AdvanceHE mentoring

AdvanceHE is a UK-based organisation dedicated to providing professional recognition for teachers and teaching leaders in higher education (those who teach at the bachelor level or above). In many Commonwealth countries, this recognition is well-known and respected. In some countries, including the UK, it is a de facto job requirement for educators in higher education. At the University of Canterbury, I set up and led an AdvanceHE recognition programme in 2017. As of 2025, I successfully coached 49 people to Fellow of AdvanceHE, and 8 to Senior Fellow via the portfolio route.

The portfolio route means that you write your portfolio and directly submit it to AdvanceHE. Many tertiary education providers, again in particular in the UK, are accredited by AdvanceHE, meaning that one of their qualifications, usually a PostGraduate Certificate in Higher Education or equivalent, leads to recognition as a Fellow. The costs of being accredited by AdvanceHE can be inhibiting for an institution, so the portfolio route might be a better alternative, in particular when relatively few staff go through the process.

I provide support for individuals and organisations wanting staff to receive this international recognition of tertiary teaching practice. I can support staff going for the grades of Associate Fellow, Fellow, and Senior Fellow. Associate Fellow is meant for those with limited teaching duties or experience, Fellow is aimed at what I call ‘line academics’, and Senior Fellow is aimed at teaching leaders and educational developers. Please see the AdvanceHE Fellowship website for more details on which grade might be most appropriate for your teaching situation. As I have not yet obtained the grade of Principal Fellow myself, I can offer advice, but not mentoring, on how to provide evidence to obtain Principal Fellow status. For those who would like to achieve this grade, I will gladly connect you to those in my network who have obtained Principal Fellow status.