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MAP:HE My Accredited Pathway: Higher Education Senior Fellow guidance and application form

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Your Support

The Benefits

Your Plan

Your Evidence

A Strong Claim

Preparing for Submission of Portfolio for Senior Fellow

Congratulations on deciding to prepare a claim for Senior Fellow (D3) of the HEA. This category has

been specially designed for people whose role involves or has recently involved a substantial amount

of engagement with learning, teaching and assessment as well as wider student engagement roles

such as personal tutoring. In addition, you will be taking a role in academic leadership, which is the

key characteristic of Senior Fellowship.

You may be a lecturer with responsibility for a programme or programme and will be operating at

the level where you are not just teaching but also have leadership for learning design at curriculum

and programme level. You may be leading a teaching team or have specific responsibilities such as

mentoring new staff or taking a lead on strategic initiatives such as employability,

internationalisation or inclusion. Strong Senior Fellow claims are often evidenced by pedagogic

initiatives which have changed and improved an aspect of student learning or engagement such as

developing a suite of simulation activities, preparing an online version of a programme, creating a

student-led module or setting up a Faculty-wide special interest group. You are likely to have carried

out evaluation and reviews of programmes or carried out research into pedagogy which have been

published or presented. You will be able to demonstrate the impact of your work through surveys,

research and strong testimonials.

Now that you have decided to prepare a submission it is really important to familiarise yourself with

the requirements of Descriptor 3 (D3) of the United Kingdom Professional Standards Framework (UK

PSF) because you will need to provide evidence of your work which meets these descriptors.

The rest of this handbook will guide you through the process of preparing your claim for Senior

Fellow.

MAP OUT

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Be proactive and plan in advance

If you have not already done so, you should inform your line manager or your appraiser of your

intention to submit a claim for Senior Fellow to ensure you are engaging in the right kind of activities

and set of responsibilities to support your claim. They may be able to give you some additional

opportunities to increase your experience and evidence. This will help you to develop an

appropriate CPD record to support your career aspirations and pathway.

Make use of your mentor and available workshops

You will be allocated a mentor either in a group or individually. They will help you to prepare your

claim by giving advice and signposting you to opportunities such as writing workshops to help

familiarise you to the expected content and style of submission. You will decide deadlines with them

for both formative and summative assessment of your claim (although your mentor will not be

involved in the summative assessment).

Access MAP:HE resources to support your claim

You will be enrolled on to the MAP:HE Blackboard where you can find the templates you need for

you and your referees. There are also many resources and links to useful websites to support your

claim and also generally to learn more about learning and teaching and student engagement. New

materials will be added regularly. The Blackboard site also hosts the Turnitin submission point

where you will post your final submission for assessment.

Please also visit the Staff Development site and take a look at their workshops and courses as many

of them are relevant to your claim. In particular, there are a lot of courses, workshops and schemes

designed to develop leadership skills, both academic leadership as well as strategic and team. You

can learn mentoring and coaching or there are courses on Action Research and writing for

publication. If you are not already a mentor on one of the MAP:HE pathways, you are welcome to

discuss becoming one with the Framework Director.

Plan in advanceMake use of

mentor & available workshops

Access MAP Resources to

support your claim

MAP:Your Support

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As part of developing your academic identity and reflecting on your future career or professional

aspirations, take some time to consider the benefits of having a fellowship. This can help to

motivate you to get started and put together your portfolio. Preparing a claim is an opportunity to

reflect on your practice and get in touch with what you value and aspire to do within your work.

Undergoing this process is not only of benefit to you, but also to your colleagues and students. Of

course, there is also a benefit to the institution and the continued success of your department.

If you are interested in what other people think are the benefits of fellowship, there are some case

studies available on the Learning and Teaching Enhancement website (insert link to talking heads).

The HEA also has some case studies which can be accessed by clicking on the following links:

Fellow: Dr Shelly Kemp

Fellow: Prof Trudy Kerr

Benefits of

Fellowship

To Me

To my colleagues

To my institution

To my students

To my disciplinary or subject pedagogy

MAP:The benefits

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Areas of Activity

A1 Design and plan learning activities and/or programmes of study

A2 Teach and/or support learning

A3 Assess and give feedback to learners

A4 Develop effective learning environments and approaches to student support and guidance

A5 Engage in continuing professional development in subjects/disciplines and their pedagogy, incorporating research, scholarship and the evaluation of professional practices

Professional Values

V1 Respect individual learners and diverse learning communities

V2 Promote participation in higher education and equality of opportunity for learners

V3 Use evidence-informed approaches and the outcomes from research, scholarship and continuing professional development

V4 Acknowledge the wider context in which higher education operates recognising the implications for professional practice

Core Knowledge

K1 The subject material

K2 Appropriate methods for teaching and learning in the subject area and at the level of the academic programme

K3 How students learn, both generally and within their subject/disciplinary area(s)

K4 The use and value of appropriate learning technologies

K5 Methods for evaluating the effectiveness of teaching

K6 The implications of quality assurance and quality enhancement for academic and professional practice with a particular focus on teaching

Your claim is more likely to be successful if you take the time to plan out how you are going to

achieve it and ensure that you have support in place.

In collaboration with your mentor, agree a timetable and deadlines for formative and summative

assessment. These can be reviewed, but it is helpful to make a commitment and work towards

achieving your fellowship by a certain time. It is important to spend time ensuring that you

understand how to meet the dimensions and descriptors for the UK PSF at the appropriate level to

your claim – this can avoid carrying out a lot of unnecessary work at the writing stage.

Make sure you identify any potential gaps in a dimension or descriptor. For Senior Fellow you have

to demonstrate evidence for all three Dimensions of the UK PSF so it is particularly important to map

out your evidence and ensure you can meet all of them. As you may not be doing so much teaching

if you are now in a leadership role, it is

MAP:Your Plan

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Once you have familiarised yourself with the UK PSF you can begin to map your evidence.

Descriptor 3 (D3) of the UK PSF

Senior Fellow is described by D3:

Demonstrates a thorough understanding of effective approaches to teaching and learning support as

a key contribution to high quality student learning. Individuals should be able to provide evidence

of:

I. Successful engagement across all five Areas of Activity

II. Appropriate knowledge and understanding across all aspects of Core Knowledge

III. A commitment to all the Professional Values

IV. Successful engagement in appropriate teaching practices related to the Areas of Activity

V. Successful incorporation of subject and pedagogic research and/ or scholarship within

the above activities, as part of an integrated approach to academic practice

VI. Successful engagement in continuing professional development in relation to teaching,

learning, assessment, scholarship and, as appropriate, related academic or professional

practices

VII. Successful co-ordination, support, supervision, management and/ or mentoring of

others (whether individuals and/or teams) in relation to teaching and learning

When do I want to submit?

create a timeline

set deadlines

get support in place

Make sure I know what's required

Familiarise with UK PSF dimensions and descriptors required for D3 level.

Familiarise with requirements of form of claim

Update CV

Confirm reference(s)

Fill any gaps

Identify any further development needs

Attend staff and/or professional development sessions

MAP:Your Evidence

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The descriptors for Fellow (D2) and Senior Fellow (D3) are virtually identical, but Senior Fellow has

an additional descriptor relating to leadership and management (D3, vii). The ‘typical roles’ give

further indication that this descriptor is focused on providing evidence of having an established and

successful academic practice but is now using this knowledge to lead and manage others in these

activities and possibly taking roles promoting learning and teaching across the institution, perhaps as

a programme director, departmental lead or mentor for MAP:HE.

For your claim, you will have to demonstrate that you engage or have engaged recently with the full

spectrum of teaching, assessment and student engagement activities. However, you may be doing

some of this by facilitating and mentoring others to do it. The distinguishing characteristic of the

D3claim is the focus on leadership. This can take many forms and does not only have to be

programme, team or strategic leadership. You may have been a leader through introducing or

championing a particular teaching strategy or method for personal tutoring, for example. The key to

a successful claim is being able to demonstrate impact. You must be able to find ways to show how

your leadership has made a difference to your students, colleagues and your subject.

For your claim, you will be required to provide a reflective account of your professional practice to

demonstrate how you conceptualise and realise the different aspects of teaching, assessing and

student engagement in a scholarly fashion. This should give an insight into how you engage in the

UK PSF Dimensions. You are also asked to provide two case studies which illustrate your leadership

or management skills to evidence D3.vii in particular.

Programme documents, Validation documents

Leading curriculum review or review of student engagement activities

Evaluations by students and/or colleagues

Testimonials

Pedagogical research and dissemination on subject pedagogy and Higher Education

School leadership in pedagogy or student engagement

Leading short L&T courses, teaching on PGCAP

Mentoring on PGCAP & MAP:HE Portfolio

Attending external HE events

Creating resources for professional development

Creating open educational resources

Recognition and awards related to learning and teaching either institutional or external

Formal evaluations such as appraisal

Leading student-focused change in the institution

Results of national surveys attributable to your involvement such as NSS/USS, DLHE, PRES

Examples of Types of Evidence

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While each category of fellowship requires a specific focus (see individual guidance documents for

detailed advice) there are some characteristics of strong claims which are worth noting:

Similarly, it is possible to identify some of the common characteristics of claims which are referred

for further development and improvement:

Synergy: research/scholarly activity and professional activities ( commitment to

active, ongoing and relevant CPD)

Clarity of focus

Ample evidence and up to the word count

The inclusion of references and a bibliography

Genuine alignment to the UKPSF ( marked up in brackets at the end of each

paragraoh or section e.g ( A2,K5,V3) and currency of engagement in areas of

activity

Enthusiasm for learning and teaching and/or student engagement

Good quality breadth and range of examples and case studies to illustrate and evidence your activity including:

student testimonials, module/programme evaluation, external examiner comments,

peer observation comments, NUS/USS scores, where appropriate

Creativity in approaches to your work

Evaluative and Critical reflection around:

What you do

Your rationale

The impact of your actions in the context of learning and teaching- ( referal to first

person)

Informed understanding of pedagogic approach either through subject specialist lens, student feedback or other forms of evaluatory data and theory of learning

and teaching

Awareness of student position,needs and difficulties

Claim being appropriate for the category of recognition and which explicitly demonstrates your strengths and philosophy/professional values

An overly descriptive writing style

Too many examples which thin out depth

Examples which are not current ( 3 years)

Lack of strong rationale, reflection and evaluation

Lack of reference to students

Not meeting all the areas of Activity on the UKPSF

Insufficient CPD and Scholarship

Lack of evidence of commitment to professional values

For Senior Fellow not meeting descriptor D3.V11 on Leadership

MAP:A Strong Claim

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Form of Claim

For Senior Fellow you should use the template at the end of this handbook. You can also download

the template from the MAP:HE Blackboard. The claim should be around 6000 words long and there

are suggested word counts for each section on the template. You will provide a reflective account of

your professional practice, which helps the Assessor to understand your specific area of work.

Please do not assume that they will be familiar with your role. The reflective account should provide

a clear picture of your engagement with the UK PSF dimensions in terms of your own learning and

teaching. While this should be recent, reflection on how your role may have developed could

include less recent examples. It is important that your transition into leadership of pedagogy and of

others involved in teaching and supporting learning is well-evidenced.

The rest of the submission will be made up of two reflective case studies which provide an

opportunity to go into your leadership role/s in more depth. It is particularly important to show

evidence of impact – how your actions created a difference in an area of learning, teaching or

assessment or student experience. Examples of this might include leading the validation of a new

programme, providing mentoring to PGCAP students, establishing a new model of delivery for a

student support service or championing the use of a learning and teaching enhancement across your

Department or Faculty. The key here is to include evidence which shows the impact both

quantitative and qualitative, as appropriate.

Your mentor should be able to help you with the mapping and ensure that you are clear about what

is required and whether you are in a position to start writing your claim or will need to undertake

some developmental activity first.

If you require an alternative format for submission other than written, this can be arranged with the

MAP:HE Portfolio director who will agree the format with you to ensure that you are able to meet all

your required elements successfully.

To support your claim, you will need two references, one of which is usually from your Head of

School or a nominated manager. The other can be from a colleague, but they should have at least

Senior Fellowship. This is because they will also understand the requirements of the UK PSF and the

relevant Dimensions. Finally, you will need to provide an active CV.

The following table gives an indication of the contents and expected length of your submission:

Category of Fellowship

Word count Form of claim Verification Process

Senior Fellowship

6000 Reflective account of professional

practice

2 x Case studies focusing on

leadership evidence

Reference from Head of School and a

senior colleague with SFHEA or PFHEA

CV

Assessed by three trained

verifiers with at least SFHEA,

one of whom is a core

member of the Framework

Review Board

Sample reviewed by External

Verifier (PFHEA)

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What happens when I am ready to submit my claim?

When you complete your claim and are ready to enter the assessment and verification process, you

will go through the following stages:

Submit for formative feedback

Prepare draft claim

Receive written developmental feedback from your mentor

Submit for Assessment and Verification

Submit final claim for assessment

Claim is assessed and if successful is verified at the Framework Review Board.

Receive notification of success or referral

Receive written feedback for successful and referred claims

If referred, use development feedback and support to improve claim and resubmit

How is my claim assessed?

All claims are assessed by trained verifiers who will have an HEA Fellowship at a higher level than the

one you are seeking. No claim will be assessed by a verifier who has supported or mentored you.

Given the size and culture of our community it may be difficult to ensure your claim is assessed by

someone who doesn’t know you but all assessors are trained and will be using the rubric in your

fellowship preparation document. As you are submitting for Senior Fellow, three trained assessors

will consider your claim. Moderation by the Framework Director and the External Reviewer, who is

an HEA accreditor, will take place regularly to ensure consistency between assessors.

Sometimes assessors do disagree or find it hard to come to a consensus for a variety of reasons.

They may interpret criteria slightly differently or may not recognise your evidence if they are from a

different subject. In this happens to you, your claim will be reviewed by a senior member of the

MAP:HE Portfolio team. In all cases the aim is to be as fair as possible while still ensuring the overall

quality of the verification process.

There will be a Verification Board once a year where the whole programme will be reviewed with

the External Reviewer who will produce a report on the soundness of the verification process, the

quality of the decisions and feedback and the quality of the claims as well as any development

feedback for the team.

Formative assessment

Mentor

Summative Assessment

Verifiers (mentor ineligible)

Framework Review Board

Final Decision (mentor declares interest if

present

Verfication board Annual review with External Reviewer

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Framework Review Board

The Framework Review Board will meet monthly to review both taught and portfolio routes and

ensure that all the systems and processes are working as intended. It will provide a place for

collaborative review of provision including identifying any need for staff training and development.

Invitees will include all staff involved in the provision of the taught and portfolio routes as well as

representation from students and claimants. The members of the Framework Review Board are:

MAP:HE Framework Director (Chair)

Faculty Directors of Learning and Teaching

Verifiers of claims being submitted

The Verification Board

The Verification Board will meet once a year and will typically consist of the following people:

• PVC Education and Student Experience (Chair)

• HEA External Verifier

• Director of Learning and Teaching

• MAP:HE Framework Director

• Faculty Directors of Learning and Teaching

• Framework Administrator

When do I submit?

A timetable of submission points will be provided at the beginning of each academic year. Typically,

the submission point will fall in the second week of the month and reviewed at the next month’s

Framework Review Board which is held in the first week of the month. This is broadly in line with

the university’s three-week turnaround policy for marking.

When will I find out if I’ve been successful?

You should receive an email with the outcome of your claim in the week after the Framework

Review Board meets. In the email you will also receive the summative feedback from the reviewers.

If you are successful, you will receive a letter of congratulation from the Pro-Vice Chancellor

Education and Student Experience, a copy of which is sent to your Head of School or department.

What happens if my claim is referred?

It is sometimes the case that following summative assessment, a claim might be referred back to you

for improvement. There are a variety of reasons why this might happen but it is usually for one of

the reasons indicated above (MAP: A strong claim). At formative assessment stage your verifier will

give you feedback on how the claim should be improved. However, following the formative

feedback cannot guarantee that your claim will be successful at summative submission.

If your submission is referred either at formative or summative stages, a timescale for resubmission will be agreed with you. As the Framework Review Board meets monthly, this will give you ample opportunity in the year to resubmit without having to wait a long time. You may have two attempts at resubmission in one year. This is in line with the academic practice at CCCU. However, you may start the process for the same category of fellowship in a subsequent year. If you work closely with your mentor and take account of the formative feedback, this should be very unlikely.

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The following table gives you an idea of how long it takes for your claim to be assessed and verified.

It also shows an indication of how resubmission would work.

Month Formative Summative Framework Review Board

February Week 2

March Week 2

April Week 1

May Resubmission

Week 2

June Week 1

Can I appeal against a fellowship decision?

As the MAP:HE Portfolio is not a validated academic programme and is, in effect, a programme for

the verification of professional practice, you are not eligible to appeal through the student appeals

process. Every effort has been made to ensure verification is carried out fairly and accurately by

trained verifiers and externally assured through consideration of a sample of claims. If your claim

was already seen by the External Assessor through the moderation process and the decision agreed,

that decision will stand.

However, if you are not satisfied with the summative decision which is made or if you are dissatisfied

with the level or quality or support you are or have received to prepare you claim, you may request

a formal meeting with the framework director to discuss your concerns. In all cases, a mutually

agreeable solution will be found to ensure that you are not prevented from attaining your fellowship

if you are able to provide adequate evidence in the required format. Concerns related to quality

assurance will be discussed at the next available Framework Review Board and if necessary,

additional training or resources may be put in place.

If you were dissatisfied with a decision made at a Framework Review Board and you do not feel this

was dealt with in a satisfactory manner, you may request that it is reviewed by the External Assessor

at the Verification Board or next Framework Review Board, whichever is sooner.

All concerns raised by participants will be reported to the Verification Board and reviewed to ensure

they were dealt with fairly and adjustments made if necessary.

Register with the HEA

Following verification your status will be uploaded to the HEA as part of the CCCU

Institutional record.

You will now join the university’s network of Fellows

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Senior Fellowship

Senior Fellowship is awarded to professionals who demonstrate they meet the criteria of Descriptor 3 (D3) of the UKPSF. You should demonstrate engagement with all Areas of Activity with a particular focus on leadership throughout. Reflective Account of Professional Practice (3000 words) This section should provide an overview of your professional practice and how it has developed through your higher education roles, responsibilities and professional experience. Case Studies These should provide evidence of successful co-ordination, support, supervision, management and/ or mentoring of others (whether individuals and/or teams) in relation to teaching and learning Case Study One (1500 words) Case Study Two (1500 words)

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Assessment Criteria – Senior Fellowship D3

Criteria Met Not met

Suggestions for improvement

Demonstrates sustained engagement with all Dimensions of the UK PSF

Please write these TO the participant, using ‘you’ and phrased as developmental feedback.

A1-A5

K1-K6

V1-V4

Consideration of Dimensions is equally balanced

Clear focus on leadership and management of learning, of subject pedagogy and/or colleagues throughout, but especially in case studies

Underpinned by scholarship and research in HE learning and teaching relevant to subject pedagogy or specialist service

Demonstrates critical reflection on professional practice, own identity, strengths and areas for development

Evidence is compelling and evidence of impact is clearly presented

Reference statements authenticate and confirm claim

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UK PSF Self-Assessment Tool – Senior Fellowship You will find this self-assessment helpful in recording your activities and evidence against the UKPSF dimensions of practice at D3. We advise that you maintain this self-assessment as a living document, updating it regularly to record your evidence and development. We suggest also that you record activities and evidence gained through any development activities you undertake.

My Areas of Activity

You must demonstrate sustained engagement with all Dimensions of the UK PSF and leadership of learning & teaching and that of others.

What evidence could I currently provide in support of this area of activity?

How might I go about developing further evidence in support of this area of activity?

What professional development might I need in support of this area of activity?

What evidence do I have for leadership of learning & teaching and leadership of others?

A1 Design and plan learning activities and/or programmes of study

A2 Teach and/or support learning

A3 Assess and give feedback to learners

A4 Develop effective learning environments and approaches to student support and guidance

A5 Engage in continuing professional development in subjects/disciplines and their pedagogy, incorporating research, scholarship and the evaluation of professional practice

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My Core Knowledge

You must demonstrate sustained engagement with all Dimensions of the UK PSF and leadership of learning & teaching and that of others.

What evidence could I currently provide in support of this area of activity?

How might I go about developing further evidence in support of this area of activity?

What professional development might I need in support of this area of activity?

What evidence do I have for leadership of subject and pedagogic knowledge and that of others?

K1 The subject material

K2 Appropriate methods for teaching and learning in the subject area and at the level of the academic programme

K3 How students learn, both generally and within their subject/ disciplinary area(s)

K4 The use and value of appropriate learning technologies

K5 Methods for evaluating the effectiveness of teaching

K6 The implications of quality assurance and quality enhancement for academic and professional practice with a particular focus on teaching

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My Professional Values

You must demonstrate sustained engagement with all Dimensions of the UK PSF and leadership of learning & teaching and that of others.

What evidence could I currently provide in support of this area of activity?

How might I go about developing further evidence in support of this area of activity?

What professional development might I need in support of this area of activity?

What evidence do I have for leadership of promoting professional values (inclusion, scholarship, awareness of HE context)?

V1 Respect individual learners and diverse learning communities

V2 Promote participation in higher education and equality of opportunity for learners

V3 Use evidence-informed approaches and the outcomes from research, scholarship and continuing professional development

V4 Acknowledge the wider context in which higher education operates recognising the implications for professional practice