Promoting professional development

in the UK and internationally

Session overview

• HEA role in supporting professional development for those

involved in teaching and/or supporting learning in HE

• CPD and the PSF

• TNE Research

• Internationalising the HEA

HEA role and priorities

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HEA Mission

To use our expertise and resources to support

individual staff, disciplinary and interdisciplinary
teams and higher education communities and
institutions in general to enhance the quality
and impact of learning and teaching

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 Strategic priorities 2012-16

To inspire and To influence

support effective policy, future
practice in thinking and
change
learning and
teaching

KEY
PRIORITIES

To develop an
effective,
substantial
To recognise, organisation that
reward and accredit is relevant to, and
excellent teaching valued by, higher
education

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 Key priorities 2013-14

25% of academic
staff undertake
CPD aligned to All of our research
the UKPSF. into higher
education learning
and teaching has Engagement with
an impact on institutions in teaching
policy or practice. and learning
development activity
accounts for at least
90% of students
studying for a UK
higher education
qualification.
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CPD and PSF

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 Why is continuing professional
development important?

Professional development leading

to professional recognition
provides a benchmark for
individuals and institutions, and
gives the general population and
students themselves confidence
that they are being supported by
qualified, capable and
competent professionals.

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What does the HE community think of
the PSF?
(UKPSF Impact Study, 2013)

• The UKPSF has been influential across the sector in

changing institutional practice.
• An overwhelming majority of respondents (84%) claimed
that the UKPSF had led to changes to academic
development, learning, teaching or the student experience
within their institution for which they had evidence.
• The top four areas where change in practice was reported
were:
• shaping accredited courses (70%)
• influencing institutional CPD frameworks (67%)
• supporting reward and recognition (47%)
• influencing institutional strategy and policy (44%).
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Trends

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 Remaining in good standing
Activity Timing
Code of Practice Launch of Code of Practice 2013/14

Accreditation CPD Schemes to support 2013 – 2016

Fellows to remain in good Rolling programme
standing
HEA CPD Aligning CPD to UKPSF Pilot 2013/14
Range 2014/15
External CPD Aligning CPD to UKPSF 2013/14
(Dual badging)
Develop approval/kite marking 2014/15
system
Collaborative Explore potential for external 2014
approach to recognition and use of HEA
Fellowship Fellowship
Individual Fellows System for Fellows not in a 2014
subscribing university
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TNE Research

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Enhancing student learning and teacher
development in transnational arrangements

Research aims: to explore the current and prospective

ways in which UK higher education providers can ensure
equitable student learning experiences and teaching
excellence in transnational arrangements.

Question: How can UK higher education providers ensure

high quality learning and teaching in overseas contexts?

(Literature, good practice, challenges, support required)

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Data collection

• PVC/DVC survey focusing on internationalisation

activity and policy

• Survey of UK HEIs delivering TNE

Who: Heads, managers, or teaching leads of UK-HEI transnational
programmes - award or credit bearing educational programmes
delivered by the HEI in countries outside of the UK.
What: How many, which countries, provision type, mode of delivery,
belief in benefits, remedial action, innovations

• Focus group of lecturers discussing survey questions

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Survey:

• Types of provision, arrangements and context

• Significant challenges in delivering TNE
• Comparisons between TNE and home provision
• Improving TNE

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Challenges experienced by
staff delivering TNE

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TNE: maintaining standards

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TNE: comparisons

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Findings summary - themes

• Familiar challenges: student expectations, parental

expectations, UK staff inertia
• UK degrees - Excellent reputation - impact – cost
• Widening access through TNE
• Challenges for students – learning styles and expectations
• TNE for what? The future for graduates?
• Fit for purpose programmes – the right product?

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The future?

“gradual… move away from validating the franchise

types of provision towards genuinely dual and joint
awards”
“two providers thinking of developing a course and
delivering it in a third country…filling a gap in the
region where it’s not possible to get a partnership on
the same level”
“more collaborative designing of the curriculum.”
“…transformative partnerships....”
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HEA Internationalisation

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Where are we now?
• Internationalisation theme activity
• E.g. grants (teaching development, international scholarship, doctoral);
seminar series; SIGs; TIS; research (NSS, TNE); Summit; publications (e.g.
Going Mobile)

• International Business Development

• Plan approved; scoping visits; consultancy, subscription.
• International activity
• Conferences, projects, visits, research, overseas based fellows
• A UK based organisation
• Communications becoming international; systems being revised;
partnership management.

• Sector engagement
• Support requested for internationalisation activities and ensuring equity
of student experience and particularly the quality of teaching in TNE
arrangements. 24
 International engagement

• Australia • Dubai
• Malaysia • Qatar
• Thailand • USA
• Singapore • South
Africa
• Vietnam
• Saudi
• Oman
Arabia
• Bahrain
• Europe
• China

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 Benchmarking
Seminars
Project:
& visits
Promotion Criteria

Australia

OLT ANU

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Where do we want to be?

‘An internationally relevant organisation, operating in an

increasingly global sector’
• Known and valued internationally – participating in an international
community of practice supporting and developing learning and
teaching in higher education

• Offering excellent services remotely and in country

• HEA Fellowship is internationally recognised:

• commitment to professionalism in teaching and learning in higher
education
• an indicator of professional identity for higher education
practitioners

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Modernisation of Higher Education in Europe

“The High Level Group was particularly inspired by the

activities of the Higher Education Academy in the United
Kingdom …….. especially for their potential for
networking and developing new pedagogical approaches.”

Report to the European Commission on improving the

quality of learning and teaching in HE institutions (2013)

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 How do we get there?

International
engagement Business
development

UK sector engagement
Partnerships

Operationalise Research and

Systems
the plan development

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Contacts

• International: Sarah Parkinson

sarah.parkinson@heacademy.ac.uk
• Accreditation: Kathryn Harrison
kathryn.harrison@heacademy.ac.uk
• Recognition: Raj Dhimar
Rajesh.dhimar@heacademy.ac.uk

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