As ever, our member institutions and colleagues employed at those institutions are at the heart of everything we do. In order to make our member benefits as available and accessible to you as possible, each month this summary will provide an overview of recent and upcoming member benefit activity, including the Connect Benefit Series and Fellowship and Accreditation, including the Athena Swan and Race Equality charters.
Advance HE member benefits are open to all colleagues at Advance HE member institutions. Our member benefits are built from services our members have continued to enjoy over many years plus new services developed based on your feedback, to ensure greater accessibility and engagement.
To find out more about the full range of member benefits for the 2021-22 membership year, please click below.
Collaborative Development Fund 2021-22: New challenges, new solutions
Our Collaborative Development Fund supports the development of our members by addressing key sector challenges together, aiming to harness the knowledge, experience and innovative capabilities in order to address current challenges within the HE sector. Colleagues at Advance HE member institutions are invited to apply for funding of between £2,500 and £50,000 (dependent on the project - further details are within the application packs), with projects starting in February 2022.
We have now launched our 2021-22 Collaborative Development Fund comprising five projects under the themes of:
- College Based Higher Education
- Student Success
- Inclusive institutional cultures
- Equality, diversity and inclusion
- Professional Standards Framework (PSF)
Nick Skeet, Associate Director of Membership and Accreditation discusses the opportunities and benefits these funded projects offer Advance HE members in this launch blog. Find out more and apply here.
Connect Benefit Series - Leading change through teams and networks
As part of the Connect Benefit Series, the Leading change through teams and networks project runs from November 2021 to January 2022 exploring the opportunities for, and challenges in developing change agency as a core skill for collaborative working within and between teams, groups and networks.
Member institution colleagues are invited to join an online panel discussion on 18 January 2022 that will support leaders in better understanding how they can use the power of teams and networks to create successful transformation. Find out more here.
Connect Benefit Series - Student success
Our Student success Connect Benefit Series project is a longitudinal project running from August to February. The project focuses on access, retention, attainment and progression and embedding employability in higher education, and has continued throughout November.
Colleagues at Advance HE member institutions are invited to a summit on access, retention, attainment and progression taking place 29 November 22:00 GMT. This online event is an opportunity to hear from higher education researchers and experts to discuss these key areas impacting Student Success. On this booking page you will find a table of different local times for this event as we try to accommodate as many colleagues across the globe as possible.
Additional outputs from this theme include two literature reviews, podcasts and webinar recordings which can be found here.
Connect Benefit Series - Transitions, retention and progression
Transitions, retention and progression ran from August through to the end of October and focused on the challenges and opportunities of different experiences and approaches to transitions, retention and progression in higher education, fostering a dialogue and support through a community of practice that is designed to better prepare students, staff and other stakeholders for transitions into and through the 2021-22 academic year.
All outputs from this project, including blogs, podcasts and a webinar recording can be accessed here.
NTFS and CATE Roadshows
In support of the 2022 nominations for the National Teaching Fellowship scheme (NTFS) and the Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence (CATE) now being open, Advance HE members are invited to a series of webinars that will offer insights and guidance through the NTFS and CATE application process.
Recent and upcoming publications
Practice guides to support Education for Sustainable Development
These short, practice-based guides, published by Advance HE and QAA, are designed to support institutions to enable Education for Sustainable Development and are informed by current practice and the student experience. The guides can be accessed here.
Developing flexible ecosystems for education that supports student success
As part of our 2020-21 Collaborative Development Fund, these comprehensive resources were developed by Queen Mary, University of London, on flexible ecosystems. The aim of the project was to explore how higher education institutions are engaging with new technologies and adapting their offerings to better support the social and economic mobility of their learners. Access the resources here.
The CATE Collection - together in collaborative educational leadership
To mark the fifth anniversary of the Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence (CATE), and in recognition of the growing number of CATE community members, this collection of papers captures the spirit of CATE and adds to the conversations around good practice and achieving impactful, meaningful and effective collaboration in higher education. The collection can be accessed here.
Upcoming: Assessment in Law publication
This publication comprises nine case study papers written by colleagues working at law schools, or in the field of law, within (UK-based) higher education institutions. The focus of the publication is assessment and feedback, and each paper considers a relevant issue or innovation, in law, connected to the institution concerned.