping students understand assessments, guiding decisions about options and course mobility; investment in students’ sport to promote belonging within the Being, Belonging, Becoming framework; and the work of the Additional Support & Disability Advice Centre.

SE6: Learning resources

Rating: Very high quality

• Physical and virtual learning resources are used effectively to support very high quality teaching and learning – and the University understands its students and has tailored its resources to its mix of students and courses. Evidence points range from how online course developers and specialist learning designers support the interactive VLE and its best use and how simulated learning builds skills and confidence, to ways that training opportunities ensure that staff can confidently embed digital skills and inspire students using high-quality digital resources.

SE7: Student engagement in improvement

Rating: Outstanding

• The University effectively engages with its students, leading to improvements in their experiences and outcomes. Formal representation at academic council and different committees, contribution to relevant policy developments, the implementation of the student voice policy and the course representatives’ structure are all considered to be outstanding quality features of the students’ experience.

Student Outcomes (Silver)

SO1: Approaches to supporting student success

Rating: Outstanding

• The University deploys and tailors approaches that are highly effective in ensuring its students succeed in and progress beyond their studies. The community and belonging themes, Personal Tutoring and Development Framework, the use of data to enhance learner engagement and the assessment for learning policy, indicate features of very high and outstanding quality. ‘Community and belonging’ evidence-based interventions which target underrepresented groups are described, as is careers and employability support for five years after graduation.

SO2: Continuation and completion rates

Rating: Very high quality

• There are very high rates of continuation and completion for Portsmouth students and courses. Information in the University’s submission indicates that its students attain very high quality rates of continuation and completion. This includes how every course and module uses learner data analytics on student engagement and performance including differential outcomes for students with protected characteristics, whilst tailored course approaches through case studies and student engagement intervention for ‘at risk groups’ were also detailed here.

SO3: Progression rates

Rating: Very high quality

• As well as continuation and completion, there are very high rates of successful progression for Portsmouth’s students and courses. Evidence in the University’s submission points to significant action to address five subject areas materially below benchmark, for example agreements between schools and the Careers & Employability Service to prioritise interventions and targeted support for final-year students; as well as evidence covering improving progression to professional employment measures and alumni engagement.

SO4: Intended educational gains

Rating: Outstanding

• The University clearly articulates the range of educational gains it intends its students to achieve, and why these are highly relevant to its students and their future ambitions. Portsmouth’s mission to “Create, share and apply knowledge to make a difference to individuals and society” and strategy to “Engage every student in a life-changing experience” were highlighted. Tailored approaches throughout the student lifecycle to ensure every student has the opportunity for educational gain by improving both their subject knowledge and broader Hallmarks a Portsmouth Graduate and meet the unique needs of each student were also identified.

SO5: Approaches to supporting educational gains

Rating: Very high quality

• The University effectively supports its students to achieve its educational gains. Evidence includes embedding progression to professional employment or further study including the curriculum and Hallmarks of a Portsmouth Graduate; systemic, institution-wide support of hub-and-spoke model which distributes support through embedded interventions in courses; and the ‘Seven Steps to Success’ professional development programme, tailor-made for each disciplinary area, and embedded with co-curricular and extra-curricular activities.

SO6: Evaluation and demonstration of educational gains

Rating: N/A

• The University defines the educational gains it wants for its students and supports them to attain these gains while using the NSS report to evaluate success. This section provides further evidence of a personalised approach: individual starting points to promote effective transition into HE; a focus on individual needs throughout, with opportunities that stretch and challenge; and emphasis on individual career ambitions, engaging all students in development opportunities, within and beyond the curriculum.

In judging ‘Gold’ to be a better fit than ‘Silver’ the panel noted:

• “Whilst it considered most student outcomes features to be very high quality for all groups of students, there are also some outstanding quality student outcomes features (in particular SO1 and SO4); and
• Across the aspects, the provider has presented compelling evidence to show that the provider’s approaches are embedded across the provider, as well as evidence demonstrating that the provider tailors its approaches to its students, including to the significant proportion of students who have multiple attributes of intersectional disadvantage”.

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  Author: Professor Harriet Dunbar-Morris is Dean of Learning and Teaching at the University of Portsmouth