Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice (PCAP)
Introduction
The Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice (PCAP) is a two-year part-time programme at postgraduate level aimed at university staff at the beginning of their teaching career. However, the programme is also open to more experienced staff who wish to explore theoretical aspects of their teaching practice as part of their continuous professional development. The programme covers all aspects of teaching and learning in higher education, including curriculum design, assessment and feedback, student motivation and professional development. You will also have an opportunity to specialize in an area of your own choice, and you will be collaborating with colleagues from across the university, representing different disciplines. The programme is work-based. Everything you learn can be applied to your own teaching practice and experience, and all assignments will be closely related to your work with students.
The programme is intended to build on your experiences whilst progressing your understanding of learning and teaching within a higher education context. It prepares you to undertake a leadership role in teaching and draws upon theories and concepts of learning that can be applied in any higher education setting. Moreover, the programme provides you with the tools to conduct research into your own practice.
The programme is aligned to the criteria for descriptor 2 of the Professional Standards Framework, giving participants the opportunity to be awarded Fellowship of Advance HE on completion of the programme.
Intended Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this programme, participants will be able to:
PLO 1: Critically evaluate a range of teaching and assessment practices in higher education.
PLO 2: Demonstrate integration of scholarship and research into professional activities relating to learning, teaching and assessment in higher education.
PLO 3: Demonstrate how engagement in continuous professional development in learning and teaching impact on professional practice.
PLO 4: Critically engage in professional dialogues relating to teaching practices across disciplines.
PLO 5: Design inclusive curricula and courses across teaching platforms, taking into account student diversity.
PLO 6: Critically assess the quality and impact of a variety of teaching and assessment practices.
Teaching Methods
The programme is delivered through a combination of weekly face-to-face workshops and online activities. Participants will also work independently in action learning groups supported by mentors when researching their cross-disciplinary project.
Structure of programme
The programme consists of four courses – one of which (Project) runs over two years. You must successfully complete all courses in order to gain the PCAP qualification. In addition, you need to complete a Fellowship document – which is fully integrated into the course – in order to be awarded Fellowship (FHEA).
| Year 1 | Semester 2 | Teaching in Higher Education: Professional development (6 credits) | Project (6 credits) |
| Semester 1 | Effective Curriculum and Learning Design (12 credits) | ||
| Year 2 | Semester 2 | ||
| Semester 1 | Student Learning in Higher Education (6 credits) |
The courses
Teaching in higher education: professional development (6 credits)
The focus of this course is to explore your own teaching practice and how to enhance it. You will be introduced to the UK Professional Standards Framework, which underpins this postgraduate programme. You will be introduced to ways in which you can evaluate the effectiveness of your teaching, and how to use Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) to make your teaching practice evidence-based and share good practice. You will explore opportunities to develop leadership in teaching and learning and engage in teaching observations and professional dialogues with peers in order to develop your own practice. The course will also introduces you to reflective practice and helps you develop the skills to write reflectively about your teaching practice.
Project (6 credits)
During the first semester of the programme, you will select an aspect of higher education teaching and learning that particularly interests you. You will form a group with one or two colleagues from other disciplines and develop a small project that can be an intervention, or an innovation related to teaching, learning and assessment. Members of the programme team and a mentor from your own faculty will support you throughout the process.
Effective curriculum and learning design in higher education (12 credits)
This course engages you in a critical examination of current evidence and practices on effective teaching and learning in higher education, and the practical applications of them to better analyse, understand, reflect, and improve your teaching effectiveness, students’ achievement of the learning outcomes, and students’ overall university experience. The course will be delivered through a combination of lectures and tutorials. It will also spaces for you to explore the topics you are interested in.
Student learning in higher education (6 credits)
This course focuses on the student experience and how to support students’ motivation and engagement. You will be introduced to a range of teaching strategies that can be applied in your own learning environment(s) to ensure that your instruction is effective and supports students in self-directed learning.
Admission for 2024-25
Programme Prerequisites
To be eligible for this programme, participants must:
- Comply with the General Regulations and the Regulations for Taught Postgraduate Curricula;
- Hold a good Bachelor’s degree of the University of Hong Kong or another comparable institution accepted for this purpose;
- Be currently teaching at HKU (full-time) and have significant responsibility in relation to curriculum design and assessment;
- Satisfy the English language requirements as prescribed under General Regulations G2(b)
Time
The programme starts on Tuesday 21st January 2025.
Classes will take place on Tuesday mornings 9:30am – 12:30pm in RRS321.
An induction to the programme will take place on Tuesday 17th December 2024 in RRS321, 11:00am – 12:30pm.
Registration Period: 26th August 2024 and close on 30th September 2024.
Fee
The programme is free of charge for eligible teaching staff employed by the University of Hong Kong.
Apply
30 participants are admitted annually.
Receive an email about the next intake
Contact Us
Academic Matters
Dr. Jannie Roed (Programme Director)
Phone: 3917 0112
Email: roedjan@hku.hk
General Enquiries
Phone: 3917 6069
Email: tpgpcap@hku.hk