Academic Chemistry Workload Modelling

The request was successful.

Dear University of Huddersfield,

I am writing to you under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to request
the following information from the University regarding the workload
allocation models and tariffs used to model the workload of your academic
Chemistry staff:

1. What activities are recognised by the workload model for Chemistry
staff?

2. What tariffs are associated with each activity (i.e. how much time is
allocated for each activity) for Chemistry staff?

3. How is the total workload of a member of Chemistry staff modelled (i.e.
what protocol is used to combine tariffs)?

4. What formal guidance is given to managers relating to the link between
contracts of employment and the calculated workloads of Chemistry staff?
In particular:

(a) What are the maximum and minimum permissible tariffed workloads for a
member of staff in a full-time role?

(b) What are the broad subcategories of activity (such as Teaching or
Research) recognised in academic roles?

(c) What is the division of total workload between these subcategories in
contracts of employment (e.g. 40% Teaching, 60% Research)? How does this
division relate to modelled workload?

(d) How are part-time contracts modelled differently to full-time
contracts?

(e) What is the intended relationship between modelled workload and true
workload? (e.g. modelled workload is expected to be 20% less than true
workload, or to match true workload, or to exceed true workload by 20%)

Please provide information in the form of a Microsoft Word document in
either the .doc or .docx format.

If it is not possible to provide the information requested due to the
information exceeding the cost of compliance limits identified in Section
12, please provide advice and assistance – under your Section 16
obligations – as to how I can refine my request to be included within the
scope of the Act.

In any case, if you can identify ways that my request could be refined
please provide further advice and assistance to indicate this.

I look forward to your response within 20 working days, as stipulated by
the Act.

If you have any further queries please don’t hesitate to contact me, and I
will be happy to clarify what I am asking for.

Yours faithfully,

Mr O'Neill

Freedom of Information requests, University of Huddersfield

Thank you for your email.

 

If your enquiry is a request for information under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 or the Environmental Regulations 2004, you will
receive the information requested within the statutory timescale of 20
working days, as defined by the Act, subject to the information not being
exempt. Please note that if the information you request contains reference
to a third party then they may be consulted prior to a decision being
taken on whether or not to release the information to you.

 

If the request relates to your own personal data under the Data Protection
Act 2018, please email [1][email address]

 

For any other enquiry, please visit the University’s contact pages to help
you redirect your email: [2]https://www.hud.ac.uk/contact/

 

Yours sincerely,

 

The Information Governance Officer

University of Huddersfield inspiring global professionals.

This transmission is confidential and may be legally privileged. If you
receive it in error, please notify us immediately by e-mail and remove it
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will accept no liability.

References

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2. https://www.hud.ac.uk/contact/

Freedom of Information requests, University of Huddersfield

Dear Mr O'Neill

 

Our response to your request for information dated 6 November 2020 is
provided as an attachment as requested.

 

1.       What activities are recognised by the workload model for
Chemistry staff?

 

The University recognises three main areas for the workload model for
academic staff within the Chemistry department, namely, teaching, research
and administration. These are further divided into sub-categories such as
lecturing, laboratory sessions and tutorials (for teaching) and
administrative duties such as course leader, year tutor, admissions tutor
and other associated activities (e.g. committee membership; Unit of
Assessment coordination for the Research Excellence Framework (REF)).
External assessment activities such as time spent on programme level
examiner or external examiner duties are also recognised in the workload
model.

 

Please refer to the University’s Staff Handbook, specifically the Academic
Staff Supplementary Section (pages 62-67) for further detail on the
allocation of workload.

([1]https://staff.hud.ac.uk/media/university...)

 

2.       What tariffs are associated with each activity (i.e. how much
time is allocated for each activity) for Chemistry staff?

 

It is expected that all staff will be involved in the three main
activities (teaching, research and administration) however, the workload
and the associated tariffs under each heading will vary, reflecting
colleagues’ grade, role, their contribution to the general work of the
School and their own professional development plan. For example, Teaching
workload is adjusted dependant  on the number of students on a module, the
level of a module, and whether it is “new” or “repeated”. Furthermore, for
lecturing duties, an allocation is included for face-to-face delivery,
preparation time and the marking of assessments; this is scaled by both
the assessment type and the number of students undertaking the assessment.
The same type of tariff is used for laboratory sessions.

 

The University’s approach is determined by the guidance documentation
referred to in the Staff Handbook. Although this does not specifically
address every scenario of the workload model for academic staff in the
Chemistry department, however, it does govern how the University manages
the workload model for all of its staff.

 

3.       How is the total workload of a member of Chemistry staff modelled
(i.e. what protocol is used to combine tariffs)?

 

Please see the Academic Staff Supplementary Section within the Staff
Handbook (pages 62-67) for details on how workload for all academic
members of staff are modelled.

[2]https://staff.hud.ac.uk/media/university...

 

4. What formal guidance is given to managers relating to the link between
contracts of employment and the calculated workloads of Chemistry staff?

 

In particular:

 

(a)    What are the maximum and minimum permissible tariffed workloads for
a member of staff in a full-time role?

 

For research, the baseline is 330 hours with extra hours allocated
dependent upon grade.  The University’s maximum workload for formally
scheduled teaching is 550 hour per year. Further detail is provided in the
Staff Handbook (page 67).

 

(b)    What are the broad subcategories of activity (such as Teaching or
Research) recognised in academic roles?

 

Please refer to our response to question 1.

 

(c)     What is the division of total workload between these subcategories
in contracts of employment (e.g. 40% Teaching, 60% Research)? How does
this division relate to modelled workload?

 

The division of workload will be dependent upon the individual’s grade and
responsibilities.

 

d)    How are part-time contracts modelled differently to full-time
contracts?

 

Workload allocation for part time staff is modelled on a pro-rata basis.

 

(e)    What is the intended relationship between modelled workload and
true workload? (e.g. modelled workload is expected to be 20% less than
true workload, or to match true workload, or to exceed true workload by
20%)

 

The University makes every effort to ensure that the modelled workload is
a true workload. Adjustments are made depending on strategic demands, for
example, REF responsibilities and changes in teaching practices. Regular
reviews are undertaken to ensure that the true workload does not exceed
the model. Please refer to the staff handbook, specifically to the
procedures section on page 65.

 

I hope this satisfies your request. However, if you are dissatisfied with
the handling of your request, you have the right to ask for an internal
review. Internal review requests should be submitted within 40 working
days from the date of our response to your original request and should be
addressed to the University Secretary, University of Huddersfield,
Queensgate, Huddersfield HD1 3DH or by email to [3][University of Huddersfield request email].

 

Please note that all copyright in this response belongs to the University
of Huddersfield; you are not permitted to publish, reproduce, copy or
otherwise use this response, except as permitted by the Copyright, Designs
and Patents Act 1988.

 

Further information about the Freedom of Information Act can be obtained
from the Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane,
Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF, [4]http://www.ico.org.uk/.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Esha Goswami

Information Governance Officer

University of Huddersfield

 

 

 

 

 

show quoted sections

Dear Freedom of Information requests,

Thank you for such a full and timely response under such difficult national circumstances.

Yours sincerely,

Mr O'Neill

Freedom of Information requests, University of Huddersfield

Thank you for your email.

 

If your enquiry is a request for information under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 or the Environmental Regulations 2004, you will
receive the information requested within the statutory timescale of 20
working days, as defined by the Act, subject to the information not being
exempt. Please note that if the information you request contains reference
to a third party then they may be consulted prior to a decision being
taken on whether or not to release the information to you.

 

If the request relates to your own personal data under the Data Protection
Act 2018, please email [1][email address]

 

For any other enquiry, please visit the University’s contact pages to help
you redirect your email: [2]https://www.hud.ac.uk/contact/

 

Yours sincerely,

 

The Information Governance Officer

University of Huddersfield inspiring global professionals.

This transmission is confidential and may be legally privileged. If you
receive it in error, please notify us immediately by e-mail and remove it
from your system. If the content of this e-mail does not relate to the
business of the University of Huddersfield, then we do not endorse it and
will accept no liability.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. https://www.hud.ac.uk/contact/