She’s a fellow

Academic recognised by scholarly society

Sara Thompson
Public relations assistant
Avondale College of Higher Education
Cooranbong, New South Wales, Australia

An academic from the School of Education is the first Avondale College of Higher Education staff member to receive a fellowship from scholarly society HERDSA.

Dr Maria Northcote, senior lecturer in online learning and research, became a fellow of the Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia at its 36th annual international conference in Auckland this past month.

Becoming a HERDSA fellow requires the submission of a portfolio of work fitting seven criteria under the guidance of a mentor. Maria completed her portfolio under Robert Kennelly, from the Business and Government Faculty Office at the University of Canberra. Eight other tertiary education leaders also completed their own portfolios. They met once a month via Skype.

“They were like supportive but critical friends,” says Maria. “It was good to reflect on what we did the same and on what we did differently. Even something as simple as saying, ‘Well, their students struggle with the same things as ours, how can we all work on that?’ It was a collegial process.”

The HERDSA fellowship brings benefits not only to the recipient but also to the entity for which they work and to higher education in Australia. “The HERDSA fellowship means Avondale will have a platform to reflect on, assess and improve quality assurance processes,” says vice-president of learning and teaching Professor Jane Fernandez. “Maria has done us proud.”

For Maria, the benefits of the fellowship include implementing aspects of her research into her teaching, passing on knowledge to her students. “I feel honoured,” she says, “but it’s not about me. It’s about advancing Avondale’s quality of teaching.”