Teaching courses prove a struggle

HEA study finds that workloads are too heavy for junior staff. Jessica Shepherd reports

Many junior academics struggle to complete the extensive workloads demanded by courses that aim to improve their teaching skills, a report says.

The Higher Education Academy has evaluated its accredited programmes - of which there are more than 100 - for the first time since they started 15 years ago.

Its findings show that two thirds of those who attended courses were satisfied they had improved their teaching and learnt how to improve the support they gave to students. But nearly a quarter of 400 recent participants said the time and effort needed to complete the programme was excessive. Almost two fifths believed the programmes were too generic.

The programmes are run by universities but accredited by the HEA. They cover topics such as course design, teaching and assessment methods.

Most of the academics said the courses had made them more student-focused.

Those from post-92 universities were more satisfied than those from old institutions.

Mike Prosser, director of research and evaluation at the HEA, was one of the authors of the report Formative Evaluation of Accredited Programmes . He said: "I am surprised that so many participants expressed satisfaction. This is a positive endorsement of the programmes.

"The report shows that some heads of departments are not well informed about the role and focus of the programmes and are not always aware of the benefits. We have to help them see what these programmes are about."

The academics, from 32 universities, gave their views through an online questionnaire and in focus groups with pro vice-chancellors and heads of departments. Those from health sciences disciplines appeared to be more satisfied than those in technology, social sciences and humanities.

David Carey (pictured on front page), a lecturer in nanotechnology at Surrey University, has just completed the HEA-accredited Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice.

He said the workload - about 176 hours over two years for his course - could be too much. "New academics have to organise conferences, do research and administration. On top of this is the coursework for these programmes."

Dr Carey said: "I think, in some cases, academics on the programmes need to be broken up into their disciplines. It would be good to hear how to get a group discussion going on a maths course, for example.

However, I had a 'peer partner' on the programme who was from politics and that was very useful."

jessica.shepherd@thes.co.uk