ABSTRACT
The ubiquity of teaching excellence in the discourse of UK higher education was further reinforced in April 2005, when a major new initiative was launched by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) to reward and further promote excellence in learning and teaching in the institutions it funds. This, the Council’s largest ever single investment in learning and teaching development, was the establishment of 74 Centres for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETLs) across the sector. The competitive bidding process had invited institutions to make a case for existing excellence in teaching in subject or pedagogical areas of their choice, to demonstrate strategic commitment to reward and further develop and innovate in these areas, and to put forward business plans for sustainable development programmes. The result is a widely diverse range of CETLs that have been resourced over a five-year period, with funds of up to £4.5 million available in each case for reward and development activity and capital investment (new buildings and equipment).
