Celebrations as the OU wins ‘University of the Year for Teaching Excellence’ in Daily Mail awards

Posted on 5 September 2024 • Around the OU, University news

The Open University is celebrating its win in the Daily Mail’s second ever university guide for picking up the award for ‘University of the Year for Teaching Excellence’.

The win comes barely two months after the National Student Survey (NSS) showed the OU received scores higher than the sector average for teaching, organisation and management, assessment and feedback, and learning resources.

Alastair McCall, Editor of the Daily Mail University Guide, said:

“The Open University is a unique – and treasured – feature of the British Higher Education landscape.

“A pioneer of distance learning, the OU has been doing for more than 50 years what many universities are only now getting to grips with in allowing students to fit their studies around the rest of their life.”

He added:

“What has been evident for the past 19 years, since the inception of the National Student Survey, is quite how highly OU students rate the quality of the teaching they experience during their years of study.”

The NSS results, commissioned by the Office for Students (OfS), showed the OU has continued to perform particularly well for its teaching and learning offer, with over 90% of students naming courses ‘intellectually stimulating’ and responding positively on how teaching staff explain content.

And more than 92% of students responded positively when asked about receiving their assessment feedback on time – nearly 13% higher than the sector average.

Professor Ian Pickup, Pro Vice Chancellor – Students at The Open University, said of the university guide success:

“This is wonderful news, not just for the hardworking staff that have helped us become such a treasured part of the Higher Education sector, but for students who are investing their time, effort and finances in studying at the OU.

“Our students, often people who have grabbed our ‘open to all’ mission and embarked on a new path, tell us how life changing their degrees have been for them. Now we are delighted to see many more younger students joining our ranks.

“It is a privilege and an honour that our students give such wonderful feedback via the NSS, and we will ensure we continue to do everything to remain worthy of this. Thank you to everyone who has made their journey possible.”