Latest news from Loughborough University
| 4 December 2006 | PR 06/135 |
Loughborough Sport awarded mark of excellence
| Loughborough University is delighted to announce that it has been accredited to Quest – the UK quality scheme for sport and leisure. Quest is designed by and for the industry to help organisations enhance and continually improve the quality of service provided to customers. It is endorsed and supported by the four home country Sports Councils, and backed by a wide range of industry-representative organisations that have played an important role in developing the scheme. |
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To be accredited under the scheme, staff at the University’s sports facilities have had to demonstrate excellence over the past two years in operating policies and procedures, including customer care, staff development and continuous service improvement.
As part of the accreditation process a Quest Assessor spent five days on campus observing the performance of staff and asking customers for their views. Three mystery visitors also made undercover trips to the University to inspect the facilities.
Loughborough is the country’s premier university for sport. It is home to the most comprehensive sports development programme of any university and boasts an unparalleled record of sporting excellence. It has a range of state-of-the-art facilities and offers a variety programmes and sporting opportunities for students, staff, its partners in sport, and the wider community.
Chris Earle, the University’s Director of Sport, commented: “We are delighted with the outcome of our first inspection and the score range reflects all of the hard work, time and commitment the staff have invested into the scheme. The Quest accreditation has reinforced the qualities that make Loughborough University the best sporting University in the UK and one of the best facility operations in the country.”
A plaque marking the accreditation was presented to Loughborough University’s Vice Chancellor Professor Shirley Pearce and staff in the Sports Development Centre by Quest Manager Kevin Lane at a ceremony late last month.
ENDS
For media enquiries contact:
- Hannah Baldwin, Head of PR, Loughborough University,
T: 01509 222239, E: H.E.Baldwin@lboro.ac.uk
Notes to editors
- A photograph showing Loughborough University’s Vice Chancellor
Professor Shirley Pearce and Quest Manager Kevin Lane is attached.
- Loughborough has an established reputation for excellence in teaching
and research, strong links with industry, and unrivalled sporting achievement.
Assessments of teaching quality by the Quality Assurance Agency place
it in the top flight of UK universities; the National Student Survey
ranked Loughborough equal first among full-time students; and industry
highlights the University in its top five for graduate recruitment.
Around 40% of Loughborough’s income is for research, and 60% for
teaching. The University has been awarded five Queen's Anniversary Prizes:
for its collaboration with aerospace and automotive companies such as
BAE Systems, Ford and Rolls Royce; for its work in developing countries;
for pioneering research in optical engineering; for its world-leading
role in sports research, education and development; and for its outstanding
work in evaluating and helping to develop social policy-related programmes.
In 2006 Loughborough celebrates the 40th anniversary of its University Charter, awarded on 19 April 1966 in recognition of the excellence achieved by Loughborough College of Advanced Technology and its predecessor Colleges. Loughborough University of Technology was renamed Loughborough University in 1996.