Teaching and Learning Developmental Pathways

Discover a range of developmental pathways designed to enhance your practice in teaching and supporting student learning at every stage of your career.

Our university offers a range of opportunities for staff involved in teaching and supporting student learning to develop their practice at every stage of their career. Whether you are new to teaching in higher education or leading at a strategic level, we provide structured pathways to support your ongoing development.

Opportunities for early-career staff

All academic staff with teaching responsibilities are expected to gain a HESA recognised teaching qualification as part of their probation, if they do not already hold one. Our university supports this through a number of pathways, depending on your experience.

Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education (PGCert HE) Pathway

Our PGCert HE is designed for early career professionals delivering or supporting learning in higher education but who already have existing experience across the full scope of teaching practice. This includes the design and planning of learning, engaging in teaching (such as lecturing, facilitating seminars or workshops, supervision and similar), assessment and feedback, support and guidance of learners, and engaging in continued professional development (CPD).

Our programme supports participants in developing a critical, inquiry‑based understanding of contemporary higher education pedagogy, enabling you to reflect on and enhance your existing practice within an academic context. Participants are expected to continue undertaking a full scope of teaching activities alongside the programme in order to further develop your experience and evidence of practice.

Accredited by Advance HE, our programme also awards Fellowship (FHEA) on successful completion. It is open to all staff at the University of Greenwich and those teaching at our partner institutions. Registration typically opens in April or May, with the programme commencing in September.

Find out more about our PGCert programme, eligibility criteria and how to enrol here

Read our application guidance here

Pre-PGCert HE Developmental Pathway

Staff who do not have existing experience across the full scope of teaching practice will be enrolled onto our Pre-PGCert HE Developmental Pathway. This will provide opportunities to develop the skills and experience needed to help you meet the entry requirements for our PGCert HE pathway.

Whilst on this pathway, you will engage with:

You will join a supportive peer community of practice, where you will have the opportunity to network and develop professional relationships with colleagues across our institution.

The duration of this pathway will depend on your own developmental needs which could span up to 4 academic terms. This is until you have the necessary evidence and experience for our PGCert HE pathway for the next available enrolment period.

Read our application guidance here

GOLD Fellowship Pathway

Our GOLD Fellowship pathway is the recommend route to achieving an HE qualification for staff:

  • with existing higher education experience across the full scope of teaching practice, but who do not hold a HESA-recognised teaching qualification; or
  • with an existing teaching qualification outside of higher education (e.g. a PGCE).

Learn more about our GOLD scheme here

First-time module leader development

In addition to these pathways, staff who are first-time module leaders at Greenwich are also recommended to attend our Module Leadership 101 (ML101) course. This 5 workshop series introduces you to key operational information, as well as a chance to learn about leading a module team, transitioning to lecturing (e.g. for colleagues who take on a module’s lectures as part of module leadership), organising assessment and moderation, and VLE/Moodle management

Learn more about our ML101 course here

Opportunities for mid-career staff

Once you have established your teaching practice, our university supports your continued development through opportunities that focus on leadership, mentoring, and professional recognition.

  • Module Leadership 102 course (coming Autumn 2026) – for experienced module leaders looking to advance their practice including evaluation and the use of data for quality enhancement.
  • Programme Leadership 101 course – for all staff who undertake programme leadership responsibilities.
  • Become a GOLD mentor - support others in achieving Advance HE fellowship
  • Advance HE Senior Fellowship (D3) – get professional recognition of your leadership and influence on others teaching and learning practice through our GOLD scheme.

Opportunities for senior staff, leaders, or high-performing staff

For staff demonstrating sustained strategic leadership or exceptional impact in teaching and learning, the university offers opportunities for national recognition and advanced professional accreditation.

  • Become a GOLD reviewer – for experienced GOLD mentors, be a part of our awarding process.
  • Advance HE Principal Fellowship (D4) (coming Autumn 2026) – get professional recognition you’re your strategic leadership and extensive impact on teaching and learning. Our development scheme can support and sponsor your application made directly to Advance HE.
  • National Teaching Fellowship (NTF) and Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence (CATE) – Our mentored scheme can support you or a team in getting national recognition for the exceptional contributions you have made to teaching or the support of learning in UK higher education.
  • Become an NTF & CATE mentor – for award holders and trained reviewers with Advance HE, be a part of our mentoring team to support future candidates through our scheme.


Guidance & Resources