Qualified to teach: The impact on professional development of

national standards and KPIs within a marketised HE sector

Stephen Bostock1, Helen King2 and Pam Parker3

1 Glyndŵr University Wrexham, Wales, UK

stephen@keele.org.uk

2 University of Bath, England, UK

3 City University London, England, UK

ICED 2014

Stockholm

What are the drivers of accreditation of teachers in our

institution/country?

How do they help or hinder the real development work that we

want to do?

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Professionalisation + market forces

The historical trend is from academics being amateur teachers towards professionalisation (Gibbs 2013)

In the UK marketisation is driving this faster and deeper.

Marketisation accelerated since 2003 as explicit government policy to improve quality (DES 2003), where ‘student experience’ (customer satisfaction) is the measure of quality (Bell 2013 , Brown 2013)

“the latest proposals in the UK to inform customers (we used to call them students) about what they are getting for their money, [include] publicly collated data stating the percentage of a University’s teachers who possess professional teaching qualifications” (Gibbs 2013 p10)

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How marketised is UK undergraduate education?

Public service, funded from taxation, with many stakeholders. Block grant funding, controlled student numbers

Public/private sector market, funded by customers, for benefit of owners. Competitive research funding, tuition fees fund teaching, student numbers uncapped. Students Consumers, customers

England

Rest of UK: Wales, Scotland, N.Ireland UK in 1970s

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USA

Academics as

amateur teachers

Professionalisation by

market forces

Australia

SEDA develops

teacher accreditation

Professionalisation

urged by state

now

Public market information & ‘Key Performance Indicators’

Course level information – Key Information Set KIS • Supposedly to provide market information for potential students or

parents to select a university course; web site supports comparisons

• 50 items published; some placed automatically on course web sites

The National Student Survey - final year students’ “satisfaction”

Institution level information • HE Statistics Agency (HESA) collects and publishes data on staff, students,

finance

• From 2012-13 includes staff teaching qualifications; expected to publish this in near future

League tables use this data to rank universities and courses

Universities select Key Performance Indicators as strategy goals

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Our national standard: the UK PSF

The UK professional standards framework for teaching and supporting learning in HE (2005) www.heacademy.ac.uk/ukpsf

• 5 Activities, 7 Knowledge topics, 4 Values

• Four levels (D1, D2, D3, D4) from part-time teacher to strategic leadership

• Accredited as a fellowship of the HE Academy, or a SEDA award; through an accredited course or by individual accreditation of past professional development (CPD)

• Recorded annually for each faculty member as five of the 10 types of teaching qualifications recorded

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Measuring the impact of UKPSF (SEDA research 2013)

Key findings from the institutional representatives’ survey:

Influential across UK HE in changing institutional practice. In 84% of sample UKPSF had led to changes to academic development, learning, teaching or the student experience. Particularly

• shaping accredited courses for faculty

• influencing institutional CPD frameworks

• supporting reward and recognition

• influencing institutional strategy and policy

Different impacts in different ‘mission’ groups

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Our three universities: staff (faculty), students, income

2012-13 HESA data (159 institutions)

Staff (faculty)

FTE

Student FTE

SSR Gross income

/student £

The University of Bath 992 12830 12.9 16,223

The City University 804 13053 16.2 14,155

Glyndŵr University 263 5282 20.1 8,308

UK median 673 11642 17.3 10,941

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Example 1. University of Bath

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Granted University status in 1966; roots trace back to a technical school established in 1856.

Considered a ‘research-intensive’, selecting institution.

1st for overall satisfaction in 2013 NSS

2nd in Times Higher Education Student Experience Survey 2014

4th in the 2015 Guardian University Guide

34th in the Times Higher Education’s international ‘100 Under 50’ 2014 league table

Bath Mandatory programme for Lecturers & Teaching Fellows on

probation: accredited against UKPSF, leads to FHEA (not PGCert)

Mandatory, one-day training for graduate students who teach and for new doctoral supervisors

‘Bath Scheme’: optional, HEA-accredited recognition scheme for experienced academics and professional services (D1, D2, D3)

Established teaching-focused promotion route up to Professor; UKPSF accreditation may be used as evidence for promotion

No KPI targets for teacher accreditation are set institutionally

Policy on peer review of teaching is focused on development

6 teaching-related awards plus student-led awards; Faculty / School-based and University-wide Teaching

Development Fund. 10

Example 2. City University, London

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City University London gained its degree awarding powers in 1966. There are five Schools: School of Arts and Social Sciences Cass Business School School of Mathematics, Computer

Science and Engineering School of Health Sciences City Law School

City The PG Certificate has around 100 staff participants annually

All new PhD students and academic staff must do the first module (accredited for HEA Associate Fellowship UKPSF-D1) and most do the PG Cert. (HEA Fellowship UKPSF-D2).

Around 20 go beyond this through the MA Programme.

‘CPD scheme’ accredited by HEA for all four level of fellowship from September 2014 (UKPSF D1-D4)

No institutional KPI targets for teacher accreditation are set

Promotion route for teaching as well as research; all academic role descriptions refer to UKPSF

Well established award scheme which includes student voice award, school scheme and University Education Excellence award

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Example 3. Glyndŵr University

• Small, poor

• 125 years as a college; University title in 2008

• One of 8 in Wales (less marketized than England)

• Serves the local region

• Near the bottom of league tables (108th), until 2013-14 when NSS results improved (64th in Guardian tables)

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Wrexham,

Wales

Glyndŵr Postgraduate Certificate suspended in 2013-14

• Accredited against UKPSF D2 but fewer staff have time to do it, only half complete it; not cost-effective; may be replaced with a shorter modular course linked to UKPSF, meanwhile new staff do …

Supporting student learning, a new blended course • For adjunct faculty and learning support staff, accredited against UKPSF D1

• New full time faculty also start with this

CPD Scheme to accredit experienced staff (UKPSF D1, D2) • Aimed at experienced staff without a teaching qualification

• Three submission dates annually

• Supported by briefing sessions, workshops, and individuals mentoring

A policy on teaching qualifications: all staff need a qualification to teach or be working towards one. KPI is 80% with teaching qualification

Policy on peer review of teaching focused on development

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Conclusion

Drivers of accreditation: government, institutions, students, educational developers (SEDA), employers, professional bodies… • E.g. in EU: “All staff teaching in higher education institutions in 2020

should have received certified pedagogical training.” (Improving the quality of teaching and learning in Europe’s higher education institutions, McAleese 2013 p64)

In the UK, market forces are increasingly important: public information (including staff teaching qualifications) supports choice and competition; institutional policies require or reward accreditation and ‘Key Performance Indicators’ may be targets

Accreditation now reaching beyond new faculty, to sessional (adjunct) faculty and senior faculty, through a wider range of programmes and accreditation of past professional development

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EDUs: Pros and Cons

We have more influence with senior management

More leverage for EDUs, accreditation built into strategies

More resources or more secure resources

Opportunities to engage with a wider range of staff

Academics may see us as tools of management

Risk that our activity concentrates on KPIs

One KPI target takes resources from others

Staff motivation may be instrumental and they may have less time

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The end

What are the drivers of

accreditation of teachers in your institution/country?

How do they help or hinder the real development work that you

want to do? 17

References

Brown, R. (2013) Everything for sale? The marketisation of UK Higher Education. SRHE/Routledge

Bell, D. (2013) Removal of the student number cap is a ‘Tory electoral manoeuvre’, Times Higher Education 19-16 Dec., p13

Department for Education and Skills (2003) The future of higher education (UK)

Gibbs, G. (2013) Reflections on the changing nature of educational development, IJAD 18 (1) 4-14

McAleese, M. (2013) Improving the quality of teaching and learning in Europe’s higher education institutions

SEDA (2013) Measuring the impact of the UK Professional Standards Framework for Teaching and Supporting Learning

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