The Keele Institute for Innovation and Teaching Excellence is delighted to announce that ten members of staff at Keele University have recently been awarded Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (HEA) through the University’s HEA Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Route.

HEA Fellowship provides recognition of professionalism in learning and teaching in higher education, and evidence of commitment to continuing academic development. Across the four categories of fellowship, from Associate to Principal, individuals are recognised for their practice, impact and leadership of teaching and learning.

The Fellowships awarded in March 2019 are:

• Professor Fiona Cownie, Principal Fellow
• Professor Nigel Ratcliffe, Principal Fellow
• Keren Coney, Senior Fellow
• Georgina Spencer, Senior Fellow
• Matthew Street, Senior Fellow
• Dr Rebecca Richards, Fellow
• Nana Efua Andoh, Associate Fellow
• Melissa Large, Associate Fellow
• Daniella Hult Khazaie, Associate Fellow
• Charlotte Richardson, Associate Fellow

There are now 75 members of staff at Keele who have achieved HEA Fellowship via the CPD route.

Dr Russ Crawford, Senior Teaching Fellow and Academic Developer within KIITE who leads the HEA CPD programme comments:

“As the HEA CPD Route at Keele goes from strength to strength, we are growing a vibrant community of practice around professional development, with members at every level engaging with mentoring and coaching roles well beyond their own applications for recognition. What this means for Keele is that development, excellence and achievement are all intrinsically linked, with support in a truly collegiate fashion.”

Dr Rebecca Richards, Lecturer in International Relations comments:

“Overall, I found the HEA CPD route to be incredibly supportive and worthwhile. I approached it as something that I had to do, but now having completed it, I appreciate how it made me look at my own practice, how it offered encouragement for continuing practice, and how I found new avenues of support for improving initiatives that I’ve been developing. I’d encourage anyone to do this (and don’t worry – it took me over a year to complete my application, so it’s not something you have to do in a very short time frame). I’m now thinking of applying for Senior Fellow, probably next year.”

Professor Nigel Ratcliffe, whose submission centred on his national and international contribution and leadership in Pharmacy education, comments,

“I would encourage everyone eligible to apply to HEA for Associate, Fellow, Senior Fellow and Principal Fellowship. It brings a great focus to your learning and really makes you reflect.”

Professor Fiona Cownie, Professor of Law comments:

“It is very satisfying to receive acknowledgment of my record of research and publication in legal education, as well as positive comments from the reviewers of my ‘sustained leadership’, ‘mentoring and support of others’ and ‘lasting positive influence in developing an accessible and theoretically rigorous curriculum for students on a national level with international impact’.

“Applying for Fellowship is a very rigorous process, and I am very grateful for the support I received from my mentors, Julie Hulme and Sophie Bessant, as well as from colleagues across the university and Students’ Union who supplied evidence for my application. For those thinking of applying for Fellowship, it’s an opportunity to reflect in a structured way on both theory and practice, which is something we should do more often!”

Recently a discussion route option has been introduced for those seeking recognition at senior and principal levels, which allows individuals to support their claims via an alternative but no less stringent method. The discussion route involves a shorter written application, and a professional conversation where candidates offer anecdotes and examples of how they meet the HEA descriptors, and demonstrate their understanding of them in their own practice context.

Georgina Spencer, Learning Developer in KIITE comments:

“Engaging with Keele’s CPD Route and achieving Senior Fellowship has been an immensely positive and rewarding process. Choosing the professional discussion route enabled me to draw together the range of my experience to demonstrate the impact of my work. The discussion itself was a supportive and surprisingly enjoyable experience. It felt like a celebration of my work and allowed me to tell a story of my how I have developed as a teacher during my 20 years working in Higher Education.”

Congratulations to all of the recipients!

To find out more about the HEA CPD route offered through the Keele Institute for Innovation and Teaching Excellence, visit the website or contact Academic Development via academicdevelopment@keele.ac.uk