Tab Content: About ATLAS
The Advancing Teaching: Lancaster Accreditation Scheme (ATLAS) is a flexible, experience-based teaching development programme accredited by Advance HE and offered by the Curriculum Education and Development Academy (CEDA) at Lancaster University. Designed for staff with substantial experience of teaching and/or supporting learning, ATLAS is a semi structured route to fellowship of Advance HE.
ATLAS is approved against the Professional Standards Framework (PSF 2023) and accredited to offer three Pathways to recognition:
- Associate Fellow (PSF Descriptor 1)
- Fellow (PSF Descriptor 2)
- Senior Fellow (PSF Descriptor 3)
Successful ATLAS claims for recognition must demonstrate engagement with the PSF 2023 appropriate to the category of Fellowship being claimed.
ATLAS Pathways have no academic credit associated to them and do not contribute to a taught award. Instead, ATLAS offers the framework, guidance and recommended professional development activities to support individuals as they work towards professional recognition. This requires participants to exercise a high level of self-directed planning, development and personal commitment to effective and inclusive teaching.
Read the Routes to Advance HE Recognition Table to help identify which route to professional recognition is most appropriate for you and guidance on eligibility.
Please read our information on access statement and cancellation charges for this programme.
The Advancing Teaching: Lancaster Accreditation Scheme (ATLAS) is part of the provision offered by CEDA.
Tab Content: How to Apply
Eligibility:
ATLAS is open to academic staff and those in professional services with HE teaching and/or learning support roles and responsibilities. Participants must be teaching or supporting learning on Lancaster University validated provision, at Lancaster University and its International Teaching Partners and have the following experience:
- For Associate Fellow of Advance HE: 18 months and involved in a limited range of teaching.
- For Fellow of Advance HE: 3 years of teaching and/or supporting learning in an HE context.
- For Senior Fellow of Advance HE: 3-5 years of leading or influencing the practice of those who teach and or support high quality learning in HE.
When you complete an application form you must already have sufficient depth of experience to make a successful claim for your target category of Fellowship. It is assumed that, as someone with existing experience, you have plenty to draw on and reflect upon in your claim. In your application form you are asked to outline your current and past roles and experience so that the ATLAS Lead can confirm eligibility and identify the appropriate development pathway for you.
Before applying, complete the Advance HE Fellowship Category Tool. This tool provides some indication of the category of Fellowship most appropriate to your role and experience. Note that the results from the category tool are only an approximate indication of the Descriptor you are eligible to apply for. You may need to discuss the results with the ATLAS Lead in CEDA. You should discuss your intention with your Head of Department or Line Manager, to ensure you given the time and support to engage with ATLAS and although not compulsory, be allocated an ATLAS teaching mentor to support your journey through the ATLAS process.
Making an application to join
To apply for 2023/27 ATLAS complete the online application form in full.
The ATLAS Lead may contact you for further information or to discuss your application and may offer you a place on another pathway of development, as appropriate to your prior experience.
Please read our information on access statement and cancellation charges for this programme.
The Advancing Teaching: Lancaster Accreditation Scheme (ATLAS) is part of the provision offered by CEDA.
Tab Content: Requirements
Orientation Workshops
All participants are required to attend an Orientation Workshop (3 hours). This workshop is either in person on Bailrigg campus or online. The workshop is designed to provide insight and clarity about the expectations for the programme, setting you on your journey towards professional recognition. It offers an important space for discussion of the ATLAS requirements, involves activities that will help you begin to surface your existing experience, enable you to gain familiarity with the PSF 2023, and formulate personalised development aims and plans.
The Orientation Workshop is the only compulsory workshop for the ATLAS programme. It is essential you attend to ensure you have received consistent information about the PSF 2023 and the processes involved in claiming professional recognition. Applications for joining the Orientation Workshop will close 20 working days before the workshop date.
Because ATLAS is a rolling programme, places for the workshop are ordinarily allocated to participants on a first-come, first-served basis. We will try to accommodate individual preferences where capacity permits. Priority will be given to staff for whom gaining Fellowship of Advance HE is a requirement of their probationary agreement.
How much work is involved?
All ATLAS submissions consist of three components.
- A Development Index Planner,
- A Reflective Account of Practice,
- Supporting Statements written by your colleagues.
The specific requirements for your submission are determined by the Descriptor you are applying against and will be explained in the Orientation Workshop
- Associate Fellowship (Descriptor 1): Development Index Planner + Reflective Account of Practice (1200 words) + 1 Supporting statement
- Fellowship (Descriptor 2): Development Index Planner + Reflective Account of Practice (2500 words) + 2 Supporting statements
- Senior Fellowship (Descriptor 3): Development Index Planner + Reflective Account of Practice (5000 words) + 2 Supporting statements
For Fellow and Senior Fellow pathways there are written and oral modes of submission available, with the overall workload for each being broadly the same. Full details are provided to participants in the ATLAS handbook and explored at the Orientation Workshop.
Optional support
A range of associated writing spaces, workshops and events will be available to ATLAS participants, including support for those opting for the oral mode of submission. All ATLAS participants, on completing the Orientation Workshop, are enrolled on the ATLAS Moodle site which contains a recommended reading list and resources to support you assemble your claim.
What is the period for completion?
ATLAS participants have 12 months to complete their claim. ATLAS is a rolling programme with multiple start points. Participants can submit at any time within a 12-month period, so long as it is not less than 3 months after attending an Orientation Workshop. Typically, there are at least two Orientation Workshops offered per term. There are three submission points every academic year, once per term.
Past experiences of participants suggest that a period of 6 months to assemble a claim is realistic, providing time to gather, frame and reflect on a body of evidence without losing momentum. 3 months is an expected minimum, and 12 months a maximum. Participants are strongly advised to plan carefully and identify a target submission deadline as soon as possible. It is often helpful to also agree this target in discussion with your Head of Department or line manager.
Please read our information on access statement and cancellation charges for this programme.
The Advancing Teaching: Lancaster Accreditation Scheme (ATLAS) is part of the provision offered by CEDA.
Tab Content: Key Dates
Orientation Workshops
Please refer to the Requirements tab for the content on these workshops.
Summer 2024
Tuesday 9th July 2024, 9.30 am – 12.30 pm – Online
Michaelmas/Autumn 2024
Tuesday 10th September 2024, 9.30 am – 12.30 pm - Online
Wednesday 11th September 2024, 1.30 – 4.30 pm - In Person
Thursday 24th October 2024, 9.30 am – 12.30 pm - Online
Monday 9th December 2024, 9.30 am – 12.30 pm - Online
Thursday 12th December 2024, 9.30 am – 12.30 pm - In Person
Lent/Spring 2025
Thursday 13th February 2025, 9.30 am – 12.30 pm - Online
Tuesday 8th April 2025, 9.30 am – 12.30 pm - Online
Submission deadlines
The deadline for all ATLAS submissions is 12 noon UK time. Late, or incomplete, submissions will not be considered and will need to be resubmitted for the following panel. It is up the ATLAS participant to ensure their claim contains all the required documentation. All claims are run through Turnitin, and the reports made available to the ATLAS Scheme Lead. Results will be made available within 8 weeks of the deadline.
| Submission Deadlines | Results |
|---|---|
| Tuesday 1st October 2024, Noon | Wednesday 13th November 2024 |
| Tuesday 4th February 2025, Noon | Wednesday 19th March 2025 |
| Tuesday 20th May 2025, Noon | Wednesday 2nd July 2025 |