The Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia (HERDSA) is a scholarly society for people committed to the advancement of higher and tertiary education.
Established in 1972, HERDSA is guided by its purpose/mission, goal, aims, and values.
Our purpose/mission is to bring together and support those people who are engaged in teaching in higher education, in the study of learning, teaching and policy in higher education, and in the continuous improvement of higher education. The term Higher Education includes the tertiary education sector.
Our goal is to be a scholarly society for the diverse group of people concerned to advance higher education.
To achieve our purpose/mission and goals, our aims are to:
- advance educational policy and practice in the higher education and tertiary sector
- facilitate and promote the enhancement of teaching and learning
- encourage and disseminate research on higher education and tertiary teaching, learning, development, research, leadership and policy matters
- recognise and reward outstanding contributions to higher and tertiary education
- encourage collaboration and the development of professional communities in higher and tertiary education and
- assist its members in their ongoing professional development.
Through all that we do, we work in ways that embrace our values:
- Connection: We provide opportunities for members to engage in positive, collaborative, scholarly interactions and create conditions conducive to members experiencing a sense of belonging.
- Inclusion: We provide a relational and scholarly space in which members are invited to respectfully question, challenge and be informed by a diversity of opinions and perspectives. We are committed to providing access to opportunities and resources to support all our members.
- Inquiry: We encourage and support our members to systematically investigate higher education issues, leading to scholarly solutions in practice and policy.
- Integrity: We uphold and expect honesty, openness, respect, and trust in members’ interactions with one another and the society.
- Quality: Our activities are informed by and contribute to contemporary evidence-based practice to enhance the learning, teaching and research capabilities of our members and their institutions.
Executive Committee is elected every two years and is supported by an administrative office and a number of Officers of HERDSA.
The current HERDSA Constitution was adopted in 2017. The current HERDSA Strategic Plan 2023-2025 sets specific targets for achieving our goal and purpose.