Student support praised by judges at prestigious international award ceremony

Our outstanding student support was praised by the international panel of judges of the Higher Education Academy’s Global Teaching Excellence Award 2017.

The award recognises exceptional institution-wide approaches to teaching in universities and higher education providers. Essex was one of just 27 finalists from around the world whose achievements were celebrated at a ceremony in London on Monday 4 September.

Commenting on Essex, the judges said: “The University’s student support provision came through particularly strong, demonstrating an interconnected and dynamic approach to supporting students in their learning.”

Picture: Professor Aletta Norval (Pro Vice-Chancellor, Education) and Josh Gulrajani (Vice President Education, Students' Union), centre, receive our Finalist trophy from Svava Bjarnason (Chair of the Award Judging Panel, left) and Professor Stephanie Marshall (Higher Education Academy Chief Executive, right)

Professor Aletta Norval, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Education said: “We are delighted that our dedication to giving our students the support they need to achieve their goals has been recognised by the Higher Education Academy.

“We are committed to delivering wide-ranging, student-focused initiatives that help nurture the culture of membership which is unique to Essex. We work in partnership with our students and Students' Union to deliver a truly transformational education to all our students.”

Our place as a finalist follows our Gold rating in the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) and our top 15 ranking for the fifth year running in the National Student Survey (NSS). With our top 20 ranking in the Research Excellence Framework in 2014, Essex is a leader in delivering excellence in education and research and is in a very select group of universities that excel at both.