Future principles of enhancement

Over the last decade we have maintained significant investment in quality-enhancement activity in higher education (HE), and will continue to do so.

Our approach in the future will be informed by the following principles:

We remain committed to enhancing excellence in learning and teaching and raising the status of teaching. We believe that continuing to do so will help ensure institutions continue to provide a world-class experience, and that excellent practice can be shared across the sector.
Innovative practice must be at the heart of our approach to enhancement. We remain committed to directing funds at a national level to support the development of innovative aspects of learning and teaching. Institutions have shown themselves to be some of the most innovative in the world and we are dedicated to supporting innovation in the future.
Enhancement must be mainstream. We believe the process of enhancement should be mainstream activity for all institutions. After a period of sustained investment, we now expect this to be the case. We strongly encourage institutions to link their enhancement activity to their mission, community and student aspirations. Building enhancement work into the fabric of HE will ensure the future sustainability of excellence in learning and teaching regardless of the economic or political climate.
Strategic prioritisation and demonstrating value for money is essential. Pressure on our funding is escalating, and an uncertain future funding climate means that we will increasingly have to prioritise our funds, including for enhancement activity.

Page last updated 17 April 2012