Academic Professional Apprenticeship (APA)

    Academic Professional Apprenticeship (APA)

    Duration2 year(s)
    Next IntakeJanuary 1, 2024

    Academic Professional Apprenticeship (APA)

    About

    It is suitable for all new academic employees with less than three years' experience in higher education, and provides the pathway for employees to reach their full professional competence.

    Apprentices come from a range of institutions, and this offers them the opportunity for rich collaborative work and discussion. It is an 18 month course at level 7 and both the apprenticeship standard and and End Point Assessment Plan are aligned to the current editions of the Higher Education Academy UK Professional Standards Framework (UKPSF).

    Course delivery is varied, and includes professional development activities, peer observations and workshops. It is a work-based course and can be accessed nationally using a hybrid delivery model.

    The academic professional apprenticeship provides an easily accessible and high quality route to meet the professional development needs of practitioners who are new to teaching and supporting learning roles in higher education.

    Modules have been developed to ensure that they support the apprentice's professional role and identity in terms of their teaching and supporting learning activities.

    Core modules

    Being an Academic Professional

    Apprentices build on their primary role of developing and sharing knowledge with students, peers and external stakeholders to support advancement of their discipline and the resolution of major challenges.

    Apprentices explore how the role of academic professionals, with a specialist role in teaching, support a range of people including students, funders, stakeholders and government to gain insight into their specialist discipline area, teaching and the support of student learning at undergraduate, postgraduate taught and research levels. They also explore how to develop leading roles in the development of current learning and teaching practice, pedagogical and assessment methodologies, advanced skill in supporting learning for diverse groups of learners, including those with learning disabilities, delivery of a high level of information literacy and the application of technologies in support of learning, promotion of independent learning skills and other teaching techniques.

    They contribute to changes of practice by developing innovative forms of teaching and engage in continuing professional development in both their discipline and pedagogy and make use of appropriate technologies to support the acquisition of knowledge to acquire full competency as an academic professional.

    Developing Academic Practice

    This module enables a range of higher education professionals who have a role in supporting learning and teaching to advance their knowledge in their own area of practice in order to contribute to a high-quality student learning experience.

    It develops apprentices' knowledge, understanding and critical awareness of current drivers, for example TEF, NSS and UKPSF, university strategies and issues in higher education.

    The learning and teaching strategy supports apprentices to focus on an educational issue of relevance to you, negotiated with the tutor, and apply learning from contemporary academic theory, pedagogic research and/or scholarship to develop a project to enhance higher education practice. Apprentices are expected to seek out and take advantage of additional opportunities to address their identified professional development needs.

    Facilitating Learning in Higher Education

    Apprentices develop knowledge and understanding of, and skills in, their role as a teacher in higher education. The module prompts them to engage with institutional and external drivers, in particular university academic strategy and the United Kingdom Professional Standards Framework for Teaching and Supporting Learning in Higher Education, as well as the Teaching Excellence Framework, and to reflect upon their impact on learning and teaching in higher education.

    The module employs the concept of the 'informed, reflective and competent practitioner' as a framework to enable apprentices to interpret and apply knowledge and understanding to their own practice as educators. Stemming from this, apprentices undertake a critical and analytical appraisal of the academic role across a selection of core learning-and-teaching activities.

    An important part of the module is promoting continuing reflection on teaching practice, for which a teaching-observation component is one of the main triggers.

     

    Modules offered may vary.

     

    While studying the academic professional route apprentices are entitled to an allocation of at least 20% of their normal work-time for academic study, which is agreed with you, their employer. Apprentices study this course on a part-time basis, however the programme includes elements delivered using distance learning, blended learning and there are initial blocks of teaching for each module. All modules include work-based elements and application of theory to practice.

    The course is managed and taught by principal and senior lecturers who all hold either fellowship or senior fellowship of the Higher Education Academy.

    Apprentices are provided with course and module guides containing comprehensive information about their assessments. They complete a portfolio for each module. However these will differ in content in order to reflect the different purpose of each module. Apprentices then use some of the content from these portfolios to develop three further assessment tasks to satisfy the end-point assessment of the academic professional route they are studying.
    Find out more

    Their progression through the course is discussed at regular meetings with the course team and workplace mentors
    Formative assessment, includes, but is not limited to, online discussions, individual feedback about any draft pieces of evidence, synchronous and asynchronous discussions, as well as observers' comments on observed teaching sessions.

    End Point Assessment
    > Academic professional practice, as a classroom observation
    > Professional conversation
    Written submission comprising a 3,000 word reflective journal and an annex containing a maximum of ten pieces of supporting evidence (4,500 words).

    Disciplines

    Education & Youth

    Requirements

    Entry Requirements

    A bachelor degree with a minimum of 65%, 2.5/4.0 or good

    English Requirements

    • PTEMin 62
    • IELTSMin 6.5

    Career

    Apprentices on the course can progress to the MA Education.

    Fee Information

    How to Apply

    Applying Online - Information Required to Complete Your Application

    Personal Details

    - Full Name, including title
    - Sex
    - Date of Birth
    - E-mail Address
    - Telephone Number
    - Home and Correspondence addresses, including postcode
    - Alternative email Addresses
    - Country of Permanent Residence or Local Authority
    - Country of Birth
    - Nationality
    - Ethnicity - this data will not be accessible to those making the application decision
    - Type of applicant - choose from UK/EU or Overseas
    - Who is entering the application - choose from Applicant, University Staff/Overseas Office or Other Third Party
    - Disability
    - Whether your parents/guardians have Higher Education qualifications
    - Details of any previous study or application to this University

    Payment of Fees

    - Who is paying your fees
    - Name and address of your Fee Payer
    - Details of any previous funding body and previous course

    Overseas Applicants Only

    - Date of entry to UK/EU
    - Passport Number (if you need a visa)
    - Previous UK study, including details of any previous visas, overstays in the UK and visa refusals

    University Staff and Office/Agent Applications Only

    - School/Office Code
    - Agent Code
    - Agent Name
    - Agent Company
    - Reference Number

    Qualifications

    Qualifications Held (maximum of 6)
    (For certain courses e.g. Summer University courses & other short courses, this information is not requested)

    - Year and month awarded
    - Qualification type, level and subject
    - Grade
    - Awarding Establishment e.g. College/University Name

    Qualifications Pending (maximum of 6)
    (For certain courses e.g. Summer University courses & other short courses, this information is not requested)

    - Year and month of exam
    - Qualification type, level and subject
    - Date grade expected
    - Awarding Establishment e.g. College/University Name

    Highest qualification

    Portfolio Details

    Foreign Language Courses Only

    - Qualifications and experience in chosen language
    - where more than one occurence of a courses runs in paralell, indicate which group you wish to join

    Professional Qualifications

    - Professional/Statutory Body and Registration PIN
    - Other course specific professional details as required

    School of Health & Social Care courses only

    - NHS PIN
    - NHS Trust / Practice details
    - National Insurance Number
    - Assignment/Employee Number
    - Line manager name and email address
    - Full or part time
    - Pay band
    - Profession, Staff Group and Job Role
    - Other course specific details as required

    Social Work Practice Education courses only

    - Social Work Registration Number

    Erasmus Applications

    Details of the Exchange Co-ordinator at Your Home Institution
    - Name
    - Position
    - Email Address

    Higher and Degree Apprenticeships

    - Unique Learner Number
    - National Insurance Number
    - *Employer Code
    - *Employer Postcode (This is your normal place of work which may be different from the company's main postcode)
    - *Number of employees at this postcode
    - Highest level qualifications in English language and mathematics

    *Your employer should be able to supply this information

    Last Two Education Establishments Attended
    (For certain courses e.g. Summer University courses & other short courses, this information is not requested)

    - Name and address
    - Dates from and to
    - Full or Part time
    - Level of study

    English Language Ability
    (For certain courses e.g. Summer University courses & other short courses, this information is not requested)

    Whether English is your first language

    If not

    - IELTS - score, date of exam and Test Report Form Number
    - Other test - name, score and date of exam

    Work Experience (maximum of 2)
    (For certain courses e.g. Summer University courses & other short courses, a reduced set of employment information is requested)

    - Employers name
    - Job title
    - Dates from and to
    - Full or Part time
    - Main responsibilities

    Summer & Winter University Courses Only

    - Whether you are enrolled or due to enrol on a college or university course
    - If so, where and which course
    - Whether you are thinking of starting a Higher Education course
    - If so, area of interest/study
    - Reason for applying to Summer/Winter University

    Referee
    (For certain courses e.g. Summer University courses & other short courses, this information is not requested)

    - Name
    - Address
    - Other contact details

    Note : some course will require two referees, e.g. PHD courses

    Personal Statement
    (For certain courses e.g. Summer University courses & other short courses, this information is not requested)

    Can be uploaded as a document or entered as text

    It is suggested that your statement is prepared electronically in advance of starting the application

    Enrolment

    Some short courses may ask you to provide enrolment information as part of the application. This will require extra details but also means you will not be asked to complete the full on-line registration process at a later date.

    This data will not be accessible to those making the application decision

    - Type of Term-time Accomodation
    - Next of Kin Name
    - Next of Kin Telephone Number
    - Next of Kin Relationship
    - Religious Beliefs
    - Criminal Conviction Declaration

    Documents currently available for upload
    (For certain courses e.g. Summer University courses & other short courses, this option is not available)

    - Reference
    - Personal Statement
    - CV
    - Results
    - Proof of English Language Qualifications, e.g. IELTS or TOEFL certificate
    - Passport
    - Previous Visas
    - Previous Visa Refusals

    For Research courses, the following additional uploads are mandatory

    - Research Proposal
    - Research Training Document
    - Research Personal Statement
    - Research Sponsorship/funding letter

    Academic Professional Apprenticeship (APA)

    Teesside University

    Teesside University

    United Kingdom

    United Kingdom, Middlesbrough