1. An introduction to the Higher Education
Academy
February 2013

2. Contents
Who we are
How we can help
Encouraging teaching excellence
Supporting those who teach
Facilitating and instigating change
Addressing sector challenges
Working with you
Academic Associates
Contacts
2

3. Who we are

4. Who we are
The Higher Education Academy is the national body for learning
and teaching in higher education in the UK. We work with
institutions across the higher education system to bring about
positive change that improves the outcomes for students.
We do this by recognising and rewarding excellent teaching,
bringing together people and resources to research and share
best practice and by helping influence, shape and implement
policy.
Our work is UK-wide; at individual, institutional, national and
international level, supporting practitioners across all disciplines
and at every stage in their careers.
4

5. What we do
Focus on improving students’ Support HE staff throughout
learning experience their careers from new to
teaching to experienced
Recognise and reward excellent
teaching Provide a national voice in
learning and teaching to
Fund research to create
influence and shape policy
knowledge and share current
learning Help bring about change in
institutions, faculties and
Share best practice and
departments
innovative and current learning
developments Apply research and evidence to
improve student outcomes
5

6. How we do it
We understand needs vary and Employs a team of discipline
so the HEA: and academic experts
Has a presence and dedicated Works with a network of
teams in the nations associates from across the
sector to supplement our ‘in
Works across all disciplines in 4
house’ expertise
clusters (Arts & Humanities,
Health and Social Care, Social Brings together people and
Sciences, STEM) resources to address national
priority issues
Works across thematic areas
such as retention and success,
employability, assessment and
feedback and others
6

7. How we can help: services

8. How we can help
We have four core areas:
• Encouraging teacher excellence;
• Supporting those who teach;
• Facilitating and instigating change;
• Providing support through
consultancy
We address UK and national
priorities. We understand there is
no one size fits all and so we
assign a dedicated partnership
manager to each institution.
8

9. Encouraging excellent teaching
We do this by:
• Accrediting institutions’ professional development programmes
against the national framework (UK Professional Standards
Framework);
• Providing formal recognition for staff who complete them;
• Running national awards schemes to recognise and reward
outstanding teachers, including the National Teaching Fellowship
and Student-led Awards Schemes.
9

10. Supporting those who teach
We do this by:
• Supporting all disciplines and individuals from the day they start
right through their career
• Funding new research into innovations in learning and teaching
and disseminating the findings based on evidence of what works
in the classroom
• Providing workshops, seminars and events, an Annual and Cluster
Conferences, the UK’s most comprehensive selection of online
resources, publications and e-journals
10

11. Bringing about change
We do this by:
• Monitoring policy, hosting the Network of Vice Chancellors and
Pro-Vice-Chancellors, helping shape, influence and interpret
policy.
• Bringing together teams and resources in change programmes to
address priority issues such as internationalisation, assessment
and feedback and employability.
• Working with institutions to interpret and enhance feedback
from the National Student Satisfaction and Post-graduate
Research and Taught Experience Surveys.
11

12. Support through consultancy
We do this by:
• Offering consultancy to subscribers and non-subscribers to
support all areas of teaching and learning
• Working with you to understand the specific needs of your
department, faculty or institution
• Delivering a bespoke solution using our own staff and experts
from our associates networks
• Consultancy can support any areas of learning and teaching
activity to develop your staff, the quality of teaching, the student
experience or a combination of all these areas
12

13. Highlights
• 435 programmes in 134 HEIs are UKPSF accredited
• 30,000 HE staff are recognised as HEA Fellows
• Over 450 teaching staff have been nominated NTFs
• We provide over £1.5 million in research and travel grants each year
• HEA hosts the UK’s largest collection of online resources in the field
• We run over 550 generic and discipline-specific events and workshops
• The HEA inputs into national policy
• Has run over 200 change programmes in over 100 UK HEIs
• Runs the only national postgraduate student experience survey
13

14. Addressing today’s sector How How
we can help: themes

15. Sector challenges
In market research conducted in 2011, participants universally
identified four priorities:
• professionalisation of teaching in higher education,
• graduate employability,
• student satisfaction and
• internationalisation of the curriculum and student base.
Market Needs Assessment, Kindred Agency, September 2011
15

16. Sector challenges we are experts in
Assessment and feedback Flexible learning
Employability Sustainability
Internationalisation Reward and recognition
Students As Partners Student retention and success
16

17. Addressing sector challenges
Assessment and feedback Graduate employability
Timely feedback is essential for student With rise in student fees and a hugely
progression and improvement competitive job market students are
looking to HE to equip them with
NSS 2011 – 68% were satisfied with
qualifications that set them apart
assessment compared with 83% for overall
student experience and PTES 78% versus 45% of students opt to study in HE to gain
88% overall qualifications
HEA works with the higher education We focus on helping institutions embed
system to gather, interpret and respond to effective employability practice as part of
student feedback – sharing insights through the curriculum (change programmes)
workshops, seminars and online resources,
Key theme of our teaching development
funded research
grants
We work with institutions to introduce
We host employability events and have an
new strategies (see: University of Ulster
Employability Network to share best
and Rose Bruford College).
practice and the latest resources.
17

18. Addressing sector challenges
Internationalisation Student retention
Since 2001 the number of international Over 1 in 3 students think about leaving HE
students has risen threefold from 126,720 and around 1 in 15 students do leave their
to 405,805 course each
The UK is now the second biggest Our research includes ‘What works?
destination for overseas students, Student retention and success programme’
accounting for 15% of the global market with the Paul Hamlyn Foundation and
Action on Access
We are working with partners to help
ensure UK HEIs are the top of the Interventions have been shown to improve
international student shortlist. retention rates by around 10% eg. early
engagement, creating links with staff,
With UKCISA we have developed the
providing key information and nurturing
Teaching International Students resource
belonging.
bank
And through workshops, literature and
Through teaching development grants and
change programmes, the HEA has been
international scholarships, we help staff
working with institutions and other bodies
engage in innovative new research into
to develop and share evidence-informed
teaching international students.
approaches. 18

19. Addressing sector challenges
Flexible learning Sustainable development
There has been a significant increase in the In HEA research, 63% of students said they
number and diversity of students would give up £1,000 salary to work in a
company with a strong social /
Since 1994/5 the number of students
environmental record
enrolling at UK universities has risen from
1.6 to 2.5m ESD gives students the skills to live and
work in a more environmentally and
Flexible learning looks at the opportunities
socially responsible way
technology presents in HE for students to
choose pace, place and mode in terms of Our work focuses on research,
their learning development and sharing ESD best practice
and capacity building of individuals and
Since 2005, the HEA has piloted a series of
institutions to make ESD a part of curricula
Flexible Learning Pathfinder projects with
HEFCE involving 8 HEIs in a trial of flexible HEA’s Green Academy and Change
provision Academy programmes support
sustainability and embedding it within
We support institutions through
institutions.
demonstrators and our Employer Learning
Network. 19

20. Addressing sector challenges
Reward and recognition Reward and Recognition Enhancement
Change Programme (RARE) is a new
Underpinning all our work is our programme working with institutions to
commitment to ongoing enhancements in bring about cultural change
learning and teaching that result in the best
possible outcomes for students The HEA will be reviewing the NTFS
consulting with stakeholders from across
Fundamental to this is raising the status of the system. The HEA will work with 40
the profession of teaching in UK higher NTFS projects to disseminate outcomes
education and our belief that excellent with potential sector-wide impact
teaching should be properly rewarded and
recognised We are working with the NUS to roll-out
Student-led Teaching Awards across the UK
Our research with GENIE CETL found over and engage students in recognise effective
90% of academic staff think teaching should teaching. Future work will examine
be important in promotions, and most students’ perceptions of teaching
academics feel that the status of teaching is excellence.
low in comparison with research
.
20

21. Working with you

22. Working with you
• Dedicated partnership manager; two visits per year to agree
priorities, bring together services to meet them; annual
institutional report
• Access to thematic / discipline experts within the HEA and
network of associates – technical experts / managers, leaders in
their field and in learning and teaching working with HEA and
HEIs on a consultancy basis
22

23. Academic Associates

24. Academic Associates
• A network of experts to support the work of the HEA across
disciplines and themes
• Built up of academics from HEIs and educational experts from
other organisations
• Contracted to undertake activities to help the HEA achieve its
aims and objectives
• Provides individuals with professional development
opportunities and sector wide recognition in their field of
expertise
24

25. Academic Associates
How we can support you in your role as an Associate:
• Induction events
• Code of Conduct
• Toolkit of resources
• Monitoring of performance
• Feedback mechanisms
25

26. Contact
Questions?
To find out more about the HEA and Academic Associates please
visit http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/academic-associates
or email associates@heacademy.ac.uk
or tel 01904 717500
or contact -
Dr Celia Brigg, Academic Lead (Associates)
celia.brigg@heacademy.ac.uk
26