1. The Scholarship Framework
Pauline Osborne – Head of HE
Jolanta Peters – Research & Library Services Manager

2. University Centre Somerset (UCS)
Pauline

3. About University Centre Somerset
UCS - part of Bridgwater & Taunton College created following merger of Somerset College and Bridgwater College in 2016
HE students at UCS, 20,000 FE students at BTC
General FE College: Engineering, Nuclear Engineering, Agricultural Management, Animal Management, Creative Arts, Computing, Early Childhood Studies, Health and Social Care, Nursing Associate Degree Apprenticeship…..
Pauline

4. Research & Scholarly Activities
Research, Scholarship & Ethics Committee
Internal bidding rounds
Curriculum development
Development of teaching, learning and assessment
Subject-specific
Action research
Pauline

5. Research & Scholarly Activities Publication
Annual publication
Scholarly articles - references to literature and staff professional practice
Reflective pieces also welcomed
Excellent opportunity to disseminate RASA
Route to publishing externally
Pauline

6. Research & Scholarship Symposium
Annual event – June/July
External and internal keynote speakers
Annual publication launched at the event
Opportunity to connect with colleagues
Share and exchange ideas, network with others
and more!
Pauline

7. Staff Research Guide
The electronic repository on Blackboard (VLE) contains:
Access to RASA support materials
Access to Research & Scholarship Scheme (internal bidding) documents
Evidence from successful past projects, Symposia and annual RASA publications
The site is constantly evolving – current focus is on the HEA Fellowship support page
Jolanta

8. AoC Scholarship Project
A 3-year project ( ) aimed to support the development and embedding of a distinct college HE scholarly ethos
Aimed to help enhance the learning of college Higher Education students
The main output – the Scholarship Framework
Jolanta: Underpinned by Boyer’s (1990) 4 types of scholarship, the Project did not seek to impose a narrow, pre-conceived notion of what scholarship is, but the project was conceptually underpinned by the work of Ernest Boyer on the four scholarships (Boyer 1990) - of discovery, of application, of integration, and of teaching - with the intention of exploring how each form of scholarship might be developed, monitored and evaluated within a college higher education context.

9. AoC Scholarship Project
Discovery
Application
Integration
Teaching
Pauline: Underpinned by Boyer’s (1990) 4 types of scholarship. The Project did not seek to impose a narrow, pre-conceived notion of what scholarship is, but the project was conceptually underpinned by the work of Ernest Boyer on the four scholarships (Boyer 1990) - of discovery, of application, of integration, and of teaching - with the intention of exploring how each form of scholarship might be developed, monitored and evaluated within a college higher education context.
Boyer, 1990

10. Illustrative example of ways of engaging learners
Types of scholarship
Illustrative example of ways of engaging learners
Scholarship of discovery
Engage in inquiry-based learning; undergraduate research and consultancy projects; co-research projects with staff.
Scholarship of integration
Engage in integrating material from different sources, including across disciplines; integrate life and work experience with academic studies; reflect on implications of studies for personal development.
Scholarship of application/engagement
Engage with local, national, and international community service projects; volunteering; knowledge exchange projects; apply knowledge and skills in work-based placements.
Scholarship of teaching and learning
Engage in mentoring; peer support and assessment; collaborative group work; learners as explicit partners in educational development and inquiry.
Jolanta: It’s not only about the scholarship for the academics, it also about engaging learners into all 4 modes of scholarship. Here are some of examples provided by the AoC. Peer support: level 5 mentoring level 4, etc.
(AoC, 2018)

11. Scholarship Framework
A free toolkit of resources and a forum
Resources by theme and intended user audience
Jolanta: Free to all colleges who register
Forum is intended for colleagues to engage in conversation relating to scholarly activity and research

12. Examples of scholarly activity in your institutions
A brainstorming activity half-way through the presentation to encourage delegates to give short examples of what is considered as scholarly activity in their institutions (college or university)

13. Examples of Scholarship at UCS
Undertaking research activities into the subject discipline and/or pedagogy
Networking with the wider HE community (internal, external and HEI partners)
Studying for a relevant higher level subject-based or pedagogical qualification
Subject updating
Reading on subject discipline or pedagogy
Industry engagement and consultancy
Mentoring of HE staff
Applying for the Professional Standards Framework Fellowship recognition
Taking higher qualifications – Master’s, Doctorates and teaching qualifications
Delivering a session that is HE relevant and promotes deeper understanding on a subject
Leading staff development sessions
The Framework encouraged us to develop our Scholarly Activity and Research policy. Here are the examples of activities that are recognised by the College as being scholarly activity are (but are not limited to).

14. Examples of Scholarship at UCS
Attendance at relevant conferences (internal and external)
Attendance at talks by external speakers
Curriculum/programme development, review or approval
Peer review and formal observation of teaching and learning
Participation in programme/HE review processes
Presentation of a self-authored paper at a conference
Exhibition, performance or demonstration of activities
Knowledge transfer groups
Being an External Examiner
Professional memberships
Engagement with government agencies, policy makers, employers, etc.
The Framework encouraged us to develop our Scholarly Activity and Research policy. Here are the examples of activities that are recognised by the College as being scholarly activity are (but are not limited to).

15. Self-Evaluation Tool Pauline Type
Approaches to achieve this type of scholarship
Overview of activities
Evaluative statement
Scholarship of discovery
Research projects and activities
Students find study intellectually stimulating
Definition of experience between levels of study is evident
Evidence of innovative approaches to teaching and learning
Scholarship of integration
Active engagement with employers that enhances course delivery
Employability of students
Curriculum design that engages students in the application of theory in to practice
Scholarship of application/
engagement
Engage with local, national and international community service projects and/or knowledge exchange
Evidence of continued efforts to enhance the student experience through scholarly activity
Students feel ready for work through the application of their course to work based situations. Staff are actively preparing students for the workplace at the relevant level.
Scholarship of teaching and learning
Staff engage in mentoring, peer review activities
Group work and team approaches to enhancing and developing teaching and learning.
Evidence of active and effective partnerships with students in shaping their teaching and learning experience
Pauline

16. How the Framework helps UCS
Progresses our scholarship agenda further
Embeds scholarship culture throughout UCS
Provides evidence for Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF)
Enables research with employers
Impacts on NSS scores, retention and employability
Provides evidence for any Degree Awarding Powers application
Ensures HEness of our delivery
Supports currency of discipline knowledge
Encourages student progression to Level 6, Master’s and employment
Supports HEA Fellowships
Pauline: Not just pockets of scholarship going on, but throughout the College

17. Jolanta: The Framework opens doors to a number of scholarship examples that can be adapted at colleges to help them enhance their RASA

18. Employer engagement mosaic Scholarly spaces/cafés
Students as co-researchers
Intellectual property
Collaborative RASA: colleges and universities
UCS Abridged Version
Collaborative peer observation
Jolanta + show the website: this is not an expansive diagram on what’s on offer through the Framework: just a few ideas. We will have a look at the Framework itself and how to navigate it and ideas you may want to implement in your institutions or develop your own professional practice further. All the resources are arranged by 4 categories to help users navigate to the resources they are most interested in: curriculum development, student engagement, professional development and quality enhancement. A lot of these resources are toolkits, healthchecks, mosaics, action plans, self-assessment tools and other support documents to help implement a particular aspect of the scholarship development.
RASA dissemination
Multi-disciplinary delivery

19. Activity: “Next Steps”
Activity – next steps (pathway with steps)
Now it’s time for an activity. Think of 4 next steps that you think you could take away from this session in terms of developing scholarship further at your institution. If you are from a university, what can you do to collaborate together with partner college colleagues in developing scholarship?

20. References
AoC (2018) Enhancing scholarship in College Higher Education: the Scholarship Project. Available at: higher-education-the-scholarship-project (Accessed: 8 February 2018).
AoC (2018) What is Scholarship? Background and definitions of scholarship. Available at: scholarship (Accessed: 8 January 2019).
Boyer, E. (1990) Scholarship reconsidered: priorities of the professoriate. Princeton University, NJ: Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
Lea, J. (ed.) (2015) Enhancing learning and teaching in Higher Education: engaging with dimensions of practice. Maidenhead: Open University Press.
The Scholarship Framework (2018) Resources. Available at: (Accessed: 20 December 2018).