A1
Professional Practice and Authority
What do you do, decide, design, lead, deliver or steward, and with what professional judgement and accountability?
Scope • Responsibility • Judgement
GULFHE Fellowship Framework
GULFHE Professional Excellence and Impact Framework
All assessed GULFHE recognition is governed by the GULFHE Professional Excellence and Impact Framework (GPEIF). The framework combines a recognition level with a professional pathway and assesses evidence through four common dimensions, five professional commitments and the SCALE evidence test.
GPEIF
One framework for professional excellence and measurable impact
4
Assessment Dimensions
5
Professional Commitments
SCALE
Evidence Test
11
Professional Pathways
One Common Framework
One framework, multiple professional contexts
The GPEIF allows people working in different parts of the higher-education ecosystem to demonstrate excellence without forcing every applicant to present the same type of evidence.
Professional context may differ, but the expectation for credible, attributable and ethical impact remains common across every pathway.
01
Academic Practice
Teaching, learning, research and scholarly contribution.
02
Professional Practice
Student services, quality, development and institutional support.
03
Leadership & Strategy
Institutional, cross-institutional and sector-level influence.
04
Industry & Policy
Industry partnership, employability, policy and wider sector impact.
Assessment Framework
Four Assessment Dimensions
Every assessed Fellowship application is considered through four common dimensions that examine professional responsibility, measurable impact, leadership and wider contribution.
A2
Impact, Transformation and Outcomes
What changed because of your contribution, for whom, to what extent and with what assurance?
Outcomes • Change • Evidence
A3
Leadership, Influence and Stewardship
How do you enable others, build capability, share ownership and sustain responsible influence?
Leadership • Influence • Sustainability
A4
Scholarly, Digital and Societal Contribution
How do you use, create or mobilise evidence, knowledge, policy and responsible innovation for wider benefit?
Knowledge • Innovation • Wider Benefit
Professional Commitments
Five commitments that underpin professional recognition
These commitments apply across recognition levels and professional pathways and help demonstrate responsible, sustainable and reflective professional practice.
Ethical and Accountable Practice
Act responsibly, transparently and with appropriate professional accountability.
Inclusion, Context and Cultural Intelligence
Recognise context, diversity and the needs of different communities and stakeholders.
Evidence, Scholarship and Responsible Innovation
Use evidence, knowledge and innovation responsibly to strengthen professional practice.
Collaboration, Reciprocity and Stewardship
Build capability, share responsibility and contribute constructively with others.
Reflection, Learning and Continuous Enhancement
Reflect critically, learn from experience and continue to improve professional practice.
Evidence Quality
The SCALE evidence test
SCALE helps applicants present evidence that clearly demonstrates personal contribution, context, verification, professional learning and meaningful effect.
S
Specific Contribution
State what you personally decided, designed, led, delivered, enabled or changed.
C
Context
Explain the problem, baseline, stakeholders, constraints and environment in which the work took place.
A
Assurance
Show how the claim can be verified through data, documentation, stakeholder confirmation or other credible evidence.
L
Learning
Explain what you learned, what did not work as expected and how your professional judgement developed.
E
Effect
Explain what changed, who benefited, the scale of the effect and whether the change was sustained.
Evidence Guidance
What counts as evidence?
Evidence should directly support the claims made in your application. Applicants should use the smallest sufficient set of relevant evidence rather than uploading large volumes of loosely connected material.
Verified outcomes and evaluation data
Formal reports and approved policies
Curriculum or programme materials
Research and knowledge-exchange outputs
Stakeholder feedback and testimonials
Adoption and implementation records
Quality or accreditation evidence
Project documentation
Evidence must be appropriate and responsible.
Evidence should be authentic, relevant, proportionate, current enough for the claim, ethically obtained and shared with appropriate permission. Confidential or personal data should be minimised and anonymised wherever possible.
Assessment
What reviewers are looking for
Reviewers assess the application against the published level descriptors. Strong applications demonstrate a clear relationship between personal contribution, credible evidence, professional reflection and the claimed level of impact.
A long application does not compensate for weak evidence or
unclear personal contribution.
Relevance
Authenticity
Sufficiency
Attribution
Assurance
Ethical Practice
Critical Reflection
Sustainability
Reach of Impact
Before You Apply
Use the framework before you prepare your application
Review the controlled Fellowship documents that apply to your chosen recognition level and professional pathway before preparing or submitting an application.
Master Framework
Review the GULFHE Professional Excellence and Impact Framework that governs assessed recognition.
View Framework →Professional Pathways Handbook
Understand the eleven pathways and select the most relevant professional context for your evidence.
View Pathway Resources →Level Framework
Read the framework and requirements for the specific recognition level you intend to pursue.
Browse Level Frameworks →
Controlled documents are authoritative.
Where a promotional web summary differs from the current
controlled framework or policy, the controlled document applies.
Prepare With Confidence
Ready to use the framework for your Fellowship application?
Compare the recognition levels, download the relevant framework and review the application process before preparing your submission.