St Mary’s Staff Awarded PGCert and HEA Fellowship

Staff at St Mary’s University, Twickenham were recognised for achieving their Post Graduate Certificate (PGCert) Academic Practice and Higher Education Authority (HEA) Fellowship at an event this week, which also celebrated Senior History Lecturer Dr Mark Donnelly’s contribution to the programme. The PGCert Academic Practice programme is aimed primarily at academic staff who are new to teaching in Higher Education, but it is also open to support staff. The credits gained through the PGCert can also be carried across to the Masters in Academic Practice. Whilst most universities offer a PGCert programme to academic staff, St Mary’s is one of the few that extends this to support staff and links the course to the Masters. The qualification, which has been completed by over 60 members of staff since 2003, is a one-year programme and is comprised of two modules. The first module focuses on learning, teaching, and assessment, whilst the second focuses on curriculum design and evaluation. The PGCert is accredited by the HEA and upon successful completion of the PGCert, candidates are eligible to become Fellows of the HEA. The celebration also provided the University the opportunity to recognise the contributions of Dr Mark Donnelly to the programme. Mark led the programme from 2003-2012 and has stepped away from teaching on it this year. Francis Campbell, Vice-Chancellor, was on hand to pay tribute to Mark’s contribution to the course. Dr Maria James, St Mary’s Programme Director for PGCert and Masters in Academic Practice said, “Since becoming Programme Director, I have been more than ably led, advised and supported by Mark and others. Mark is academically generous and has provided help freely and expertly and I thank him. For those with exacting workloads, it is a significant achievement to complete the PGCert, but participating colleagues assure me they have grown through dialogue with others from across the university and that potential for collaborative research initiatives has been realised.” “I would also like to thank Stephen Scott and Jane Chambers who have worked hard to ensure that the PGCert continues to be recognised by the HEA. I look forward to welcoming many more colleagues on to the Programme and to learning with and from them as we continue to link theory with practice. It is a brave and humbling move to once again reconceptualise oneself as student and I applaud those who have completed the course and look forward to working with those who are completing their Masters. I count it a privilege.”