Coventry University awarded highest rating in the QS Stars Online Learning assessment
Tuesday 21 July 2020
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Coventry University has achieved the highest possible rating of 5 stars in the QS Stars Online Learning assessment - the only UK university currently to hold a rating in the category.
The university performed impressively across the majority of the indicators used in the assessment, scoring maximum points for student-faculty engagement, student interaction, student services and technology, and commitment to online learning.
The new QS Online Learning category is available for institutions which primarily focus on online learning or have residential programmes but also have some programmes available entirely online.
Having the capability to deliver courses online has come into sharp focus due to the ongoing global public health crisis and students now want reassurance that their education can continue regardless of the circumstances. To help demonstrate how well-prepared they are, QS Stars offers institutions the opportunity to be assessed in their ability to deliver teaching online through distance or blended learning degrees.
Through Coventry University Online, which was established in 2017 to deliver the university’s distance education ambitions, the university is delivering 15 degree programmes and 75 courses on the FutureLearn platform.
The university has also moved its campus-based courses to the new online digital learning platform, Aula, and from September 2020, approximately 40,000 students from courses across the Coventry University Group will be using Aula to support their studies on campus.
The move makes Coventry the first university of its kind, globally, to commit to a Learning Experience Platform which embraces the next era of digital learning as active, collaborative and mobile-first.
I’m delighted that our determination to innovate and provide the right tools for our colleagues and the best possible experience for students has seen us secure a 5-star rating for online learning from QS Stars. That we were the only UK university to hold 5 stars in this category is testament to the hard work and collaboration of our talented colleagues from across the Coventry University Group. This recognition of our transformation is vital and timely and helps us to demonstrate to potential new students why their educational experience will be well catered for with us. This latest accolade follows on from our achievement in December last year, when we were ranked fourth in the world in the first ever global university rankings for online courses, beating Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Professor John Latham CBE, Coventry University Vice-Chancellor
