To date, all Advance HE accredited programmes have been delivered in English. If successful, this initiative offers the opportunity for many more staff at the University to be recognised for their commitment to teaching and learning through Fellowship. And in due course, it has positive implications for Advance HE member organisations in the Gulf and Middle East region with well-established accredited provision to follow suit.
The University of Bahrain was the first university in the region to have programmes accredited by Advance HE. The two organisations have worked on a number of initiatives, including the Academic Leadership Programme, establishing a strong collaborative partnership.
The new pilot programme will run in 2020, overseen by staff from the University and Advance HE, and, critically, it will involve third party moderation to ensure best practice and quality assurance.
Dr Sana Al Mansoori, Director, Unit for Teaching Excellence and Leadership, University of Bahrain, said, “We are absolutely delighted to be running this pilot, a first in the region. We are extremely proud of our teaching provision at the University, and an Advance HE accredited programme in Arabic means many more staff who deliver and support teaching and learning will have the opportunity to have their work recognised against the Professional Standards Framework and earn Fellowship.
“Fellowship is highly respected around the world as authoritative recognition of professionalism and commitment in teaching and learning; so the quality assurance of the new pilot programme is vital to its ongoing success.”
Kathryn Harrison-Graves, Advance HE Director for Membership and Accreditation said, “This is a really exciting and important pilot in extending the reach of the Professional Standards Framework, helping to enhance teaching and learning for many more staff at the University of Bahrain. And that’s great news for the student academic experience.
“Clearly, other member organisations in the region will be watching with interest and it’s my vision that this initiative will gather momentum once we have clear and unequivocal processes and procedures to ensure that the model is robust and the integrity of accreditation and Fellowship in maintained.”
The University of Bahrain has been running Advance HE programmes very successfully for the last three years. The University has 220 Fellows.
Find out more about routes to Fellowship