A Framework for Academic Professional Development in Higher Education

The higher education landscape is rapidly changing environment with shrinking budgets, greater demands and initiatives to drive greater collaboration with stakeholders and proposals suggesting integration amongst institutions. Coupled with changes in the technological environment within which staff in higher education work, academics continue to be challenged in an ever-increasing changing environment. Critical to sustaining higher educational institutions will be having efficient and skillful staff, an image as a progressive and dynamic institution committed to developing its people and providing opportunities for organisational learning to occur. For the individual who commits to engaging with CPD the benefits include; (i) career prospects may be improved, (ii) identify skills that may be of assistance to others, (iii) maintain and improve knowledge and abilities, (iv) being able to react more readily and adapt to a changing professional and dynamic world and (v) maintaining CPD records demonstrate a commitment to the profession. Key drivers in formulating a framework in the delivery of CPD are; (i) appreciating the pedagogy of learning, (ii) reviewing the broad range of acceptable activities that constitute CPD, (iii) acknowledging the myriad of challenges management and staff in educational institutions face in deploying CPD and (iv) recognising the role of professional bodies and the drivers in maintaining the status of CPD. A framework is presented that endeavours to capture the multi-faceted nature of CPD in academic settings, recognising that CPD may be formal or informal, collaborative and collegial, while attempting to record the broad range of activities that constitute CPD.