The Scholarship Project Newsletter
Aiming to support the development and embedding of a distinct scholarly ethos in the college higher education (HE) sector.
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Project Update
We are about to enter the final phase of the project where we are developing the college HE Scholarship Framework. The framework will consist of various tools and measures that colleges can adopt to enhance their scholarly activity and the student learning experience. All the colleges in the project are currently working on these draft measures and this newsletter provides an update on some of that activity.
Adoption of the framework will help colleges enhance their provision including: submissions to the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF), submissions to Annual Provider Review (APR) and proposals for foundation degree/degree awarding powers. We describe how the Scholarship Project relates to the TEF in the following section. |
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The Scholarship Framework and the TEF
In June 2017, HEFCE announced the first TEF outcomes. The results showed that 14 colleges received a Gold Award from the 106 that entered. Many colleges experienced problems with completing the institutional commentary and generating the evidence to meet criteria LE2: Scholarship, Research and Professional Practice – “The learning environment is enriched by student exposure to and involvement in provision at the forefront of scholarship, research and/or professional practice”.
So, how can colleges generate the necessary internal evidence to enhance their commentary and meet criteria LE2? One method would be to adopt the measures contained in the final scholarship framework which would demonstrate to the external TEF assessors the college’s commitment to scholarship. This could lead to a series of ‘naturally occurring’ outputs and outcomes that could be included in a submission, such as a clear scholarship policy, appropriate appraisal processes and measures to include students in scholarly activities.
If your college is interested in adopting the framework please contact the Scholarship Project team.
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A college scholarship policy?
The project is clear that for a college to start on a ‘scholarship development journey’ and develop a scholarly activity culture two measures need to be in place: (a) a college scholarship policy and (b) that scholarship is integrated into appraisal processes. The project’s Scholarship Development Managers have been working on this agenda to develop policies in their own and partner colleges. Below are examples of some of their work to-date, including examples of developed policies.
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Petroc
Petroc College had a scholarship policy and strategy in place prior to the Scholarship Project.
Working with the Senior Management Team (SMT), the policy was reshaped by framing and defining scholarship using the Boyer model, and by providing usable guidance for how scholarship would be undertaken in regards to the four main stakeholder groups: students, staff, employers and local community.
The performance appraisal process at Petroc does not currently feature direct reference to scholarship, however both the Scholarship Development Manager and the HE coordinator will be meeting with the HR director shortly to discuss how this would be achievable. It is anticipated that this process will follow the review, plan, do and review format as is done in other aspects of a performance appraisal.
Petroc SMT has an informed and friendly stance towards the concept of scholarship within HE, and this is the key to driving change and development of policies and curriculum in college HE. The Petroc's scholarship policy and strategy is available here.
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East Kent College/Canterbury College
East Kent and Canterbury College’s Scholarship Policy was developed throughout 2016-2017 in conjunction with representatives from partner colleges at North Kent College and College of North West London and guidance from Morley College. Early discussions concentrated on the policy objectives, its scope and how it might feed into related existing policies and procedures, particularly CPD and appraisals.
Once the general structure and its practical implementation had been agreed, discussions with SMT at Canterbury and East Kent Colleges took place to produce a strategy that would be pivotal to the ongoing encouragement, development and assessment of scholarly activity across all HE courses in the soon-to-be merged East Kent College Group. The strategy will then be adapted to the requirements of College of North West London and North Kent College.
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West Nottinghamshire College
Through discussions and presentations, SMT at West Nottinghamshire College and its project partner colleges have become more aware of the necessity to develop a scholarship profile.
In order to do this, a range of processes to guide staff, students and managers were created. These included a suite of handbooks, to highlight and inspire scholarly activities, HE staff development opportunities, financial/practical support for scholarship conferences and employer showcases, bespoke workshops and the creation of a matrix to capture and evidence scholarship in all documentation.
SMT agreed to the suggested changes to teaching and learning paperwork, appraisals and reporting processes. Draft documentation was prepared in consultation with staff, managers and partner colleges. Heads of HE then consulted with members of the SMT and agreed amendments. This is an ongoing process of change and development.
This shift in culture, to embrace a more scholarly approach to learning across the HE provision, is reflected in the growing awareness of scholarship as a key to quality. The West Nottinghamshire College scholarship policy can be read here.
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Keeping up with the Scholarship Project
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