rdc15/13/01 - gcu · 2020. 9. 5. · rdc15/13/01 committee title research degrees committee date of...

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RDC15/13/01

Committee Title Research Degrees Committee

Date of Meeting 4 May 2016

Item Number or Title/Subject

Review of employment requirements for PG Research Students at GCU

Author Caroline Parker

Brief Summary of Issues/Topic

This review was instigated following discussions on the need for succession and workforce planning within the organization and the subsequent identification of inconsistencies across the university in relation to the employment of and payment for PGR students (PGRS). The purpose of the review was to gather data about current PGRS employment practices; to review the effectiveness of current GCU practices in relation to PGRS career development; to make recommendations for changes to employment arrangements for those students currently in employment and to develop a draft proposal for future PGR student employment. Data from interviews with 24 individuals, staff and student was gathered over a period of 3 months and supplemented by information from internal and external sources. Transcripts were analysed and requirements, issues, solutions and positive experiences were extracted. An interim report on current PGRS employment practices across the university was delivered in December 2015 (Appendix B) and its findings supported changes to practice already agreed by Dean’s group in October 2015 and concurrent changes to PGRS employment processes introduced by People Services. The current report describes the requirements for the PGR student journey and the extent to which these are being met. Where there are gaps or problems in delivery the specific issues identified by the interviews are presented. Consideration of requirements gaps and the issues arising from them, supplemented by the solutions proposed by respondents and practices from other HE institutions have been used to generate draft recommendations for employment and career development. The compiled recommendations have been sense-checked with representatives of the original student and staff interview panel and refined based upon their comments. A journey based metaphor is proposed as a mechanism to support shared understanding between the various teams who will need to be involved should these recommendations be adopted.

Recommendation(s)

The main recommendation resulting from this exercise is the establishment/formalisation of a suite of employment/experience options accessible to PGRS including a Graduate Assistant role (teaching/research/other). Linked and associated recommendations are:

The standardisation and dissemination of terms and conditions of engagement

Removal of the 6 hour employment condition from new stipends

The commitment to a regular and extended annual programme of teacher training classes open to PGRS

The development of an agreed and structured approach to career development for PGRS

A review and formal agreement on mechanisms to protect PhD completion rates from potentially negative impact arising from employment/work experience

A review and mapping against mitigation measures for the full range of factors affecting non-completion

Financial Implications There may be resource implications should these recommendations be adopted.

Equal Opportunities Implications

A consistent approach to the employment of PGR students will significantly reduce the risk of unlawful discrimination A consistent approach to selection of PGR students for employment should increase opportunities for applicants from more diverse backgrounds to be considered

Consultation Undertaken

24 individuals from a number of stakeholder groups were included in the data collection for this report.

Freedom of Information

Should this paper be reviewed prior to disclosure if it is subject to a request under FoI legislation? YES/NO

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Table of Contents

1 Objectives ............................................................................................................................ 3

2 Approach .............................................................................................................................. 3 2.1 Data gathering method ..................................................................................................................................................... 3 2.2 Selection of interviewees................................................................................................................................................. 4 2.3 Analysis ................................................................................................................................................................................... 4 2.4 Recommendations .............................................................................................................................................................. 4

3 Results: Expectations and requirements ............................................................................... 5 3.1 What does the Post Graduate Research student expect from their study experience? ......................... 5 3.2 What are GCU’s expectations and requirements? ................................................................................................. 5

4 Results: Delivery - to what extent are these requirements being met? .................................. 5 4.1 Gaining a doctorate ............................................................................................................................................................ 5 4.2 Gaining experience & building the home-grown talent pool ............................................................................ 5 4.3 Generating publications ................................................................................................................................................... 6 4.4 Teaching experience and meeting teaching delivery needs ............................................................................. 6 4.5 Speed and success of completion ................................................................................................................................. 8 4.6 Career preparation ............................................................................................................................................................. 9 4.7 PGRS as part of the GCU community ........................................................................................................................ 10 4.8 Other issues ........................................................................................................................................................................ 10

5 Positive experiences ........................................................................................................... 11 5.1 Doctoral experience ........................................................................................................................................................ 11 5.2 Career ................................................................................................................................................................................... 11 5.3 Health and wellbeing...................................................................................................................................................... 11 5.4 Income and employment .............................................................................................................................................. 12

6 Recommendations .............................................................................................................. 13 6.1 Establishment/formalisation of a suite of engagement/experience options accessible to PGRS .. 13 6.2 Clarity on & dissemination of terms and conditions of engagement ......................................................... 14 6.3 Removal of the 6 hour employment condition from awards for new stipends ..................................... 14 6.4 The commitment to a regular annual programme of teacher training classes open to PGRS ......... 14 6.5 Development of an agreed and structured approach to career development for PGRS .................... 15 6.6 Review and agree formal mechanisms to protect PhD completion rates from potentially negative impact GCU mediated offers of employment/work experience .............................................................................. 15 6.7 Recognise, map and mitigate against the full range of factors affecting non-completion ................. 15 6.8 Other non-employment related recommendations .......................................................................................... 15

7 Conclusions ........................................................................................................................ 17 7.1 A metaphor for the PGRS journey ............................................................................................................................. 17 7.2 Role of GCU based employment and work experience within the PGRS journey ................................. 17

Appendix A: Diagrammatic representation of issues raised in interview ................................... 18

Appendix B: Interim report ....................................................................................................... 24

Appendix C: Examples of PGRS employment opportunities at other universities ....................... 27

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1 Objectives This review was initially instigated in response to identified inconsistencies across the university in relation to the employment of and payment for PGR students (PGRs) undertaking teaching. These came to light as a result of discussions around the need for succession and workforce planning within the organization, including the potential development of a GTA (Graduate Teaching Assistant) role, and were further highlighted by feedback from PGR student representatives and the Graduate School. While initial action was needed to resolve the problem of payment equity it quickly became apparent that the issues crossed boundaries of student experience, research training, employment and staff development. In order to allow all parties to take informed and strategic decisions about the nature of the PGR student journey in the future a rapid but relatively broad survey was undertaken. In pursuit of this objective the key tasks as outlined in the PID dated 15/1/16 were to: 1. examine the effectiveness of the current guidelines and policy on PGRS working hours,

specifically in relation to the current 6 hour rule for stipend students 2. review current GCU practices within the three Schools and the Yunus Centre in terms of

the recruitment of PGR students to cover teaching and other duties i.e. who is paid, when, for what, what do their recruitment processes and current contracts of employment look like and how is the 6 hour rule applied

3. analyse the current rates of pay for PGR students when covering teaching and other duties 4. review effectiveness of current GCU practices in relation to PGRS career development and

internal employment opportunities and identify potentially useful approaches used elsewhere in the sector

5. make recommendations for changes to current payment policy and/ or employment arrangements for those students currently in employment

6. make recommendations on specific use of 6 hour rule 7. use findings to develop a draft proposal outlining options for future development of PGR

student employment

2 Approach

2.1 Data gathering method Interviews were the primary method used to gather data and were undertaken in two phases corresponding to the remit of the task at the time. Phase 1 placed a greater emphasis on tasks 1-3 with the aim of gathering data to inform the immediate decisions relating to PGRS pay and contract conditions. Records on PGRS employment and pay gathered by People Services were also used at this point. The interim conclusions from this phase were reported to the Pro-Vice Chancellor Research in December 2015. In Phase 2 the interviews continued and were supplemented by phone interviews with HR staff at Strathclyde University and internet searches of practice elsewhere. Interviews for this phase were loosely structured around the topics of employment within GCU, the 6-hour rule, payment and career support. Prompts were used to encourage discussion of personal experience, observations of issues and good practice and ideas for solutions to problems identified.

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2.2 Selection of interviewees As a range of roles have a stake in the employment, success and career development of PGRS a number of stakeholders were invited to contribute to the process. Table 1 below illustrates the number and role of those initially invited to take part in the interviews and those who actually took part.

Table 1: Number and role of invited stakeholders

Stakeholder group

Planned Completed

Admin Research 2 2

ADR 3 1

ADLTQ 3 3

Directors of Research 2 0.5

Graduate School staff 2 2

HoD's/AHoD's 3 2

People Services staff 1 1

PG Tutor 1 0.5

Student reps - new 8 7

Student reps – outgoing

1 1

Students in UCU 3 3

Union leader 1 1

30 24

One PGT had agreed to be interviewed but stepped down from the role before the interview date. The .5 figures represents a 50/50 role as Director of Study and PGT for one of the interviewees. Interviews were scheduled to last for around 30 minutes and took place in a location of the interviewees choosing, most frequently within one of the university café’s. The interviews were recorded on paper in note form initially before being typed and imported into Nvivo.

2.3 Analysis The transcripts of the interviews were used to make an initial frame for collating linked issues within the data. Four high level headings and four sub-headings were used to collate the data from the interviews. The high level headings that emerged from the data were: career preparation, doctoral support and guidance, income and employment, and health and wellbeing. Under each heading the feedback from interviewees was further categorised depending on whether it appeared to be an issue (something to be addressed), a need (or requirement), a positive experience (something to keep) or a proposed solution (to an issue or need) The summarised issues were reviewed and collated further either as a list or pictorially for presentation within the results.

2.4 Recommendations Recommendations were made on the basis of the collated data and awareness of current practice within other HE institutions and then tested with key staff and student representatives.

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3 Results: Expectations and requirements

3.1 What does the Post Graduate Research student expect from their study experience?

While students may have many different expectations they all hope to leave the university with:

a) a doctorate b) other cv/career enhancing attributes e.g. skills, experience, certification, networks and

contacts

In an ideal world students would like their journey to be as short and stress-free as possible and to be encouraged and supported by the staff and processes of the university. They want to feel that they are a valued part of the university, knowing what to expect and where to go if they hit unexpected difficulties. They want CV enhancing opportunities that match their future career expectations and the freedom to take these up at times that suit their own pace and needs. Many would welcome the opportunity of taking up paid employment within the university during their studies and some aspire to be employed by the university when they graduate.

3.2 What are GCU’s expectations and requirements? a) Income. Directly from student fees and grants and indirectly from research excellence

income through the number of students and completions. b) Fast and successful completion. High numbers of students completing within the expected

time raise the credibility of GCU as a quality research environment. c) Innovative research with quality outputs in the form of peer reviewed publications and/or

patents. d) A flexible, reliable, subject appropriate and affordable source of support for some of the

unexpected or non-core teaching and research activities of its departments e) A pool of home-grown and appropriately skilled applicants to apply for its academic and

research posts

4 Results: Delivery - to what extent are these requirements being met?

4.1 Gaining a doctorate The structure and process through which the student obtains a doctorate is well established and laid out in the 2013 Guidelines for Research Students document. The student is navigated through the process by their supervision team, particularly the Director of Studies, with additional guidance provided by Graduate School, Careers service, etc. The interviews did not explicitly probe for issues in this area.

4.2 Gaining experience & building the home-grown talent pool The PDP section of the PGRS logbook was introduced to to help students assess and plan their training needs in developing their careers. It provides some structure to the development of research and employability skills and includes record of the additional cv/career enhancing experience and qualifications that students seek1.

1 The Graduate School offers over 150 interactive, experiential workshop opportunities for research students that cover a wide range of personal, transferable and professional skills such as communication (oral and written), team building, networking, leadership and career development. The workshops cover all four domains of the Vitae Researcher Development Framework RDF: A Knowledge and intellectual abilities, B Personal effectiveness, C Research governance and D Engagement, influence and impact, providing a comprehensive researcher development and employability skills training programme. (Graduate School Researcher Development Annual Report – 2014/15 )

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However access to employment and placement opportunities to practice and further develop work-based skills to populate it is not currently part of a formal process. While a variety of employment/placement opportunities do appear to exist within GCU, they are not distributed evenly between departments and student access to them is not dealt with in a systematic or transparent fashion. The majority of the opportunity lies in teaching support; there is far less access to work experience in research and opportunities in non-academic areas e.g. finance, technical support, human resource management, facility management do not appear to have been explored. There is a perception among those students interviewed, particularly international students, that GCU does not have an interest in employing its graduates. Opportunities for post-doctoral employment are limited and tend to be tied to specific research contracts within certain departments. There does not appear to be a structured mechanism for linking the training needs of existing students to the future staffing requirements of departments or units i.e. they do not routinely review their future staffing needs in the light of the available talent resident in our PGRS body or review the skills and competences currently developed against those they will need. The nature of the University planning cycle and the recruitment process within it also appears to present timing barriers for the hiring of GCU graduates. Essential skills for the lecturer role are offered in-house2. The Graduate School researcher development provision develops the essential research skills and GCU Lead offers core teaching skills in the Graduate Teaching Assistant Programme. GCU Lead also offers Schools the opportunity for tailored provision to enhance learning and teaching within their discipline areas.

4.3 Generating publications In addition to their importance to the universities research reputation and to students wishing to pursue a career in academia, publications are one of the essential requirements on the GCU lecturer role profile. Despite the range of writing workshops offered by the Graduate School3 student perception is that support for developing a publications record can be highly dependent on the interests of the Director of Studies, the research area they find themselves in, the presence or absence of a supportive research group and the availability of training programmes, staff and funding. The charges placed on publication by some high-ranking journals have also reportedly had an impact on PGRS publication. Encouragement to write for conferences, generally seen as the initial training ground for publication and presentation skills, does not appear to be consistent across supervision teams or research groups. Students within interviews also expressed the view that a recent halving of financial support for conferences within Schools would prevent many from attending even if papers were accepted.

4.4 Teaching experience and meeting teaching delivery needs Access to staff effort to support teaching load is probably the most pressing need for those who manage the delivery of modules within departments. The process by which PGR Students

2 The Graduate School Researcher Development programme is currently responsible for delivery of 163 workshops and 2,799 places (2014/15) for staff and research student development. 98% of participants have recommended the workshops to others. (Graduate School Researcher Development Annual Report – 2014/15) 3 445 places in total were taken up in the academic writing training workshops in 2014/15. The Graduate School lecturer in academic writing also offers 1 to 1 academic writing appointments to doctoral students, 160 of which were used in 2014/15. (Graduate School Researcher Development Annual Report – 2014/15)

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have been engaged in this activity has, until recently (Oct 2015), been widely divergent in terms of payment, payment level, access to opportunity and number of hours allocated to each individual. The inclusion within the GCU stipend of 6 hours of work per week as part of the student’s development has been a major factor in access issues. Departments were naturally keen to allocate the hours already paid for before using their limited part time hour’s budget. Not only did this reduce access to experience and income opportunities for non-stipend students but it also reduced the selection pool for the allocator in terms of fit to subject and motivation to teach. It is apparent from the interviews that not all stipend students wish to pursue an academic career and a percentage have no interest or aptitude for the type of work which places them in front of a class. From October 2015 all PGRS students undertaking teaching work will be paid and guidance for the recruitment and employment of PGRS as casual hours staff is available to staff on GCYou4. The guidance explicitly directs those seeking to employ casual staff to make the opportunity available to all those eligible to take it up. These changes seek to overcome some of the key issues raised by students and highlighted in Appendix A. For those students wishing to pursue an academic career the ability to demonstrate teaching experience is particularly important. In some cases the opportunity to teach is one of the main factors in their choice of university. Without evidence of experience gained during their study period individuals are disadvantaged in the academic job market in the UK (including GCU) and elsewhere. Those students who are able to start the HEA process whilst at GCU have a clear advantage when applying for lecturing posts. A wide range of teaching opportunity – labs, tutorials, lectures, assessments and exams – coupled with insights into academic quality processes is ideal for the development of an academic cv. Few students currently have access to this range of experience and it is not usual practice for them to be involved in academic quality processes beyond the marking of scripts and assignments. The availability of training and mentoring for the teaching and assessment duties that students undertake is perceived as variable. Through GCU Lead the university does offer a Graduate Teaching Assistant programme, including a half-day induction course directed at PGRS who carry out teaching duties. The awareness of and take up of these courses however appears to be highly variable. Students report that they have not been made aware of their access to these opportunities or to have applied for courses that they were then informed were only for full time staff. Mentoring is also patchy: some students reported excellent support from supervisors and module leaders enabling them to develop in skill and confidence others said they received little or no feedback or support. Training to deal with non-academic issues such as poor behaviour, distressed students, students with special needs, areas of concern to some of the student respondents, do not appear to be routinely covered by any group.

4 http://tinyurl.com/zcek6ep

http://tinyurl.com/zcek6ep

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4.5 Speed and success of completion

4.5.1 Factors in successful completion Speed and success in terms of completion and outputs is influenced by a number of variables many of which are interdependent. One categorisation of these variables is offered below where they are grouped depending on whether they are: 1. Personal to the student e.g. prior experience, confidence, financial backing, personal attributes 2. Connected to the guidance and support provided by the supervision team e.g. its experience levels

and motivation type, the fit of the team to the student’s research area and the extent of the rapport between staff and student

3. Connected to the mechanisms for equipping the student with the skills needed to complete the PhD

4. Linked to the physical and social environment of the PhD e.g. equipment, noise levels, peer support, opportunities for relaxation or friendship development

5. Linked to life events and activities outwith the PhD e.g. employment, bereavement, pregnancy, financial challenges, illness, domestic relationships

4.5.2 Functions involved in supporting successful completion There are a number of functions within GCU whose role influences the impact of these variables as illustrated in Table 2 against the categories identified above. There is no single function or committee that has oversight and responsibility across them all.

Table 2: GCU roles with an influence on PGRS success and completion

Areas impacting success and completion Key roles within the University with an influence on or responsibility for this area

1 Student attributes Selection of students

International Office Admissions School research functions (ADR, Research Admin, Research groups) Academic staff

2 The supervision team Support and guidance

School research functions Graduate School Academic staff

3 Mechanisms for equipping the student with the skills needed to complete

Supervision team Graduate School Disability Team (GCU Learn)

4 The physical and social environment Supervision team School management School research functions Graduate School ISSS Student Association Disability Team Faith and Belief Facilities

5 Pressures brought about by employment or life events

Supervision team Positive Living Team Finance Office School research functions Graduate School ISSS

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Student Association Disability Team Faith and Belief People Services

4.5.2.1 Factors linked to employment and completion

Teaching load & changes to load

Teaching load was frequently raised as an issue by interviewees in connection with completion success and timing. The stress associated with high loads of teaching and assessment, and unexpected increases or changes to the teaching allocation, was cited by students and staff as a common cause of delay or withdrawal. The interview data suggests that there is a lack of consistency in interpretation and application of the 6 hour rule and that associated guidance is not detailed enough to support staff or students in its use. The likelihood of teaching load inducing stress seems to be strongly connected to: a) the degree of perceived choice in the load and subject area b) the point in the students studies when it appears, and c) the students previous experience of and training for teaching. Directors of Study (DoS) have a key role in the exposure to, or protection of, their students from teaching stress and extremes of both were described during the interviews.

Financial pressure

Financial pressures can prevent students from completing. Pressure can come from the need to find funding for fees, for living expenses or to meet the need for unexpected financial outlay. It can also come from the loss of income due to illness, pregnancy, bereavement, and drops in exchange rate etc. For many of GCU’s self-funding international and home students the outlay required to undertake a PhD appears to be at the boundary of affordability and thus unexpected changes in conditions or circumstances can make it impossible to continue.

4.6 Career preparation

4.6.1 Network building In addition to the issues of completion and experience outlined above the building of personal networks is seen as an important feature of career development. The greatest degree of network development appears to take place where students belong to supportive research groups, where those groups have many cross institutional links and where students are encouraged attend conferences and seminars. Networks between students may also enhance career prospects. Students who work in isolation outwith a research group are therefore at some disadvantage in this area.

4.6.2 Specific career support for PhD’s Specific career support is provided for PhD students on the Careers service webpages and by the careers staff themselves. The Careers service in partnership with the Graduate School piloted a series of workshops in Oct/Nov 2015 on: career planning; interview techniques; and job search and applications for doctoral students bespoke for each academic school. Although 93 out of the 125 places on that course were filled the students interviewed for this report were not very aware of the Careers service or their entitlement to use them.

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4.7 PGRS as part of the GCU community

4.7.1 Staff or student? PGR students at GCU are unclear whether they have a student or staff identity. PGRS students are included within staff mailing lists and many engage in teaching and assessment activity, which leads to the perception that they are seen as staff. This perception is challenged when they are refused access to things they appear to have been offered such as staff training events or the car parking ballot. There is no clear guidance for staff or students as to whether PGRS have access to staff facilities such as kitchens, photocopiers, stationery cupboards or staff toilets and students may experience both welcome and rejection within the same department.

4.7.2 Isolation A Post Graduate research degree can be completed without regular interaction with anyone at the university other than the supervision team. Unless the research is undertaken within the context of an active and welcoming research group students may go for long periods of time with little human exchange. This lack of human contact is extended if the student does not have easy access to family or social networks during their studies. “Loneliness” and “isolation” were words regularly used to describe the experience of PG study during the interviews. There are no formal institutional mechanisms to monitor or counter isolation during PG study.

4.8 Other issues Many other issues emerged during the interviews which are related to those discussed above but not sufficiently linked to the topic of careers and employment to be dealt with in detail here. All issues are outlined in Appendix A.

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5 Positive experiences While the transcripts largely cover issues and areas of concern respondents were asked if there were areas they felt were particularly positive. These are briefly outlined below.

5.1 Doctoral experience

5.1.1 Support A strong, supportive Director of Studies (DoS) who clearly has their student’s interests at heart appears to be the strongest common denominator in the positive student experience from the student perspective. This DoS is a positive role model, protects the student from teaching overload, is the dominant force in the supervision team providing clear guidance for the PhD and also ensures that the student has the opportunity to build networks and gather career relevant experience.

Other roles specifically mentioned in relation to support for the doctoral experience were the School’s Research Administrator, ISSS and the Graduate School.

5.1.2 Induction and communication The Graduate School’s induction to the university and the joining communications issued prior to arrival were cited by staff respondents as being excellent.

5.1.3 Training The Graduate School’s workshops were cited by several respondents and Grace Poston’s writing workshops highlighted by one as a particularly valuable.

5.1.4 Facilities Staff felt that the desk space and equipment offered to students were very good. Students who had experienced the 24 hour access available at Buchanan house were very positive about the benefits it provided.

5.2 Career

5.2.1 Teaching The following areas were identified as positive experiences by students:

Opportunities to teach Feedback on teaching from supervisor/module leader Support from academic staff in relation to teaching Teacher training offered by GCU Learn Support from GCU Learn staff Support from supervisor

5.2.2 Research/writing Students reported that the support and encouragement from their supervisors, other students and where it exists the Research Group were a positive influence on the development of their research and publication skills. One student felt that the skills acquired during the MRes were very helpful.

5.3 Health and wellbeing Students were keen to report that they had seen a lot of improvements in the area of student welfare in the past year. The refresh of the PG Research Tutor role and the new student representative system were both felt to be of particular value. The work of John McKendrik in relation to the PGR Tutor role was specifically mentioned.

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The willingness of the university to include student representation on key committees (e.g. Research Committee, Senate etc) was seen as a positive reflection of GCU’s commitment to student interests. The support offered by academic staff within departments was mentioned by students in several interviews as a positive feature of their experience.

5.4 Income and employment Access to paid work during PhD studies was viewed positively by students.

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6 Recommendations It is clear from the current research that the current processes in relation to PGRS employment can be improved in a number of ways.

6.1 Establishment/formalisation of a suite of engagement/experience options accessible to PGRS

To provide students and departments with a clear set of defined and structured role options offering the flexibility to meet all needs. The engagement and experience requirements of PGR students are highly individual and vary according to the period of study. These roles will provide students with the experience they need to support future access to employment within or outwith GCU. The staffing needs of departments are variable year on year and can change very rapidly in some circumstances. Four types of role are proposed and outlined in Table 3 below. All paid posts should have a clear role profile and terms & conditions. In order to ensure that appropriate decisions are taken in relation to study/engagement/experience options, staff (especially DoS) and students should be reminded of the number of hours of study expected within full and part time doctoral degrees.

Table 3: Proposed opportunities for employment and experience at GCU

Title Graduate Assistant Casual Emergency Voluntary

Rationale Part of annual planning round – development, long term absence cover/skills gap

Cover for unplanned med term absence/skills gap

Cover for unexpected short term absence

PGRS driven activity providing additional support for UG students

Paid Yes Yes Yes No Period of engagement

Annual for up to 3 years

Month -Semester Week N/A

Hours Fixed Fixed at point of contract

Variable Variable

Subject area Mix of fixed and variable

Fixed at point of contract

Variable Variable

Selection process

Internal advert & interview

Application & initial training course to go on register. Interview for casual contract, none for emergency

N/A

6.1.1 Graduate (Teaching/Research/Management/Administration) Assistant posts An annually renewed position. Provides students with substantial employment opportunity linked to training. Ideal for the more experienced student (e.g. lecturers/managers from outwith UK) and those in the writing up stage of their studies. All roles, but the GTA role in particular, should be linked to industry specific training (some of it compulsory) permitting the development of credit towards industry awards (eg HEA). The GTA role will provide students with the experience and training opportunity needed to secure long-term employment within GCU or other HE institutions. It will also provide GCU/departments with a more reliable and quality-assured means of dealing with medium to long-term absence & skills gaps. All roles will allow the university to ‘grow’ some of its future workforce. In contrast to permanent posts recruitment and selection processes should be primarily internal, School or Department based and not carry long term financial commitment.

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6.1.2 Casual hours posts Cover for shortages arising within semesters. Provides students with access to teaching experience which will support academic employment and advanced notice of the hours and choice of subject to fit in with study requirements. To provide some quality assurance for teaching it is suggested that compulsory training sessions are built in to the recruitment process with formal (possibly group) interview. Provides GCU/departments with the ability to react to mid-term workload challenges not foreseen within the annual planning round.

6.1.3 Emergency hours posts Instant cover for short-term absence. Provides students who have the space to take advantage of it with short income generation periods and a chance to gain more, or an initial taste of, teaching experience. Even short periods of employment as emergency cover can be useful in job applications. To be listed on the emergency cover register students would have to have completed compulsory training sessions, attendance at which can also be used on cv’s. Enables GCU/departments to deliver scheduled classes when regular staff are unexpectedly unable to attend.

6.1.4 Voluntary posts Negotiated opportunities for students to gain career relevant experience signed off by the AHoD and module leader (if appropriate). Provides students with another opportunity to add to their experience profile through voluntary work within the university. These may be particularly useful where opportunities for paid experience are not available or where students have a desire to develop a specific teaching or training approach that would not ordinarily be offered by their School. Proposals for voluntary additional teaching support (out of hours lab sessions, top-up tutorials, visiting lectures, etc) should include the commitment to attend the basic teacher training session. All voluntary proposals should include a risk assessment and may include requests for room allocation and internal advertising. Provides GCU/departments with a richer learning environment for its students.

6.2 Clarity on & dissemination of terms and conditions of engagement To ensure that all students are treated equally in terms of their employment conditions. This recommendation has already been adopted in relation to the current forms of employment offered to PGRS. Recent clarification of the process and terms associated with the recruitment of staff, including PGRS, under the Casual Hours contract is provided within the Recruitment and Selection pages of the People Services Intranet .

6.3 Removal of the 6 hour employment condition from awards for new stipends To support a level playing field in access to opportunity for employment and experience and to allow those responsible for workload allocation greater choice in the selection of appropriate skills and ability. (see also 7.6 on 6 hour rule)

6.4 The commitment to a regular annual programme of teacher training classes open to PGRS

Building on the advertised GCU Lead GTA development structure, and in line with other HE institutes, GCU to offer (a) regular (bi-monthly?) induction sessions including all skills and knowledge deemed essential for those undertaking class contact at any level and (b) a programme of supplementary training classes covering key aspects of teaching in more detail. While some training provision already exists other courses could usefully be developed or procured from a local partner who already offers them (i.e. Glasgow and Strathclyde Universities). They should include non-teaching issues such as student welfare issues and the

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management of difficult classes/individuals. Sharing of practice and support could be encouraged through the creation of internal safe spaces (digital and physical). All posts described in 7.3 (including voluntary) would need to attend the compulsory induction training event. While induction training costs might be expected to be built into the budget of the training unit, any addition compulsory modules required by the nature of the specific GTA role could be built into the post proposal and met by the relevant School. GTA’s should be formally linked to a teaching mentor who would be given workload allocation for providing support. Casual, emergency and voluntary roles should also have access to additional teaching modules although attendance at these would need to be agreed and supported by the relevant budget holder.

6.5 Development of an agreed and structured approach to career development for PGRS

To provide clarity for existing students, an incentive for prospective students and a common understanding for staff and departments involved in the PGRS student journey. An addition to the Graduate Student Handbook which clearly presents: the extent of GCU’s willingness to recruit ‘home-grown’ talent to its permanent workforce; the links between post graduate student attributes and the various career opportunities

available to them the range of opportunities for career and postgraduate research graduate attribute

development available to PGRS within and outwith GCU (career specific experience, training, network development, etc);

the process(es) for accessing these opportunities and the key people to contact in relation to them;

the steps taken to ensure that as far as reasonably possible these opportunities will be accessible to all.

6.6 Review and agree formal mechanisms to protect PhD completion rates from potentially negative impact GCU mediated offers of employment/work experience

To provide more flexibility for students and allocators than that currently offered by the current 6 hour rule. To create formal connections between functions offering employment and those responsible for supporting the student to a timely completion. To involve the Director of Studies (supervision team) in decisions that might impact the final completion date e.g. workload and timing. It is suggested that the 6 hours limit is abandoned and the hours of work are negotiated with the Director of Studies, the student and the workload allocator on a case by case basis taking into account current year/stage of PhD, visa and other regulations, and other local and personal factors.

6.7 Recognise, map and mitigate against the full range of factors affecting non-completion

To provide transparency and support decision-making by students and staff in relation to employment and career enhancement activities. To support an assessment of the current capacity of mitigation services and, if necessary, identify areas for further enhancement.

6.8 Other non-employment related recommendations Non-employment related issues surfaced during the interviews and the following recommendations are proposed in relation to them:

Development of measures to counter and overcome the experience and impact of social and academic isolation among PGRS.

- 16 -

Clarification of the role and privileges of PGR Students in relation to access to university facilities, training and other opportunities offered to staff

(linked to previous item) Agreement on an alternative mechanism for communicating to PGRS rather than mass inclusion on staff mailing lists

Review of the power and control dynamics within the wide range of student - supervision team relationships across the university and of the availability and effectiveness of safeguards designed to protect staff and student from abuse.

- 17 -

7 Conclusions

7.1 A metaphor for the PGRS journey A shared view of the problem is essential when disparate teams have to collaborate to resolve a problem or design a solution. As Table 2 demonstrates there are many groups and units who contribute to the success of the PGRS experience. The metaphor of a journey is a useful one to describe any student experience as it has a start and end point and there is a motivation to reach the end for some given purpose. The data drawn from this exercise suggests that the PGRS journey might best be visualised as that of a novice captain setting out to steer a tanker to a vaguely described but desirable port across the Atlantic. The distance is hard to imagine as no journey like it has been attempted before and students set out in the knowledge that they have to will learn the precise location of the port and pick up all the navigation and docking skills during the voyage.

As outlined in section 4.1 the student’s aim is to reach the end of the journey in good time (generally as quickly as possible) with a completed thesis and a collection of other career marketable commodities. The ability to achieve the goal is dependent on a whole range of interconnected variables: the characteristics of the supporting structure (Supervision team, university processes, etc); the presence or absence of adverse conditions during the voyage (research setbacks, illness, bereavement, overload, family problems, financial pressures, etc); and the ability of the student to withstand them (personal characteristics, quality of support available).

7.2 Role of GCU based employment and work experience within the PGRS journey The recommendations made in section 7.0 seek to improve the student journey by:

Removing or moderating some of the causes of stress within the PhD process (e.g. workload at study inappropriate times, lack of control in relation to quantity and timing of employment, fear of leaving without teaching experience)

Adding to the fuel of motivation (paid employment, development opportunities) Clarifying and extending the pathways through which students can obtain value-added

marketable career-relevant experience and training They also seek to optimise the value to GCU in supporting and developing its post graduate student population, by: Removing, anticipating or moderating some of the causes of non-completion Linking the development of students to the future staffing needs of the organisation Developing a flexible and trained workforce to meet medium and short term staffing

needs

- 18 -

Appendix A: Diagrammatic representation of issues raised in interviews

- 19 -

PGRS

GCU

Careers Preparation

Doctoral supervision & process

Guidance

Mentoring

Support (welfare)

Research

Writing & publication

Career

Application/ interview skills

HEA/Certificates

Career appropriate skills development

Mentoring & feedback

Direction

Training

Evidence for CV

Network development

Experience

Publications

Employment

Temporary/part-time cover Flexible

Matches skill need/qualityPermanent Post Doc

Experience

Affordable

Income

Fit to studies

Control/clarity of expectation

Fit to career path

Training & feedback

Welfare & experience

Welcomed part of GCU/Research group

Access to advice and support

Protection of mental & physical health

Fit to family & cultural needs

Needs and requirements

HEA/Certificates

Evidence for CV

Network development

Publications

Careers preparation

Issues



Training

Experience


Experience

Direction

Lack of/awareness of

careers advice &

supportTeaching/research

opportunities not open to all

Focus on stipend

students

Not all PGRS

want to teach

Not all PGRS have

skills/motivation to

teach

Overload of

hours

Unexpected

changes to load

Lack of non-

academic

development

opportunities

Teaching/

research

Other

Linked to DoS

Availability

Timing

Relevance

Access

To discipline

Not cover student management - difficult/

distressed/special needs

No link to

awards (HEA)

Awareness

Lack of documented

good practice

Inconsistent availability & quality

Access to conferences

Rarely available

Support

DoS/supervisors

Research group

Writing training

Availability of funding

DoS/Rg/Dept support

Amount

Process

Access to Research group

DoS

GCU

Matches skill need/quality

Flexible

Affordable

PGRS

Temporary/part-time cover

Permanent Post Doc

Fit to studies

Income


Fit to career path

Training & feedback

Employment Issues

6 hours built into

Stipend conditions

No choice of allocation for student

No choice for allocator

Non-stipend students have reduced/

no access to teaching experience

Hours worked not always

logged/recorded

No quality based selection/

recruitment process

Rules of 6 hour allocation

not understood/ignored

Differences in hours and

conditions between students

Sudden changes to loadOverload

Don't feel can refuse

Dealing with non-teaching issues

Teaching load & study

load clashes

Lack of mentoring/feedback

Assessing others

No clear terms and

conditions

No/limited access to training

Few opportunities to

earn at GCU

No formal link between PhD and

future employment at GCU

Challenging situations

Confusion between role of Graduate School,

GCU Lead & other training providers

Welfare and Experience IssuesFit to family &

cultural needs

Protection of mental

& physical health

Access to advice

and support

Welcomed part of GCU/

Research group

Employment (GCU)

DoS/Supervision team

Where to go with

issues and

concerns with ...Financial

What help might

be available for

issues with

Stress

Career

Expertise

Bullying/behaviour

Lack of contact

GCU fees etc

GCU pay

24 hour access to labs and buildings

Loneliness/isolation

Workaholic culture of PhD

Location of desks

Lack of organised social events

Pregnancy/maternity

International issues

Sickness

Personal

Non-existent or remote research group

No IT services on arrival

Staff or not staff? access to training and facilities


Issues

Guidance

Mentoring

Support (welfare)

Research


Career

Reduced funding for conferences

DoS not selected/

trained for role Poor relationships

Bullying/poor use of power dynamic

Over bureaucratic (too many signatures/stages)

Lack of access to supervisors

Conflicting or inconsistent advice from supervision

team members

Funding process hard to understand

Who is the PGRT?

Over-centralised

Lack of resource for development & training

Who to turn to if

something isn't working?

Process

Supervision

team

Lack of support/engagement in wider research group

Frequent change of role

Overview of PGRS Issues

- 20 -

PGRS

GCU

Careers Preparation


Guidance

Mentoring

Support (welfare)

Research


Career


HEA/Certificates



Direction

Training

Evidence for CV

Network development

Experience

Publications

Employment



Experience

Affordable

Income

Fit to studies


Fit to career path

Training & feedback







HEA/Certificates

Evidence for CV

Network development

Publications

Careers preparation

Issues



Training

Experience


Experience

Direction


careers advice &



Focus on stipend

students

Not all PGRS

want to teach

Not all PGRS have


teach

Overload of

hours

Unexpected

changes to load

Lack of non-

academic

development

opportunities

Teaching/

research

Other

Linked to DoS

Availability

Timing

Relevance

Access

To discipline



No link to

awards (HEA)

Awareness

Lack of documented

good practice



Rarely available

Support

DoS/supervisors

Research group

Writing training


DoS/Rg/Dept support

Amount

Process


DoS

GCU


Flexible

Affordable

PGRS


Permanent Post Doc

Fit to studies

Income


Fit to career path

Training & feedback

Employment Issues

6 hours built into

Stipend conditions






logged/recorded


recruitment process









load clashes


Assessing others

No clear terms and

conditions



earn at GCU







cultural needs


& physical health

Access to advice

and support


Research group

Employment (GCU)


Where to go with

issues and


What help might

be available for

issues with

Stress

Career

Expertise

Bullying/behaviour

Lack of contact

GCU fees etc

GCU pay




Location of desks


Pregnancy/maternity


Sickness

Personal





Issues

Guidance

Mentoring

Support (welfare)

Research


Career


DoS not selected/






team members


Who is the PGRT?

Over-centralised


Who to turn to if


Process

Supervision

team



- 21 -

PGRS

GCU

Careers Preparation


Guidance

Mentoring

Support (welfare)

Research


Career


HEA/Certificates



Direction

Training

Evidence for CV

Network development

Experience

Publications

Employment



Experience

Affordable

Income

Fit to studies


Fit to career path

Training & feedback







HEA/Certificates

Evidence for CV

Network development

Publications

Careers preparation

Issues



Training

Experience


Experience

Direction


careers advice &



Focus on stipend

students

Not all PGRS

want to teach

Not all PGRS have


teach

Overload of

hours

Unexpected

changes to load

Lack of non-

academic

development

opportunities

Teaching/

research

Other

Linked to DoS

Availability

Timing

Relevance

Access

To discipline



No link to

awards (HEA)

Awareness

Lack of documented

good practice



Rarely available

Support

DoS/supervisors

Research group

Writing training


DoS/Rg/Dept support

Amount

Process


DoS

GCU


Flexible

Affordable

PGRS


Permanent Post Doc

Fit to studies

Income


Fit to career path

Training & feedback

Employment Issues

6 hours built into

Stipend conditions






logged/recorded


recruitment process









load clashes


Assessing others

No clear terms and

conditions



earn at GCU







cultural needs


& physical health

Access to advice

and support


Research group

Employment (GCU)


Where to go with

issues and


What help might

be available for

issues with

Stress

Career

Expertise

Bullying/behaviour

Lack of contact

GCU fees etc

GCU pay




Location of desks


Pregnancy/maternity


Sickness

Personal





Issues

Guidance

Mentoring

Support (welfare)

Research


Career


DoS not selected/






team members


Who is the PGRT?

Over-centralised


Who to turn to if


Process

Supervision

team



- 22 -

PGRS

GCU

Careers Preparation


Guidance

Mentoring

Support (welfare)

Research


Career


HEA/Certificates



Direction

Training

Evidence for CV

Network development

Experience

Publications

Employment



Experience

Affordable

Income

Fit to studies


Fit to career path

Training & feedback







HEA/Certificates

Evidence for CV

Network development

Publications

Careers preparation

Issues



Training

Experience


Experience

Direction


careers advice &



Focus on stipend

students

Not all PGRS

want to teach

Not all PGRS have


teach

Overload of

hours

Unexpected

changes to load

Lack of non-

academic

development

opportunities

Teaching/

research

Other

Linked to DoS

Availability

Timing

Relevance

Access

To discipline



No link to

awards (HEA)

Awareness

Lack of documented

good practice



Rarely available

Support

DoS/supervisors

Research group

Writing training


DoS/Rg/Dept support

Amount

Process


DoS

GCU


Flexible

Affordable

PGRS


Permanent Post Doc

Fit to studies

Income


Fit to career path

Training & feedback

Employment Issues

6 hours built into

Stipend conditions






logged/recorded


recruitment process









load clashes


Assessing others

No clear terms and

conditions



earn at GCU







cultural needs


& physical health

Access to advice

and support


Research group

Employment (GCU)


Where to go with

issues and


What help might

be available for

issues with

Stress

Career

Expertise

Bullying/behaviour

Lack of contact

GCU fees etc

GCU pay




Location of desks


Pregnancy/maternity


Sickness

Personal





Issues

Guidance

Mentoring

Support (welfare)

Research


Career


DoS not selected/






team members


Who is the PGRT?

Over-centralised


Who to turn to if


Process

Supervision

team



- 23 -

PGRS

GCU

Careers Preparation


Guidance

Mentoring

Support (welfare)

Research


Career


HEA/Certificates



Direction

Training

Evidence for CV

Network development

Experience

Publications

Employment



Experience

Affordable

Income

Fit to studies


Fit to career path

Training & feedback







HEA/Certificates

Evidence for CV

Network development

Publications

Careers preparation

Issues



Training

Experience


Experience

Direction


careers advice &



Focus on stipend

students

Not all PGRS

want to teach

Not all PGRS have


teach

Overload of

hours

Unexpected

changes to load

Lack of non-

academic

development

opportunities

Teaching/

research

Other

Linked to DoS

Availability

Timing

Relevance

Access

To discipline



No link to

awards (HEA)

Awareness

Lack of documented

good practice



Rarely available

Support

DoS/supervisors

Research group

Writing training


DoS/Rg/Dept support

Amount

Process


DoS

GCU


Flexible

Affordable

PGRS


Permanent Post Doc

Fit to studies

Income


Fit to career path

Training & feedback

Employment Issues

6 hours built into

Stipend conditions






logged/recorded


recruitment process









load clashes


Assessing others

No clear terms and

conditions



earn at GCU







cultural needs


& physical health

Access to advice

and support


Research group

Employment (GCU)


Where to go with

issues and


What help might

be available for

issues with

Stress

Career

Expertise

Bullying/behaviour

Lack of contact

GCU fees etc

GCU pay




Location of desks


Pregnancy/maternity


Sickness

Personal





Issues

Guidance

Mentoring

Support (welfare)

Research


Career


DoS not selected/






team members


Who is the PGRT?

Over-centralised


Who to turn to if


Process

Supervision

team



- 24 -

Appendix B: Interim report Payments and contracts for Post Graduate Research Students 1 Introduction This review was instigated in response to identified inconsistencies across the university in relation to payments for PGR students (PGRs) undertaking teaching. These came to light as a result of other work around the development of GTA (Graduate Teaching Assistant) role as part of the University's people strategy and were further highlighted by feedback from PGR student representatives and Graduate School.

2 Purpose The aim of this review was to:

examine the effectiveness of the current policy on PGRS working hours, specifically in relation to the current 6 hour rule for stipend students

review the current processes within the three Schools and the Yunus Centre in terms of the recruitment of PGR students to cover teaching and other duties i.e. who is paid, when, for what and what do their current contracts of employment look like

analyse the current rates of pay for PGR students when covering teaching and other duties make recommendations for changes to the current policy & recommendations for actions

regarding those students currently in employment

3 Consultation While a broader range of interviews is planned the following roles have been consulted to date:

Stakeholder group

ADR 1

ADLTQ 3

Graduate School 1

HoD's/AHoD's 2

People Services 1

Research administration 1

Student reps – outgoing 1

4 Current University Guidelines The Guidelines for Research Student Supervisors Aug 2013 state that:

i. all full time students not currently in the writing up stage should undertake a maximum of 6 hours work per week.

ii. For stipend and grant-funded students any work carried out during term time is considered to be part of the funding agreement and therefore unpaid

iii. For all other PGR students, including international students in receipt of stipend, term-time work is to be paid.

iv. Outwith term time all full time PGR students carrying out work for the university should be paid, the quantity of work again not exceeding 6 hours per week. The 6 hours is expected to include preparation time.

v. For part-time students no specific guidance is provided as circumstances vary considerably. The levels part-time students work would be determined in discussion with the Director of Studies and any university employment would be paid.

- 25 -

vi. The guidelines also state that unless there are specific specialist skills that would dictate a higher level, all PGR student employment will be at the basic laboratory support level of pay.

vii. full time PGR students are not considered to be employees of the university whilst carrying out teaching or related duties as ‘there is an absence of mutual obligation on the part of both parties to offer/accept work’ (p11). Part-time students can be employees.

There are number of problems to address with the framing of these guidelines and their implementation including:

i. These guidelines need rewriting as they contain many points of confusion requiring further clairifcation. For example in (i) it appears that there is an obligation to give “all” students “6 hours work per week” ? How is “in the writing up stage” formally defined” ? In (ii) What is meant by a “stipend” and “grant-funded” ,and compared with “scholarship” ? In (iii) and (iv) what does “term-time” mean in a trimester timetable? In (vi) is “basic laboratory support” a formal role title to enable a particular rate of pay to be made. This confusion partly explains different implementation approaches across the university

ii. The difference in treatment between home/EU students and international students could be seen as discriminatory

iii. Irrespective of number of hours worked anyone who carries out paid or unpaid work for the university can be considered to be a worker under employment regulations. Casual workers of any kind have entitlements to rights such as holiday pay, sick pay, and in some circumstances, redundancy payments.

iv. Some PGRs will benefit and develop from being give development in and an opportunity to do some teaching. Giving all PGRs an opportunity to teach is a significant risk to the taught student experience if an individual’s teaching ability is weak

v. Restricting students to six hours paid work within GCU results may influence their decision to take on additional work outside the university.

5 Results of initial investigation i. There have clearly been differences in PGR student payment practice between the three

Schools in relation to payment however since October 2015, following a Dean’s group meeting, all Schools are now paying all PGR students for all hours worked.

ii. Number of hours worked. This is very difficult to determine at present from the data and the format in which it can be extracted. It would appear that while each School is rigorous in application of the 6-hour rule for stipend students there are variations in the way the 6 hours are averaged over the semester/year.

iii. It is unclear how decisions are made about which PGR students are offered work and why, potentially leading to discrimination – conscious or otherwise

iv. Rates of pay have also differed between the three Schools. Each School has operated a three level model of payment i.e lab supervision , specialist lab/tutorial and lecture rate but the actual hourly rates at the two lower rates differ (e.g. 35p an hour difference between lab rates and 78p for specialist lab/tutorial rates between Vision Sciences and SEBE). Other rates are also offered for specific tasks. As a result of the recent review of casual hours payments all Schools have now agreed to make payments to PGR students in line with agreed pay scales. Rate of pay will depend on the role required and its fit against generic role profiles. Guidance on pay scales can be found at: https://portal.gcu.ac.uk/GCU/faces/oracle/webcenter/portalapp/pagehierarchy/Page1709.jspx

v. Data is still being gathered by People Services on the nature of the work offered by Schools and the types of contract. It would appear from observation and discussion that most PGR student work is undertaken on a casual basis although there have been a few fixed term, partial FTE contracts offered in some cases. Regardless of the nature of contract offered, both casual work and employment are covered by employment regulations and attract entitlements such as holiday and sick pay. Guidance on this is also provided through the link above.

vi. There is an argument that universities should offer PGR students the opportunity to apply for fixed-term teaching assistant positions akin to those currently offered at Glasgow

https://portal.gcu.ac.uk/GCU/faces/oracle/webcenter/portalapp/pagehierarchy/Page1709.jspx

https://portal.gcu.ac.uk/GCU/faces/oracle/webcenter/portalapp/pagehierarchy/Page1709.jspx

- 26 -

University among others. Further research is needed to understand the implications of this proposal and gather evidence to enable a decision to be made on implementation within the GCU context. This will be the focus of a People Services PID currently under development.

6 Recommendations to date i. That the changes introduced by the Deans of School and the clarification of casual hour

worker payment scales and status made by People Services be seen as a resolution to the current issues of pay disparity in relation to PGR Students.

ii. That the guidance for Research Supervisors & related materials be updated in line with these changes and that appropriate communications be circulated to ensure compliance.

iii. That a project team review the feasibility of introducing a Graduate Teaching Assistant role profile within the university in the light of the specific needs of: PGR students in terms of employment and training opportunity; GCU in terms of recruitment and staff continuity; and Schools in terms of workload allocation and teaching quality. The data still being gathered on current PGR Student employment within the university will contribute to this process.

- 27 -

APPENDIX C: Examples of PGRS employment options at other Scottish and English universities 1. Graduate Teaching Assistant and other formal posts advertised to PGRS Edinburgh University have a well-developed and visible approach to the employment of PGR students under the heading of Tutoring and Demonstrating. Students are actively encouraged to take on tutor roles within Schools as this enables the units to support small class sizes. While Schools appear to be responsible for determining their needs and selection the selection, payment and conditions are centrally controlled. Two types of contract appear to be available: guaranteed hours and non-guaranteed hours. When there is a requirement for tutor time the hours are offered first to those on guaranteed hours, then to relevantly qualified PGRS who have completed the application process, are in the prescribed period of study and have their supervisors approval. e.g. http://www.ed.ac.uk/history-classics-archaeology/about-us/working-with-us/teaching-support/payment/eligibility A code of practice which covers the rights and responsibilities of all those undertaking tutoring or demonstration duties is available and included for information in the following pages. All teaching support staff are required to complete one or two compulsory modules depending on the nature of the work they’re employed to carry out. These may be offered within the School (contextualised induction) or as part of the programme suite provided by the university’s Institute for Academic Development. The Institute offers generic and advanced training courses running at several points in the year which any tutor or demonstrator can access free of charge. Tutors and Demonstrators can use their experience to work towards the Edinburgh Teaching Award which is linked to various Fellowship levels of the HEA. http://www.ed.ac.uk/institute-academic-development/learning-teaching Glasgow University offer a number of GTA posts to PGRS. GTA’s are expected to complete a half-day compulsory teacher training session but are also offered access to other teacher training opportunities. http://www.gla.ac.uk/services/learningteaching/taughtcourses/graduateteachingassistantsdevelopingasateacher/ Strathclyde University offer a range of teaching opportunities to their PGR students from emergency cover to more substantial posts. They provide a specific introductory course for PGR who teach. Other teaching related training is offered through the Organisation and Staff Development Unit and specifically structured and recognised within the SPARK (Strathclyde’s Programme in Academic practice, Researcher development and Knowledge exchange). http://www.strath.ac.uk/hr/learninganddevelopment/spark/ https://bookings.strath.ac.uk/Home/CoursesList?SelectedCategory=Learning%20and%20Teaching

http://www.ed.ac.uk/history-classics-archaeology/about-us/working-with-us/teaching-support/payment/eligibility

http://www.ed.ac.uk/history-classics-archaeology/about-us/working-with-us/teaching-support/payment/eligibility

http://www.ed.ac.uk/institute-academic-development/learning-teaching

http://www.gla.ac.uk/services/learningteaching/taughtcourses/graduateteachingassistantsdevelopingasateacher/

http://www.gla.ac.uk/services/learningteaching/taughtcourses/graduateteachingassistantsdevelopingasateacher/

http://www.strath.ac.uk/hr/learninganddevelopment/spark/

https://bookings.strath.ac.uk/Home/CoursesList?SelectedCategory=Learning%20and%20Teaching

https://bookings.strath.ac.uk/Home/CoursesList?SelectedCategory=Learning%20and%20Teaching

- 28 -

Career development for PhD students is a promoted feature in marketing materials and embedded within the university’s Strategic Plan. http://www.strath.ac.uk/rdp/policiesprojects/ Training is linked to the concept of developing ‘Strathclyders’: graduates who see and pride themselves as products of the university and who contribute to its success. Kings College London has a similarly structured approach. Students are invited to apply through their supervisors. If accepted they are required to attend a ‘preparing to teach’ course. They are given a detailed contract at the start of their teaching term which lists all of their duties and responsibilities and the terms of their employment. The following webpage provides a single access point to information relevant to the student engaged in teaching. http://www.kcl.ac.uk/artshums/study/handbook/restea/research/gta.aspx

2. Combined PhD/GTA approaches University of Kent offer a combined PhD and GTA post to selected students https://www.kent.ac.uk/scholarships/postgraduate/gta.html Napier University periodically offer a Graduate Training Assistant positions: another combined GTA/PhD role. The current offer is for a 4 year post at around £15k including tuition fees for home/EU residents. The GTA is expected to complete a PG Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education during their time in this role. This is a similar offer to that periodically made by Birmingham City University. The advertised role below outlines teaching of up to 10 hours per week associated with the stipend. http://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/ANK619/graduate-research-teaching-assistant-doctoral-training-grant/?utm_source=Indeed&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=Indeed http://www.bcu.ac.uk/research/-centres-of-excellence/centre-for-health-and-social-care-research/graduate-school/study-with-us/gtastudentships The University of Northampton offer fractional teaching posts which are very similar to a full time lecturing post but include a reduced or no-fee PhD. e.g. https://jobs.northampton.ac.uk/vacancy/graduate-teaching-assistant-05-fte-258368.html

3. Other approaches The University of Wolverhampton offers a number of 2 year fixed term GTA roles to graduates of the university, it is not clear if these can be taken up by those currently undertaking PGR study. Teacher training leading to a PGCE award is offered to GTA post holders (PGCE is part of UoW’s existing portfolio). Robert Gordon University periodically offer Teaching Assistant posts but these do not appear to be linked to post-graduate research and most are full time roles.

http://www.strath.ac.uk/rdp/policiesprojects/

http://www.kcl.ac.uk/artshums/study/handbook/restea/research/gta.aspx

https://www.kent.ac.uk/scholarships/postgraduate/gta.html

http://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/ANK619/graduate-research-teaching-assistant-doctoral-training-grant/?utm_source=Indeed&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=Indeed

http://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/ANK619/graduate-research-teaching-assistant-doctoral-training-grant/?utm_source=Indeed&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=Indeed

http://www.bcu.ac.uk/research/-centres-of-excellence/centre-for-health-and-social-care-research/graduate-school/study-with-us/gtastudentships

http://www.bcu.ac.uk/research/-centres-of-excellence/centre-for-health-and-social-care-research/graduate-school/study-with-us/gtastudentships

- 29 -

rdc15/13/01 - gcu · 2020. 9. 5. · rdc15/13/01 committee title research degrees committee date of...

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