Human Resources Policy Statement
HRPS9
Staff studying for academic and professional
qualifications
1. Introduction
Middlesex University 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.
2. 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 than the 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:
o
o
o
o
when fees 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.
3. Principles
o
o
o
*
Development opportunities will normally be part of a development plan agreed
through the annual appraisal process
Development will normally be related to current or future job requirements. 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
Except staff following the PGCertHE as part of contractual requirements
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Staff studying for academic and professional qualifications April 2007
o
o
o
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 *
4. 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 of a planned and agreed individual staff development plan.
To allow time for operational and budgetary considerations to 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 when an 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
normal admissions requirements of the programme and on the availability of places.
The member of staff concerned shall be responsible for ensuring confirmation of
admission prior to enrolment and registration.
5. Financial Support
5.1. Work related development
Where it is agreed that the development opportunity is related to current or future job
requirements financial support is provided by:
o 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.
*
Except staff following the PGCertHE as part of contractual requirements
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Staff studying for academic and professional qualifications April 2007
o
o
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 Partnership Colleges
The University has reciprocal arrangements with some of its Associate and
Partnership Colleges for the partial remittance for University staff studying at
Associate and Partnership Colleges.
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 pro rata to the fulltime equivalent e.g. a member of staff working 0.5 FTE will have 50% of the agreed
tuition fees 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.
6. 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.
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Staff studying for academic and professional qualifications April 2007
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.
7. Continuation of support
7.1. General
Staff enrolling and registered on an agreed programme shall normally be expected to
complete 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 failed programme (other than one standard reassessment).
7.2. Unsatisfactory progress - work related development
If staff withdraw from the course or progress 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 paid tuition fees for programmes related to staff and
career development shall be charged retrospectively to the 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
personal development/interest the whole of the tuition fee shall be reimbursed by the
member of staff in the event of withdrawal or unsatisfactory progress for reasons of
poor attendance on the course or failure to complete coursework or submit progress
reports.
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Staff studying for academic and professional qualifications April 2007
8. 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 months
before 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 A
Appendix B
Appendix C
Appendix D
Appendix E
Special circumstances
Examples for support of part-time employees studying for personal
interest
Flow chart
Guidelines for maximum time off to be allowed
Application 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.
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Staff studying for academic and professional qualifications April 2007
Appendix A Special Circumstances relating to redundancy
Managers shall not normally agree to full-time staff studying full-time at the University
except in certain circumstances, such as redundancy and redeployment. Where staff at
risk of redundancy undertake agreed training (including attendance on a full-time course)
to allow them to be redeployed elsewhere in the University, then 100% remission of fees
for a full-time course shall be agreed. Advice is available from Human Resource
Services. The relevant Campus Finance Office shall obtain confirmation from an
appropriate member of Human Resource Services by e-mail where requests 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.
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Staff studying for academic and professional qualifications April 2007
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 Middlesex University course which they are studying for
personal interest. Whilst there is no agreed conversion of part-time hourly paid hours to
FTE, to calculate the fractional FTE for the purposes of this Policy only, a guideline of
400 part-time hours in any one academic year will be taken as equivalent to 1 FTE for
academic staff. Part-time hourly paid academic staff on a variable hours contract should
have a guaranteed number of hours stated in their contract and use the above guideline
to calculate the nominal FTE.
o
Someone who works 0.75 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) will be asked to pay 25%
of the published tuition fee.
o
A part-time hourly paid academic member of staff who has worked 200 hours in
an academic year shall normally have 50% of the published tuition fee remitted.
o
A member of staff on a variable hours contract with guaranteed minimum annual
working hours 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
Is this course/ programme directly
related to current or future job role
or career prospects within the
University?
NO
Fees will be waived for
Mdx course. No other
courses will be
supported
YES
Do they work
full time?
No paid time off
YES
Fee waiver for Mdx
course will be pro rata.
No other course will be
supported
NO
Is this a Mdx course/
programme?
NO
Does Mdx offer a
broadly similar
programme?
YES
YES
Follow Mdx course
instead
NO
Is it a Summer School
or income generating
course?
YES
Is there local budget
available?
NO
No financial support. If
spaces available 2
weeks before the start –
places will be offered
subject to a small
administrative fee
NO
YES
Full financial
support
Is it full time?
Time off subject to
operational requirements
and overall maximum (pro
rata for part time staff)
Full time study
not supported.
Consider part
time mode
YES
NO
Is it part time?
YES
Seek advice from
Staff Development
NO
Fees waived
Time off subject to
operational requirements
and overall maximum (pro
rata for part time staff)
Appendix D Guidelines 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 by time 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.
2. 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:
o
Regular commitments (such as attending lectures) - no more than 0.5 days per
week.
o
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.
o
Taking and preparing for examinations - up to one day preparation and 0.5 days to
take each exam.
3. 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 calculate the fractional FTE for the purposes of this Policy only, a guideline of
400 part-time hours in any one academic year will be taken as equivalent to 1 FTE.
Part-time hourly paid academic staff on a variable hours contract should have a
guaranteed number of hours stated in their contract and use the above guideline to
calculate the nominal FTE.
o
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.
o
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
o
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.
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Staff studying for academic and professional qualifications April 2007
o
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.
o
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
o
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.
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Staff studying for academic and professional qualifications April 2007
Appendix E
Application for support for academic or professional qualification
Before completing this form please read the Staff studying for academic and professional
qualifications policy 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
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)
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 Partial waiver of Middlesex University Fees
(part time staff – personal interest study)
 Full payment of other fees
State the amount ……………………….
Staff studying for academic and professional qualifications April 2007
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).
A copy of this agreement should be attached to the annual appraisal documents and kept
by the line manager and the member of staff.
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