Professor Patrick McGhee

National Teaching Fellow 2009   Patrick McGhee was educated at the University of Glasgow and the University of Oxford. Over 20 years he has made significant contributions to the teaching of psychology and learning development for students nationally and internationally. In 1992 he established the Department of Psychology at the University of Derby and in 1999 with colleagues led academic provision at Bolton to outstanding success. He has also made significant contributions to the development of learning and teaching and the student experience through national panels for Centres for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, NHS elearning, the Fund for the Development of Teaching and Learning and is a member of the  HEFCE Teaching, Quality and Student Experience Committee. He has been a lifelong champion for access and widening participation and has for example overseen the development of Foundation Degrees at UCLan from 20 to 1,500 students, the highest in the UK. He was also a consultant, tutor and examiner for the Open University for over ten years. Patrick has developed innovative projects including Fresh Start, a scheme now fully embedded at UCLan which has supported hundreds of students to rethink and re-enage with higher education. In the first full cycle of the initiative five students who had effectively dropped out of their university course altogether were supported to return to new programmes of study and eventually secured first class honours degrees. His innovative textbook 'Thinking Psychologically' has been used extensively across UK psychology degrees and internationally. The book was the first academic book in the UK to have its own mobile wap website. His 'Academic Quality Handbook' was the first practical handbook to support universities in improving the student experience and enhance quality in the context of national frameworks. Patrick regularly contributes to national and international conferences on the student experience, technology innovation and sector skills development.