full report - Higher Education Academy

Future plans
In the current academic year, 2012-13, students in England are facing significant increases in their
fees, with students in Wales and Northern Ireland also seeing changes.
These changes have brought even more attention to the quality
of teaching that students right across the UK are experiencing,
and the HEA will continue to put students at the centre of the
debate around the learning experience. This student-centred
approach is a key focus of the HEA’s new Students as Partners
(SAP) programme. A major part of the SAP agenda is a change
programme, built on the HEA’s belief that students can and
should play a key role in shaping institutional change. The HEA
will also strengthen its collaborations with other sector
agencies, provide thought leadership and support sector-wide
debate on the benefits and purposes of working in partnership
with students.
During the current academic year the HEA aims to significantly
expand its accreditation of continuing professional development
frameworks with HE providers.
The organisation will continue to support those new to teaching
but increase its reach to work with new constituencies
including mid-career professionals, those new to pedagogic
research, established pedagogic researchers, Deans, and those
delivering HE in further education colleges.
The HEA will continue to build its evidence base for learning
and teaching through a strategic programme of research work.
This research will address the impact of higher education
reforms on learning and teaching across the four nations of the
UK. Examples include the impact of higher student fees, the
increase in student indebtedness, private HE providers, the
Higher Education Achievement Report and the Key
Information Sets. Research will also be undertaken into what
students gain from their experience of higher education in
relation to enhanced powers of analytical thinking and
communication skills.
The HEA will also gather and synthesise evidence about
effective learning and teaching, using data provided by its
postgraduate surveys and will work with the NUS to support
higher education providers inform enhancements to their
postgraduate and undergraduate provision.
During 2011-12 the HEA began its business development
programme. The HEA will continue to develop its international
strategy both to support UK institutions to deliver services
overseas, and to work directly with overseas universities,
governments and higher education agencies to support the
enhancement of their students’ learning experience.
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