14 The University of Exeter
Studying at the University of Exeter Academic excellence
Research-inspired teaching
The University of Exeter is the fastestrising university in both UK and world league tables. Our status has been confirmed by our ranking in The Sunday Times University Guide 2012. We now rank 9th in this league table, 10th in The Times and 11th in The Guardian. We are also ranked in the top one per cent of universities in the world according to the Times Higher Education international rankings. Our ambition is to cement our place in the UK ‘Ivy League’ and be ranked among the world’s top 100 universities.
Our academics are at the forefront of their fields and their passion for their subjects drives their teaching. We believe that every student benefits from being part of a research-led culture and being taught by experts – you will discuss the very latest ideas in seminars and tutorials and, in appropriate degree programmes, you will become an active member of a research team. Our research-intensive culture is confirmed by our standing as a leading research university in the UK according to the latest Research Assessment Exercise (2008) where 90 per cent of our research was rated as being at internationally recognised levels.* This enables us to offer a broad range of staff expertise and hence module choice. Staff who are active in research can more easily support a style of learning that’s based on the student becoming a researcher and active learner.
The University is once again in the top 10 for student satisfaction, according to the 2011 National Student Satisfaction (NSS) Survey. We rank 8th out of 118 UK higher education institutions for overall satisfaction. Exeter has maintained its top 10 position every year since the survey was launched seven years ago. We now rank 4th in the country for student satisfaction around the quality of our teaching, up one place from last year. At Exeter we ensure that the teaching and support we offer provides you with the academic excellence needed to enhance your experience with us and to boost your employability after graduation. Over 80 per cent of our students leave us with First Class Honours or a 2:1. Our students demand a lot of us and we of them – we aim to make our teaching inspirational and your learning exceptional.
*based on percentage of research categorised as 3* and/or 4*
Active learning and innovative teaching At the University of Exeter, we provide you with an educational environment where you become part of a vibrant learning community and in which research inspires and leads our teaching. ‘Inspiring’ is the word most commonly used by our student body to describe their lecturers and we see students as our partners in the learning process; our learning, teaching style and ethos encourage class participation and active reflection by students.
You should expect to be an active contributor in seminars, tutorials and online learning environments. In addition, you will be guided and supported by tutors to become increasingly independent in your learning. You’ll also be encouraged to take part in a wide range of extra curricular and employment related activities which will enhance your skills and contribute to your opportunities after you graduate. We recognise this activity through the very popular Exeter Award Scheme. Innovative teaching and assessment methods balanced with well-established approaches create a stimulating and effective learning environment. You’ll learn through popular and timehonoured traditional methods including lectures, seminars and tutorials as well as field work, laboratory classes and IT sessions depending on your degree programme. However, you’ll find that you’re also involved in using new technologies which complement the contact you have with tutors in the majority of our programmes. Technology-enhanced learning is possible because the University has invested heavily in an interactive online learning environment (ELE – the Exeter Learning Environment) which encourages blogging, online discussion forums and virtual field trips as well as hosting all the materials and notes, including e-books and e-journals, for your modules and increasingly, video archives of lectures. Our facilities for videoconferencing and webcasting allow students on different campuses to share