Certified Fellowship is IARSA’s highest level of professional membership and isequivalent to advisory members of the association who participate and contribute in symposiums related to growth of the association. Certified Fellowship is only awarded to Doctoral degree holders of regionally accredited university/institutions having academic/research/industrial experience of more than 5 years and a recognizable research history in terms of research publications, books, and others.

The IARSA Certified Fellows have been judged by their peers to have made a substantial contribution to the Nigerian and indeed the world research profession. Our Fellows continue to assist the society and the research profession in Nigeria and around the world through their commitment of time and energy to raising awareness of the value of research within the broad community, and through volunteering their time to various projects which draw on their substantial experience and expertise.They are role models for other members, their organisations and the research community. They're committed to promoting and leading the highest standards in research and to developing themselves and others.

The award of Fellowship recognises the contribution the nominee has made to the profession across the following important areas:

• sharing practical expertise across education research profession;
• providing ethical leadership; contributing to research theory, original thought, conceptual structures in marketing, policy formulation or research into these areas;
• increasing the Nigerian public’s awareness of, and understanding of the value of, research;
• and increasing the size and scale of the profession as a whole in a way that benefits the profession.

Election of Certified Fellows criteria:

• Professional standing and recognised accomplishment in the fields of education, research, and analytics or related activities;
• A candidate’s contribution should have benefited research profession as a whole; through exposure of ideas and techniques in the public domain; through expansion of research into new areas or methodologies; and/or through a contribution to the cohesiveness and perceived importance of the profession.
• A candidate must meet the mandatory requirements and show sufficient accomplishment under the general criteria.
• Have a significant record of cited publications or an equivalent body of work
• Be a recipient of a prestigious award, prize or medal in their profession or discipline.
• Having made a significant contribution to the welfare and wellbeing of Nigeria and whose appointment is approved by resolution of the Council upon recommendation of the membership committee.

All Certified Fellows need to maintain a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) record. Certified Fellows are entitled to use the designation Certified Research Professional and the post-nominal letters FCRSA (Fellow Certified Research Scholars & Administrators)

Certified Membership Benefits

OPPORTUNITIES

• Get actively involved with your Association - we welcome a pro-active membership - join with us in using the Association to shape the field and to support innovation
• Win one of a number of prizes awarded each year by the Association highlighting and celebrating excellence in the discipline and take part in some of the judging
• Access to occasional workshops on significant issues that impact on our field such as the Research Excellence Framework, Impact, Learning & Teaching etc.
• Keep informed - IARSA keeps members informed about relevant select committee inquiries, government consultations and other opportunities to engage with policy-makers, on the news pages on the website or via direct email to specific membership categories
• Engagement - IARSA represents our discipline at meetings, with governmental bodies

DISCOUNTS

• 30%+ discounts with publishers - accessible from the discounts tab on your member dashboard.
• Discounted membership fees across all categories for those members working, researching and studying in low income countries
• Discounted conference fees for specific membership categories - in particular postgraduates, associate and early career members

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

• Take up positions within IARSA's governance structure
• stand for election to the Executive Committee
• stand for election for one of the head of IARSA Centres, Centre for Education Research Economic Policy (CEREP)
• apply for an editorship of a IARSA International Journal
• apply to establish and convene a new working group

INFLUENCE

We often call upon IARSA members whom we know to have special interests or expertise to participate in specific discussions. We invite members to submit articles about current issues and controversies in higher education, and we welcome a plurality of views. Our initiative “Ask a Scholar” matches readers’ questions to scholars with educated answers, and we are always seeking experts who can weigh in. Often people ask us to refer them to members at a particular campus, in a particular country, or specializing in a particular field. Our members thus play an important role in influencing debates and serving as key contacts.

ADVOCACY

Support future generations of IARSA by securing program funding through our alumni advocacy campaigns. Receive advocacy alerts and share your IARSA stories to ensure that our community’s voice is heard.