Designing Impactful PGCert in Higher Education Courses: A Practical Guide for Staff Development
Author(s): Virna Rossi (Author)
- Publisher: Routledge
- Publication Date: June 18, 2026
- Edition: 1st
- Language: English
- Print length: 322 pages
- ISBN-10: 1032842393
- ISBN-13: 9781032842394
Book Description
Designing Impactful PGCert in Higher Education Courses is the first guide to focus fully on the design, delivery, evaluation and ongoing development of Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education (PGCert) provision.
Combining practical tools with critical reflection, it addresses a longstanding gap in the literature on taught staff development programmes. Written for those leading a PGCert, teaching on one, or developing a course for the first time, this book is a companion for purposeful and values-led PGCert work. It uses ‘PGCert’ as an umbrella term for related taught staff development programmes internationally (e.g., PgCAP, PGCLTHE), many of which align with professional recognition routes such as Advance HE Fellowships.
Structured around Rossi’s roots-to-shoots learning design model, the book explores five interconnected stages of PGCert design: Values, Context, Content, Assessment and Evaluation. While grounded in the UK higher education context, it speaks to global audiences and addresses contemporary challenges including inclusion, professional recognition, digital innovation and evidencing impact. Drawing on over two decades of practice as an educational developer and PGCert course leader, Virna Rossi brings together a wide community of colleagues to share evidence, case studies and adaptable tools for use in local contexts. This is a book that those involved in designing, running and evaluating PGCert provision will return to again and again, using its ideas and tools to make a demonstrable difference in practice.
Editorial Reviews
Review
‘This comprehensive and invaluable text, drawing on global experts, will be highly relevant to all who design and deliver PGCHE courses internationally’
Sally Brown
‘Developing our staff in higher education and their capability to develop engaging, relevant and impactful curricula, is one of the most important ways to improve the student learning experience. This takes time and imagination. This practical edited volume is a contribution to the field, for everyone involved in this collaborative endeavour. As the saying goes it takes a village to raise a child, it takes an academic community of practice to develop an academic. In this book, let a passionate group of academics, with years of experience, guide you to inspire, challenge and ultimately make education better!’
Santanu Vasant, Former Head of Educational Development and Digital Education at London Metropolitan University and Independent Higher Education Consultant
‘I am hugely impressed with what Virna Rossi has achieved here. This book is a treasure trove of insights, tips and guidance on how to support HE practitioners through accredited teaching and learning courses. The book is innovative, not just in the way it curates contributions from an enormous range of perspectives, but also in being squarely aimed at those whose job is to design the qualifications themselves’.
John Lea, Independent HE Consultant
This comprehensive and unique guide to the PGCert – the postgraduate qualification in teaching in HE – is there to help staff CPD designers explore and understand this contested terrain, to produce values-driven courses to empower staff to act with agency in their own development, to enter the community of academic practice and engage with confidence in the scholarship of teaching and learning – for themselves – and for the benefit of all their students.
Tom Burns and Sandra Sinfield
The first book of its kind, Virna Rossi invites readers to join her on a critical exploration of the PGCert journey. The range of contributions help to bring a mix of voices and perspectives to the informative, practical and values-based discussions. An important developmental text for anyone involved in designing and/or delivering a PGCert, Virna Rossi’s book is an inspiring read, engaging readers to reflect, review and mobilise positive educational change through the influential vehicles that are PGCerts.
Danielle Tran – Deputy Director of Higher Education Development & Support Institute (HEDS), UCL
About the Author
Virna Rossi is an Associate Professor and PGCert Course Leader in London, UK. She is an Advance HE Principal Fellow (PFHEA), a National Teaching Fellow (NTF) and on the SEDA Roll of Honour.
{“@context”:”https://schema.org”,”@type”:”Book”,”name”:”Designing Impactful PGCert in Higher Education Courses: A Practical Guide for Staff Development”,”image”:”https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41tbOax7kYL._SY445_SX342_FMwebp_.jpg”,”author”:{“@type”:”Person”,”name”:”Virna Rossi (Author)”},”publisher”:{“@type”:”Organization”,”name”:”Routledge”},”datePublished”:”June 18, 2026″,”isbn”:”9781032842394″,”numberOfPages”:322,”inLanguage”:”English”,”description”:”Designing Impactful PGCert in Higher Education Courses is the first guide to focus fully on the design, delivery, evaluation and ongoing development of Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education (PGCert) provision.Combining practical tools with critical reflection, it addresses a longstanding gap in the literature on taught staff development programmes. Written for those leading a PGCert, teaching on one, or developing a course for the first time, this book is a companion for purposeful and values-led PGCert work. It uses ‘PGCert’ as an umbrella term for related taught staff development programmes internationally (e.g., PgCAP, PGCLTHE), many of which align with professional recognition routes such as Advance HE Fellowships.Structured around Rossi’s roots-to-shoots learning design model, the book explores five interconnected stages of PGCert design: Values, Context, Content, Assessment and Evaluation. While grounded in the UK higher education context, it speaks to global audiences and addresses contemporary challenges including inclusion, professional recognition, digital innovation and evidencing impact. Drawing on over two decades of practice as an educational developer and PGCert course leader, Virna Rossi brings together a wide community of colleagues to share evidence, case studies and adaptable tools for use in local contexts. This is a book that those involved in designing, running and evaluating PGCert provision will return to again and again, using its ideas and tools to make a demonstrable difference in practice.”,”bookEdition”:”1st”,”url”:”https://www.amazon.com/dp/1032842393/”,”bookFormat”:”http://schema.org/EBook”,”additionalType”:”http://schema.org/PDF”,”fileSize”:”93 MB”,”accessibilityFeature”:[“login required”,”member access only”],”accessibilitySummary”:”PDF version available to authenticated members only. File size: 93 MB.”}
