Rate My Professor Oliver Webb

Dr Oliver Webb is an Academic Developer in the Centre for Teaching Enhancement and Innovation at the University of Plymouth, serving as the designated educational developer for the Faculty of Health and Human Sciences. He completed his Bachelor’s and PhD studies at the University of Birmingham before lecturing on undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in Sports Science and Public Health at the universities of Kingston and Loughborough. These positions equipped him with experience in diverse teaching methods, including laboratory classes, electronic assessment, fieldwork, lectures, and seminars. He then served as Education Advisor for Programme Approval at the University of Exeter, where he delivered accredited training programmes for new teaching staff, offered one-to-one support on assessment design, reviewed new and revised programmes, and developed institutional policies on programme structure. Dr Webb joined the University of Plymouth in 2015.

In his current role, Dr Webb supports the University's Teaching Development Framework to help experienced educators achieve fellowship of the Higher Education Academy, of which he is a Senior Fellow. He teaches on the Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice and provides bespoke training on teaching and assessment topics. His research specializations encompass early withdrawal from higher education, the attainment gap for non-traditional students, academic engagement among commuter students, decolonising the curriculum, student academic representation, and the future role of online learning. Notable publications include 'The academic lives of commuter students: examining the use of the physical and digital spaces within the contemporary university' (2026, with R. Turner et al., London Review of Education), 'Academic engagement amongst commuter students: a comparative analysis' (2024, with R. Turner and C. Pritchard, Higher Education), 'Decolonising the curriculum: A survey of current practice in a modern UK university' (2024, with J. Winter and R. Turner, Innovations in Education and Teaching International), 'Student academic representation in the UK: An exploration of recruitment, training, and impacts' (2024, with J. Winter et al., Higher Education Quarterly), and '‘A freedom of students to choose’: student and staff perspectives on the future role of online learning in higher education' (2023, with R. Turner and C. Pritchard, Innovations in Education and Teaching International).