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

It was founded in May 2004, from a merger of the Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education (ILTHE), the Learning and Teaching Support Network (LTSN), and the TQEF National Co-ordination Team (NCT).

Chief Executives

• Paul Ramsden until 2009 (retired)
• Craig Mahoney 2010 – 2013
• Stephanie Marshall 2013 –

Function

It is there to facilitate the sharing of expertise amongst UK universities, arranged in groups (subject centres) of closely related academic subjects. It mediates between different universities to keep the academic departments that work in the same field 'rowing in the same direction'. An analogy could be that of a conductor in an orchestra and the subject areas would be represented by the different orchestral instruments. It supports the sector in providing the best possible learning experience for all students. It does this by: — providing national leadership in developing and disseminating evidence-informed practice about enhancing the student learning experience; — operating as an independent broker, enabling expertise to be shared across institutions and subject areas; — working at multiple levels, with individual academics, subject communities, departments, faculties and institutions; — working across all parts of the UK, recognising the distinctive policy contexts and priorities of the devolved administrations but also providing opportunities to share expertise among them. The Academy is an independent organisation funded by grants from the four UK higher education funding bodies, subscriptions from higher education institutions, and grant and contract income for specific initiatives.

Awards

The Higher Education Academy administers the UK's annual National Teaching Fellowship awards. Subject specific learning and teaching issues are supported by 24 discipline-based Subject Centres that are based in higher education institutions throughout the UK. 2010 will mark ten years of success for the Subject Centre network.

Professional recognition

The Higher Education Academy runs a Professional Recognition scheme whereby Academics can become an Associate, Fellow or Senior Fellow of the Academy. The aim of this is to offer public recognition of the expertise and commitment of those so recognised to the student learning experience. The basis for the award of these is an assessment against The UK Professional Standards Framework for teaching and supporting learning in higher education. The HEA provides an indicator of professional identity for higher education practitioners, including the entitlement to use post-nominal letters:

• AFHEA – Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
• FHEA – Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
• SFHEA – Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
• PFHEA – Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

Teaching Qualifications and Teacher Professionalism

With the incorporation of the Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education (ILTHE) into the HEA, the concept of professionalism for teachers in higher education within a professional membership body was lost. Unlike schools and further education, where standards and regulatory frameworks have been introduced, the higher education system defends the autonomy of lecturers and resists any notion of any form of qualified teacher status for the sector. This goes very much against the principles of the Dearing Report which led to the establishment of the ILTHE. In 2011 Professor Craig Mahoney, the chief executive of the HEA, attempted to reignite the debate on standards and qualifications with an article^[1] published in the Times Higher Education supplement. Mahoney wrote:

“Those I have met who are qualified to teach in higher education have almost always been better teachers. But because I say so is not good enough. We must procure the empirical evidence from controlled studies, demonstrating to politicians, vice-chancellors, academics, students, parents and the general public that to be qualified is to be expected, to continually update is a given, and that providing students with outstanding teachers benefits everyone.”

Structure

It is situated on York Science Park, via Windmill Lane just off Hull Road (A1079) in Heslington, east of York, in the northern corner of the University of York's sprawling campus.

Funding

The Higher Education Academy is funded by grants from four higher education funding bodies in the UK (HEFCE, SFC, HEFCW and DELNI), subscriptions from higher education institutions, and grant/contract income for organised initiatives. It is owned by the representative bodies of the higher education sector – Universities UK and GuildHE (formerly known as the Standing Conference of Principals).

Governance

The Academy is governed by a Board whose members are drawn mainly from institutional leaders and senior academics. There is also an advisory Council made up of Subject Centre representatives and Registered Practitioners. Day to day management of the Academy is undertaken by the Senior Executive Group (SEG).

The Higher Education Academy is situated on the north of the University of York's campus (left of picture)

board of directors

As of January 2011^[2]

• Chair: Prof Sir Robert Burgess – V-C of University of Leicester
• Anthony Carey of Mazars LLP (external appointment)
• Prof Anthony Chapman – V-C of University of Wales Institute, Cardiff
• Mr Geoffrey Donnelly (external appointment)
• Prof Janice Kay – University of Exeter
• Aaron Porter – President of the NUS
• Mr Rama Thirunamachandran – Deputy V-C of Keele University
• Prof Dianne Willcocks – retired V-C of York St John University

Subject Centres

The subject centres were based around the UK at relevant university faculties. As of 1 January 2012, the Subject Centres have closed.^[3] Archived resources that have been developed over their 12 years will still be available in the discipline pages of the HEA website.

• Art, Design, Media Subject Centre (ADM-HEA UK)
• Centre for Bioscience
• Built Environment (CEBE)
• Business, Management, Accountancy and Finance (BMAF)
• Economics Network
• Education (ESCalate)
• Engineering Subject Centre
• English Subject Centre
• Subject Centre for Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences
• HEALTH Network Group
• Health Sciences and Practice Subject Centre
• History, Classics and Archaeology Subject Centre
• Hospitality, Leisure, Sport and Tourism Network (HLST)
• Information and Computer Sciences
• Subject Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies
• UK Centre for Legal Education
• UK Centre for Materials Education (UKCME)
• Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Medicine (MEDEV)
• Subject Centre for Dance, Drama and Music (PALATINE)
• Maths, Stats & OR Network
• Philosophical and Religious Studies
• Physical Sciences Centre
• Psychology Network
• Subject Network for Sociology, Anthropology, Politics (C-SAP)
• Social Policy and Social Work (SWAP)

References

External links

• Official website
• Subject Centres

Video clips

• HEA Engineering SC YouTube channel