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STARS Mentor/Reviewer Benchmarking Training

Audience: Academic staff

Date: Monday 20 April 2026

Times: 14.15 to 16.00

Key details: Online workshop for new and returning Mentors or Reviewers on the St Andrews Recognition Scheme (STARS). Completing the preparatory tasks before the workshop is an *essential* part of the training.

Target audience

Staff who are new or returning Mentors and/or Reviewers on STARS. You must have a category of Advance HE fellowship and completed the expressions of interest form prior to booking.

Course pre-work

Will be circulated in advance. To read and provide feedback on two exemplar applications.

Course information

The St Andrews Recognition Scheme (STARS) is an Advance HE accredited scheme that provides participants with structured opportunities and support to reflect on their practice and prepare a claim for recognition against one of the following Professional Standards Framework (PSF 2023) Descriptors, as appropriate to their context: D1 (Associate Fellow), D2 (Fellow), or D3 (Senior Fellow).

This workshop comprises part of the induction training for those new to Mentoring or Reviewing on STARS, and acts as the annual refresher training for existing Mentors and Reviewers. Completing the preparatory tasks and attending the workshop are both required before a colleague can start or continue as a Mentor or Reviewer on STARS.

Completing the pre-work is essential: this involves reading and providing feedback on at least one exemplar application.  These will be shared with participants in advance of the workshop. 

14:15-14:30       Overview of any changes to the scheme, recap of Mentor/Reviewer responsibilities

14:30-15:30       Associate Fellow and Fellow benchmarking exercises

15:30-16:00       Senior Fellow benchmarking exercise

Aims and objectives

The Aim of this workshop is to help participants develop insight into the requirements for gaining Fellowship at Descriptors 1-3 of the PSF 2023 and how to support others to do so.

By the end of the workshop participants should be able to:

  1. Explain the PSF2023 and the requirements for different categories of Fellowship
  2. Provide supportive feedback and guidance to applicants, including those whose applications are Conditional or Referred
  3. Make robust Fellowship judgements based on the PSF 2023

Tutors

Dr Heather McKiggan-Fee

Dr Eilidh Harris

Course provider

IELLI
Email: ielli@st-andrews.ac.uk