As we transition from the Leadership in Education Awards Programme (LEAP) to a new University of Manchester Advance HE fellowship scheme, there is several key dates all current participants should note. 

• Closure of LEAP to new enrolments - Thursday 28 March 2024
• Final opportunity to submit LEAP applications for Advance HE fellowship (i.e., evidenced against UKPSF 2011) - Thursday 20 June 2024
• Closure of LEAP for existing participants (i.e., all those enrolled on LEAP who have not submited an application for assessment in June 2024 will have enrollments ended) - Wednesday 31 July 2024
• End of Advance HE accreditation of LEAP - Friday 30 August 2024
• Launch of new University of Manchester Advance HE fellowship scheme (accredited against PSF 2023) - Monday 2 September 2024
• First application deadline of the new scheme for applications evidenced against PSF 2023 - January 2025 (date TBC)

The PSF 2023 was launched in January 2023 following a sector-led review of UKPSF 2011. During this review, the Professional Standards Framework was updated to acknowledge the considerable changes within the higher education landscape since the last review in 2011.

Neither framework is better than the other – they are representative of the HE landscapes in which they were developed.

• UK Professional Standards Framework 2011
• Professional Standards Framework 2023

The revised Professional Standards Framework (PSF) 2023, places emphasis on the professional values that underpin your teaching and learning practice. The dimensions and descriptors have been simplified to reduce duplication and there is also the addition of new dimension - V5 - to encompass team teaching. 

More information about specific changes and the rationale behind them is available on the Advance HE website. 

• Advance HE website: Professional Standards Framework Review (opens in new tab)

If you already hold an Advance HE fellowship, your current fellowship status will not be affected by the change to PSF 2023.

To support the transition to the revised scheme, we will be pausing all enrolments on the LEAP from Thursday 28 March 2024 until the launch of the revised scheme in September 2024. If you have already enrolled on the programme before Thursday 28 March, you can continue to access the support available and develop your Advance HE fellowship application.

Yes – the changes will affect all strands of the LEAP. However, between February and June 2024 you should continue to access the support and follow the guidance provided by your local LEAP leads.

If you are unsure whether this applies to you or who your LEAP contact is, please contact us at leap.cpd@manchester.ac.uk for further assistance.

LEAP strand / cohort leads

• LEAP for Taught students
  • PASS, Peer Mentors - Dr Nick Weise PFHEA / Matthew Oakley AFHEA
  • Library Student Team - Adam Cooke
• LEAP for Clinicians
  • NHS partner trusts - Dianne Burns SFHEA / Dr Jessica Grundy PFHEA
  • Clinical Debrief Tutors - Dr Ryan Peers FHEA
• LEAP for Graduate Teaching Assistants/Demonstators in the Faculty of Science and Engineering - Dr Claudia Henninger SFHEA / Prof Tom Rodgers PFHEA

If you are registered on the New Academics Programme, you should continue to complete the programme as advised by your faculty team. You can continue to develop your NAP portfolio under the current guidance and submit by the deadline/s confirmed by your faculty. After this date, to achieve Advance HE accreditation of your teaching practice, you will need to apply for Advance HE fellowship/s through the revised scheme. There will be specialised support available for probationary academics applying for Advance HE accreditation of their teaching practice.

• Contact details for the faculty NAP teams

By applying for Advance HE fellowship through LEAP you’ll have access to support and resources designed to help you to develop your application. LEAP also offers optionality in assessments enabling you to choose whether you would like to submit a written application or a presentaiton application. 

LEAP is free to staff and students who teach and/or support learning at the University (and to practice educators employed by NHS partner trusts).Applications submitted directly to Advance HE incur a cost.

If you are applying for Advance HE fellowship through LEAP, please use the guidance and templates available from LEAP. 

To be eligible to apply for Advance HE fellowship through LEAP, you must be a University member of staff or registered student at the time you receive your fellowship. You must have sufficient experience of teaching and/or supporting learners registered on University of Manchester HE programmes. 

Prior to joining the programme, we recommend that you discuss your engagement with the programme with your line manager to ensure that the programme is an appropriate development opportunity for you.

All participants registered on LEAP will hold their place until the 31 July 2024. On 1 August 2024, all those registered on LEAP who have not submitted an application for Advance HE fellowship will be automatically withdrawn. Please note that our current accreditation expires on 31st August 2024.

LEAP will close to new enrollments on Thursday 28 March 2024. This to support the transition to a new scheme following changes in the Advance HE accreditation. 

If you are completing LEAP through a bespoke cohort (e.g. LEAP for the NHS or LEAP for PASS Leaders and Peer Mentors) please contact your cohort lead for further advice. 

No - you can apply for the category of fellowship thatis most appropriate for your current practice and experience. If you already hold an Advance HE fellowship and wish to apply for a new category, you do not need to apply sequentially. For example, if you are an Associate Fellow, you can apply for Senior Fellow as long as you can evidence against the Descriptor.

If you already have a teaching qualification (e.g. a PG certificate) you can still apply for Advance HE fellowship through LEAP. Your learning and experience from previous qualificationse can be useful tools to help you develop your Advance HE fellowship application.

LEAP is designed to help you reflect on and evidence your current practice in teaching and support of learning against the UK Professional Standards Framework 2011. This is not a taught development programme and does not offer workshops to help you develop your teaching practice. 

The Institute of Teaching and Learning open workshop programme provides workshops and opportunities to support your teaching development. You should also seek out opportunities available from your faculty teaching academy. 

• Opportunities to enhance your teaching and learning at the University of Manchester
• ITL open workshop programme

There is no set time that it takes to develop your application; the time will vary between individuals.

To help you maintain momentum with your application, you may wish to attend a Pomodoro writing session or set up a peer support group to help support and motivate one another. 

• Institute of Teaching and Learning's Pomodoro sessions

The category of fellowship you choose to apply for will depend on how much your current practice in teaching and supporting learning aligns with the Descriptors of the UK Professional Standards Framework (2011).

If you are unsure which category of fellowship to apply for, we recommend that you use the Advance HE fellowship category tool to help you. If you are interested in applying for Principal Fellowship, please watch the 'What is Principal Fellowship?' video from Prof Judy Williams before enrolling.

• Advance HE fellowship category tool

If you're still unsure you can talk to LEAP alumni within your local area, your line manager/supervisor or the LEAP team.

Advance HE fellowships enable you to achieve professional recognition for your practice in teaching and/or support learning in higher education. Advance HE fellowships are internationally recognised and increasingly sought by HEI employers.

Whilst holding an Advance HE fellowship may not be included in the promotions criteria, you can evidence your Advance HE fellowship in your promotion application as evidence of your practice and engagement in HE teaching and learning. 

If you have applied for Advance HE fellowship through LEAP previously and are now planning to apply for a different category of fellowship, you can use your previous experience/application as a starting point. However, you should take care to update the experience evidenced in your applicatoin to ensure that it is reflective of your current practice and evidenced through the lens of the fellowship category for which you are applying. 

To help you develop your application, you can:

• access the LEAP online resource
• attend a fellowship category workshop
• join the LEAP Viva Engage group
• attend an ITL workshop on reflective practice or a Pomodoro writing session

It is not compulsory for you to engage with any of the support avilable. However, we strongly recommend that you engage with at least one form of support. Our data shows that those who engage with at least one form of support are more likely to be successful on first attempt. 

• Support available

The teaching and learning practice that you evidence in your application should be current and show how you teach and/or support learning at the University of Manchester.

You can use teaching experience that is no longer current, that is from another HE institution or from another education setting (e.g., widenining participation, further education) as long as you can clearly demonstrate how you are using that experience to shape and inform your current practice supporting HE learners at the University of Manchester. This is a requirement of our Advance HE accreditation. 

Advance HE fellowships are eligible to those who are teaching and/or supporting learning in higher education. From February 2018, this has also included teaching and/or supporting learning on:

• Foundation Year programmes;
• Pre-sessional English courses for international degree students designed to develop academic skills;
• Professional CPD programmes that are designed to develop and extend existing graduate/postgraduate level skills, knowledge and understanding, e.g. GP training, etc.

Further information is available from Advance HE. 

• Eligibility for Advance HE fellowship (Advance HE guidance on eligible experience)

If you are only using experience that does not directly influence or support learners registered on University of Manchester programmes as evidence in your application, you should apply directly to Advance HE. Please note that applications made directly to Advance HE incur a cost. 

Yes, you can use evidence from team teaching in your application however, you should remember that your application should focus on your own professional practice. Take care to clearly explain what your own role and input was/is throughout your application whilst also highlighting the role of others. A useful tip is to use "I" in your application.

Yes, it is fine for you to change the category of fellowship that you wish to apply for. You can do this at any time before you submit your application for assessment.

If you do change the category of fellowship you wish to apply for, you do not need to tell us but make sure you select the appropriate category when you submit your application so that we can allocate the appropriate assessors. 

LEAP is accredited against the UK Professional Standards Framework 2011 (UKPSF). When developing your application you should evidence your experience against the dimensions and descriptors UKPSF 2011. 

• UK Professional Standards Framework (UKPSF) 2011

Applications for Associate Fellow, Fellow and Senior Fellow must include two supporting statements. At least one supporting statement should be from someone internal to the University. They do not need to hold an Advance HE fellowship. We recommend that supporting statements for Associate Fellow, Fellow and Senior Fellow applications are provided on the LEAP referee report form. Referees can choose to provide a prose letter if they prefer to do so (no more than 3 sides of A4). 

• LEAP referee report form for applications for Associate, Fellow, Fellow and Senior Fellow

Applications for Principal Fellow must include three supporting statements. At least one statement must be from a colleague external to the University and at least one referee must hold an Advance HE fellowship.

• LEAP references guidance

Your supporting statements must be submitted with the rest of your application via the online form. 

If you are producing a written application, the word count includes your introduction, case studies and any in line references. It does not include the reference list, mapping document or supporting statements. 

If you are producing a presentation application, the time limit includes your introduction, case studies and any references on your slides. It does not include the reference list, mapping document or supporting statements. 

Whilst we encourage you not to go over the maximum word / time limits indicated, if necessary your application can exceed these by no more than 10%. Assessors will stop reading / watching your application once this threshold is reached. 

Yes, you can use the same experience to evidence more than one criteria. However, take care not to over-map an example against the dimensions of the UK PSF as this can dilute the impact of your evidence. 

No - please do not include any additional evidence that is not specifically required in your application, follow the guidance provided. Any additional documents will not be shared with the assessors who review your application. 

This will reduce your (and the assessors) workload, give you more space within your word count / time limit to go into detail and reflect in your case studies and assures parity and consistency for all applicants. 

LEAP offers optionality of assessment formats. You can choose whether to submit a written application or a pre-recorded presentation. Neither format is better or more successful than the other. You should choose the format that most suits your skills, needs and preferences.

You do not need to do both a written application and a pre-recorded presentation - you choose which one is most suitable for you. 

Yes, you can view examples of previously successful applications in the online resources hosted on Blackboard. To access the online resources, please self-enrol on Blackboard. 

• Self-enrol on the online resource

If your application is ready before the next deadline, you can submit your application if the online form is open. The form will be open for two months prior to the deadline. 

If you choose to submit your application early, please note that this will not speed up your assessment. All applications will be considered together after the deadline has passed. 

• Submitting your application

It can take approximately 12 to 14 weeks from the submission deadline for you to receive the outcome of your application. All applications are either double or triple marked (depending on the level of fellowship applied for) by trained LEAP assessors. Once all applications have been reviewed, the LEAP recognitiona panel reviews all assessor recommendations before ratifying the outcome of your applications. After the panel meeting, the LEAP administrator will be in touch via email to inform you of the outcome of your application and any next steps.

There are three possible outcomes for your application - award, minor refer or refer.

• Award - your application meets all the criteria for the category of fellowship you are applying for.

• Minor refer - your application is missing a few pieces of evidence and does not quite meet the bar for an award. Either your assessors or the LEAP team will contact you to request additional information that will give you the opportunity to provide the missing evidence. Minor additions will usually have a limit of no more than 500 words and you will be provided with clear feedback on the points you need to address. If your assessors have recommended a minor refer, we will aim to contact you before the LEAP recognition panel. However, this isn't always possible and the request for additional information could come to you after the panel has taken place. Please don't worry - this doesn't mean you will have to wait for the next panel as your additional information can be assessed via Chair's actions.

• Refer - your application is missing a significant amount of evidence that cannot be resolved through a minor refer. For example, you may need to reframe your application or rewrite one of your case studies. You will be provided with feedack to help you develop your application. You can resubmit your revised application at a later deadline.

Yes, you need to still be a registered student or member of staff employed by the University of Manchester at the time you receive your fellowship award. If you are on a fixed-term contract or your programme end date is approaching, please consider this when choosing the deadline you wish to apply at. If you are concerned, or if this poses any difficulties, please get in touch with the team as soon as is possible at leap.cpd@manchester.ac.uk.