Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice

The Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice is a professional qualification for academic staff employed directly by the University of Stirling and INTO University of Stirling and who have substantive teaching posts.

This course is suitable for new members of academic staff as well as anyone who wants to enhance their practice in learning, teaching and assessment. It gives early-career teaching staff a supported opportunity to reflect on their practice in a cohort of peers. Applicants must have experience of teaching in Higher Education and need to be active practitioners while studying on the course.

The course provides a practical and theoretical grounding in learning and teaching in Higher Education. Successful completion of the first module gives you Associate Fellowship with Advance HE. Successful completion of the full course leads to Fellowship.

The Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice is underpinned by the professional values of the Professional Standards Framework (PSF) 2023:

  • respect,
  • equality,
  • good scholarship,
  • quality, and
  • collaboration.

You'll learn core knowledge and how to apply it in your own context. By the end of the course you'll be able to demonstrate skills in designing, teaching, assessing, and supporting learners. These skills will give you the insights and tools to enhance your teaching and support your ongoing professional development beyond the course.

By the end of the course you'll be able to:

  • Design and deliver effective and inclusive learning, teaching, support, assessment and feedback.
  • Demonstrate applied knowledge of appropriate approaches to teaching in personal context as appropriate to subjects and level of study.
  • Demonstrate the appropriate use of digital and/or other technologies, and resources for learning and assessment, informed by appropriate evidence.
  • Evidence how you respect and promote engagement from individual and diverse learners through planning/delivery/support of effective inclusive learning activities and/or assessment.
  • Demonstrate through thoughtful self-evaluation that you have engaged with scholarship, research, professional learning/CPD and other evidence-informed approaches as a basis for your effective practice.
  • Demonstrate in your context that you understand and implement appropriate quality assurance/enhancement practices for teaching.
  • Show in your implementation of effective teaching your awareness of the wider context in which Higher Education operates (e.g. employability, student diversity, government policy, etc.), recognising and articulating implications for your practice.
  • Articulate how you have effectively collaborated with others (internal and external stakeholders, including your students) to enhance practice.

The Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice is a 60 credit, SQF level 11 qualification. It's has three modules:

  1. FOFP100 Supporting and Facilitating Learning - Spring semester
  2. FOFP200 Designing and Planning for Learning - Summer semester
  3. FOFP300 Assessing and Feedback for Learning - Autumn semester

The learning and teaching approach is blended. It focuses on active learning, developing the skills of critical evaluation, linking theory and practice and exploring underpinning professional values. In particular, there is connection to the values, core knowledge and areas of activity encompassed by the Professional Standards Framework 2023 (PSF2023).

For all three modules, the content is split into six topics. You're strongly advised to attend six hybrid-taught, interactive sessions. These take place for three hours on a Wednesday afternoon. In these sessions you'll explore key topics in learning and teaching practice through a range of approaches including discussions, groupwork, activities, guest lectures.

Between these sessions you are guided through a selection of reading, videos and activities in Canvas.

The Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice is only open to substantive teaching staff employed at the University of Stirling and INTO University of Stirling. Students are expected to have had done at least one semester of substantive teaching in a Higher Education institution (in the UK or abroad) to have sufficient experience to reflect upon.

Professional services staff or (Graduate) Teaching Assistants should take the Focus On Fellowship Experiential Scheme to attain fellowship with Advance HE.

To express your interest in the programme, email Academic Development at academicdevelopment@stir.ac.uk or book a drop-in session with them to discuss your questions.

Eligible staff are invited to register each December before the programme begins in the Spring term.

Contact us

If you have any questions about the Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice please email Academic Development at academicdevelopment@stir.ac.uk.