AUA Postgraduate Certificate in Professional Practice …

         AUA Postgraduate Certificate in Professional Practice
         (Higher Education Administration and Management) (OUVA)

                                      Institutional Support for Participants

The Postgraduate Certificate in Professional Practice has a growing reputation for providing
participants with the skills to manage their own professional development and an in-depth
knowledge of the latest developments in the HE sector. Although participants have a number of
support mechanisms including their mentor, study groups, development days, e-networks and, of
course, the AUA office some participants find that a lack of colleague or institutional support can be
a stumbling block. This is common with other distance learning programmes but there are ways that
it can be overcome.

So what can employers and line managers do to better support participants and what can participants
do to encourage institutions to help?

Getting the right balance is absolutely crucial- participants may, quite rightly, not want their
manager to be constantly badgering them about assignment deadlines and PDP goals. Similarly,
managers may not want to be involved in what the participant is doing at every stage. Each situation
is different- for example, where the programme fees have been paid by the institution they may be
interested in progress, but equally they may feel their involvement ends there. Whatever the
situation it is vital that you have talked about these issues and set some boundaries at the start of
the programme.

What can employers do?

Having a staff member involved in the PgCert is a great advert for your department, showing that you
are committed to developing your staff. It should make few demands on your time as all participants
are supported by their own mentor, however there are a number of things you can do to support an
employee through the PgCert.
    - providing even an hour or two of study time a week can make a huge difference to a
       participant. Even if you can't find time to allow them regular time off, allowing them to come
       in early or work late on the PgCert and letting them have time to visit the library or meet
       with their mentor can be a big help.
    - define which resources you can make available such as PCs, the internet and printers.
    - discuss the participants' development needs and help them to realise these in the context of
       their existing role.
    - where possible support requests to attend training courses which will help achieve PDP goals
       whilst also providing you with a better skilled workforce.
    - suggest one or two PDP goals which will benefit the department or allow the participant to
       get involved in other areas of work.
    - encourage the participant to use what they have learnt in their day-to-day work. Tools such
       as personal development planning and learning logs can be incredibly useful and the
       knowledge acquired for the assignments can inform policy and planning by sharing good
       practice.
    - be aware of the deadlines the participant is working to. Whilst work tasks will inevitably take
       priority, see if there is any flexibility in workloads at those times.



CL 04.10.07- article originally appeared in Newslink, Sept 2007
         AUA Postgraduate Certificate in Professional Practice
         (Higher Education Administration and Management) (OUVA)

What can participants do?

    -   try to involve your line manager in as many stages of your work on the PgCert as you can- the
        more involved they feel in the process, the more supportive they are likely to be. Engaging
        their support from the start will make it easier to negotiate later on.
    -   define what resources your department can provide- can you use your work PC, printers and
        photocopiers? Can you use the internet to look for articles- can this be done in work time or
        only outside of working hours?
    -   be willing and prepared to negotiate- there will be instances where work demands have to
        take precedence over planned study time or where you are not able to attend all the training
        courses you would like to in order to achieve goals on your PDP. Show that you are willing to
        be flexible- look for alternatives.
    -   involve your manager in the process of building your PDP. Demonstrate how the goals on your
        PDP will benefit your department as well as yourself. Let them know when you have achieved
        these goals. They may also be able to suggest goals that will contribute to aspects of their
        work or other areas of your department.
    -   link goals from the PDP and other PgCert activities into any reviews or appraisals you have.
    -   consider providing your manager with a list of your assessment deadlines. Have a copy above
        your desk or include them in online diaries.
    -   when asking for study time, be clear about how much leave you want and when. Employers
        are more likely to authorise a specific amount of leave for a finite period of time. The
        notional learning time for the programme is 600 hours- work out, with your line manager's
        involvement if possible, how you are going to manage this.
    -   asking for a chunk of time when you will do two or three PgCert activities may be better than
        asking for two or three separate slots. For example arrange meetings with your mentor in the
        middle of the day, then use the rest of the day to study or visit the library.
    -   equally, setting up or becoming involved in a local study group is not only a great way of
        networking with other people in your institution but can also provide you with an opportunity
        to take a regular time slot to concentrate on the PgCert- showing that you are working on it
        regularly could be better than only asking for time when an assignment deadline is looming.
    -   get involved in development days, discussion lists and networking opportunities to keep your
        motivation and to show that the PgCert is an ongoing process.
    -   if your line manager has contacts within the institution- either people or information- which
        may be useful to you in your assignments, use them. This in turn will help your line manager
        feel more involved.


What help does AUA provide?

    -   participants can request a letter to their line manager at the first study day which confirms
        their registration on the programme and outlines what is involved
    -   these letters can also be provided when a participant changes institution
    -   an information sheet has been produced and will be provided to all new starters specifically
        outlining the institutional benefits of their undertaking the programme



CL 04.10.07- article originally appeared in Newslink, Sept 2007