Lancaster University has been awarded a Gold rating for teaching excellence in the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) 2023.

Gold is the highest available rating and signifies that the student experience and student outcomes at Lancaster are typically outstanding.

The TEF is a national scheme run by the Office for Students (OfS) that aims to incentivise excellence in teaching, learning and student outcomes by putting a spotlight on the quality of providers’ courses, influencing providers’ reputations and informing student choice.

Professor Wendy Robinson, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Education at Lancaster, welcomed the results.

She said: “This award reflects the truly inspiring teaching and support we offer students throughout their undergraduate degrees and underlines Lancaster’s distinctiveness in the UK in being a highly rated research-intensive university which is also excellent at teaching. As well as recruiting the best research-active teaching staff from across the world, we offer outstanding student facilities which will equip graduates well for their future careers.”

Lancaster is ranked in the top 15 in all three major national league tables, and is also ranked fifth among UK universities for providing access to first class learning resources, according to students responding to this year’s National Student Survey (NSS). 

Meanwhile, in the latest Research Excellence Framework, an independent assessment of research quality and impact, Lancaster is placed 21st out of 157 universities in the Times Higher Education table and above eight Russell Group universities.

TEF ratings awarded in September 2023 remain valid for four years.