Institutional Learning and Teaching Strategies in English Higher Education

In 1998 the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) commissioned a survey of the extent to which institutional learning and teaching strategies were being used in English higher education. The survey was seen by HEFCE as a necessary precursor to the enactment of its policy decision to allocate a component of institutional funding on the basis of the possession of (and subsequent activation of) an institutional learning and teaching strategy. Responses from 116 institutions showed considerable variation in the extent to which they had developed a strategic approach to learning and teaching. Over the coming years there is likely to be a marked increase in the level and sophistication of strategic planning to develop learning and teaching across whole institutions. The article concludes by drawing upon the organisational development literature to suggest some ways in which this shift might be facilitated.