Academic Quality Framework Chapter 13

Introduction

1. The University’s mission is to foster a collegial environment in which learning, debate and the sharing of ideas is central, and in which all members of the University treat one another as partners in the quest for knowledge and intellectual enlargement.
2. The mechanisms by which the University assures itself that all that all faculty have the necessary skills, commitment and knowledge to teach effectively are demonstrated below:

3. Individual faculty members and their line manager have the key responsibilities for ensuring that they carry out their roles to a sufficient standard but are also supported and advised by the University.
4. Information about current vacancies may be found on the University’s website.

Selection

Recruitment

5. The key mechanisms for the assurance of quality and standards regarding staff recruitment include:
   1. The Human Resources Strategy clearly defines the recruitment and induction. All new posts are designed to enhance the capabilities of the University, academic posts as well as professional staff.
   2. Academic Senior Management Team is responsible for determining academic recruitment needs, relative to student numbers and approved budget. Professional staff needs are determined by the Executive Committee, in discussion with the Senior Management Team.
   3. Prior to advertising a role, a review is conducted by the ADFA to see whether the role could be filled by an existing member of staff. If there is a suitable candidate, the role is discussed with them and their knowledge, skills and experience are mapped to the role. This may provide development opportunities and this first step enables the University to support staff with their own career development plans.
   4. For all faculty, candidate knowledge skills and behaviours must be benchmarked against the requirements of the person specification in the job description.
   5. Job descriptions are made explicit during the recruitment process. These key documents are referenced closely along with other resources in ongoing oversight and to determine training needs and other opportunities for career development.

Induction

6. All new staff are provided with a comprehensive induction programme suitable to their role at the University that is managed by HR . The induction is designed to provide an initial orientation and will assist in supporting the University’s mission, aims and values and to enable the understanding and application of University policies, procedures and guidelines. The induction programme includes introductions to the new member of staff’s co-workers, facilities and IT. Mandatory training for specific areas, such as Prevent and IT security are also included.

Line Management

7. Direct line managers play a key role in assuring quality and standards. From the point of selection onwards, the new member of staff’s contribution is supported and assessed during the probationary period.

Probation

8. The progress of permanent faculty is formally appraised at twelve months . The probation appraisals are conducted by the relevant line manager, and approved by the Faculty Director and ADFA.
9. The progress of professional staff is formally reviewed during the first few months of employment with the usual probational period being six months. The University has the right to extend probationary periods prior to confirming an employee in post. This can be implemented when additional training needs are identified, or concerns are raised.

Annual Staff Appraisals

10. Ongoing review is an important way in which the University improves the overall student experience and supports its staff by helping them to identify areas for improvement and hence performance. There are two distinct processes for faculty and professional staff:
    1. Faculty – This is a two-stage process as set out in the Faculty Appraisal Policy in the Staff Handbook. For a new faculty member there is an observation of both a lecture/seminar and a tutorial. Teaching observations are conducted by the Head of Faculty/Programme Director within the first five weeks of the faculty’s first teaching term. New faculty must participate successfully in three observations in the first six months before probation can be considered as met. All faculty are subject to an annual review as set out in the University’s Staff Training and Development Programme. Employer (where relevant) and student feedback must be included in the annual faculty appraisal.
    2. Professional Staff – There is an annual summer review (after the probationary period). A Professional Staff Self Evaluation Form is completed by the member of staff, which is used as the basis of the review.
11. For both types of review, the outcome is a clear action plan for both employee and line manager in order to enable the employee to achieve full potential in their role, which in turn will contribute to the University’s success.
12. Review documentation is uploaded and stored securely on the HR portal.

Standards and Quality of Staff

13. In alignment with the UK Quality Code, across a number of quality themes such as Course Design and Development; Learning and Teaching; and Assessment, the University ensures that faculty are qualified and skilled to deliver a high-quality academic and student experience. New ew faculty are expected to have a teaching qualification on appointment. However, if this is not the case, faculty must achieve this as a condition of probation and will be provided the opportunity to do so.
14. Where the University sources expert knowledge externally as part of the delivery team for a programme, each individual tutor must be approved by the Head of Discipline, Faculty Director and ADFA after an assessment of their knowledge and skills against the profile required. The member of faculty must successfully pass each of three successive observations during their first three delivery sessions after which the individual must become a Recognised University Teacher before further engagement can be scheduled.
15. All roles within the University have agreed role descriptions, which are reviewed through the annual review meetings held. While these documents necessarily evolve to meet the changing requirements of the institution, the broad responsibilities are defined and shared.  Faculty Directors and ADFA are accountable for ensuring that the skills and knowledge of teaching staff meet the University’s high standards and adhere to the requirements for teaching, industry sector, vocational and subject skills in which they deliver at all times. Feedback from employers (where relevant) and students must be systematically collected to feed into faculty reviews and both faculty and line managers must be able to demonstrate how this feedback has informed their development plans.
16. The University sets clear standards of behaviour and quality of its staff. As well as the information issued to faculty relating to assessment and feedback, the University’s Academic Handbook contains policies that relate to academic quality. The Staff Handbook includes policies and procedures defining the expected code of conduct of all staff.
17. The University has a strong commitment to equal opportunities within its Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy. The University is committed to providing an environment free from discrimination, bullying, harassment or victimisation, where all members of its community are treated with respect and dignity.

Staff Development

18. The University is committed to providing necessary and relevant training to all staff members to ensure that its quality of service and teaching meet the standards set by the employers (where relevant) and students and described in the University’s strategy and in line with current government policy. This includes faculty demonstrating current and relevant expertise in the subject area and occupations supported by the programmes. The University also expects its leaders and managers to exemplify its commitment to learning and development through their own management training (usually within their first year in the role) working with an internal mentor for those new to management roles (where reasonable to do so).. The University recognises a duty to provide a stimulating working environment for all staff and to provide opportunities for staff to increase and evolve their expertise as a result of their employment at the University.
19. The University is committed to encouraging each member of staff to achieve their full potential within their careers. In this way, the standards of learning provided to students can continue to be improved each year. Feedback from peers, managers, employers and students is at the core of this review and all faculty are expected to undertake annual peer review and to use the feedback from their students and employers (where necessary) as part of their development planning, sharing their successful practices with colleagues.

Supporting a Learning Culture

20. All members of staff are valued and will be encouraged to develop their careers and develop the expertise needed to fulfil their potential in their chosen occupation or specialism. Responsibility for learning and improvement is shared between the individual and the University, and managers and staff will need to work in partnership to explore development needs and explore the best options for meeting those needs. The University also supports all staff to meet, maintain and exceed occupational standards, and, where these are identified, provide time for staff to attain those professional standards.
21. For faculty, value is given to both the attainment of industry or sector expertise, maintaining subject and occupational knowledge and skills, pursuing new pedagogical and teaching interests, developing skills to enhance the student experience, and contributing to the design and delivery of programmes. Faculty are expected to seek out opportunities to expand their teaching capabilities, based on best practice and feedback from employers (where relevant) and students.
22. For Professional staff, value is given to both sector experience, and to maintaining relevant up to date subject knowledge and skills. Training and development opportunities are discussed regularly within teams and individuals are encouraged to seek opportunities to develop their skills within their field of work. Data from annual reviews is used to inform NU London about specific training needs for staff and time off for continuous professional development is recommended throughout the academic year.
23. All staff (Faculty and Professional), managers and senior staff are expected to take steps to ensure that teams are learning focussed, open to feedback and development, and have an identified plan to maintain and develop relevant knowledge and skills. They are also responsible for supporting and monitoring all plans.

Learning and Development Planning and Plans

24. Overall accountability for the University’s learning and development plans to meet needs identified sits with Academic Board. To support this role, HR will identify any common and core needs, including any mandatory training, and collate this into the University’s delivery plan for the academic year. The log and record of mandatory training will be kept by HR and FacultyDirectors are accountable for ensuring that anyone delivering on their programmes is up to date with their training. This responsibility is shared with the individual.
25. Cross cutting or thematic training needs will be collated by HR, who will procure and organise training for those identified as needing or benefitting from this training to support delivery of a high quality programme. Where training is identified as mandatory, whether this is a legislative requirement or not, staff in scope must attend and successfully complete this training prior to their annual review and as part of probation (where relevant).
26. The log of mandatory training will be held by HR and ensure that all staff receive this training at the right time.
27. Budget for training will be identified and ratified at Northeastern London Board to ensure that there is sufficient funding for priorities identified, or where necessary, to confirm priorities.
28. The Executive Committee and Academic Board are responsible for approving the Staff Training and Development Programme. This plan is developed from line manager’s recommendations following the annual review process and feedback from students, employers and staff. Key areas of focus for training and development include:
    1. Teaching and learning
    2. Maintaining skills and knowledge in the sector, industry occupations and subject areas of delivery
    3. Research
    4. Use of technology
    5. Pastoral care
    6. Quality assurance processes
    7. Reviews

Research and Scholarship Grants

29. The University is committed to supporting research and scholarly activity conducted by faculty, as well as research groups both within and across disciplinary boundaries. The University actively encourages institutional collaborations and partnerships with the requisite approvals from senior management.
30. In order to support faculty with research and scholarly activities, faculty have access to this grant on a person-by-person basis to be used within the academic year. This is to enable financial support for activities such as attending conferences, travel and the purchase of books. This does not include subscriptions to journal publications or periodicals. It also does not include membership of external bodies or professional institutions that are not essential to university requirements, such as for programme accreditation.
31. Faculty also have the opportunity to use University facilities to organise conferences at the University. Conference proposals should be submitted to the Academic Senior Management Team and prepared in line with the Events Policy.

Research Sabbatical

32. Permanent faculty with Teaching and Research contracts have one term’s research sabbatical in every four years of employment subject to approval by the Research Committee. Faculty must submit an application for consideration, outlining their research plans to the Research Committee, in accordance with the Sabbatical Leave Approval Process. On their return, faculty submit a report to the Research Committee confirming the outcomes from their sabbatical and present their research activities to the wider faculty in addition to normal expectations for research dissemination.

Performance Management

33. Where a staff member does not meet the expected standards required of the role (established through the role description and other policies) the University’s capabilities procedures are instigated to manage performance related issues.
34. These procedures set out the way the University investigates and responds to performance issues in order to support and resolve any problems that arise.

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