Human Resources Policy Statement HRPS9

Staff studying for academic and professional qualifications
  1. Introduction

MiddlesexUniversity is committed to the provision of staff development opportunities for all its staff. This policy covers the support given for educational and professional development through opportunities provided by the University and external programmes where the University does not offer something broadly similar.

  1. Scope

The policy applies to all staff employed by the University once they have completed their probation[*]. Staff employed by the University’s Regional Offices, including staff employed by subsidiary companies wholly owned by the University, shall benefit from this Policy, as shall MUSU staff, including paid sabbatical officers. For temporary and fixed term staff the period of appointment must be for at least 6 months longer thanthe length of the programme. This policy does not apply to students of the University who may be employed to undertake short-term, casual work under the terms of HRPS10. The policy sets out:

  • whenfees for University programmes (part-time mode) will be waived
  • when fees will be paid for University Summer School courses from local staff development budgets
  • when fees for professional development and qualifications will be paid from local staff development budgets
  • guidelines on the amount of paid time off to follow such courses or programmes.
  1. Principles
  • Development opportunities will normally be part of adevelopment plan agreedthrough the annual appraisal process
  • Developmentwill normally be related to current or future jobrequirements. Study for personal interest may also be supported by remission of Middlesex University fees (pro rata for part time staff see Appendix B) but not by paid time off. No contribution to fees for external courses will be made for study for personal interest not related to current job requirements
  • Initial agreement to support will be subject to the existence of satisfactory job performance and attendance record
  • Managers shall not normally agree to full-time staff studying full-time at the University (see Appendix A for special circumstances)
  • Continuing support will be subject to both satisfactory progression in the course and maintenance of satisfactory job performance
  • Staff who leave before completing a programme or within a year of completing will be expected to repay all or part of the fees paid or waived[†]
  1. Procedure

4.1.Application

A member of staff who wishes to follow an educational or professional development course either at the University or elsewhere(including distance learning) should discuss this with their line manager as part of their staff appraisal/development discussions. Applications should be made on the form at Appendix E and should arise from and form part ofa planned and agreed individual staff development plan.To allow time for operational and budgetary considerationsto be taken into account applications should be made at least six months prior to the start of the programme. Paragraphs 5-6 below and the flow chart at Appendix C provide guidance on the circumstances whenan application should be supported.

4.2.Decision making

Providing current job performance is satisfactory, Line Managers should not unreasonably withhold support but financial support by payment of fees will be subject to the availability of a local staff development budget. Final decision making will be made as part of the annual staff development planning process within a school, service or area. Line Managers shall advise the member of staff whether or not the application is supported and in approving applications, Line Managers shall make clear the level of support (financial and time off) allowed by finalising the application form at Appendix E.

4.3.Enrolment and registration

Enrolment and registration on an agreed programme shall be dependent on the normaladmissions requirements of the programme and on the availability of places. The member of staffconcerned shall be responsible for ensuring confirmation of admission prior to enrolment andregistration.

  1. Financial Support

5.1.Work related development

Where it is agreed that the development opportunity is related to current or future job requirementsfinancial support is provided by:

  • The full remission of fees for part time programmes offered by the University, including taught programmes leading to awards; research degrees; accredited short courses; and accreditation of work-experience.
  • Payment of fees for other development opportunities offered by the University where fees are payable (including Summer School)subject to the availability of a local staff development budget.
  • Payment of fees for academic or professional qualification (where an equivalent programme is not provided by the University)subject to the availability of a local staff development budget.

5.2.Summer School

Fees are not waived for Summer School. If the course is work related the fees may be paid from the local staff development budget (see paragraph 5.1). Courses which are for personal interest must be paid for by the individual. However, if places are still available two weeks before the course is due to run these will be offered to staff

(subject to a small administrative fee). Staff can ask to be placed on a reserve list and any available places will be allocated on a first come first serve basis. Those who have paid for a place will not be able to convert this to a free place.

5.3.Course at Associate and PartnershipColleges

The University has reciprocal arrangements with some of its Associate and PartnershipColleges for the partial remittance for University staff studying at Associate and PartnershipColleges.

5.4.Other expenses

Travel, subsistence or incidental expenses will not normally be paid except in the case of residential courses which are an integral part of the programme. Professional subscriptions will not be paid. Consideration may be given to a contribution towards books and materials which are an integral part of the course, subject to the availability of local budget.

5.5.Study for personal interest

Study for personal interest (i.e. not work related) may also be supported by remission of University fees. Part-time staff will receive financial support prorata to the full-time equivalent e.g. a member of staff working 0.5 FTE will have 50% of the agreed tuitionfees remitted or paid. Further advice is given in Appendix B. No contribution to fees for external courses will be made for study for personal interest not related to current job requirements.

  1. Time off

6.1.Work related development

The amount of paid time off should be determined in the light of the pattern of study, assessment and examination methods. Time of will be subject to operational requirements although line managers are encouraged to be supportive and flexible. Appendix D provides guidelines on the maximums allowed. Where staff meet the requirements they may also make use of the Sabbatical Leave Policy (HRPS14) if the study is of direct relevance to the individual’s work role.

6.2.Part-time Staff

Staff who work part time will be allowed time off pro rata to their normal hours. Full guidance is provided in Appendix D.

6.3.Personal development/interest

Paid time off for personal development/interest will not be agreed but, subject to operational requirement flexibility may be agreed either by time being made up during the week,a temporary unpaid reduction in hours or unpaid leave. The acceptance of a free place on a Summer School (see paragraph 5.3) is subject to the availability of leave and operational requirements. To guarantee time off staff may need to book leave before a place is confirmed and be prepared to take that leave even is a place does not become available. Where staff meet the requirements they may also make use of the Career Break Policy.

6.4.Courses outside of normal working hours

Where a programme runs wholly or partly outside normal working hours staff will not qualify for overtime payments or time off in lieu.

  1. Continuation of support

7.1.General

Staff enrolling and registered on an agreed programme shall normally be expected tocomplete the full assessment programme. Agreement for programmes lasting more than one year will be subject to annual review as part of the annual Staff Appraisal process. It will be assumed that financial and time off support will continue subject to satisfactory progress in the course being maintained and the maintenance of performance in the job role (including attendance). Staff will not normally be supported to repeat a failedprogramme (other than one standard reassessment).

7.2.Unsatisfactory progress - work related development

If staff withdraw from the course orprogress is unsatisfactory for reasons of poor attendance on the course, failure to complete coursework(taught programmes) or failure to submit satisfactory progress reports (research,Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning), and, in the view of the Line Manager, this is unrelated to workload, half the remitted or paidtuition fees for programmes related to staff and career development shall be charged retrospectively tothe member of staff. Research degrees must be completed within seven years.

7.3.Unsatisfactory progress - personal development/interest

In the case of tuition fees remitted to facilitate completion of a programme of personaldevelopment/interest the whole of thetuition fee shall be reimbursed by the member of staff in the event of withdrawal or unsatisfactory progress forreasons of poor attendance on the course or failure to complete coursework or submit progress reports.

  1. Leaving

Staff who leave the employment of the University more than six months before they are due to complete that year’s study (completion being when results are received) will be asked to repay the full fees for that year. Staff who leave less than six monthsbefore the results are received or within a year after receiving results will be asked to repay 50% of the fees for that year. The requirement to repay fees will not apply in the case of redundancy (see also Appendix A) or retirement due to ill health. Sabbatical Leave and Career Breaks taken to complete a course of study will be counted as a period of employment.

Appendix ASpecial circumstances

Appendix BExamples for support of part-time employees studying for personal interest

Appendix CFlow chart

Appendix DGuidelines for maximum time off to be allowed

Appendix EApplication form

Other related policies:

Sabbatical Leave HRPS14

Career Break HRPS17

University Students as Employees HRPS10

Staff Development HRPS4

Staff Appraisal HRPS23

This policy was adopted by Management team on 15th June 1998. It was reviewed in 2001 and again in 2007, following consultation with Executive Briefing Group and the recognised Trade Unions, it was approved by Executive Team on 26th April 2007. It is due for review in April 2012.
Appendix A Special Circumstances relating to redundancy

Managers shall not normally agree to full-time staff studying full-time at the Universityexcept in certain circumstances, such as redundancy and redeployment. Where staff at risk ofredundancy undertake agreed training (including attendance on a full-time course) to allow them to beredeployed elsewhere in the University, then 100% remission of fees for a full-time course shall beagreed. Advice is available from Human Resource Services. The relevant Campus Finance Officeshall obtain confirmation from an appropriate member of Human Resource Services by e-mail whererequests are made to attend full-time University courses and/or to have course fees remitted in full.

In the case of redundancy no fees will be repayable on leaving the University.
Appendix B– Examples for financial support of part-time employees studying for personal interest.

Staff who are employed on a part time basis will receive financial support pro-rata to the number of hours worked for a MiddlesexUniversity course which they are studying for personal interest. Whilst there is no agreed conversion of part-time hourly paid hours to FTE, to calculatethe fractional FTE for the purposes of this Policy only, a guideline of 400 part-time hours in any oneacademic year will be taken as equivalent to 1 FTE for academic staff. Part-time hourly paid academic staff on avariable hours contract should have a guaranteed number of hours stated in their contract and use theabove guideline to calculate the nominal FTE.

  • Someone who works 0.75 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) will be asked to pay 25% of the published tuition fee.
  • A part-time hourly paid academic member of staff who has worked 200 hours in an academicyear shall normally have 50% of the published tuition fee remitted.
  • A member of staff on a variable hours contract with guaranteed minimum annual workinghours of 100 hours shall normally have 25% of the published tuition fee remitted.

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Staff studying for academic and professional qualifications April 2007

Appendix C – Flow Chart

Appendix DGuidelines for paid time off

  1. General principles

All time off (paid and unpaid) is subject to operational requirements and feasibility. Managers are encouraged to be supportive and flexible and staff are asked to approach this responsibly. If the amount of time required is greater than the maximum allowed under the guidelines below, additional time off may be agreed (subject to operational feasibility) either bytime being made up during the week, a temporary reduction in hours or unpaid leave. Where staff meet the appropriate requirements use may also be made of the Sabbatical Leave and Career Break policies. The Line Manager is responsible for keeping records of absences on the annual leave card.

  1. Full time staff

The total amount of time off for study purposes in one leave year should not exceed 20 days. This does not mean there is an entitlement to 20 days every year but a reasonable amount of time off should be agreed in the light of the required pattern of study, assessment and examination. This time can be made up in the following ways:

  • Regular commitments (such as attending lectures) - no more than 0.5 days per week.
  • Blocks of time off (such as for attendance on a course, research, field trips, completing course work, writing a dissertation)–this must not be more than 8 days in any one month.
  • Taking and preparing for examinations- up to one day preparation and 0.5 days to take each exam.
  1. Part time staff

Paid time off for part time staff should be at a rate proportional to the FTE according to their contract. Whilst there is no agreed conversion of part-time hourly paid hours to FTE, to calculatethe fractional FTE for the purposes of this Policy only, a guideline of 400 part-time hours in any oneacademic year will be taken as equivalent to 1 FTE. Part-time hourly paid academic staff on avariable hours contract should have a guaranteed number of hours stated in their contract and use theabove guideline to calculate the nominal FTE.

  • The total amount of time off for study purposes should not exceed the equivalent of 20 days FTE. So a person who works 0.5 FTE or 200 hours per year could have up to a total of 10 days.
  • For regular commitments (such as attending lectures) the maximum of 0.5 days per week is equivalent to 1/10th of a FT contract. So a person who works 3 days (or 21 hours) a week would be entitled to 1/10th of their hours i.e. 2.1 hours
  • For blocks of time off the total amount per month should not exceed the equivalent of 8 days. So a person who works 0.75 FTE could take 6 days in any one month.
  • For examinations the time off of half a day is equivalent to 1/10th of a full time week. So a person who works 25 hours per week would be allowed 2.5 hours for preparation and taking an exam.
  • If attendance for study is required on a day which is not a normal work day staff will not qualify for time off in lieu
  • In some circumstances the actual absence will be greater than the maximum allowed (e.g.in the examples above for regular commitments and examinations). In these circumstances the member of staff will be expected to make up the time within the same week.

Appendix E

Application for support for academic or professional qualification

Before completing this form please read theStaff studying for academic and professional qualificationspolicy and discuss with your line manager.

Name / Job title
School/Service / Campus
Email / Telephone
Full time / part time (state FTE)
Proposed Course/Qualification
Course start and finish date
Student Number (when known)
Briefly outline the relevance to your current or future job role or future career prospects within the University (if this is a continuation of a course previously agreed – please attach a copy of the previous agreement)
Has this been discussed and agreed as part of your annual appraisal discussion. / Yes/No
Fees / Line Manager signature/ comment
I am applying for financial support / Full waiver of Middlesex University Fees
Partial waiver of Middlesex University Fees (part time staff – personal interest study)
Full payment of other fees
State the amount ……………………….
I am applying for time off from normal working hours (subject to an overall maximum of 20 days per year – pr rata for part time staff) / Regular time off for study (max 0.5 days p/w)
Total number of days …………….
Pattern (i.e. every Wed pm) ……………
Time off for examinations (max 0.5 days per exam)
No of days ……………………..
Dates (if known) ……………………..
Time of for revision (max 1 day per exam)
No of days …………………………
Other (i.e. blocks of time)
Please give dates ……………………….
Adjustment to hours/unpaid time/ making up time)
Please give details ……………………….
Tick as appropriate
I have read the Staff studying for academic and professional qualifications policy HRPS09 and discussed with my line manager as part of my annual appraisal
I agree to pay excess fees of ………………
I agree to the above level of paid/unpaid time off
I understand that attendance on the course is subject to normal enrolment procedures
I understand that continuing support will be subject to satisfactory progress on the course and maintenance of satisfactory job performance
I agree that should I fail to complete the course or resign my employment, I will be liable to reimburse the costs of the course (as set out in the Staff Studying for academic and professional qualifications policy HRPS09) and that this may be by deduction from my final salary.
Signature of applicant
To be completed by the line Manager
I have discussed this as part of the annual appraisal and have agreed the above level of financial support and time off.
Line Manager name and signature
…………………………………….. ……………………………Date ……………………….
Head of Service/School name and signature
…………………………………………….. ……………………Date ……………………….

Please send to the Student Income Team, Financial Services (ensuring that you have added your Student Number).