Breaking the Mould: an academic for all seasons

The recent focus on the student experience and the changing purpose of a university education being re-evaluated, it is apposite to consider the professional development opportunities given to those new lecturers whose teaching is expected to respond to a variety of agendas, not simply deliver the discipline content. In addition new staff members are often several years removed from their own undergraduate experience and this interval, although comparatively short, has seen a number of important changes. New lecturers are often left to rely on their own resources in terms of preparing their curriculum delivery and are inclined to emulate their own teaching and learning experiences as an undergraduate, which may no longer adequately address the changing university agenda. To address the initial and continuing professional development needs of this changing academic profile, the University of Ulster has reconfigured the content and delivery of its Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education Practice (PgCHEP). This paper seeks to outline the rationale for change, taking into consideration both national and local drivers, and to discuss the underlying pedagogies that inform the content and mode of the new programme. It will also examine the changing role of the PgCHEP, and its integration within the wider community of practice, rather than as a stand-alone qualification. This paper will also explore how the reconfiguration process has changed the ways in which the Programme Team operate, and how this is influencing wider SoTL initiatives throughout the institution.