How to gain HEA accreditation
How I did it: I had tried three times previously to gain my accreditation. Twice I was involved in a series of face-to-face workshops where I was paired up with a writing buddy and the task was to write various bits between workshops that would form the evidence required for the application. The third time was a similar exercise but held online. In all cases, I was always busy with many other things and this always had the lowest priority. I was never successful.
An Open University associate lecturer friend mentioned that they had signed up for H812, the Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice. This was a two-year, master's level course that, upon completion, could be used to gain accreditation. As an employee of the university, we could take it for free. Not knowing I would be soon starting a Ph.D., I signed up for it too.
2 years sounds like a daunting amount of time. The reason it takes two years is because it is structured to give people time to learn about pedagogical principles in one year and then be able to put them into practice and reflect on the outcome. This is valuable for those who don't already have years of teaching experience already. Stretching it out over two years also meant that I was able to fit it into the various other nooks and crannies of my life, although it was difficult going at times. The forced deadlines for assignments meant that I did the work in a timely fashion.
I submitted my final project in June of 2010. Marks were released in September of 2010. All I had to do after that was fill in the relevant HEA application form and provide evidence of successful completion of my course. My acceptance as an HEA fellow followed in November, 2010.
This was my first successful academic achievement since finishing my undergraduate degree in 1995, so I was quite pleased that I had managed to stay the course (so to speak!) and successfully complete. More and more universities are requiring their teaching staff to either be accredited or to undertake accreditation, so it's a handy thing for me to have, given the amount of teaching I do at the HE level.
Lessons & tips: If you take a formal course at a university, that comes with some implications:
- You'll have to write and read a lot more than probably just filling in the HEA paperwork and providing the portfolio of evidence would otherwise require.
- You'll have to write essays and read academic articles.
- Learn how to review, reflect, and iterate on your own practices.
- Take advantage of the fact that other people are working on the course with you and share your ideas and thoughts.
In addition to the HEA accreditation, I gained 60 points towards the 180 required for a master's level degree in education and I learned a ton of useful things.
Resources:
- H812: The Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice (The Open University, UK)
