Professor Rhona Sharpe was appointed Director of the Centre for Teaching and Learning in December 2019, and Deputy Academic Registrar for Education Policy and Enhancement in September 2024.
Rhona is responsible for the planning and implementation of education policy, quality assurance, digital education, and teaching and learning enhancement activities. She works closely with the senior officers of the University, the Student Union and external regulators and partners, in support of the Access and Participation Plan and the Teaching Excellence Framework.
Her approach to educational enhancement foregrounds student experiences, and is visible in the Centre’s Student Experience Internships Scheme, the Diversity of Student Experience Research Project, and the creation of Student Data Insights team.
Rhona’s Professor of Practice title recognises her extensive track record in education enhancement and digital education, with over 30 years’ experience and a body of research and development projects. Rhona is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a National Teaching Fellow.
Rhona led the emergency Teaching and Learning Task Group through the COVID-19 pandemic, and subsequently served as deputy chair of the Digital Education Strategy working group and chair of the Replay review working group which led to the Educational Recordings Policy. She was previously Head of the Department of Technology Enhanced Learning at the University of Surrey, where she led the team in focusing on the development of technologically enabled approaches supporting the university’s research-led teaching ethos.
Rhona continues to teach and support students. She is an Ordinary Fellow at Kellogg College and an Associate Lecturer in the Institute of Educational Technology at the UK Open University, which includes tutoring on the MA in Online Teaching.
Rhona has written, contributed to and co-edited a number of publications and journal articles in the field of digital education and educational leadership and is often asked to speak at conferences and events around the themes of digital education, student engagement, and digital literacy. Her most recent publication is the Handbook of Digital Higher Education (2022).
Email: rhona.sharpe@ctl.ox.ac.uk
ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Rhona_Sharpe
X: @rjsharpe