MINISTERS should stop using the controversial new Teaching Excellent Framework to assess university tuition, unions said yesterday after a boycott saw student participation collapse.

The new assessment method has faced opposition from students and lecturers, as it enables government plans to allow higher-performing universities to raise tuition fees.

Some data for the scheme was be taken from feedback in the National Student Survey. But a boycott of the survey backed by the National Union of Students means several top universities are now missing from the league tables.

Twelve universities — including Oxford, Cambridge, UCL, SOAS and Manchester — recorded response rates lower than 50 per cent, invalidating their entries.

University and College Union general secretary Sally Hunt said the survey was “not an appropriate way” to assess the quality of teaching.

“If the government really wants to improve the student experience it should abandon the flawed metrics of the Teaching Excellence Framework and focus on tackling the widespread use of insecure contracts in higher education teaching,” she said.

Labour Students vice-chair Lara McNeill said that the success of the boycott was “encouraging.”
She added: “Students and university staff must stand together and remain vigilant in the face of the continued assault on education as a public good.”

Overall participation in the survey was down 12,000 on last year. Of those who did take part, 84 per cent of final-year students were happy with the quality of their education — down from 86 per cent last year.

A Department for Education spokeswoman said: “We will set out in due course any adjustments that will be made to the assessment framework in future years to ensure

that no provider suffers disadvantage as a result of the boycott.”
conradlandin@peoples-press.com