Jisc urges early digital capability work ahead of future TEF assessments

Updated Sep 07, 2026

On 17 June 2026, Jisc published guidance encouraging universities to understand digital capability from the next student intake. The current version of the blog, by Dr Becki Vickerstaff, is titled Act now: building digital capability to support success ahead of TEF 2027. It promotes Jisc's discovery tool as a way to identify support needs and follow change over time.

The distinction matters: this is provider guidance about improvement, not a new OfS requirement or proof that discovery-tool results are formal TEF submission evidence.

What Jisc recommends

Jisc reports that more than 65 higher education providers use its building digital capability service. It describes staff question sets covering teaching, online learning and inclusion, alongside student questions about digital confidence, essential skills, employability and AI.

Its proposed starting point is induction, when students receive credentials in September or October. An early baseline can inform support and later follow-up. The tool offers group-level reporting, benchmarking and longitudinal insight, according to Jisc.

The blog explicitly says this data does not replace national metrics, student surveys or other TEF evidence. Its value is in helping providers investigate factors that may affect experience and outcomes. This is a service-provider account; it does not report a controlled evaluation demonstrating improved TEF ratings.

Keep the regulatory context separate

The Office for Students announced revised TEF arrangements on 11 June 2026. Its final consultation response describes separate student experience and student outcomes ratings, where sufficient data permits, and a first cohort assessed in 2027–28. The regime concerns registered providers in England.

Jisc's discussion of teaching, learning environments and outcomes is a way of organising its advice. It should not be mistaken for three separately awarded ratings under the revised TEF. Providers should consult the OfS's current arrangements when deciding what to submit. Our revised TEF briefing explains the announced scope and remaining implementation work.

A practical use for student comments

For institutions reviewing digital support, we suggest a small, explicit evidence map:

• Decide which experience you want to understand, such as induction navigation or clarity of assessment guidance.
• Retain the wording, timing and eligible population for each survey. A change in respondents or questions can affect comparisons.
• Invite students to explain their answers, with appropriate privacy safeguards.
• Record who will review concerns, what action is agreed and when it will be checked again.

These are our recommendations, not additional Jisc or OfS requirements. Comments can suggest possible explanations for a low score; they do not establish a cause. A later improvement in scores also needs interpretation before it can be attributed to a particular intervention.

Our student comment analysis governance checklist can help teams assign responsibilities. The NSS open-text methodology provides an example of keeping source populations and analysis choices visible. Adapting such principles to a digital capability survey requires attention to that survey's own questions and sample.

Student Voice Analytics can support the analysis of text comments alongside other evidence. Whether that work is useful for a particular TEF submission depends on the applicable OfS process and the claims the provider can substantiate.

FAQ

Q: Must universities introduce a digital capability survey for TEF?

A: This Jisc blog does not create that requirement. It recommends an approach to identifying needs and supporting improvement.

Q: Why does Jisc recommend starting with the next intake?

A: An induction baseline leaves time for support and follow-up. September or October is the timing suggested in the June blog, not a national submission deadline.

Q: Does the advice apply throughout the UK?

A: Digital support can be reviewed in many settings, but the OfS TEF arrangements discussed here concern England. Do not transfer regulatory requirements between jurisdictions.

Clarification, 7 September 2026: we checked the current Jisc wording, distinguished improvement data from formal TEF evidence, and clarified the two revised TEF rating aspects and 2027–28 first-cohort timetable.

References

[Jisc]: "Act now: building digital capability to support success ahead of TEF 2027" — Dr Becki Vickerstaff. Published: 2026-06-17; current page checked 2026-09-07.

[Office for Students]: "OfS announces revised Teaching Excellence Framework to drive up education quality for students and reward excellence". Published: 2026-06-11.

[Office for Students]: "Future approach to quality regulation: Consultation outcomes". OfS 2026.25, June 2026, overview and decisions on aspects and implementation timetable.