University Campus Oldham, Oldham College’s higher education provision has been awarded a Silver Award in the Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework (TEF) by the Office for Students (OfS). This places degrees at UCO on par with some of the best universities and higher education providers in the country.
The TEF is a system that assesses the quality of teaching of higher education providers in England. The framework was introduced by the government in 2017 to provide a resource for students to judge teaching quality in universities and to increase the importance of teaching when rating institutions. Institutions are classified gold, silver or bronze and the award is valid for two years.
The judging panel found that students from all backgrounds achieve excellent outcomes and levels of full-time student satisfaction with assessment and feedback, and academic support are exceptionally high. The panel also concluded the college offered excellent physical and digital resources at UCO, together with employability focussed courses and a highly regarded Graduate Hub helping students progress into meaningful and sustained employment.
Jonathan Edwards, Chair of the College, said: “There are many positive strengths in the assessment, but special praise is given to our relentless commitment to high standards and the investment we make in our superb staff. Coming alongside the recent Ofsted inspection this is a tremendous achievement for the college and the town.”
Alun Francis, Principal and Chief Executive said: “The college has a deliberate strategy of providing real alternatives to the A level and three year residential degree. This is a national and local priority and this judgement shows that the provision at UCO, which is supported by world class universities, is among the best in the country. It is relevant to work, taught well, and students get amazing results. It complements our apprenticeship and college courses so that anyone interested in a technical or professional career can now pursue their ambitions right here, knowing that they are going to have a great experience and can achieve at the highest level.”
Helen Mathers, Vice Principal HE and Higher Skills said: “This is the first year that we’ve been eligible to apply for a full TEF award so we are absolutely delighted and proud to be recognised for excellence at this level. This is great news for our staff and our students.”
Leader of the Council, Sean Fielding said: “This is more excellent news coming from Oldham College. UCO transferred to the college in 2012, and has delivered well over 1000 graduates since then. It is a unique provision, focussed on employment, academic excellence and tremendous individual support. It is clearly operating at a standard that is a credit to our town. We would urge more local people to visit the campus to see how they can enhance their career.”