Higher Education Academy Professional Recognition Scheme

The UK based Higher Education Academy (HEA) runs the HEA Professional Recognition Scheme.
This is intended to lift the professionalism of university teaching. The scheme is aligned to the UK Professional Standards Framework (UKPSF). There are four levels of recognition (and typical job descriptions):

1. AFHEA – Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (Graduate Teaching Assistant)
2. FHEA – Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (Lecturer)
3. SFHEA - Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (academic leader or middle management)
4. PFHEA – Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (senior leader)

The HEA is promoting their scheme internationally, with the Australian National University the first Australian subscribing institution. The HEA is more general than the Certified Membership Scheme run by UK Association for Learning Technology (ALT), which was also extended to Australia last year. The way the HEAPRS/UKPSF is structured is similar to schemes run for other professions, such as ACS CP/IP3/SFIA for computer professionals.

UK Professional Standards Framework

The UK Professional Standards Framework (UKPSF) consists of:

Framework 

An Introduction.

Descriptors 

Four categories of level of teaching responsibility, corresponding to the four levels of HEA recognition:

1. Associate
2. Fellow
3. Senior Fellow
4. Principal Fellow

Dimensions of Practice 

Three dimensions of practice:

1. Areas of activity:
   
   1. Design and plan learning activities and/or programmes of study
   2. Teach and/or support learning
   3. Assess and give feedback to learners
   4. Develop effective learning environments and approaches to student support and guidance
   5. Engage in continuing professional development in subjects/disciplines and their pedagogy, incorporating research, scholarship and the evaluation of professional practices
2. Aspects of Core knowledge:
   1. The subject material
   2. Appropriate methods for teaching and learning in the subject area and at the level of the academic programme
   3. How students learn, both generally and within their subject/disciplinary area(s)  
   4. The use and value of appropriate learning technologies
   5. Methods for evaluating the effectiveness of teaching
   6. The implications of quality assurance and quality enhancement for academic and professional practice with a particular focus on teaching
3. Professional values:
   1. Respect individual learners and diverse learning communities   
   2. Promote participation in higher education and equality of opportunity for learners
   3. Use evidence-informed approaches and the outcomes from research, scholarship and continuing professional development
   4. Acknowledge the wider context in which higher education operates recognising the implications for professional practice

Recognition of Prior Learning for University Teachers

Greetings from the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra, where Richard Brawn, Head of the HEA's Teacher Excellence Team, is speaking on "Recognising and Promoting Staff Expertise in Teaching and Learning: the UK experience". The ANU is a subscribing institution of the UK Higher Education Academy (HEA). The HEA has a Professional Standards Framework (PSF) and HEA Fellowship. It should be noted that this is a separate program to the Certified Membership Scheme run by UK Association for Learning Technology (ALT), which was extended to Australia last year.

HEA's process is similar to Recognition to Prior Learning using an e-portfolio for Australian vocation teachers. In terms of positioning the organization, the ANU would see itself similar to the UK University of Cambridge, at least in the field of computing. Richard did not mention Cambridge, but I did a quick search and found a Higher Education Academy Briefing, scheduled for 13 May 2013.

The process, as Richard describes it, also has similarities to the Australian Computer Society's processes for promoting professionalism. It would be interesting to explore coordination between education certification and other professional certifications, including computing.

HEA Fellowships do not replace tertiary qualifications in Higher Education for ANU staff. The ANU Certificate of Higher Education was discontinued, but ANU staff can enroll in a program at another university to obtain tertiary qualifications in Higher Education (I undertook half my GCHE at USQ on-line).

At present I am certified by the ACS as a computer professional, have just finished the current ANU HE Certificate, applied for certification to teach in the vocational sector. If I need to be certified again through a UK based process to teach in a university, the regulatory burden starts to become high. It would be useful if these certifications were aligned. The ACS has achieved such an alignment internationally, through the "Seoul Accord", for IT professionals.

What can make such RPL processes easier is good on-line support. Learning Management Systems, such as Moodle, with  an e-portfolio package, such as Mahara, can be used for this.

Portfollio for Professional Learning Technology Certification

The UK based Association for Learning Technology (ALT) last year announced extending their Certified Membership of the Association for Learning Technology (CMALT) to Australia. The CMALT process might make a good model for other portfolio based accreditation processes. For the final unit of my Certificate in Higher Education, I am looking at how university higher degree programs can be flexible enough to support both professional accreditation and research.

CMALT support for candidates and assessors

CMALT provides support for both the candidates and the assessors. Often such assessment schemes fall down because they assume that those doing the assessment know what to do. But just because someone is an expert in the area being assessed, that does not mean they know how to do assessment. Even those familiar with exam based assessment will need some help assessing a portfolio.

CMALT Provide:

1. CMALT Prospectus: a guide to the process for candidates
2. CMALT Community: An on-line forum for candidates to get mutual support. On the Crowdvine platform.
3. Information for CMALT candidates: A short document to start the portfolio process.
4. CMALT webinar: A live on-line session every few weeks, with questions and answers. There appears to be no stored alternative offered, for those who cannot attend the live webinar. Also there does not appear to be an on-line non-real-time forum for questions and answers.
5. Guidelines for CMALT candidates and assessors: More detail on requirements for CMALT.
6. FAQs: Frequently Asked Questions
7. CMALT Development Group: The email addresses of the individual developers of the CMAL process are provided for queries. This is an unusual personal touch for such a process, which usually has an anonymous administrative point of contact.
8. Portfolio submission form: A Microsoft Word document set up with fields to be completed (I was able to use LibreOffice to fill in the form).
9. Email address: For submitting the form. It is curious that ALT are not using a Learning Management System, such as Moodle for managing the student interaction and document submission.

Assessors are recruited from those who have already been through the CMALT process and are thus familiar with it (as well as being certified in the subject matter). In addition to the material for candidates, assessors are offered:

• CMALT webinar for assessors: A live on-line session, with questions and answers. It is not clear how often these are held (there were three webinars for candidates listed on the ALT Events Page, but none for assessors).
• Assessment form: A Microsoft Word based form. The form is clearly alid out and only two pages long. However, it appears that two people need to fill out the one form: Lead and Second Assessor, which would complicate the process. The new Outcomes feature in Moodle 2 might be a better way to accomplish this.

Professional Learning Technology Accreditation in Australia

The UK based Association for Learning Technology (ALT) has announced "CMALT Australasia", an extension of the UK Certified Membershipof the Association for Learning Technology (CMALT) to Australia. The details of the Australia scheme are not yet released, but presumably will be similar to the UK approach, where the applicant submits a portfolio for assessment.

CMALT looks useful, but as a student of higher education (and someone who helped design a professional RPL process), I suggest that more support will be needed for the average person. Just giving people a template to fill in with their prior experience is a daunting task. Even with a support group, and a mentor, this is a difficult task.

While I am an experienced course designer and university lecturer, as soon as I became a "student" of education, I started to behave like a student: concentrating on what was to be assessed and putting off tasks until just before the deadline. There may be a few self disciplined people who can do it all on their own, but I suggest the average person will needs a push along.

For my graduate certificate final assignment I am looking at integrating an e-portfolio into higher degree programs. Alongside their courses and/or research, students would do an on-line course top teach them how to compose an e-portfolio to present evidence of their skills. Students would then fill out either a generic graduate skills template, or one or more specific templates, such as for membership of a professional body (such as the Australian Computer Society or CMALT). The software used to do this is not very important, Mahara and Moodle would do (that is what I have used on my courses). The important point is to offer the student a framework to help them along.

Core areas of work

1 Operational issues. Candidates should demonstrate both their understanding and use of learning technology. ‘Use’ might include the development, adaptation or application of technology within teaching, training or the support of learning more generally. This should include evidence of:

a) an understanding of the constraints and benefits of different technology;
b) technical knowledge and ability in the use of learning technology;
c) supporting the deployment of learning technologies.

2 Teaching, learning and/or assessment processes. Candidates should demonstrate their understanding of and engagement with teaching, learning and assessment processes. ‘Engagement’ may include using understanding to inform the development,
adaptation or application of technology. This should include evidence of:

a) an understanding of teaching, learning and/or assessment processes;
b) an understanding of your target learners.

3     The wider context. Candidates should demonstrate their awareness of and engagement with wider issues that inform their practice. This should include evidence of:

a) understanding and engaging with legislation, policies and standards.

4     Communication. Candidates should demonstrate their knowledge and skills in communication either through working with others or through interface design.
This should include evidence of either (a) or (b).

a) Working with others.
b) Interface between human and technical systems.

Specialist option(s)

As well as the core areas, candidates are required to demonstrate evidence of independent practice in one or more specialist options. Here is an indicative list of
specialist options:

• producing learning materials/content/courseware;
• project management, including resource management;
• training, mentoring and developing others;
• evaluating projects;
• research;
• designing tools and systems;
• institutional development/strategic work;
• knowledge and application of standards and specifications for learning technology;
• assistive technologies;
• VLE administration and maintenance;
• interface design;
• managing and sourcing content;
• copyright. ...

From: CMALT Prospectus, Association for Learning Technology, 2012.