Higher Education (HE) Scholarship Policy

• 1.0 Policy

  • 1.1. This policy outlines a strategic approach to establishing scholarship as both an expectation and a responsibility for staff involved in delivering higher education, while supporting outstanding learning for students.

  • 1.2 The approach to scholarship outlined in this policy represents a shift away from continuing professional development toward a broader, more integrated model of scholarship, aligned with the distinctive context of college Higher Education. It is grounded in Boyer’s (1990) framework of the four scholarships – discovery, application, integration, and teaching and learning – which acknowledges the diverse practices that contribute to a higher education ethos and fosters meaningful engagement from both staff and students.

• 2.0 Defining Scholarship

  • 2.1 For the purposes of this policy, scholarship refers to an activity or set of activities that has the potential to create or affirm knowledge and expertise within a subject or discipline, deepen understanding, or refine the methods used in its delivery. To be recognised as scholarly, the activity must be shared with peers, disseminated within the institution—and potentially beyond—and contribute to enhancing the student experience (King and Widdowson, 2009, p. 10).

  • 2.2 Boyer sought to challenge the traditional dominance of the scholarship of discovery—conventional research—and to recognise the equal value of a broader range of scholarly activities, namely:

    Function	Purpose	Example
    Discovery	When producing new knowledge or original research for publication or review	Publishing in peer-reviewed forums Producing and/or performing creative work Creating infrastructure for future studies
    Integration	When making connections across organisations, disciplines or subjects through knowledge sharing	Preparing literature review Writing a textbook for use in multiple disciplines Collaborating with colleagues to design and deliver a core course
    Application	When using knowledge to solve problems in the real world such as in industry or vocational areas	Consultancy to industry and other agencies Assuming leadership roles in professional organisations Advising student leaders
    Teaching & Learning	When the enhancement and improvement of pedagogy including learning and assessment is central	Advancing learning theory through classroom research Developing and testing teaching materials Mentoring students in research Designing and implementing programme-level assessment systems

  • 2.3 The model above recognises the diverse practices that support a higher education ethos and facilitates meaningful engagement from both staff and students. This requires sustained support for research and advanced practice across HE that directly enriches the student experience.

  • Fostering a culture of collaborative scholarship and effective dissemination integrates scholarly activity within teaching and learning, enhances student academic and employment outcomes, and raises aspirations for further study.

• 3.0 External Drivers

  • 3.1 Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF)

    The TEF emphasises that teaching excellence is measured by how effectively it promotes student learning, engagement, and progression. It encourages the integration of scholarly activity to enrich the curriculum and establishes that a high-quality learning environment encompasses opportunities for scholarly engagement that enhance the student experience. TEF directly advocates fostering a culture of continuous reflection, innovation, and improvement, driven by scholarship, feedback and evidence.

  • 3.2 QAA – UK Quality Code for Higher Education

    The QAA Quality Code for Higher Education provides a foundation for credible and rigorous teaching and research. It requires institutions to deliver high-quality, well-designed, and inclusive learning experiences that support student achievement through effective teaching, resources, and support. It stipulates that teaching should be informed by current research and scholarly activity, fostering critical thinking and intellectual curiosity among both students and staff.

  • 3.3 Advance HE Professional Standards Framework (PSF)

    The PSF sets out that excellent teaching, learning, and assessment should be informed by relevant research, scholarship, and evidence-based approaches to ensure high-quality and impactful educational experiences. Educators are encouraged to actively engage in and contribute to scholarly activity and research, integrating this expertise into their teaching to enrich the curriculum.

  • 3.4 National Student Survey (NSS)

    The NSS serves as a critical tool for providers to listen to their students, reflect on teaching effectiveness, and embed scholarship and research into practice, ultimately enhancing the quality and impact of higher education. Publicly available NSS outcomes motivate continuous improvement by encouraging providers to maintain high standards in teaching and scholarship.

  • 3.5 Office for Students Conditions of Registration

    Conditions B1 Academic Experience and B2 Resources, Support and Student Engagement require that courses are up-to-date, provide educational challenge and are effectively delivered by lecturers who have expert knowledge of the subject they deliver. Teachers engaged with research and scholarly activity are enabled to provide a high-quality academic experience for their students.

• 4.0 Internal Drivers

  • 4.1 Higher Education Strategy 2025-2028

    The intention of the HE Strategy is to drive excellent student experience and outcomes, underpinned by comprehensive teacher professional development, including scholarship and research.

  • 4.2 Higher Education Student Survey (HESS)

    As a direct result of OfS inclusion criteria, the Ipsos NSS population for the college continues to decline. Consequently, the internally administered Higher Education Student Survey (HESS) plays an increasingly important role in capturing the voice of our HE students. The question banks on Teaching on My Course and Learning Opportunities are specifically designed to gather student perceptions of teaching quality, the breadth and depth of learning experiences, and the overall scholarly environment. HESS outcomes support continuous improvement by encouraging curriculum areas to uphold high standards in teaching and scholarship.

• 5.0 Implementation

  • 5.1 The College is committed to supporting all staff involved in the delivery of Higher Education (HE), including those in support roles, in engaging with scholarship and research. The HE Office, curriculum managers and programme leader share the responsibility of promoting HE scholarly activity and reflective professional practice.

  • 5.2 An annual Scholarship and Research Handbook outlines the College’s approach to scholarship and details the process for submitting funding proposals. Funding is allocated through a ring-fenced model, based on £35 per HE full-time equivalent (FTE) student.

  • 5.3 Approved funding may be used to purchase resources, cover logistical expenses, or provide remission from core duties (e.g., teaching release). Staff intending to apply for Scholarly Activity funding must consult with their line manager to assess feasibility and determine whether funds can support time away from key responsibilities.

  • 5.4 All scholarship activities should be recorded during the annual appraisal process and/or documented in Individual Learning Plans (ILPs). Where applicable, activities should also be logged in iTrent. The College actively encourages and supports staff in obtaining Higher Education Academy (HEA) Professional Recognition (Fellowship), either directly through Advance HE or via collaboration with an awarding organisation

  • 5.5 Staff awarded funding for scholarship and research are expected to disseminate their findings through forums such as Team Time, the annual College HE Conference, Programme Management Boards, regional or national conferences, and written publications.

  • 5.6 Students will be offered opportunities to participate in scholarly activity—for example, by engaging with live industry briefs, attending conferences and seminars, presenting their work to peers, and collaborating across disciplines.

• 6.0 Ethics

  • 6.1 Scholarship and research will be characterised by the highest standards of integrity and ethical behaviour and guided by the ethical principles of the British Education Research Association (BERA), which are summarised in the document Ethical Guidelines for Educational Research (fifth edition, BERA, 2024).

  • 6.2 These guidelines emphasise researchers’ responsibilities to safeguard participants and uphold their right to participation, with particular attention to marginalised and vulnerable groups. They also recognise the role of educational research in promoting environmental sustainability. Emerging ethical issues—such as the use of artificial intelligence and social media—are addressed, alongside a new focus on researcher wellbeing.

• 7.0 Policy Review

  • 7.1 This Policy will be reviewed every three years by the HEQSEC and Executive Leadership team.

References

BERA, 2018 (4th edn). Ethical guidelines for educational research. [online] Available at: https://www.bera.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/BERA-Ethical-Guidelines-for-Educational-Research_4thEdn_2018.pdf?noredirect=1 [Accessed 26.11.18]

Boyer, E. 1990. Scholarship Reconsidered: Priorities of the Professoriate. New York: The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching

[BIS] Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, 2016a. Success as a Knowledge Economy: Teaching Excellence, Social Mobility and Student Choice. London: HMSO

[BIS] Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, 2016b. Teaching Excellence Framework: Technical Consultation for Year 2. London: HMSO

HEA, 2011. UK Professional Standards Framework for teaching and supporting learning in higher education [online]. York: HEA. Available at: https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/recognition-accreditation/uk-professional-standards-framework-ukpsf [Accessed 2/10/15]

HEFCE, 2018. Teaching Excellence Framework Year Two: Statement of Findings Leicester College [online] Available at: https://apps.officeforstudents.org.uk/TEFoutcomes/docs/TEFYearTwo/statements/TEFYearTwoStatement_10003867.pdf [Accessed 31/07/18]

King, M., and Widdowson 2009. Scholarly activity in higher education delivered by further education: A study by the mixed economy group of colleges. York: HEA.