EXPLORE Accredited Experiential Scheme
Associate Fellowship, Fellowship, Senior Fellowship, and Principal Fellowship can be awarded through the revitalised EXPLORE scheme, through either the Experiential or Taught pathways.
The EXPLORE Accredited Experiential Scheme, known as EXPLORE Experiential (previously the PSF Pathway), is co-ordinated by the Oxford Centre for Academic Enhancement and Development (OCAED) with support from Faculty-based colleagues, and carries Advance HE accreditation. It adopts a cohort approach to foster a community of practice, help participants stay focused, engaged, and connected throughout the application process. EXPLORE Taught is for new academic staff teaching and supporting learning who do not hold Fellowship.
Fellowships awarded by Advance HE are globally recognised and demonstrate professionalism, commitment and a critically evaluative, reflective and evidence informed approach to teaching and/or supporting learning in higher education. A Fellowship is awarded if you have met the appropriate standards for teaching and supporting learning in higher education, aligned to the Professional Standards Framework 2023 (PSF 2023).
We offer the Scheme for awards at all categories of Fellowship. You can find out more about each category by accessing the following AHE pages:
The EXPLORE Accredited Experiential Scheme is for:
- incumbent more experienced staff to gain the category of Fellowship aligned with their experience.
- for staff teaching on an Oxford Brookes programme of study on campus or at an Associate College Partner institution.
New staff who meet the criteria for Senior or Principal Fellowship are triaged onto this Scheme when they enrol for the EXPLORE First Three Years and complete the Expression of Interest form (Brookes login required).
If you teach an Oxford Brookes programme of study at one of our Associate College Partner institutions, please ask your institution about their level of Advance HE membership as an additional charge to that institution may be due to Advance HE (50% of the current direct application fee) when you gain Fellowship. All support from OCAED is at no cost. We can support up to 10 individuals from ACPs per annum; places are allocated based on meeting the criteria for Fellowship, which you can find here: Associate Fellowship, Fellowship, Senior Fellowship, and Principal Fellowship
For incumbent Oxford Brookes staff, this scheme draws on up to 45 hours of your Professional & Scholarly Development time.
All academic staff (0.5 FTE or above) new to Oxford Brookes are allocated 240 hours to complete EXPLORE, split between 100 hours in the first and second years and 40 hours for year three (see Workload Planning Tariffs
This scheme is facilitated in Fellowship cohorts. Online workshops with colleagues completing the same category of Fellowship will help you stay focused, engaged, and connected (Lawrence et al., 2022). You will receive support for completing your application including:
- five online cohort workshops during the academic year;
- a mentor to provide you with individual support (available for up to 5 hours, including reading drafts of your application)
- access to our EXPLORE Experiential Scheme Staff Learning site.
Please email fellowships@brookes.ac.uk to enquire about joining the scheme.
- Lawrence, J., Fitzpatrick, M., & Craik, A. (2022). Utilising the Professional Standards Framework for teaching and supporting learning for strategic transformation. Advance HE.
- Spowart, L., Turner, R., Dismore, H., Beckmann, E., Carkett, R., & Khamis, T. (2020). Assessing the impact of accreditation on institutions. University of Plymouth.
- Turner, N., Oliver, M., McKenna, C., Hughes, J., Smith, H., Deepwell, F., & Shrives, L. (2013). Measuring the impact of the UK Professional Standards Framework for Teaching and Supporting Learning (UKPSF). Staff and Educational Development Association.
- Turner, R., & Spowart, L. (2022). Reflective practice as a threshold concept in the development of pedagogical content knowledge. In H. King (Ed.), Developing expertise for teaching in higher education: Practical ideas for professional learning and development (pp. 129–141). Routledge.
If you have any questions or require more information, please contact fellowships@brookes.ac.uk