This article focuses on training for teaching, not training in research. It should be read in conjunction with the article on ‘Continuing Professional Development for Academic Staff Working in Higher Education’, as there is much overlap between the organisations that are involved and the frameworks that apply.

There is no general requirement for those new to teaching in higher education to undergo a formal programme of training. Nor is there any national training programme. Higher education institutions (HEIs) have the autonomy to decide what training they provide and whether to make it mandatory for academic staff to hold specific qualifications. Most HEIs offer training programmes to support new academic staff, often creating their programmes with regard to the UK Professional Standards Framework (UKPSF). This Framework was developed and managed by the Higher Education Academy (HEA), an organisation established in 2003 to raise the status and quality of teaching in higher education. In 2018, the Academy merged with the Equality Challenge Unit and the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education to form Advance HE, a single sector agency for equality and diversity, learning and teaching, and leadership and governance in higher education*.

The Academy recommends that all probationary academic staff should complete a relevant accredited teaching qualification, such as a Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education (PGCertHE). The PGCertHE is a Level 7 qualification, typically taken part time over a year and designed to be combined with the individual’s responsibilities as a lecturer or teaching fellow, with study at the doctoral level (Level 8). Examples of other teaching qualifications which may be held by academic staff in higher education (HE) include postgraduate certificates in further or secondary education, or in lifelong learning.

*Following the recommendations of the 2017 Bell Review, the HEA, the Equality Challenge Unit and the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education merged in March 2018 to form Advance HE, a single sector agency for equality and diversity, learning and teaching, and leadership and governance in higher education. Advance HE has charitable status and will be funded by subscriptions from universities.

There are also awards accredited by the Staff and Educational Development Association (SEDA), the professional association for staff and educational developers in the UK, which operates a nationally-recognised, integrated Professional Development Framework (SEDA-PDF). The SEDA-PDF incorporates what was previously a separate Teacher Accreditation scheme.

Data on the qualifications and expertise of teaching staff, and details of any HEA Fellowships they hold, is collected for all parts of the UK by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). HEIs return data on academic teaching qualifications annually to HESA through the ‘HESA staff record’.

The Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework (TEF) assesses and rewards excellence in teaching at English HEIs, which may participate in it on a voluntary basis. The TEF is managed by the Office for Students (OfS), the regulator of higher education in England. Further information about the OfS and TEF can be found in the article on ‘Quality Assurance in Higher Education’.

Article last reviewed April 2021.