Gold for York

In 2023, we achieved our second consecutive Gold Teaching Excellence Framework award.

About the Teaching Excellence Framework

The Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) is a national scheme run by the Office for Students, the independent regulator of higher education in England.

The award provides detailed information students may want to consider when deciding what and where to study.

It’s an established mark of teaching quality, so the award given to a university will have an impact on the reputation of that university and therefore the perceived quality of its graduates.

This, together with the opportunities available to students at York to develop the skills and knowledge valued by employers, will improve outcomes for all our graduates.

What gets assessed

The TEF assesses undergraduate courses*. Awards are decided by an independent panel of experts, focusing on areas that students care about the most: teaching, learning and achieving positive outcomes from their studies.

Ratings were awarded in 2023 and last for four years. TEF only provides an institutional award, rather than by Department or School. Each university taking part will receive an overall rating of Bronze, Silver or Gold.

We are proud to have achieved a Gold Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) award. We also received two underpinning ratings: Gold for student experience and Silver for student outcomes.

Our approach to innovation in teaching and learning

Student contributions

Students are a key part of the TEF awards. Students have the opportunity to submit their views on the quality of their educational experience and outcomes via the Students' Unions. They draw on their own evidence in their independent submission to highlight examples of good practice.

We are very grateful to our students and Students' Unions for their role in achieving York’s Gold award - thank you.

When you graduate, you never stop being York. Find out how you can help others also be the leaders and champions of change.

York for Life

York's Gold comes as no surprise. One of the University's best selling-points is how passionate staff are about their remits, and this love for learning bleeds into their love for teaching.

As a Sabbatical Officer, I love how the student voice is tied into everything, so students are in the room, making decisions with staff on what their degree looks like. Students help shape their curriculum, and that's what makes it so successful.

Meely Doherty, YUSU Academic Officer 2023-2024

Find out more about TEF

Visit the Teaching Excellence Framework website to learn more about the assessment.

* A small number of undergraduate courses are excluded from the assessment as follows:

University of York Europe Campus validated provision
Degree apprenticeships
Continuing Professional Development (CPD) provision in Health Sciences