Value for money - what should providers do?
Teaching quality
Our evidence suggests that students feel that the quality of teaching, assessment and feedback are very important in demonstrating value for money.
We only register providers that meet our conditions for quality and standards, as set out in our regulatory framework. We continue to monitor a provider once it is registered and can intervene if our requirements are not being met.
What should providers do?
Registered providers must meet the requirements set out in our ongoing conditions relating to quality and standards, including in summary:
Condition B1: Academic experience
The provider must ensure that the students registered on each higher education course receive a high quality academic experience. A high quality academic experience includes but is not limited to ensuring that each course:
- is up-to-date;
- provides educational challenge;
- is coherent;
- is effectively delivered; and
- as appropriate to the subject matter of the course, requires students to develop relevant skills.
Condition B2: Resources, support and student engagement
The provider must take all reasonable steps to ensure:
- students receive resources and support to ensure:
a. a high quality academic experience for those students; and
b. those students succeed in and beyond higher education; and - effective engagement with each cohort of students to ensure:
a. a high quality academic experience for those students; and
b. those students succeed in and beyond higher education.
Condition B3: Student outcomes
The provider must deliver successful outcomes for all of its students, which are recognised and valued by employers and/or enable further study.
Condition B4: Assessment and awards
The provider must ensure that:
- students are assessed effectively;
- each assessment is valid and reliable;
- academic regulations are designed to ensure that relevant awards are credible;
- academic regulations are designed to ensure the effective assessment of technical proficiency in the English language in a way which appropriately reflects the level and content of the course; and
- relevant awards granted to students are credible at the point of being granted and when compared to those granted previously.
Condition B5: Sector-recognised standards
The provider must ensure that, in respect of any relevant awards granted to students who complete a higher education course provided by, or on behalf of, the provider (whether or not the provider is the awarding body):
- any standards set appropriately reflect any applicable sector-recognised standards; and
- awards are only granted to students whose knowledge and skills appropriately reflect any applicable sector-recognised standards.
You can read the full requirements set out in conditions B1, B2, B4 and B5 in our amendment to the regulatory framework.
What does this mean?
Where we think that a registered provider may not be meeting the requirements for quality or standards we may seek further information about this and may open an investigation.
We also check that a provider is delivering successful outcomes by monitoring data which tells us whether students are completing their courses and progressing to professional jobs or postgraduate study.
Beyond the minimum requirements for quality
Our conditions of registration set minimum requirements for the quality and standards that students can expect from registered providers. But we encourage providers to go beyond this.
The TEF encourages providers to enhance the quality of their teaching and student outcomes.
Last updated 02 March 2022 + show all updates
02 March 2022 - Update to the quality and standards conditions of registration
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