EXPLORE

If yes go to Question 2

If no go to Question 4

If yes go to Question 3

If no go to Question 5

If yes join EXPLORE Accredited Experiential Scheme. Complete D3 or D4 in Year 1.

if no join EXPLORE Non-accredited Taught Scheme

If yes join EXPLORE Accredited Experiential Scheme.

If no access our EXPLORE Open Offer or join the General Teaching Associates Course

If yes Join EXPLORE Accredited Experiential Scheme.

If no go to Question 6

If yes Join EXPLORE Accredited Taught Scheme. Complete Fellow in Year 1.

If no go to Question 7

If yes, join EXPLORE Accredited Taught Scheme. Complete Associate Fellow in Year 1.

If no access our EXPLORE Open Offer or join the General Teaching Associates Course

EXPLORE Accredited Taught Scheme (known as EXPLORE Taught) is open to new Oxford Brookes academic and teaching staff, is accredited in Year 1 to Associate Fellow (Descriptor 1 - D1) and Fellow (Descriptor 2 - D2). Following on from gaining Fellowship recognition, we have two non-accredited years that allow you to continue to take a holistic approach to your academic continuous professional development during your first three years of employment at Oxford Brookes.

EXPLORE Accredited Experiential Scheme (known as EXPLORE Experiential) is open to colleagues employed at Oxford Brookes for three years or more.

EXPLORE Accredited Experiential Scheme is accredited to award: 

• Associate Fellowship (Descriptor 1 - D1)
• Fellowship (Descriptor 2 - D2)
• Senior Fellowship (Descriptor 3 - D3)
• Principal Fellowship (Descriptor 4 - D4)

Regardless of your length of employment with Oxford Brookes, all colleagues who meet the triage criteria can apply for Senior or Principal Fellowship recognition based on evidence of effective academic practice. 

EXPLORE Non-accredited Taught scheme is a three-year scheme open to new Oxford Brookes academic and teaching staff who already hold Fellowship. It focuses on teacher, researcher, and leadership development.

EXPLORE Open Offer is available to anyone teaching or supporting learning on an Oxford Brookes programme of study. It allows you to self-select standalone staff development sessions to support your continuous professional development (CPD) needs.

Advance HE Fellowship is the global professional standard for excellence in teaching and supporting learning in higher education. Evidence suggests Fellowship enhances individual practice (Spowart et al. 2020; Turner et al, 2013; Turner and Spowart, 2022), career progression and furthers an institution's strategic ambitions (Lawrence et al., 2022) together with academic development having a positive impact on staff well-being (Lawrence and Herrick, 2019). 

The Office for Students conditions of registration insist that HE teachers are suitably qualified. Institutions report Fellowships to HESA; these statistics inform several university rankings. Oxford Brookes aims to meet the sector benchmark for its number of Fellows and the University Alliance benchmark by TEF 2027.

For those new to teaching, the EXPLORE Accredited Taught Scheme should increase confidence and alleviate some of the anxiety many new academics face. It should also encourage more efficient use of preparation time, as well as build a firm foundation on which to base educational research and scholarship development in the future.  The EXPLORE Accredited Taught Schemes aim to impact the quality of the educational experience of students and the research excellence profile at Oxford Brookes. 

It is also a contractual responsibility for new academic and teaching staff to complete the most appropriate EXPLORE scheme and colleagues are expected to enrol on EXPLORE, normally within one year of joining Oxford Brookes (or pro rata timing for those on fractional contracts). Staff would normally be expected to complete the scheme within three years of the start of their appointment (or longer for those on fractional contracts).  

Each year you will be automatically enrolled on to EXPLORE upon the successful completion of your E-Portfolio assessment. Progression to the subsequent EXPLORE year is contingent upon completing this requirement.

Yes, Associate Lecturers can join EXPLORE  either through the EXPLORE Accredited Taught scheme or the EXPLORE Open Offer for staff as CPD. Following the guidance in the Employment of Associate Lecturers Policy, two hours of engagement with EXPLORE are free (paid for by AL’s Faculty/Directorate) but any additional interaction with the programme would need to be voluntary and paid for. There will be no payment to the AL for attendance. For more details see the Employment of Associate Lecturers Policy.  

It is a contractual obligation for all new academic and teaching staff on a substantive contract to join EXPLORE.

Each year, we will inform line managers of those who have enrolled onto EXPLORE after the deadline of 1 October. During the scheme, we send out a RAG rating to participants and their line managers that can be useful to discuss as part of your regular one-to-one meetings. The RAG ratings assess engagement on: attendance at induction and EXPLORE sessions, engagement with tutor group, engagement with tutor, and completion of a Review of Academic Practice. 

• Red: low engagement, disengaged or no engagement
• Amber: somewhat engaged
• Green: engaged or highly engaged on the scheme

Additionally we will inform your line managers of your successful outcomes after you have fully completed Year 1 and again after Years 2 and 3. 

Yes, we have the EXPLORE Non-accredited Taught Scheme for you. There is no expectation for developing teaching practice but there is for engagement with leadership development as well as research, knowledge exchange and innovation or scholarship (depending on your role). 

At the end of each year, you will submit an E-Portfolio that briefly outlines the impact of their learning through the scheme and includes a reflective account on your continued professional development.

If you already hold a Fellowship from Advance HE, you must send a copy of their Fellowship certificate to the People Directorate for validation to enrol on the EXPLORE Non-accredited Taught Scheme.  

Contact the EXPLORE Co-ordinator via email: explore@brookes.ac.uk