Academic Professional Apprenticeship Level 7

Overview

The Level 7 Academic Professional Apprenticeship offers you the chance to engage critically with new developments in Higher Education teaching, practices and policies in a local, national and international context, with academic and practical rigor in the work environment. Whether you are a university based lecturer, or teach undergraduate and/or postgraduate students within your workplace, this apprenticeship will enable you to develop your learning, teaching and assessment practices to support your learners and their development in the field.  

In 2025/26 only the 12 month APA will be running, through distance learning. There are currently 3 pathways on the APA: 18-month teacher, 12-month teacher and 18-month researcher pathways. All 3 routes consist of two 30 credit Level 7 modules leading to the PG Cert Learning and Teaching in HE award. The 18-month pathways have 2 further modules that are non-credit bearing and focus on either research or leadership in education.  

The APA engages apprentices working in key educational roles to underpin their development of learning, teaching and leadership through:  

• Critical analysis and reflection
• Critical enquiry, scholarship and research
• Action planning and evaluation;
• Collaborative learning.

Delivery

In 2025/26 the APA will be taught one day a week and fully online. Teaching is a mixture of independent study, lectures, group work and projects that are carried out in the apprentices work environment. 

Our aim for apprentices on the APA is to develop lifelong learners and reflective practitioners who take a critical professional approach to their teaching and learning, have the ability and willingness to engage in experimentation and reflection, and use the learning that ensues to develop excellence in practice.

In order to achieve this, teaching consists of:  

• Lectures providing participants with the opportunity to engage with an extended and coherent line of argument  
• Practical sessions enabling experimentation and the analysis and discussion of issues, documents and materials  
• Seminars generating group and individual creativity, discussion and reflection  
• Work based activities to undertake enquiry and/or development work  
• Formative assessment opportunities to provide live ongoing feedback  
• Guided reading and independent study to enable participants to engage with relevant literature and tasks  
• Supported self-study to promote individual enquiry and development  
• Individual tutorials to support progression  
• E-learning opportunities involving the use of interactive packages and virtual learning environments. For blended online delivery, learning will be supported through the use of Moodle and MS Teams.

End Point Assessment 

At the end of the apprenticeship apprentices will engage with the End Point Assessment process. This will provide apprentices the opportunity to evidence a critical understanding of learning, teaching and research in HE. The EPA will consist of 3 assessment methods that address specific Knowledge, Skill, Values and Behaviours: Academic Professional Practice Assessment, Written Submission and Professional Conversation.  

There are no intermediate awards for the APA.   

Students with disabilities and/or particular learning needs should discuss assessments with the Course Leader to ensure they are able to fully engage with all assessment within the course.

Entry requirements

• Regular teaching of undergraduate / postgraduate students within your workplace

Delivery

All courses are credit-rated to help you to understand the amount and level of study needed. One credit is equal to 10 hours of directed study time (this includes everything you do e.g. lecture, seminar and private study). Credits are assigned to one of 5 levels: 

• Level 3 - Equivalent in standard to GCE 'A' level. Intended to prepare students for year one of an undergraduate degree course.
• Level 4 - Equivalent in standard to the first year of a full-time undergraduate degree course.
• Level 5 - Equivalent in standard to the second year of a full-time undergraduate degree course.
• Level 6 - Equivalent in standard to the third year of a full-time undergraduate degree course.
• Level 7 - Equivalent in standard to a Masters degree. Courses are made up of modules that are each credit weighted.

The overall credit-rating of this course is 60 credits. If for some reason you are unable to achieve this credit you may be entitled to an intermediate award, the level of the award will depend on the amount of credit you have accumulated. Learn more on the student policies page.