March 2006/11
Special initiative
Allocation of funds

Institutions should return their submissions by Friday 16 June 2006

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Teaching Quality Enhancement Fund

Funding arrangements 2006-07 to 2008-09

This document provides details of the funding available to support institutions in enhancing the quality of their learning and teaching for academic years 2006-07 to 2008-09. The funds provided form part of a new Teaching Quality Enhancement Fund which brings together a number of existing funding streams.

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To:	Heads of HEFCE-funded higher education institutions Heads of universities in Northern Ireland[*] Heads of HEFCE-funded further education colleges
Of interest to those responsible for:	Learning and teaching, Widening participation, Links with business and the community, Academic and strategic planning, Staff development, Student and staff volunteering
Reference:	2006/11
Publication date:	March 2006
Policy enquiries to:	Peter Seddon tel 0117 931 7469 e-mail p.seddon@hefce.ac.uk
Responses to:	Mary Gazzard tel 0117 931 7443 e-mail m.gazzard@hefce.ac.uk
General enquiries to:	HEFCE regional consultants (contact details included at Annex D)

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Executive summary (read on-line)

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Executive summary

Purpose

1.    This document provides details of the funding available to support institutions in enhancing the quality of their learning and teaching for academic years 2006-07 to 2008-09.

Key points

2.    Over the next three years we will provide a total of £158.5 million for quality enhancement, bringing together a number of existing, complementary funds: funding for learning and teaching strategies; supporting professional standards; student and staff volunteering; and new funding to support teaching informed by research. Combining these funds will give institutions more flexibility to plan activities in line with their institutional missions, while taking account of the national priority areas we have identified.

3.    The main strategic purpose of this funding is to embed and sustain learning and teaching strategies and activities that have been steadily developing over the last six years to encourage future institutional investment in continuous improvement. The funds provided form part of a new Teaching Quality Enhancement Fund (TQEF) which supports developments at the following levels:

Institutional

   a.    Quality enhancement allocations as detailed in this document.

   b.    Centres for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETLs).

Sector-wide

   c.    The Higher Education Academy.

Individual

   d.    National Teaching Fellowship Scheme.

4.    To secure their quality enhancement allocation under the new TQEF, we invite institutions to set out their priority areas for investment across the three years of funding, together with an action plan for each year showing planned spend and commitments in specific areas. We will not ask institutions to submit their learning and teaching strategies at the same time. We will invite HEIs to report annually by exception on their planned activity through the annual monitoring statements to HEFCE.

5.    We believe that widely embedding strategic support for learning and teaching development is most likely to be achieved if institutions identify their priorities and areas for future development. Later in the year we will publish guidance to help institutions self-assess their learning and teaching strategies.

6.    Further education colleges that are providing higher education to 100 or more full-time equivalent students directly funded by HEFCE are included in the allocations. Students within indirect funding arrangements are also included in the allocations.

7.    Funding for the third year of the three-year funding period, in 2008-09, is subject to the outcomes of the Government's forthcoming comprehensive spending review.

Action required

8.    To release their funding allocation, institutions should return their submissions (as detailed in paragraphs 39-40) by e-mail to Mary Gazzard at HEFCE to arrive by Friday 16 June 2006. Funds will be released to each institution from August 2006, providing they have made a satisfactory submission to us.