The UK Professional Standards Framework for teaching and supporting learning in higher education
Encyclopedia
The UK Professional Standards Framework for teaching and supporting learning in higher education are a set of professional standards for the UK higher education (HE) sector which emerged for the White Paper The Future of Higher Education (2003). Various bodies in UK higher education commissioned the Higher Education Academy(HEA)
via consultation with the sector as a whole to develop this framework.
The self-proclaimed purpose of the framework is to assist HE institutions and academics within the sector to "demonstrate that professional standards for teaching and supporting learning are being met." The document explicitly recognises what it argues is the distinctive nature of teaching in HE. These distinctive features involve:
The Standards Framework's claimed aim is to:
The HEA has a Professional Recognition Scheme based on this framework with the following post nominal letters being allowed:
Higher Education Academy
The Higher Education Academy is an independent organisation in the United Kingdom that supports higher education institutions with strategies for the development of research and evaluation to improve the learning experience for students.-History:...
via consultation with the sector as a whole to develop this framework.
The self-proclaimed purpose of the framework is to assist HE institutions and academics within the sector to "demonstrate that professional standards for teaching and supporting learning are being met." The document explicitly recognises what it argues is the distinctive nature of teaching in HE. These distinctive features involve:
- respect for the autonomy of higher education institutions
- recognition of HE’s understanding of quality enhancement for improving student learning.
- the scholarly nature of subject inquiry and knowledge creation
- the scholarly approach to pedagogy
The Standards Framework's claimed aim is to:
- enable and support professional development of all staff engaged in supporting learning
- provide a means by which professional approaches to supporting student learning can be fostered. These include creativity, innovation and continuous development
- provide the means of demonstrating not only to students but also to other stakeholders the professionalism that HE staff might bring to the support of the learning experience
- provide a means to support consistency and quality of the student learning experience.
The HEA has a Professional Recognition Scheme based on this framework with the following post nominal letters being allowed:
- Associate of the Higher Education Academy (AHEA)
- Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)
- Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA)
Sources
- http://www.dius.gov.uk/higher_education/~/media/publications/F/future_of_he The Future of Higher Education – White Paper, Jan 2003