According to the national Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF), UCW is among the best places to study at university level in the UK. The TEF Gold award we were awarded in 2023 places us among the top 20 per cent of university and college higher education providers in the country. The TEF Panel judged that we deliver outstanding teaching, learning and outcomes for our students, which are of the highest quality found in Britain.

The Gold award recognises the above average number of our students who progress to further study and highly skilled employment, and the consistently high scores our students give us in the National Student Survey categories relating to teaching, assessment and support. The Panel also made the point in its Statement of Findings for UCW that “students from all backgrounds achieve excellent outcomes”. Please click here to read the full TEF Statement of Findings for UCW, view our key datasets and read our TEF Provider Submission.

In our 2016 Higher Education Review by the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) – England’s independent higher education assessor – UCW received no recommendations for improvements and a Commended outcome for the quality of our student learning opportunities.

According to the QAA, we demonstrate good practice in the use of student and employer involvement in the design, development and validation of degrees; the effective processes in place to support higher education teaching practices; the professional and proactive approach of our higher education support team; and the close working relationship with our partner universities, Bath Spa University and UWE Bristol.

As a result, we have been awarded the QAA Quality Mark – the signifier to applicants and students of universities and colleges achieving the UK requirements for standards and quality. Please click here to read the Higher Education Review of UCW in full. We have also produced an action plan, developed in consultation with our students and key stakeholders, to build upon our Higher Education Review by ensuring that we maintain the good practice identified by the QAA.

In August 2018, UCW was informed that it was successful in its application to register with the Office for Students (OfS). As a result of this successful application, UCW is now listed in the register of English higher education providers called the Register.

The OfS found UCW was compliant with the application requirements outlined in the Higher Education and Research Act 2017, and imposed no ongoing conditions on UCW. Please click here for more information about UCW’s successful application with the OfS.

UCW is among the top higher education providers in the UK for student satisfaction, according to the results of this year’s National Student Survey (NSS). Students awarded UCW an overall satisfaction score of 93 per cent, which is above the average of 84 per cent for all degree-level education providers in the UK. 

UCW also achieved top quartile scores in the eight other main categories used to determine student satisfaction. These include teaching, learning opportunities and resources, assessment and feedback, organisation and management, academic support and student voice. Five degrees at UCW – Animal Management, Applied Computing, Counselling, Early Years and Musical Theatre – were awarded individual overall satisfaction scores of 100 per cent.