Frequently asked questions - EdTA assessors

Questions and answers for EdTA assessors.

Typically, we will ask you to attend one or two panels per year and at each panel you will assess, on average, 4-6 claims. It roughly takes 30 minutes to read and assess a claim, but some claims will be much longer, especially in the case of Senior and Principal fellow claims. Overall, we estimate that our assessors should allocate roughly 20 hours per year for this role. 


There are many benefits to being an EdTA assessor. 

Firstly, many assessors feel good about using their experience and expertise in reading and judging colleagues who are earlier in their learning and teaching careers. Second, it is good practice to meet and network with other assessors within and outwith your professional areas. Third, we often learn a lot from reading the accounts of other’s learning and teaching, and you can specifically pick up on new education trends, common challenges, and cross-university initiatives that you might not have known about otherwise. And finally, being an EdTA assessor is a recognised role within the university’s leadership ecosystem. We recommend noting this role in your promotions and annual review discussions. 


We are very proud of our EdTA assessor community. Without you, this scheme is not possible. We feel that EdTA assessing can be a very valuable experience working with and supporting colleagues around the university, and that you should be recognised for it. Here is a list of ways that you can gain recognition for your contribution:

  • Talk with your colleagues about your assessing experiences
  • Include ‘EdTA assessor’ in your email signature
  • Share your experiences with your line manager and include EdTA assessing in your workload allocation (if appropriate in your local context)
  • Celebrate together at the annual L&T conference with the wider UoE L&T community

Also, we can write a letter or email, to formally report on your contributions to your line manager or local leaders for the purpose of annual review or promotions. 

If you’d like a letter from us, please reach out to IAD.cpdframework@ed.ac.uk.


Yes, you can pause or withdraw from being an assessor. 

For a variety of reasons, staff may need to pause or withdraw their active participation as an assessor in the EdTA. To pause or withdraw from the scheme, please email our EdTA team (IAD.cpdframework@ed.ac.uk) to notify us of your situation. We will wait to hear from you, so please contact us once your work returns to business-as-usual.


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