Aberystwyth named University of the Year for Teaching Quality

Aberystwyth University has been named University of the Year for Teaching Quality in The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2018.

It is the first time a university in Wales has been awarded the prestigious accolade by the Guide, which will be published on Sunday 24 September 2017.

The Guide’s league table also propels Aberystwyth University into the top 50 universities in the UK, up nine places on last year and ranked 47th in the UK of 131 higher education institutions.

For student experience, Aberystwyth University is in the top ten in the UK and first in Wales – up 11 places on 2017.

The Editor of the Sunday Times Good University Guide, Alastair McCall, said Aberystwyth University had taken strides in recent years to improve the student experience.

 “Students at Aberystwyth know they are on to a good thing and have been swift to acknowledge it. The university has secured some of the most remarkable scores in the UK from students for the quality of teaching it offers. It is one of a very few universities to increase its student satisfaction scores in this area from last year, against a backdrop of a much tougher National Student Survey,” said Alastair McCall.

“The efforts made by the university in the past two years to improve the student experience have paid an immediate dividend. Our award acknowledges the strides made and shows how the National Student Survey can be used to make a tangible, positive difference when university management decides to act upon its findings.”

In its overall league table, the 2018 Good University Guide ranks Aberystwyth University fifth for teaching quality across the UK - up five places on 2017.

The Vice-Chancellor of Aberystwyth University, Professor Elizabeth Treasure, said: “I am delighted that our high pedagogical values have been recognised by the 2018 Good University Guide. This independent accolade is a resounding endorsement of the exceptional efforts made by our staff to maintain the highest of standards and to ensure that Aberystwyth graduates are equipped with the knowledge and skills they need to achieve their potential.

“Aberystwyth is a university which has built its reputation on the quality of its teaching and scholarship over a century and a half. Our aim is to provide a stimulating learning community that fosters creative and critical thinking. We want to stretch the minds of our students within a supportive environment and our teaching draws on the research strengths of our academic staff, underpinned by a strong personal tutor system.”

The findings of the latest Good University Guide echo the results of the National Student Survey (NSS) published in August 2017, which placed Aberystwyth in second place across the UK for the quality of its assessment and feedback.

On overall student satisfaction, Aberystwyth was ranked the best in Wales and one of the top five mainstream universities in the 2017 NSS.

The University’s employability rates are also at their highest ever with figures published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency in July 2017 showing 95% of Aberystwyth students were in work or further study six months after graduating in 2016.

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