**4. Conclusion**

In this chapter, we have drawn on data collected from an international survey targeted at institutions which provide teaching-related CPD aligned to the UKPSF and accredited by Advance HE. In undertaking this survey, we addressed the noteworthy gap in the published literature around the institutional impacts of teaching-related CPD. As we considered in the framing of this chapter, extant work centers on the experiences of those seeking individual recognition through engagement with accredited CPD Schemes [5, 33, 59, 60]. Wider impacts, though often implied, have until now, not yet been examined systematically. The work presented here was part of a wider independent study to address this gap, and provide contemporary insights to inform institutions in maximising the benefits of providing accredited CPD.

The data collected via the online survey demonstrates that, for those responsible for teaching and learning within the 55 member institutions, institutional

#### *Institutional Accreditation and the Professionalisation of Teaching in the HE Sector DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.99805*

accreditation and the resulting ability to confer Fellowships is significant. In particular, respondents noted how accreditation was raising the profile of teaching and learning and enhancing teaching quality. Accreditation was also found to align with the neoliberal agendas of quality, league tables and marketization, which has become a dominant discourse in the sector. In the UK in particular, institutions being able to demonstrate the number of staff with a teaching qualification has become a proxy for teaching quality and signals a commitment to teaching and learning that aligns with the rhetoric of policymakers [17]. Though the narrative of league tables and marketisation was perhaps not as prominent for international respondents, external benchmarking was highly important. It appears, therefore, that institutional accreditation has become synonymous with signalling a commitment to high quality teaching and learning, supported by the development of architecture such as promotion pathways and strategic guidance that can further serve to raise the status of teaching and learning. To gain accreditation institutions have to possess such architecture, and to maintain this accreditation, they need to evidence how processes of reward, recognition and teaching development continue to play a role in the institution and the enhancement of teaching and the student experience.

It is the impact of accreditation on the student experience which is the 'thorny issue' institutions, and also the accrediting body Advance HE, continue to grapple with. As we highlight above, the link between accreditation and student experience is, at best, tenuous. Implicitly students are at the heart of the UKPSF, and it is the contribution individuals make to student learning through the teaching, and support they provide, that is recognised through accredited provision. A notable outcome of the survey was a gap in practice to evaluate the impact of accredited provision on institutions and students. Given that accountability is so prevalent across the sector [61], with measures of student satisfaction, retention success and employability being used to assess the success and impact of institutions globally, it is surprising that practice to evaluate the impact of accredited provision has not become more widespread. Advance HE does not currently require institutions to adopt a systematic approach to this. However, given that Advance HE is a membership organisation, with associated costs, we can speculate that budget holders within institutions are likely to become increasingly concerned about value for money and evidencing impact.

There is a need to develop a more systematic and embedded approach to evaluation that captures hard and soft outcomes of teaching related-CPD across a number of different levels. In 2015 we proposed a longitudinal approach to evaluation which was embedded from the planning stages to benchmark provision, and revisited throughout, to foster a systematic and structured approach [58]. We proposed different methods of measuring impact, so that the diversity of outcomes, including those for students, could be captured at relevant moments. Since this work concluded 'students as partners' has become an increasingly prominent movement, with examples of students becoming involved, through partnership work, in activities such as curriculum and resource design, pedagogic innovation and research [62, 63]. Bringing together evaluation and students could be an avenue through which institutions could address these clear gaps.

Active student engagement in academic development and curriculum innovation work has challenged the neoliberal discourse of students as consumers, instead positioning them as equal partners in these co-creation activities [64]. Following a students as partners approach, students could become involved in the design, development and implementation of activities to evaluate teaching-related CPD activities, specifically those linked to institutional accreditation, to embed students more explicitly in the accreditation process. Actively involving students

in the evaluation of accreditation would open up spaces for them to contribute to discussions around teaching development as well as enhance student awareness of the UKPSF and accreditation. This could serve, in the long term, to demystify the practice of lecturers' development for the benefits of all concerned – students, institutions and Advance HE.

A final theme we want to explore here is the future of accreditation. Advance HE accreditation serves to confirm institutions meet a certain standard, have the resources to support meaningful lecturer development and have the strategies and processes to reward and recognise good teaching [32]. Membership to an international community of practice, opportunities to share experience and gain recognition via the award of Fellowships were among the most frequently cited benefits of accreditation. However, though the number of institutions accredited by Advance HE is growing, to maintain relevance with disciplinary-focused lecturers, those working in academic development need to ensure that engagement with accredited provision continues to be developmental. Whilst our survey highlights multiple benefits at both an individual and institutional level, for some individuals, the experience of engaging with accredited CPD Schemes to gain recognition of existing experience, means that the developmental potential is not fully realised [33, 51].

The COVID-19 Pandemic brought into sharp focus the potential for Advance HE to provide easy access to rapid and relevant CPD. Increasingly universities are being positioned to respond to what some refer to as 'wicked problems' i.e. complex societal challenges that lack clarity in their aims and solutions [65]. Climate change, sustainability, poverty, decolonisation are all contemporary problems that universities are being called upon to address, however, staff and institutions need to be supported to develop capacity and change. Advance HE is already leading conversations and developing practice around Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, therefore future accreditation practice could be expanded to promote engagement with these contemporary agendas embedding them holistically in accreditation processes.
