Since the first postgraduate certificate in higher education teaching and learning was offered in Australia in the late 1970s, similar courses have become a major part of academic development in universities in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. This paper describes the outcomes of a survey designed to determine the key higher education teaching and learning concepts developed in such certificates, the readings recommended, and the challenges participants face in their learning. An email survey consisting of four open-ended questions was emailed to coordinators of certificates in higher education teaching and learning programs in 147 institutions spanning Australia, New Zealand and the UK. Based on responses from 46 programs, this paper reports on the concepts of higher education teaching and learning emerging from the survey results, the scholarly readings associated with each concept as reported by coordinators, as well as the challenges experienced by course participants learning these key concepts.