The UTS Educational Fellowship Program has recently become accredited with AdvanceHE to offer UTS staff with a supported pathway towards international recognition of professional, effective and inclusive teaching aligned to the internationally benchmarked Professional Standards Framework (PSF2023).
This program is available to all UTS academic and professional staff involved in the teaching and support of high-quality learning. Find out more here about how to join this rewarding journey, where you can be recognised for your effective and inclusive teaching and educational leadership in higher education, enhance your career, and contribute as a member of the UTS Fellowship Community.
An inclusive approach to acknowledging practice
Partnering with Advance HE has provided UTS with an exceptional opportunity to integrate key learning and teaching components into a connected and holistic frame, bringing positive outcomes for the institution as well as staff and students. This includes aligning new professional learning pathways with recognition processes such as awards and promotions, and the Professional Standards Framework.
Professor Jan McLean, Director of Teaching, Learning and Curriculum
The UTS Educational Fellowship Program goes beyond traditional promotion and awards processes to offer a more inclusive approach to professional recognition. It enables a much broader range of staff at UTS, particularly those working in the third space, to be acknowledged for their contributions to the quality of the student learning experience. The Program supports three categories of Fellowship, each tailored to an applicant’s experience and role:
- Associate Fellow (AFHEA): Suitable for early-career educators or casual academics with a limited teaching portfolio.
- Fellow (FHEA): Suitable for those with substantive teaching or learning support responsibilities.
- Senior Fellow (SFHEA): Suitable for those who lead and influence the teaching and learning practices of others.
These categories are mapped to the PSF2023 descriptors and dimensions, ensuring a structured and reflective assessment of your practices. Support for all applicants includes Workshops, Mentoring Circles, Writing Sessions, resources on the LMS, and personalised feedback.
Recognising individuals and our professional learning community
By connecting this initiative with the UTS 2030 strategy, we ensure efforts by staff to achieve outcomes aligned with future directions – such as redesigning programs and adapting subjects in response to generative AI – are fully supported and recognised. Additionally, this partnership is facilitating and deepening collaborations and communities within UTS and among other universities, promoting the exchange of teaching practices, ideas, innovations and mutual learning.
Professor Jan McLean, Director of Teaching, Learning and Curriculum
Fellowship offers numerous benefits for teaching and learning staff, including:
- Recognition: Validates your professional practice in teaching and learning;
- Career Advancement: Provides evidence for promotions and academic evaluations;
- Professional Development: Encourages reflective practice to enhance your capabilities;
- Global Community: Connects you with a network of educators dedicated to excellence in higher education.
Some of our UTS Fellows have already shared their process and experiences applying for Fellowship, including Amanda Lizier (Senior Fellow), Helena Robinson (Fellow), Yvonne Davila (Senior Fellow) and Keith Heggart (Senior Fellow), and we will continue to share learning from our growing Fellowship community, including our mentors and reviewers.
Our engagement with a broader community of universities through the Australasian Program Leaders Network (APLN) and AdvanceHE events is also creating new opportunities for UTS staff. We are looking forward to growing the UTS Fellowship Community, convening events and engaging in further community building across the sector, networking with those who care about teaching and student learning. By joining, you will become part of a community of 200,000 Fellows worldwide and you will be invited to contribute locally to a growing community of reflective, effective and inclusive practitioners at UTS.
Interested in applying? What to do next
The UTS Educational Fellowship Program is carefully designed to ensure you understand the requirements for success and we strongly encourage you to access all the support available if you choose to register. Our Educational Fellowship Program Sharepoint site has updated information, applicant handbooks, and key dates for applications, but you can also prepare with the following:
- Attend an Information Session on Monday 19 May or Wednesday 4 June (don’t skip this step – attendance is important!)
- Download and skim through the Program Handbook (pp.10-17)
- Explore which category of Fellowship you might qualify for using the AdvanceHE Fellowship Category Tool
- Review key dates for the Spring Intake
- Download and consider the relevant Readiness Grid for Associate Fellow (AFHEA), Fellow (FHEA) or Senior Fellow (SFHEA).
If you have questions about Fellowship, you can contact us via uts-efp@uts.edu.au. We look forward to seeing you at a workshop soon, and welcoming you to the UTS Educational Fellowship community.