NATIONAL TEACHING AWARD

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EDGE HILL LECTURER WINS NATIONAL TEACHING AWARD

Dr Sue Palmer of Edge Hill College of Higher Education is to receive a prestigious national teaching award worth £50,000 in recognition of her dedication to excellence in teaching and learning.

Sue is Associate Dean within the Faculty of Humanities, Management and Social and Applied Sciences at Edge Hill. She is one of only five winners in the Experienced Staff category of National Teaching Fellowships from the North West region. Her impact on staff and students across the institution is demonstrated through her impressive career, during which her ability to positively influence colleagues and inspire her learners "has gone far beyond the formal limits of her role".

Sue?s achievements to date include her appointment as specialist coordinator for widening access and equal opportunities in the curriculum for the Higher Education Academy Subject Centre for Psychology, as well as acting as a consultant to two local education authorities. Her work as an advocate of the Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education (ILTHE) and the Higher Education Academy is also of extreme value in encouraging and promoting excellence in learning and teaching, and is testament to Sue?s dedication to her work.

Sue is one of 29 winners of the Experienced Staff category of National Teaching Fellowships, chosen from 91 nominations submitted by higher education institutions across England and Northern Ireland.

Dr Palmer?s plans for the award funding, focus primarily on the implementation of a project to investigate Work-Based Learning as part of a full-time degree programme. In order to achieve this, Sue will focus her investigations on student experience and the organisation of employer forums.

The National Teaching Fellowship Scheme (NTFS), now in its fifth year, recognises and rewards teachers or learning support staff in higher education for their excellence in teaching. It is managed by the Higher Education Academy on behalf of the Higher Education Funding Council for England and the Department for Employment and Learning in Northern Ireland, which fund the Scheme. Sir David Watson, the Chair of the NTFS Advisory Panel, said: 'The expansion of the National Teaching Fellowship Scheme has served to underline the wealth of talent and innovative thinking which characterises UK higher education. The Selection Committee is delighted to present 50 worthy winners of Fellowships from an extremely rich and varied pool of applicants. Teaching and learning in our universities and colleges is in extremely good hands.?

The Government?s White Paper on the Future of Higher Education, published in January 2003, recognised the success and influence of the National Teaching Fellowship Scheme by proposing that it should be more than doubled in size. Two new categories have been added this year, with awards being given for the first time in three categories: for experienced staff, learning support staff, and 'rising stars? who have been teaching regularly for fewer than six years.

Every eligible institution was able to nominate one person for each of the three categories: 91 nominations were received in the Experienced Staff category, 88 for Rising Stars and 70 for Learning Support Staff.

The Scheme has been highly influential nationally and internationally in raising the status and profile of teaching in higher education.

The winners will receive their awards from the Minister for Lifelong Learning and Higher Education, Alan Johnson, at a celebration dinner in London on 9 September 2004. ENDS Notes to editors 1. The nominations were judged by an Advisory Panel chaired by Sir David Watson, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Brighton. Nominations are assessed against the criteria in two rounds by a panel of 34 assessors who are chosen to represent a cross-section of the higher and further education sectors. Each nomination is anonymously assessed by a total of at least six assessors, with final decisions being made by the whole panel.

The Higher Education Academy was formed following the recommendations of the Teaching Quality Enhancement Committee (TQEC), published in January 2003. It integrates the work of the main agencies most directly involved in teaching quality enhancement into a new body. It incorporates the former Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education (ILTHE), 2. Learning and Teaching Support Network (LTSN), and TQEF National Co-ordination Team (NCT) 3. The Higher Education Academy will promote higher education by: ? providing strategic advice and co-ordination for the higher education sector, Government, funding bodies and others on policies and practices that will impact upon and enhance the student experience; ? supporting and advancing curriculum and pedagogic development across the whole spectrum of higher education activity; and ? facilitating the professional development and increasing the professional standing of all staff in higher education.

Further information and photos

For further information on the winners, please contact Karen Marshall, In Any Event UK, tel: 0870 757 7100, email: karen@inanyevent-uk.com. Photos are available upon request. Photos of the winners receiving their prizes will be available from 10 September 2004.

For further information about Edge Hill College of Higher Education contact: Roisin Rowley-Smith, PR Manager on 01695 594509 or e mail: rowlesr@edgehill.ac.uk

Further information about the NTFS is available on the website, http://www.ntfs.ac.uk

Further information about the Higher Education Academy is available at www.heacademy.ac.uk or from Andrea Rayner, tel 01904 434025, email: andrea.rayner@ilt.ac.uk