**1.1 Historical context**

Institutional accreditation via Advance HE is part of a broader agenda to raise the status of teaching and learning, and to support teaching-focused academics to be as well qualified and rewarded as their research-focused colleagues [16]. Concerns over teaching quality, preparedness for the workplace, the lower status of teaching compared to research and a lack of recognition drove this agenda from the late 1990s [23]. More recently, increasing competition in the sector, including global competition for students, has led to universities striving to improve in all areas of their business [24], including teaching. Consequently, we do not regard accreditation as a neutral phenomenon, but part of the wider quality improvement discourse surrounding modern-day HE. For some, accreditation is treated with suspicion and regarded as highly political, imposed and prescriptive [25, 26]. It is also perceived to be embedded in neoliberalism with its focus on benchmarks, audits and performativity [27]. Furthermore, the increasing expectation placed on university teachers to gain professional recognition and/or a teaching qualification has likewise been cited as an example of the credentialisation of university teaching [28].

In the UK, the Staff and Educational Development Association (SEDA) introduced an accreditation framework in the early 1990's [29]. This framework underpinned many of the early teaching courses in the UK designed to introduce new lecturers to teaching and learning principles and practices. The Dearing Report followed in 1997 and was highly influential in driving the agenda to professionalise HE teaching. By 2006 the UKPSF for accrediting the experience, knowledge and values of university teaching staff, and others who support learners in university settings, was introduced. Subsequently revised in 2011, the framework provides a general description of the role carried out by those that teach and/or support learning in a HE setting. Whilst the framework was developed in the UK, there is evidence that it has been highly influential both in the UK and beyond [13, 30, 31]. One of the benefits of the framework is that it is transferable internationally, providing a clear structure through which educators can conceptualise their practice. Thus it provides a globally recognised benchmark for accrediting the professional development of university staff engaged in teaching and/or supporting learning [31].

Advance HE oversees the UKPSF and is the accrediting body which provides permission (or not) to operate teaching and learning related continual professional development (CPD) or taught, credit bearing courses aligned to the UKPSF. At the time of the research 172 HE institutions were accredited against the UKPSF, with 23 situated outside the UK. Whilst the majority of member institutions are within English speaking countries (UK, Australia, New Zealand), there are increasing moves to develop a more global approach to institutional accreditation with new member institutions situated in Africa, Thailand and Bahrain for example.

To achieve institutional accreditation a university, or other HE provider, must first be a Full Member of Advance HE. Advance HE then assesses an institutions commitment to the UKPSF by considering the role of the UKPSF in framing institutional policies and strategies and rewarding and recognising staff who teach and/or support learners. Advance HE is concerned that accredited provision is supported by adequate resource, and applicants must demonstrate how resources are deployed and sustained [32]. They also need to evidence that robust quality assurance processes are in place to ensure judgements made about teachers against

the criteria are valid and reliable. If successful, institutional accreditation permits the institution to deliver a taught course (such as a postgraduate teaching award) or a CPD Scheme enabling participants to gain 'recognised status' as HEA Fellows at one of four categories: Associate Fellowship; Fellowship; Senior Fellowship; and Principal Fellowship, aligned to the descriptors of the UKPSF. To ensure currency and maintain the standards as prescribed by Advance HE, reaccreditation takes place every 4 years [32].

Despite the increasing prevalence of Advance HE accreditation across the sector in recent years, research which examines its impact remains limited [33]. In the UK this has been reflected in a recent emphasis on institutionally-focused evaluation studies examining the impact on individuals of achieving HEA Fellowship, for example, [3, 16, 34–37]. With some notable exceptions [13, 38, 39], this latter work has so far been largely UK-centric [33], and the wider institutional impacts of Advance HE accreditation have not previously been considered in any large-scale, cross-institutional studies. A recent comparative study of two UK institutions [17] found no correlation between the rising number of HEA Fellowships and student's perceptions of teaching quality as revealed by National Student Survey scores. Thus, the developmental potential of some accredited routes to teacher development have been brought into question.

To address the gap in the research, and as part of their own quality assurance processes, Advance HE commissioned an independent research project. We report here on data collected from one of the work packages associated with part of this larger project to understand the impact of Advance HE accreditation at an institutional level. Full details of the wider study and the overarching outcomes are available online [31].
