We are town’s other ‘premier league’ team!

THE University of Huddersfield has been named among the best in the country for its teaching.

It’s one of 59 British universities, including Oxford and Cambridge, to receive a Gold standard award in the national Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF).

The coveted Gold Award confirms Huddersfield as one of the top educational institutions in the UK, and is one of only two in Yorkshire and the Humber to secure gold in the scheme – a government initiative to “provide clear information to students about where the best provision can be found”.

The university secured its status through factors such as having highly-qualified staff, individualised learning support and rapid feedback on coursework.

Prof Bob Cryan, vice-chancellor, said he was delighted with the gold award. “It shows that our strategy to provide top-class teaching, facilities and student support has come to triumphant fruition,” he said.

“This award confirms that we are among the elite as a teaching institution and it is the result of a lot of hard work and dedication by our staff. I would like to thank and congratulate them all. This is great news for the town too – with two Premier League institutions here in Huddersfield!”

The TEF is run by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), which has now announced rankings for Year Two of the scheme.

The Gold Award signifies that “provision is consistently outstanding and of the highest quality found in the UK Higher Education Sector”.

Among its strengths, Huddersfield has a higher proportion of staff holding a teaching qualification than any other higher education institution, making it number one in the country. It also leads the field for the number of National Teaching Fellowships awarded. Over the past nine years, it has had 14 award winners, more than any other university.

It also boasts “excellent” graduate employment figures and a commitment to relationships with all relevant professional bodies to ensure students get an education which prepares them to take their place in their chosen profession.

A total of 299 universities, colleges and other providers of higher education volunteered to participate in the TEF – which becomes compulsory from 2018.

They were appraised by a HEFCE panel using a wide range of data to focus on elements such as teaching quality, the learning environment and what students gain from their courses, including added employability.

This year only 26% of universities achieved gold standard - and just eight of the Russell Group institutions, traditionally considered to be the best in the country, scored a gold rating. They are Birmingham, Cambridge, Exeter, Imperial College London, Leeds, Newcastle, Nottingham and Oxford.

Huddersfield’s 20,000 students also benefit from a high-quality campus, ranked in the top 10 per cent nationally.