Advance HE’s core mission is to “improve higher education for staff, students and society” and that mission does not start and end in the classroom, nor with the vital work of academic colleagues.
Higher education sometimes feels as if it is an endless series of league tables and government metrics. Regardless of where providers are located, they face more scrutiny than in the past and must evidence how they make use of public monies and demonstrate impact.
When considering student outcomes, we have seen a focus on retention, progression, and graduate outcomes which rely on hard (and contested!) metrics but also more nuance around student wellbeing and health. As a result, there is a deeper focus on the role of teaching and learning staff and a measurement of their activities via pass rates and module feedback.
In my previous roles as an academic I was nominated or won teaching excellence awards for eight years in a row. This sounds impressive and what I believe my fellow young people refer to as a ‘flex’, but in reality, it was always a team effort. Every single year I was supported by, and worked with, a whole range of dedicated professionals who the students may not have come into contact with but who had a strong direct influence on their overall success. It takes a team.
