Celebrating a milestone: Fellowship of the Staff and Educational Development Association (FSEDA)

I am thrilled to share some exciting professional news: I have officially been awarded Fellowship of the Staff and Educational Development Association (FSEDA)! Reflecting on this achievement provides a wonderful opportunity to look back at the journey of authoring my portfolio, the invaluable support of the SEDA community, and why this fellowship is deeply meaningful for my work in online higher education.

The Journey: Cohort, Mentorship, and the Portfolio

Completing the FSEDA portfolio was a rigorous yet deeply rewarding process of charting my continuous learning as an academic leader. Rather than a simple collection of achievements, writing the portfolio required looking at my journey through a structured, analytical lens. I anchored my reflections in Jasper’s (2013) Experience, Reflection, Action reflective spiral, tracking how my early days as a lecturer evolved into systemic, strategic academic leadership.

This milestone was entirely collaborative, and I owe a massive debt of gratitude to the community that surrounded me my mentor Cath Caldwell and the cohort of peers who offered a collaborative space to share insights and reflections, creating an engaging environment that enriched the entire process.

Why FSEDA Matters to Me as Director of Academic Practice

As the Director of Academic Practice at CEG Digital, a UK-based Online Programme Management (OPM) organisation, leading educational development looks different than it does in a traditional university setting. I am responsible for the pedagogy, academic design, and governance alignment for over many online master's programmes delivered across multiple UK university partners. Achieving FSEDA fellowship is incredibly important to this role for several reasons:

1. Navigating Leadership in the "Third Space"

Much of my daily work takes place at the intersection of traditional academic culture and online operational delivery; a lateral, cross-boundary terrain often referred to as the "third space". Operating here means leading academic change largely without formal line management authority. Instead, I rely on academic credibility, evidence-informed judgement, and collegial co-operation. FSEDA reinforces the professional values needed to bridge these institutional boundaries successfully.

2. Translating Governance into Operational Systems

A core part of my philosophy is being student-centred and values-led. In an OPM context, this means strategically translating complex academic regulations and quality frameworks (like the evolving Office for Students conditions) into clear, workable operational workflows. This ensures our university partnerships maintain rigorous academic standards while actively supporting positive student outcomes.

3. Cultivating Inclusivity for a Global Cohort

Online postgraduate students are rarely traditional; they are often mature, working professionals balancing family commitments across multiple time zones. Grounding my practice in the core SEDA Values allows me to continue championing frameworks like Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and Laurillard’s (2013) Conversational Framework. Whether designing AI-resilient assessments or deploying early-stage study skills interventions, the goal is always to reduce structural barriers and build an authentic sense of academic belonging.

Looking Ahead

Receiving this fellowship is not the end of the road, but a springboard for what comes next. Over the next 12 months, my action plan focuses on creating unified frameworks for evolving online governance, expanding our scholarship around interventionary study skills for non-traditional learners, and driving transparency in cross-disciplinary assessment practices.

Thank you again to everyone at SEDA, my mentors, and my colleagues at CEG Digital who made this milestone possible.