Testimonials from St Mary's staff
“I am a strong advocate of the HEA Fellowship Scheme, which is now well-established at St Mary's and provides the potential for professional recognition at a range of levels. I love encouraging deserving colleagues to submit their applications! In preparing my own applications for Senior Fellowship and National Teaching Fellowship, I welcomed the opportunity to reflect in depth on my practice, drawing on case studies and a wide range of supporting evidence, to inform future developments on my ever-changing journey of teaching and scholarship.”
Professor Anna Lise Gordon, PFHEA, NTFS (Director, Institute of Education)
“Completing the HEA Associate Fellowship was actually incredibly easy, and not half as time consuming as I had feared. Once I sat down and read the criteria, I realised just how much of my work related to the elements required, even though my role is not one considered particularly educational. As library staff here at St Mary’s, we regularly offer one-to-one support, teaching and guidance without realising it, and our work is vital to create an inclusive, welcoming and appropriate learning environment for our students. Writing my submission was very straightforward, and the background reading was interesting and informative. MyPortfolio (Mahara) was also very user-friendly, and by using it to complete my portfolio, I have learnt a useful skill to enable me to better support our users with this resource in the future too!”
Jennifer Marvin, AFHEA (Head of Library Experience, Library Services)
"Writing my Senior Fellowship application was a hugely rewarding experience. It was an opportunity for me to reflect on my own professional practice and academic journey and to think about my professional identity. The excellent support, guidance and encouragement from my colleagues at St Mary’s was really useful in writing it and a true demonstration of our University’s values."
Dr Iain Cross, SFHEA (Associate Dean for Learning and Teaching, Centre for Teaching Excellence and Student Success)
"Applying for the HEA Fellowship has been a very enjoyable and useful process that I would recommend to any colleague in a teaching role. Many aspects of it have improved my practice and understanding of teaching methods. I particularly liked the reflective approach that I engaged with to build the portfolio. This was a novel way for me to write about my work that provided a space to critically evaluate my teaching, and position it in a wider context. The process of having to articulate my methods was in itself also very useful as it provided clarity of what worked well for me in the classroom and why. The application also prompted many valuable discussions with colleagues that continue today.”
Dr Lori Minini, FHEA (Lecturer, Psychology)
“I found the process of obtaining my HEA Senior Fellowship both rewarding and reflective. I used this accreditation as an opportunity to stand back and review my career achievements to date; highlighting my strengths and development areas in a means of continuous professional development. I would recommend to my colleagues to complete the HEA Fellowship, which is very well supported by Laura and her team.”
Jenny Day, SFHEA (Senior Lecturer, Institute of Education)