On successful completion of an accredited programme or scheme, participating individuals are eligible to apply for professional recognition at the appropriate Academy fellowship category (See our Professional Recognition page for more details).
For a list of currently accredited provision please read the pdf, here
Accreditation Services (with effect from September 2012)
- Summary of accreditation
- Why has the HEA made changes to the accreditation process?
- Background and Context
- What are the implications for institutions?
- How do I make a submission?
- When can I make a submission?
- Information and Guidance Events
- Frequently Asked Questions
Summary of education accreditation
Accreditation has been streamlined, to provide a more robust, fair and transparent system by :- Having one accreditation process - the documentary submission accreditation panel;
- Introducing a limit of one accreditation request in any three year accreditation cycle (which may contain separate elements of provision);
- Introducing the requirement for all submissions to have institutional sign-off
Why has the HEA made changes to the education accreditation process?
There are several reasons for recent changes, and these are outlined below:- To make the accreditation process, and particularly the decision making, more transparent by separating developmental work from the summative judgement process;
- To streamline the accreditation process, so that accreditation requests can be dealt with more quickly than at present;
- To remove the requirement for all institutional teams to attend a developmental meeting;
- To provide focussed information and guidance for institutions in response to demand;
- To encourage institutions to develop integrated approaches to their CPD provision that align with the descriptors of UKPSF and that address all staff, regardless of their status and experience.
During the last academic year the HEA operated two routes to accreditation: the Accreditation Development meeting (ADM) route for those institutions seeking support and the Documentary Submission (DS) route for more established provision.
In the ADM route accreditors worked with institutional teams to provide guidance and feedback on draft documentation in order to help them prepare their formal submission for accreditation. Final accreditation decisions were taken by the accreditors involved in this formative process.
In the DS route, a panel of accreditors met to review formal and final submission documents from institutions and made final accreditation decisions against set criteria.
The DS accreditation panel is now the sole route to accreditation (WEF September 2012).
The HEA will hold monthly Accreditation Panels with a faster decision-making cycle (typically six-eight weeks from submission to decision). Institutional submission requirements are detailed in the guidance notes (see link on right side of this page).
In parallel with these panels, the HEA now runs free information and guidance events that explore the use of the UKPSF as a CPD framework, explain the requirements for successful accreditation, and help institutions prepare for the formal accreditation submission.
What are the implications for institutions?
Accreditation as a subscription benefit is limited to a single accreditation submission in any three year period. There is, within reason, no limit to the number of separate routes to recognition that a submission may contain but it must be made clear how each individual piece of provision fits within the wider institutional accreditation strategy and/or CPD framework. All accreditation requests will need institutional endorsement.
In this context it is important for an institution to consider the totality of its learning and teaching support provision and the current accreditation periods of individual elements. The Academy, through liaison between the Partnership Manager and the accreditation team, will work with institutional staff to help them integrate and align existing accredited elements into a coherent accreditation submission.
How do I make a submission?
Detailed guidance notes and accreditation documents are now available. Please read the Guidance Notes for full details of putting together your submission. The institutional submission should be accompanied by a Cover Sheet and a Self-Assessment Checklist. Links to the documentation can be found under 'Accreditation resources' on the right hand side of the page.
When can I make a submission?
Submissions may be made at any time. The Accreditation team will allocate submissions to a panel on a first-come, first-served basis. In order to allow the accreditation panel sufficient time to fully consider submissions, there will be a cut-off allocation date each month, after which the submission will be allocated in the following month. The allocation dates for the 2013-2014 academic year are:
- 26th July 2013
- 30th August 2013
- 27th September 2013
- 25th October 2013
- 15th November 2013
- 27th December 2013
- 31st January 2014
- 28th February 2014
- 28th March 2014
- 25th April 2014
- 30th May 2014
- 27th June 2014
The Academy will be running Information and Guidance Events (IGEs) on the Accreditation process at venues around the UK at various times throughout the year:
- 29 July 2013 - University of Northumbria
- 19 September 2103 - Solihull College
- 15 October - University of Glasgow
- 28 November 2013 - Higher Education Academy, York
- 28 January 2014 - University of Ulster
- 25 February 2014 - University of East London
- 20 March 2014 - Cardiff University
- 29 May 2014 - Durham University
- 29 July 2014 - University of Gloucestershire