Recognising Teaching | Leading Learning
Higher Education Academy (HEA) fellowships offer professional recognition for your commitment to teaching, supporting your colleagues in their teaching and to enhancing students’ learning experiences and outcomes.
HEA Fellowships are globally recognised and portable across universities and are increasingly considered as part of the appointment and promotion process.
This scheme is a key component of the professional learning landscape at Griffith, with HEA Fellowships providing recognition of the commitment of learning and teaching staff who examine their practice with a view to enhancing it.
Benefits of HEA recognition
HEA Fellowship gives you global recognition across the higher education sector
Fellowship encourages you to review, develop and demonstrate your practice across the Professional Standards Framework
Being an HEA Fellow provides opportunities for you to engage in ongoing professional learning through mentorships and professional networks
At Griffith, HEA Fellowship leads to membership of the Griffith Learning and Teaching Academy (GLTA) and opportunities to network and lead within learning and teaching
Fellowship entitles you to use post-nominal letters:
- Principal Fellow of the HEA (PFHEA)
- Senior Fellow of the HEA (SFHEA)
- Fellow of the HEA (FHEA)
- Associate Fellow of the HEA (AFHEA)
Pathways to HEA Fellowship at Griffith
There are four programs available at Griffith, supporting three categories of HEA Fellowship.

Associate Fellow
Teaching for Learning
This taught program enables you to develop your capabilities as an educator and supports you in your role as an intentional, purposeful and knowledgeable leader of student learning.

Associate Fellow
Curriculum Design for Learning
This taught program enables you to enhance the curriculum and/or assessment design within the context of your course or program and is also relevant for staff in learning and teaching support roles.

Fellow
Graduate Certificate in University Learning and Teaching
This taught program enables you to develop the knowledge, skills and values that can lead to learning and teaching transformation.

Fellow / Senior Fellow
Learning and Teaching Practice
This portfolio program is intentionally designed to be inclusive of the activities and experiences which already make up your career in higher education.
Please note the Principal Fellow category is not supported by a Griffith accredited pathway. If you are interested in applying for Principal Fellowship (PFHEA) more details are available here.
Which HEA Fellowship category is right for you?
There are four categories of HEA Fellowship. These categories span the entire range of practices carried out by staff who teach or support learning in higher education – from those with a new or partial role in teaching and supporting learning through to those with strategic impact on learning and teaching within the institutional, national and/or international context.
Associate Fellow | Fellow | Senior Fellow | Principal Fellow |
---|---|---|---|
AFHEA | FHEA | SFHEA | PFHEA |
Some teaching and/or supporting learning responsibilities | Broad-based experience of teaching and/or supporting learning | Experienced staff with leadership roles/responsibilities related to teaching and/or supporting learning | Significant experience of strategic leadership roles/responsibilities related to teaching and supporting learning (with evidence of a sustained and effective record at an institutional, national or international level) |
Still not sure which Fellowship category is right for you? The Fellowship Category Tool from AdvanceHE will ask you a series of multiple choice questions to help you understand the category of Fellowship that most closely reflects your current practice. This can help you make a decision about which HEA Fellowships@Griffith pathway to undertake.
Information Sessions
Find out more about HEA Fellowships@Griffith at an upcoming information session
Professional Standards Framework
HEA Fellowships are based on the Professional Standards Framework (PSF) developed in the United Kingdom. The PSF sets out the knowledge, skills and values demonstrated by those teaching and/or supporting learning in higher education.
The PSF for teaching and supporting learning in higher education provides descriptors for each category of fellowship and information about the typical role and career stage indicative of the category.

Featured HEA Fellows

Principal Fellow
Professor Ruth Bridgstock
Learning Futures
One of the best parts of HEA Fellowship is that it connects you with others. First, it’s an opportunity to enhance your practice through learning with peers, which for me was a transformational experience. Then once you become a Fellow, you become part of a collegial network that extends university-wide and beyond. There are about 100,000 of us worldwide, with another 1,000 Fellowships conferred every month.

Senior Fellow
Associate Professor Sarah Cresswell
Forensic Science and Archaeology, Griffith Sciences
Having the opportunity, and making the time, to reflect on my teaching career and see how my teaching philosophy has continually developed over the years was an unexpected benefit of the HEA Fellowship application process.

Senior Fellow
Dr Paula Myatt
Learning Futures
The HEA Fellowship writing process enabled me to stop and reflect on what has driven me in my teaching over the years. I really came to understand my passion for guiding other academics to harness their careers and maximise their goals.
Want to know more?
Feel free to get in touch with us if you have any questions about HEA Fellowships@Griffith