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Academic and Professional Staff 2014 Contact
 
Monash University

59. ACADEMIC WORKLOADS

59.1 The University is committed wherever reasonably possible to:

  • managing the workload of academic staff members to ensure teaching and administrative responsibilities are contained and adequate time is allowed for research and scholarship;

  • a fair level and equitable distribution of workload for academic staff;

  • a transparent process of workload allocation which has the broad support of academic staff members;

  • providing an opportunity beyond the performance management process for academic members to be consulted about workload allocation; and

  • ensuring the workload of an academic staff member is reasonably manageable and consistent with the continued health and safety of the staff member
taking into account the operational and teaching requirements and research performance standards of the University and the relevant academic unit.

59.2 The management and regulation of academic workloads (other than for sessional Teaching Associate staff) will be based on the processes set out below.

Academic Work

59.3 Academic work at the University embraces research, teaching, leadership, and professional and community service.  All academic staff members at the University should have adequate and appropriate opportunities to perform in all these areas having regard to whether they are employed on a teaching and research or research-only basis.

59.4 Academic workload is a combination of self-directed and assigned tasks.  The assigned proportion of an academic staff member’s work will include, for example, teaching and preparation for teaching, assessment, supervision and the necessary administrative work associated with teaching and research in a collegial environment.

59.5 The remainder of an academic staff member’s working time is self-directed, consistent with the University’s strategic plans and announced priorities.  It is time in which staff members conduct research or other scholarly activity as appropriate to their appointment to the University.

Research Performance Standards

59.6 To provide clarity to academic staff performing their research role, the University has and will determine faculty or discipline-specific quantitative research performance standards (research metrics).  It is recognised that these may be adjusted from time to time.

59.7 The University will consult with affected staff and the NTEU prior to making any significant or substantial changes to the faculty or discipline-specific quantitative research performance standards that affect staff.

59.8 Where significant or substantial changes that affect staff are made to the faculty or discipline-specific quantitative research performance standards, they will not be applied retrospectively to staff and staff will be given an appropriate opportunity to meet the changed performance standards.

Workload Allocation

59.9 Allocation of workloads will continue to be dealt with through the workload models of the Faculties and/or their academic units, including the collegial consultative processes by which these Models have been developed and under which they operate and consistent with clause 59.10, 59.11 and 59.12.

59.10 The University recognises 1645 hours per annum as the maximum annual allocated hours.  A staff member’s annual allocation of workload and any allocated duties under clause 59.12 will be subject to discussion between the staff member and his/her supervisor prior to finalisation. 

The starting point for discussions about the allocation of work for teaching and research academic staff is:

  • Teaching 40%

  • Research and scholarship 40%

  • Other activities 20%

These percentages may be varied in an individual staff member’s engagement profile.

Research-only staff may also undertake limited teaching.  The workload and any allocation of duties for research-only staff delivering teaching will take into account any associated work, including setting assessment, marking, and student consultation. 

59.11 “Teaching” may include:

  • preparation of teaching materials for face to face, online and other modes of delivery;

  • unit and course development, including online, off-campus and off-shore learning materials;

  • delivery of lectures, tutorials, laboratory classes and clinical education;

  • delivery of online learning;

  • delivery of off-campus, off-shore and distance education;

  • co-ordination of units and courses;

  • supervision of teaching staff, including casual professional and Teaching Associate staff;

  • supervision of honours year and post-graduate students;

  • supervision of undergraduate students undertaking research projects or fieldwork;

  • preparing and marking of student assessment;

  • student consultation;

  • musical accompanying; and

  • field excursions.

"Other activities" may include:

  • committee participation;

  • organising and/or attending meetings, forums, seminars etc;

  • consultancy;

  • leadership;

  • management and administration; and

  • internal and external professional work.

59.12 For all teaching and teaching related duties allocated to a staff member, the anticipated duties encompassed will normally be advised to the staff member and an allocation of hours will normally be made for those teaching and teaching related duties.  This allocation of hours will represent an estimate of the time that a competent academic of the staff member’s level and experience would be expected to take to perform those teaching and teaching related duties within the Faculty or academic unit.

In accordance with the relevant workload model, the annual allocation of the staff member’s teaching and teaching related duties will take into account:

     (a) the teaching and operational requirements and quantitative research performance standards of the academic unit, including the teaching activities required to be undertaken;

     (b) any significant projected periods of leave, which may include part-year absences on leave without pay or study leave or part-year assignment to non-teaching duties;

     (c) teaching and teaching related duties worked in excess of the staff member’s allocated teaching hours in the preceding year;

     (d) the staff member’s designated non-teaching duties; and

     (e) any need to adjust teaching and teaching related duties to facilitate a staff member establishing a research profile, such as where a high allocation of teaching duties has been made in previous years.

59.13 In circumstances where any substantive amendments and variations to teaching allocations are necessary, the University will discuss this with staff affected by any amendments or variations.  This includes instances where research outputs affect teaching allocation and the application of research output measures requires a revision of teaching allocation.

Wherever possible, allocations of responsibility for course units will be determined and the affected staff advised at least three weeks in advance of the commencement of the teaching period.

Academic Workload Models

59.14 Each Faculty and/or academic unit will develop and maintain (or review, as appropriate) a Workload Model, through a collegial process, and will provide for the equitable and transparent allocation of workload with respect to teaching and other activities within the Faculty or academic unit.

59.15 The Workload Model will take into account those activities specified in clause 59.11 as well as including, where relevant, the following factors:

  • Modes of delivery;

  • The level of units in which the academic staff member teaches;

  • The number of units in which the academic staff member teaches;

  • The level and experience of the academic staff member;

  • The number of students taught by the academic staff member and the student profile;

  • Methods of assessment and marking;

  • The spread of teaching across day and evening programs and across the year, including summer teaching;

  • Staff development requirements, including higher degree study and the GraduateCertificate in Academic Practice (GCAP) or Graduate Certificate in Health Professional Education (GCHPE);

  • Intercampus teaching and travel;

  • Off-shore teaching and travel; and

  • Quantitative research performance standards.

Fractional Academic Staff

59.16 A fractional (part-time) academic staff member will normally undertake as full a range of duties as a full-time academic on a pro-rata basis, unless there is an agreement to the contrary reflected in the staff member’s engagement profile from year to year.  The applicable workload model will be applied pro rata according to the academic staff member’s employment fraction and engagement profile.

Unreasonable Workloads

59.17 In determining what are unreasonable hours of work the University will have regard to the following factors:

  • The total number of teaching and/or required hours worked on a particular day;

  • The number of teaching and/or required hours worked without a break;

  • Any requirement to undertake teaching on University holidays, or before 8:00am or after 9:00pm;

  • Requirements to undertake teaching at overseas campuses;

  • Requirements to travel between campuses to undertake teaching;

  • The time off between finishing and starting times of teaching sessions;

  • The number of days of the week during which teaching and/or required duties are scheduled;

  • Class sizes;

  • Health and safety issues;

  • The incidence of night work/after dark work;

  • The academic staff member’s general workload; and

  • The academic staff member’s family needs and responsibilities.

59.18 Concerns arising from the allocation of workloads or unreasonable hours of work will be dealt with, in the first instance, by consultation and discussion with the academic staff member’s supervisor.  Where it is not possible to reach agreement by this means the academic staff member may appeal to a Faculty Board of Review.  The Board of Review will consist of no more than three persons and will normally be chaired by the Dean of the Faculty (or his/her nominee) and will include two other staff members appointed by the Faculty Board, provided that one will be at the standing of Senior Lecturer or below.  Where the appeal is against the decision of the Dean, the Board of Review will be chaired by the Provost or his/her nominee.  The staff member may, at his/her request, be accompanied by a Representative.  Guidelines governing the operation of the Faculty Boards of Review will operate with regard to the following matters:

  • Timelines for establishment of Boards and hearing and resolution of complaints;

  •  Protocols for the involvement of Deans, Heads of Departments and the Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor as members of Boards;

  • Remedies that may be recommended by Boards where a finding is made that a workload allocation was unreasonable.

59.19 Where a staff member is dissatisfied with the recommendation(s) of a Board of Review, he or she may have recourse to the Dispute Resolution Procedure at clause 12.

59.20 The University shall establish an Academic Workloads Advisory Committee (AWAC).  The NTEU may nominate a member of academic staff to be the NTEU representative of the AWAC.  The AWAC shall monitor workload trends and the operation of workload models.  The AWAC shall meet quarterly and:

     (a) may issue reports on workload trends and the operation of workload models; and

     (b)    may make recommendations about these matters to the University.