Combined survey findings 2019–2025

The report offers a global picture of how university teaching is valued and rewarded at institutions working to strengthen recognition of university teaching in academic career progression. It captures academics’ views and experiences of how university teaching is supported, valued and rewarded within their institutions, providing insight into how reform efforts are embedded and experienced in practice. Drawing on findings from the 2019, 2022 and 2025 surveys, the analysis also examines how perceptions have shifted over time as reforms to academic career pathways and promotion processes have been introduced.

In 2025, 17 research-intensive universities spanning nine countries and four continents took part in the Teaching Cultures Survey. A total of 12,071 academics participated in the 2025 survey, representing all career stages from PhD students to university presidents. Participating universities included King’s College London, Utrecht University, the University of British Columbia and the University of New South Wales.

Published March 2026
Sponsor: university consortium

Across the dataset, considerable variation between institutions is evident. At the same time, several consistent patterns stand out. For example, the findings make clear that rapid and positive cultural change is achievable in years rather than decades. They also underline the central role of department leaders: academics’ views of their department heads are closely linked to how they experience wider institutional policies and practices. Clear differences are also visible across the career pipeline, with early- and mid-career academics consistently reporting less positive perceptions of how university teaching is valued and rewarded than senior academics and university leaders.

Taken together, the report identifies a set of institutional conditions associated with strong and improving university teaching cultures, while also highlighting a persistent area of concern — how universities measure quality and impact in university teaching.

Please note: In addition to this combined report, each participating university receives a detailed institutional report showing how its results compare with global peer institutions and, where applicable, how they have changed over time. These institutional reports are confidential and are not shared beyond the participating university.

Previous survey waves

2022 survey

This report highlights findings from the 11,614 respondents that took part in the 2022 survey, focusing on how the findings changed between 2019 and 2022.

2019 survey

This report highlights consolidated findings from 15,659 academics who participated in the 2019 survey, from 21 universities across 10 countries.

2019 survey videos

Findings from the 2019 Teaching Cultures Survey – from across 15,659 academics at 21 universities in 10 countries – were released in May 2020. The videos below provide an overview of the survey findings and offer perspectives from two participating universities: Radboud University in the Netherlands and the University of Auckland in New Zealand.

Overview of survey

Introduction to the Teaching Cultures Survey and overview of the combined 2019 findings

Radboud University

Feedback from Prof. Han van Krieken, Rector Magnificus at Radboud University

University of Auckland

Feedback from Prof. Graeme Aitken, Director of Educational Initiatives at the University of Auckland