The Certificate in Academic Practice (CAP)  is an in-service programme designed to support and accredit the academic development of a range of staff who teach and support student learning at Lancaster, including:  

·          lecturers and teaching fellows who are new to HE teaching, to Lancaster or to UK HE

·          lecturers with considerable experience who are wishing to develop aspects of their teaching and curriculum design,

·          part-time teaching staff

·          some research associates and postgraduates who have substantial teaching duties and prior professional accreditation

Applications are invited for CAP for 2011-12 using the attached application form .

CAP fosters a cross-disciplinary community of practitioners to share ideas and develop a discourse about academic practice. It situates colleagues as individual academics and teachers, to support the development of professional aspirations and achievements within the context of departments, disciplines, Lancaster University and the wider academic and educational environment.  It seeks to enhance the students' learning experience and the confidence and skills of HE teachers by working on practical teaching skills and ideas, developing evaluation techniques, using peer review and observation of teaching, and by investigating useful teaching and learning resources.

Integrating and embedding knowledge and understanding of pedagogical principles and values with practical know-how is essential. This is developed on CAP by critically engaging with educational and subject-specific literature and research, having dialogues with peers and tutors, and writing critically and reflectively about practice. The CAP assessment is designed to emerge from colleagues’ current work as teachers and academics, and much of the experiential learning and reflection takes place ‘on-the-job' in the department.

The taught programme is divided into two linked modules, Developing HE Practice (DHEP) and  Curriculum Design and Development (CDD), both @ 30 level 7 credits.  Participants successfully completing the programme are awarded a 60 credit Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice, and gain Fellowship status with the Higher Education Academy and a Staff and Educational Development Association (SEDA) award in Learning, Teaching and Assessing.

FAQ here is some more detailed information in response to questions frequently asked about the CAP programme.

There have been significant changes to this provision for 2011/12 and the attached document is a copy of information sent to Heads of Department in July 2012.

Please send the completed CAP application form to the Development Programmes Coordinator, ASH House, Lancaster University. The form can be downloaded from the attachment below.  Places fill quickly so early application is recommended.  

Further enquiries can be addressed to:

Helen Ratcliffe 

Tel: 01524 592137

Email:OED@lancaster.ac.uk