ESCalate, the Higher Education Academy Subject Centre for Education, is holding a consultative event on the subject of HE in FE on 3 May 2006  at Matthew Boulton College, Birmingham.

The event is intended for a wide range of figures involved in the delivery of higher education within further education institutions and will take the form of a morning and afternoon session in which participants will have the opportunity to address two key areas:

• Practitioner Requirements for Delivery and Development of HE in FE will assist practitioners' and policy-makers' raise key issues and concerns and identify support needs for the future delivery and development of HE in FE. 

• The HE Academy Professional Standards Framework for Teaching: Implications for the Training of Teachers in FE will highlight the Professional Standards Framework for teachers in FE and staff development practitioners in education departments in HEIs. 

The aim of the event is to provide participants with the opportunity to:

• consider the Higher Education (HE) Academy Standards Framework for Teaching and Supporting Student Learning in Higher Education within the context of Further Education Colleges (FECs)
• identify implications for staff delivering HE in FECs
• debate whether and how the Framework contributes to the enhancement of student learning

Discussion will range across a number of areas, perceived to differentiate the role of a lecturer in an FEC from one in an HE Institution, including:

• variety of teaching levels which might be undertaken by staff
• required number of teaching hours
• engagement in, and expectations of, research;
• competence differential(s) between practitioners.
• identification of issues currently being faced by staff delivering HE in FE;
• recommendations for future support needs.
   

Expected Outcomes

Participants will have considered the implications of the Professional Standards Framework for their own practice and accreditation, in light of the multiple accreditation routes currently applicable to the FE context.  More broadly, future staff development needs, and related accreditation procedures, will have been explored.

Click here to download more information and an application form.