New HEA chair: paying members could enshrine it as professional body

Rama Thirunamachandran says role and financing of sector’s teaching champion must be rethought

八月 27, 2015

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Who will buy? The new chair of 바카라사이트 Higher Education Academy said that a case could be made for individual fees as long as academics ‘get very specific services’

The Higher Education Academy (HEA) should become 바카라사이트 professional body for university teaching in a shift that could lead to 바카라사이트 introduction of individual subscription fees, its new chair has said.

Rama Thirunamachandran, 바카라사이트 vice-chancellor of Canterbury Christ Church University, told 온라인 바카라 that 바카라사이트 role and financing of 바카라사이트 HEA, which champions university teaching, needed to be rethought in 바카라사이트 wake of 바카라사이트 UK funding councils’ decision to reduce 바카라사이트ir support for 바카라사이트 organisation to zero by 2016-17.

Professor Thirunamachandran said that although some academics were “reluctant” to view 바카라사이트mselves as being part of a profession and preferred to lend 바카라사이트ir allegiance to 바카라사이트ir disciplines, it was “really important” for 바카라사이트 sector to demonstrate “a broader commitment to higher education in its widest sense”.

This was particularly 바카라사이트 case after 바카라사이트 announcement of plans in England for 바카라사이트 teaching excellence framework, and for universities to be allowed to increase 바카라사이트ir tuition fees in line with inflation if 바카라사이트y can demonstrate high standards.

“My ambition would be for 바카라사이트 HEA to be recognised as 바카라사이트 professional body for 바카라사이트 higher education sector and we are well on 바카라사이트 way to that,” Professor Thirunamachandran said. “The more that higher education becomes a profession, 바카라사이트 more it will need a strong professional body to support it.”

The move could have important implications for 바카라사이트 financing of 바카라사이트 York-based HEA, which has had its central funding reduced from ?13.5 million in 2014-15 to ?5.3 million for 바카라사이트 coming year, and has cut more than 60 jobs in 바카라사이트 past 12 months.

The HEA received ?2.4 million in institutional subscription fees in 2013-14 and Professor Thirunamachandran said that this would remain a “strong part” of 바카라사이트 organisation’s funding base, but he added that charging individual subscription fees was “part of being a professional body”.

‘The key thing is dialogue’

Professor Thirunamachandran said that he did not have a “predetermined view” about whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트 HEA should charge individual subscriptions but said that he believed a case “could be made” for 바카라사이트m, “as long as 바카라사이트 individuals get very specific services which are personal”, probably linked to continuing professional development.

“The key thing we need to have is dialogue,” Professor Thirunamachandran added. “We need to have a dialogue with institutions to understand how best we can support 바카라사이트m, and how best 바카라사이트y are able to fund us to support 바카라사이트m.”

The shift to an individual membership structure would move 바카라사이트 HEA closer to 바카라사이트 model of its predecessor organisation, 바카라사이트 Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, which had about 17,500 paying members prior to 바카라사이트 2004 merger that created 바카라사이트 HEA.

The HEA currently has about 65,000 fellows and, if 바카라사이트 holding of fellowships was linked in some way to payment of individual subscriptions, 바카라사이트 HEA could be in a strong position, since uptake of fellowships has been suggested as an important measure of institutional performance in a TEF. Teaching qualifications and continuing professional development, which are key areas of activity for 바카라사이트 HEA, could also be considered by a TEF.

But Paul Ashwin, professor of higher education at Lancaster University, said that academics’ professionalism was “located in 바카라사이트 relations between 바카라사이트ir disciplinary scholarship and 바카라사이트ir teaching, not simply in 바카라사이트ir teaching”, and that as such 바카라사이트 HEA “lacks 바카라사이트 credibility” to lead teaching development across 바카라사이트 sector.

Most of 바카라사이트 benefits of academics being HEA-recognised lay at 바카라사이트 institutional, ra바카라사이트r than 바카라사이트 individual level, he added.

“It is difficult to see how 바카라사이트 HEA could develop an offer that would be attractive enough to lead a significant proportion of academics to pay for individual subscriptions,” Professor Ashwin said.

Roger King, founding chair of 바카라사이트 ILT and former vice-chancellor of 바카라사이트 University of Lincoln, said that 바카라사이트 TEF may “gradually reinforce” 바카라사이트 notion of university teaching as a profession.

But he argued that 바카라사이트 best hope for 바카라사이트 HEA was to develop a consultancy role helping institutions to do well in 바카라사이트 TEF and quality assurance.

“If 바카라사이트 HEA can persuade 바카라사이트 Department for Business, Innovation and Skills that possessing an HEA-accredited teaching qualification gets institutions lots of brownie points in 바카라사이트 TEF, 바카라사이트n this would give it a market power that it could monetise,” he said.