Staff Training and Development Strategy

Overview

1. Northeastern University London’s (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 Staff Training and Development Strategy is designed to underwrite this mission. 
3. There are three dimensions to the strategy:
   1. Careful allocation of roles and communication of expectations. 
   2. Provision of formal and informal training, and facilitation of independent development (induction and training sessions, opportunities to take on new roles and responsibilities, pastoral care, research leave and budget).
   3. Oversight and review: regular review meetings with line managers drawing on data from a range of oversight mechanisms including peer review, student feedback, examiners’ reports, and internal and external partner institutions.
4. The University additionally recognises the need to identify and ensure appropriate role-specific expertise on a case-by-case basis, through review mechanisms that are set out in its Staff Training and Development Programme. 
5. The UK Quality Code Theme: Learning and Teaching, expects higher education providers to have sufficient appropriately qualified and skilled staff to deliver a high-quality academic experience. The aim of this strategy is to meet this expectation.

Allocation of Roles and Communication of Expectations

6. Academic Board and Executive Committee are responsible for defining academic and professional needs of the University and recruiting and assigning roles to staff with relevant experience and expertise.
7. Recruitment procedures are comprehensive, fair and transparent.
8. Job descriptions are made explicit during the recruitment process.

Oversight and Review

9. The University recognises a duty to provide a stimulating working environment for all who belong to it and to provide opportunities for its staff to increase and evolve their expertise as a result of their employment at the University.
10. Academic Board and Executive Committee are responsible for reviewing the Staff Training and Development Programme on an annual basis. The Staff Training and Development Programme sets out the detailed mechanisms by which it identifies and implements appropriate training and development activities.
11. The University is committed to making its staff aware of collaborative relationships the University has with internal and external partners and to seeking opportunities to work with partners to ensure ongoing understanding, updating, and communication of existing requirements of partners and quality agencies.
12. Academic Board is ultimately responsible for the oversight of faculty training and development matters which arise from the following (updated and set out in more detail in the Staff Training and Development Programme and associated documentation):
    1. Faculty Director meetings
    2. Discipline meetings
    3. Student Engagement Committee meetings 
    4. Degree-awarding bodies quality assurance meetings
    5. Academic review and end-of-probation meetings
    6. Annual monitoring meetings
13. Resources for these reviews will include (but not be limited to):
    1. Student Engagement Committee minutes
    2. Student programme and course surveys
    3. Peer review feedback
    4. Partner liaison feedback
    5. Assessment results
    6. External Examiners’ reports
    7. Annual monitoring reports
    8. Subject Benchmark Statements
    9. Publications and events from the Higher Education Academy and quality assurance institutions
14. All of the above is informed by an emphasis on teaching and learning and research enhancement, in line with the central mission of the University.

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