Changes in the Higher Education Sector: Contemporary Drivers and the Pursuit of Excellence

The book begins with a background reference to the importance and impact that both teaching and research activities have traditionally had on a university's status in terms of its reputation and standing. It focuses on the political changes in the United Kingdom and highlights how the shifts in political thinking in recent years has changed the demographics of students entering higher education. Higher education is funded and the shift from being state funded to the student-funded model has meant that focus has shifted for higher education institutes to one in which the student is now being viewed as a fee-paying customer seeking value for money. As a consequence, universities are expected to be held more accountable to the service they are providing.

With the introduction of the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) in the United Kingdom, the importance and status of teaching is being raised by attempting to rebalance the dominance of research and the Research Excellence Framework (REF) which for so long has been the main focus of higher education Institutions. The book explores the potential controversy that has arisen around the assessment of teaching quality used as a metric from the TEF outcomes to allow higher education institutes to increase tuition fees for students. The book explores a range of student-centered approaches to teaching and learning that are proving to be very effective in enhancing the overall student teaching experience and also examines the argument that a one-size-fits-all model does not necessarily work well in higher education. With the ever more advances in digital technology, the book considers ways in which this technology can assist academics in helping to enhance the teaching and learning in the classroom as well as in cases of emergency scenarios such as the shutdown of education institutions in March 2020 due to COVID-19.