NETTLE (Network of European Tertiary Level Educators)

It is essential to attend to the professional and academic development requirements of tertiary level educators if the aspirations of the Bologna Declaration, in general, and the Tuning Educational Structures in Europe project, in particular, are to be fully realised. Working within the Tuning methodology, NETTLE aims to develop European-wide academic frameworks within which to equip educators in higher education with the competencies and skills necessary to provide effective and validated support for learners. Common reference points in these frameworks will relate to: • guiding principles • content and learning outcomes/objectives and level descriptors • pedagogic and technical infrastructure requirements • contributions from educational developers, learning technologists and subject specialists • delivery methods • quality assurance processes.

Designing the frameworks involves: • analysing the policy context(s) and accreditation procedures for educational development across Europe; • establishing the initial entry and continuing professional/educational development needs of tertiary level educators; • reviewing existing provision for embedding, upgrading and updating learner support competencies in institutions of higher education; • reaching agreement

Outputs from these activities include: • needs analyses and reports • a web site to facilitate operation of the network and dissemination • critical commentaries • evaluation reports

Over three years NETTLE will assist moves towards the convergence within tertiary level education across Europe and put in place a continuation/sustainability strategy to ensure that this thematic network contributes to future initiatives.

Paul Riddy, pjr1@soton.ac.uk