Community of Practice | The Learning and Teaching blog for ANU

Once you become an EFS Fellow, you are encouraged to contribute to the ANU EFS by actively engaging in activities that support the development of new Fellows and promotion of the scheme. Activities include mentoring EFS applicants, assessing applications, guest speaking, and promoting the EFS in your college.

EFS Committee

The ANU EFS is governed by a Committee, which is steered by three Co-chairs. Consult our our ANU Committee page for the Committee Charter, member list, and upcoming meeting dates.

EFS mentors

EFS mentors support prospective EFS applicants on a one-on-one basis. By doing so, they gain and improve skills in mentoring in a higher-education setting while being supported by the EFS team. They are also offered opportunities to connect with a teaching-focused community within ANU. They have opportunities to network with other EFS mentors (including senior academics and members of professional staff) and establish a strong working relationship with an EFS applicant. By supporting someone with their EFS application, they make a tangible difference to someone's career in higher education.

What is involved in mentoring in the EFS?
Your time is valuable, which is why we are aiming to minimise the required time commitment on administration and ensure that you can focus on building connections. As a minimum requirement, we ask that EFS mentors do the following:

attend one EFS mentor workshop per year (1.5 hours);
meet with the EFS applicant a few times (either face-to-face or virtually);
review the applicant’s draft texts and answer their emails;
sporadically provide a short report to the EFS team on the applicant’s progress.

Every EFS applicant is different and some will need more help with their application than others. The expected time commitment per applicant is approximately 10 but no more than 15 hours, spread out over a period of five to six months.

How do I become an EFS mentor?

Express your interest in becoming an EFS mentor by completing our ‘expression of interest’ form.

After receiving your form submission, we will invite you via email to the next EFS mentor workshop, which we run a few times a year (March/April and August/September). You will then be asked if you would like to formally join the upcoming EFS mentor program. You will start working with the EFS applicant/s only after this workshop and your engagement with them ends at the EFS closing date for their application (five to six months later).

EFS assessors

EFS assessors provide assessments of EFS applications. By doing so, they gain and improve skills in assessing in a higher-education setting while being supported by the EFS team. They are also offered opportunities to connect with a teaching-focused community within ANU. They have opportunities to network with other EFS assessors (including senior academics and members of professional staff). And finally, by assessing EFS applications, they make a tangible difference to the applicants’ careers in higher education.

What is involved in assessing in the EFS?
Your time is valuable, which is why we are aiming to minimise the required time commitment on administration and ensure that you can focus on the task at hand. As a minimum requirement, we ask that EFS assessors attend one EFS assessor workshop per year (1.5 hours).

Every EFS application is different and some will take more time to assess than others. The expected time commitment per assessment is between 1.5 and 2.5 hours, to be completed during our cycle of assessment. These cycles take place twice a year: in March/April and September/October. We will contact you via email prior to each cycle of assessment with further details about the exact timeframe, and to ask how many assessments you can take on in that cycle.

How do I become an EFS assessor?

Express your interest in becoming an EFS assessor by completing our ‘expression of interest’ form.

After receiving your form submission, we will invite you via email to the next EFS assessor workshop, which we run a few times a year (March/April and August/September). You will then be asked if you would like to formally join the EFS assessor pool.

Other roles

You may also be interested in sharing your experiences in teaching and/or supporting learning in higher education in other ways, e.g. by co-facilitating an EFS workshop or by leading a working group. We welcome your ideas! Email us at efs@anu.edu.au or click the button below to complete our 'expression of interest' form.

Click here to express your interest in joining the EFS Community of Practice!