England's Department of Education will be rolling out a new way to rank universities in the nation by next year. These ratings are part of the government's efforts for its teaching excellence framework.

The Guardian reported that the government will be creating a new league tables based on teaching quality. What's interesting is that schools will be given gold, silver and bronze for its performance.

However, it's a bit different from the Olympics since the bronze label will be a consolation prize. It will be awarded to universities that are "significantly below" benchmark standards in different areas.

This is part of the government's teaching excellence framework (TEF). It will be launched in the middle of next year to give universities a grace period of a year to check if they are eligible to raise tuition fees. Fees are expected to go rise above £9,500.

The Department of Education has taken over the responsibility for administering the system. The ratings would be available for students who will be starting university in the autumn next year. "The framework will give students clear, understandable information about where the best teaching is on offer and for the first time place teaching quality on a par with research at our universities," universities minister Jo Johnson said.

The new ratings will identify which universities are allowed to raise their tuition fees, based on the rate of inflation. The first stage of the framework allows eligible universities to raise their fees from next year. The following year, all participating schools will be able to raise their rates.

According to University World News, the TEF would provide students with an alternative to international rankings which usually focuses on research quality rather than teaching quality. It was noted that the assessment of teaching quality is very important for this system.

The assessment of universities in the second trial year will be focusing more on outcomes such as student satisfaction, which will include National Student Survey results. It will also include student retention rates and employment data.