Comments on: Traditional HE role classifications create structural inequalities for third space professionals

By: SFHEA

SFHEA — Tue, 11 Jun 2024 13:53:39 +0000

As a 3rd space professional who has just finished their Senior Fellowship application on the 2011 descriptors- it was hard work! Glad to see growing conversations around the challenges of working in the space, as well as a positive change in the new framework descriptors.

By: Mr Third Space

Mr Third Space — Tue, 11 Jun 2024 08:02:40 +0000

The fact that we’re 20 years on from when Whitchurch started to address the ‘third space’ and still referring to it as a ‘third space’ and those who work in it as ‘third space professionals’ is testament to how slow the HE sector is to fully adopt change. I agree that HESA should be be seeking to add a new categorisation, but institutions should also be pushing for this kind of change.

By: An Other

An Other — Tue, 11 Jun 2024 07:12:52 +0000

Part of the root course is well known but not discussed publicly much for obvious reasons. The Advance HE schemes are controlled by a smallish cabal of the same old faces. If you bend the knee, then you have a good chance. Third space professionals don’t get to network in the same way so cannot be recruited and thus will struggle because they don’t realise how it actually works.

I was astonished when a colleague got an NTF off his thin profile. It all became clear when it turned out his neighbours were part of the assessment process and of course knew what was in their application.

I was told by various people involved in the scheme, I had no chance and not to bother as I was not respectful enough to the right people.