Academic Professional Apprenticeship (APA) with Postgraduate Certification of Learning and Teaching in Higher Education PgCert course

Program Overview

This part-time, 18-month program equips individuals with the knowledge and skills to become effective teachers and support learners in higher education. Aligned with the UKPSF, it covers current drivers in higher education and focuses on developing a project to enhance practice. The program is work-based and accessible nationally using a hybrid delivery model.

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

Objectives:

• To equip individuals with the knowledge and skills to become effective teachers and support learners in higher education.
• To meet the professional development needs of practitioners new to teaching and supporting learning roles in higher education.
• To provide a high-quality route for achieving full professional competence.
• To enable participants to contribute to a high-quality student learning experience.

Program Description:

• Suitable for new academic employees with less than three years' experience in higher education.
• Offered as a part-time, 18-month course at level 7.
• Aligned with the current editions of the Higher Education Academy UK Professional Standards Framework (UKPSF).
• Study may be eligible for a £2,500 Sir Keith Skeoch postgraduate scholarship.
• Course delivery is varied, including professional development activities, peer observations, and workshops.
• Accessible nationally using a hybrid delivery model.
• Open to individuals with employer agreement to undertake an apprenticeship.

Other Information:

• Program start dates are January and September.
• The program is work-based and can be accessed nationally using a hybrid delivery model.

Outline:

Content:

• Modules have been developed to support the apprentice's professional role and identity in terms of their teaching and supporting learning activities.
• Addresses current drivers in higher education, including TEF, NSS, and UKPSF.
• Covers university strategies and issues in higher education.
• Focuses on developing a project to enhance higher education practice.
• Covers the role of the teacher in higher education.
• Engages with institutional and external drivers, including university academic strategy and the UKPSF.
• Reflects upon the impact on learning and teaching in higher education.
• Promotes continuing reflection on teaching practice through teaching observation.

Structure:

• Part-time program with a blended learning approach.
• Includes elements delivered using distance learning.
• Initial blocks of teaching for each module.
• All modules include work-based elements and application of theory to practice.

Individual Modules:

Developing Academic Practice:

• Enables a range of higher education professionals to advance their knowledge in their area of practice.
• Develops knowledge, understanding, and critical awareness of current drivers in higher education.
• Supports apprentices in focusing on an educational issue of relevance to them.
• Encourages application of learning from contemporary academic theory, pedagogic research, and/or scholarship to develop a project to enhance higher education practice.

Facilitating Learning in Higher Education:

• Develops knowledge and understanding of the role of a teacher in higher education.
• Engages with institutional and external drivers, including university academic strategy and the UKPSF.
• Promotes reflection upon the impact on learning and teaching in higher education.
• Utilizes the concept of the 'informed, reflective, and competent practitioner' to interpret and apply knowledge and understanding to practice.
• Undertakes a critical and analytical appraisal of the academic role across core learning and teaching activities.
• Promotes continuing reflection on teaching practice through teaching observation.

Assessment:

• Apprentices complete a portfolio for each module.
• The portfolio includes a reflective journal and supporting evidence.
• Three assessment tasks satisfy the end-point assessment.
• Progression through the course is discussed at regular meetings with the course team and workplace mentors.

Teaching:

• Modules are managed and taught by principal and senior lecturers who hold fellowship or senior fellowship of the Higher Education Academy.
• The program utilizes a variety of teaching methods, including:
• Online discussions
• Individual feedback
• Synchronous and asynchronous discussions
• Observers' comments on observed teaching sessions

Careers:

• Opportunities for career progression to the MA Education.

Other:

• The program is open to individuals with support from their employer.
• Apprentices must demonstrate that they are currently teaching or supporting learning on HE level provision (minimum 50 hours per academic year).
• Apprentices must be contracted for a minimum of 30 hours per week.
• Apprentices must hold Level 2 qualifications in English and maths.
• The program is funded by an apprenticeship levy or government co-funding.