New Education Academy coaxes academics to specialise in teaching

Thursday, 19 November 2015

The University of Adelaide has announced an incentive package to persuade 100 staff to become teaching specialists. The academics will be invited to join a new Adelaide Education Academy, with exclusive access to teaching advancement grants, teaching-based promotion and teaching-focused special study programs.

“This is a long overdue recognition of the critical but often undervalued role that teaching specialists play within our University community,” said Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Warren Bebbington.

“While other Group of Eight universities have expanded their teaching-focused staff, Adelaide currently has less than 1% who could be considered as education specialists. Yet under our Enterprise Agreement, it is now possible for staff to be engaged in teaching and teaching-related activities for up to 90% of their time,” he said.

Members of the Academy will have the exclusive opportunity to:
• bid for a $10,000 Learning and Teaching Advancement Grant from a $1m per year Education Academy fund
• access support from the Special Studies Program for Learning and Teaching related projects
• apply for promotion based on teaching and learning weightings.

“Additionally, the University will draw on Academy members to participate in a range of other activities, including undertaking peer reviews of teaching, and joining the Academic Board.
“Three years ago we announced we would be transforming the learning experience at Adelaide,” said Professor Bebbington, who in 2008 was awarded an Australian Learning and Teaching Council Citation and has long championed the role of education specialists within research–intensive institutions.

“All too often the emphasis in universities is on an academic’s research standing.

“We have over 27,000 students at Adelaide who expect our staff to provide them with a high quality education. The Academy will become a symbol of the learning and teaching proposition that is the centrepiece of our strategic plan, and a showpiece for our commitment to excellence in teaching.”

The University of Adelaide’s Education Academy will commence officially on 1 January 2016.

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