Centre for Professional Learning and Development
Title:
Approved
by:
Implementation
date:
Learning and Teaching Professional Development Policy
Academic Board April 2015
01 September 2015
Section
1 Purpose, scope and definitions,
Page
2
Legislative context, Equality and Diversity
3
2
Policy Statement
4
3
General Principles
4
4
Mandatory Requirements
5
5
Responsibilities
7
6
Governance and document review
8
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Section 1: Introduction
1.1
Purpose
1.1.1
The purpose of the Learning and Teaching Professional Development Policy is
to help support staff development by facilitating appropriate access to the
initial and continuing professional development required by those who teach
and support learning at NTU.
1.1.2
It forms part of the NTU Teaching Development Framework (NTU TDF),
introduced in March 2012.
1.2
Scope
1.2.1
This Policy relates to learning and teaching CPD including professional
recognition of practice and qualifications. It replaces the NTU Learning and
Teaching Professional Development Policy (2012).
1.2.2
The Policy applies to all University academic and professional services staff who
teach and/or support learning, in any form and through any media, and at all
stages of their career at NTU.
1.2.3
The policy should be read in conjunction with:




1.3
CPLD Learning and Teaching Professional Development Policy Guide
NTU Learning and Teaching Professional Development Framework document
(NTU TDF)
The NTU Academic Workload Framework
The NTU Guide to Managing Staff Induction
Definitions
Word/Term
APL/APEL
HEA
Learning and Teaching CPD
NTU Academic Workload
Framework
Meaning
Accreditation of Prior Learning / Accreditation
of Prior Experiential Learning
Higher Education Academy: confers 4 levels of
professional recognition aligned to the UK
Professional Standards Framework for Teaching
and Supporting Learning in HE (UKPSF):
HEA Associate Fellow (D1)
HEA Fellow (D2)
HEA Senior Fellow (D3)
HEA Principal Fellow (D4)
Initial and Continuing Professional
Development for staff who teach and/or
support learning. Opportunities include
professional recognition and award-bearing
programmes, active participation in mentoring
and coaching, external examining, curriculum
design, assessment, verification, academic
consultancy, quality management of learning
programmes, and pedagogic research.
The University’s Guidelines for Managing
Academic Workloads (MAW) introduced in 2011
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NTU Teaching Development
Framework (NTU TDF)
UKPSF
– outlining guidance for allocating hours to
various aspects of academic work.
The University’s Teaching Development
Framework – it has 5 parts:
1. Descriptors of five phases of professional
development for those who teach and/or
support learning
2. NTU Professional Standards for Teaching
and Supporting Learning in HE
3. NTU Learning and Teaching Professional
Development Policy (this document)
4. Mapping of L&T CPD opportunities at NTU
to support each phase of professional
development of those who teach and
support learning
5. HEA-accredited Framework routes to HEA
professional recognition
The UK Higher Education Sector’s Professional
Standards Framework for Teaching; the HEA
are stewards of the UKPSF.
1.4
Policy Context
1.4.1
This policy supports the University’s strategic ambitions to ensure a high
quality teaching quality experience for all students underpinned by
appropriately qualified staff.
1.5
Equality and Diversity
1.5.1
This Policy has been developed in accordance with the University’s commitment
towards supporting, developing and promoting equality and diversity in all of
its practices. When using this Policy, the University expects members of staff
to conduct themselves with dignity, honesty and integrity to promote an
atmosphere of mutual respect, in accordance with the University’s Equality and
Diversity Policy.
1.5.2
The Policy has undergone appropriate equality analysis, to comply with the
University's legislative responsibilities.
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Section 2: Policy Statement
2.1
All staff who teach and/or support learning at NTU are required to
demonstrate explicitly their active engagement in continuing professional
development appropriate to their role. In addition to completing any required
learning and teaching professional recognition or qualifications, this also
applies to the ongoing maintenance of standards and enhancement of
practice throughout employment with NTU.
2.2
This policy is designed to ensure that 100% of eligible staff demonstrate
achievement of an appropriate level of professional recognition for teaching
and supporting learning in Higher Education.
2.3
All lecturers are required to achieve HEA Fellow recognition. For newly
appointed colleagues to Lecturer, Senior Lecturer and Principal Lecturer
(L/SL/PL) roles this should be achieved within 3 years of appointment, and
will be a contractual condition of appointment.
2.4
All new undergraduate and postgraduate course leaders are required to
demonstrate their professional teaching standards are in line with those at
Level 2 (equivalent to HEA Fellow) either prior to, or within 6 months of
appointment to the role.
Section 3: General Principles
3.1
This policy version will be operational from the 1 September 2015. It is
relevant to all staff who teach and/or support learning, and those who
manage learning and teaching at NTU including PVCs, Deans, Associate
Deans, academic staff, academic learning support staff, professional services
staff, undergraduate student mentors, postgraduate researchers, hourly paid
lecturers, demonstrators and technical staff, at all career stages and levels of
expertise.
3.2
Guidance will be developed to support the implementation of this Policy.
3.3
All staff covered by the policy will be responsible for working with their line
manager to use the NTU Teaching Development Framework to identify and
agree a plan for addressing any professional development needs. This
includes all staff new to NTU as part of their probation period.
3.4
All staff will be expected to align their practice to the NTU Professional
Standards for Teaching and Supporting Learning in HE and to demonstrate
achievement of any required professional recognition and/or qualifications.
Achievement of these expectations will be managed and reviewed through
the PDCR process. Any concerns regarding progress towards agreed
standards should be managed through the University’s Improving
Performance Policy and Procedure, or the Probation Policy and Procedure as
appropriate.
3.5
All academic colleagues will be expected to agree an allocation of professional
development time within their Academic Workload Framework plan to address
agreed learning and teaching professional development needs. Academic staff
will allocate part of their Staff Development Allowance (SDA – NTU Academic
Workload Framework Policy Guidelines 2011) to address any agreed learning
and teaching professional development plans.
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3.6
A revised teaching practice review process has been introduced to help
contribute to learning and teaching continuing professional development
opportunities at NTU, and to help staff generate evidence of their professional
practice standards (NTU Teaching Observation Scheme 2014).
3.7
More experienced staff are encouraged to consider applying for Senior and
Principal Fellow recognition as appropriate to the scope of their role and
contribution to HE teaching and learning.
3.8
All staff who have any level of professional recognition for their professional
teaching and learning practice will be expected to continue to engage in a
number of emergent opportunities at NTU to keep their practice up to date.
This will be planned, supported and monitored via PDCR. PDCR
documentation will be adapted to enable this to be undertaken on a more
transparent and effective basis.
Section 4: Mandatory Requirements
New academic appointees
4.1
Newly appointed part-time and full-time lecturers (L/SL/PL) who hold no level
of HEA professional recognition nor a qualification to teach in HE are required
as a contractual condition of appointment to:
a) Complete module 1 of the Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice
(PGCAP) within one year of their start date at NTU and to
b) Achieve HEA Fellowship via the NTU accredited scheme within 3 years
of their start date at NTU.
4.2
Newly appointed part-time and full-time lecturers (L/SL/PL) who already hold
HEA Associate Fellowship and/or a qualification to teach in HE that does not
also confer HEA Fellowship, are required as a contractual condition of
appointment to achieve full HEA Fellowship via the NTU-accredited scheme
within 3 years of their start date at NTU.
4.3
Hours from the Staff Development Allowance (SDA) should be allocated as
appropriate to enable staff to complete appropriate learning and teaching
professional development (including any required induction and orientation
activities, and professional recognition and/or qualifications). For those gaining
HEA Fellowship through completion of the PGCAP it is recommended that SDA
is allocated as follows: 70 hours for module 1 and 65 hours each for modules 2
and 3. There is also the expectation that new lecturers have a teaching load of
no more than 400 hours of STD in their first full year of appointment.
4.4
A mentor should be provided to new academic appointees to facilitate their
professional practice development whilst they work towards professional
recognition. The individual’s line manager will be responsible for monitoring
their progress and agreeing the proportion of time to be allocated to these
activities.
4.5
New staff appointed to a substantive teaching and/or learning support role and
new to teaching and supporting learning in HE will be expected to complete
appropriate professional development to orientate them to academic practice
at NTU as part of their induction and probation.
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Current academic staff
4.6
Current permanent part-time and full-time lecturers (L/SL/PL), who were in
post at 31 August 2012 are required to gain HEA Fellow recognition by 31 July
2016.
4.7
Current permanent part-time and full-time lecturers (L/SL/PL), who were in
post on or after 1 September 2012, continue to be required to gain HEA Fellow
recognition within 3 years of their date of appointment to NTU.
Hourly Paid Lecturers
4.8
Current Hourly Paid Lecturers (HPLs) with substantial contracted teaching
hours are required to gain HEA Associate Fellow recognition over the two
academic years to 31 July 2017. HPLs with substantial teaching hours who
start at NTU after the 1 September 2015 are required gain HEA Associate
Fellow recognition within a timescale appropriate to their HE teaching
experience, and normally within 2 years of starting at NTU.
4.9
All hourly paid lecturers new to teaching in HE (irrespective of the hours they
are contracted to teach) are required to complete appropriate professional
development to orientate them to teaching and learning at NTU, and in HE
generally.
Postgraduate Research Students
4.10
All NTU postgraduate research students applying for hourly paid teaching posts
at NTU, are required to complete an appropriate professional development
programme and demonstrate they hold the ‘NTU Readiness to Teach’
certificate before being appointed as HPLs. The ‘NTU Readiness to Teach’
certificate can also be gained via APEL.
Section 5: Responsibilities
5.1 All Line Managers are responsible for ensuring that:





Any required learning and teaching qualifications and/or professional recognition
(as indicated in the NTU TDF) are accurately specified in the person specification
for any vacant post which requires the post holder to teach and/or support learning.
The learning and teaching professional development needs of any staff in their team
who teach and/or support learning are reviewed, identified, and addressed during
the probation period (for staff new to NTU) and through the annual PDCR process
(for all staff post-probation).
Those colleagues, to whom they delegate the task of conducting PDCRs review,
identify and address any relevant learning and teaching professional development
needs as part of the PDCR process, and in the academic workload framework plan
for each member of staff.
Information on learning and teaching professional development needs is collated
and acted upon as required.
Instigating performance management measures in cases where the requirements
of this policy are not being met for reasons which cannot be accounted for
reasonably (e.g. sickness absence, maternity leave).
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5.2 In addition to 5.1, Academic Team Leaders are specifically responsible for
ensuring that:


5.3
They have worked with course leaders and other managers as appropriate to make
sufficient provision within academic workload planning to enable staff learning and
teaching professional development needs to be addressed appropriately.
Course Leaders have made appropriate provision for identifying and meeting the
learning and teaching professional development needs of hourly-paid lecturers
contracted to individual course teams.
Course Leaders are responsible for ensuring that:


5.4
They review, identify and agree any learning and teaching professional
development needs of any hourly-paid staff they contract (including
postgraduate students who teach, academic student mentors, and
demonstrators)
Participating as required in any information gathering and collation and transfer
of information relating to the Learning and Teaching CPD needs identified and
addressed.
Individual Members of staff are responsible for developing their skills and
knowledge to enable them to work to the best of their ability. Staff are expected
to:




5.5
participate in the Performance Development and Contribution Review
(PDCR) process;
identify ongoing professional development needs and seek opportunities to
address these in their work and through other appropriate means;
take responsibility for their career planning and associated development;
support colleagues in their development.
Human Resources Teams are responsible for:

Ensuring that appropriate processes are in place to facilitate learning and
teaching professional development needs to be identified, reviewed and
addressed through the HR processes of recruitment and selection, induction,
probation, reward and recognition, and performance review and management
(PDCR).
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Section 6: Document Governance
6.1
Responsibility
Policy Owner
6.2
Version Control and Change History
Version
Number
1.0
2.0
6.3
Head of Learning and Development
Approval
Date
February
2012
April 2015
Approved by
Amendment
Senior Management Team
Academic Board
Amendments to
expectations of
achievement, particularly
focused on HPLs, and
introduction of contractual
conditions of appointment
for all permanent
lecturing-grade staff to
achieve appropriate level
of recognition.
Extension of July 2015
deadline for achievement
of HEA Fellowship to July
2016.
Document Review
The policy and its associated procedure will be reviewed by the Head of Learning
and Development in association with University Executive Team and managers in
response to statutory changes, changes in University procedures or structures or
as a result of the monitoring of the application of the policy and procedure. In any
event, the policy and procedure will be reviewed periodically.
Filename:
Document
Owner:
Version:
NTU Learning and Teaching Professional Development Policy
July 2015 (FINAL)
Centre for Professional Learning and Development
3
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