The Pathway to HEA Fellowship for probationary lecturers (previously The Bath Course) is a work-based curriculum of core and choice activities aimed at developing your understanding of academic practice within your individual, departmental and disciplinary context. Successful completion will lead to HEA Fellowship.
Who should follow this programme?
Under the University's minimum requirements for new teaching staff, lecturers on probation (permanent and fixed term contracts), are required to complete Probationary Pathway to HEA Fellowship programme as part of their probation requirements.
In certain circumstances, probationers can make a claim to APEL from engaging with the mandatory PHEAF Scheme, based on prior experience and submission of relevant documentation. The probationer would typically have fellowship of the HEA or make an APEL claim against accepted and documented prior experience. To apply for APEL, the probationer must submit an AP(E)L form with any associated evidence to acdev@bath.ac.uk, for consideration.
If you can provide documentary evidence of either the successful completion of probation of a similar nature at a comparable institution or of having gained equivalent experience, you may - at the University's discretion - be granted exemption from probation. All claims for exemption from probation should be discussed with your Head of Department/ Division, before completing the form. The form includes instructions on how it should be completed and who needs to sign off the various stages.
Benefits of following the probationary Pathway to HEA Fellowship
By following the Pathway to HEA Fellowship for probationary lecturers, you will have an opportunity to:
- develop the initial understanding, skills, knowledge and confidence to prepare you to become a competent and effective teacher and research manager
- question, evaluate and develop your practice using regular critical reflection in order to improve the quality of the student learning and/or your research achievements and supervision
- critique current scholarship in academic practice, develop critical analyses of teaching approaches and research management and develop your own practice in light of these analyses
- develop appropriate strategies to become effective and efficient members of the academic community
- meet your personal and professional development needs in a systematic, effective and efficient way
How will the programme be delivered?
In 2022-23, the majority of sessions in the probationary Pathway will be delivered in person, as we come back to campus, after covid:
- most sessions will be delivered in person
- options to attend some sessions using Teams or Zoom
All core sessions and most choice sessions of the programme will run twice a year (some 3 times). They will be published in advance to help you plan.
Next steps
See below which category of HEA Fellowship is applicable to you and the relevant core and choice sessions that you will need to complete.
For those new to the University and on probation, the Academic Staff Development (ASD) will normally make contact to invite you to attend, but you are quite welcome to contact us at any time.
We have developed some videos to talk you through the basics of the UKPSF and HEA Fellowship and recommend you watch them before attending the Induction to Pathways to HEA fellowship (PHEAF).
You may also find our frequently asked questions (FAQs) useful.
Pathway Requirements and Planners 2022-23