Aims and Objectives for Probation
P1415-1385
TARGETS FOR PROBATION – ACADEMIC STAFF
Name: ______Department: ______
Job Title: ______Name of Mentor: ______
Staff Number: ______
To be completed by the Head of Department/School within onemonth of the date of appointment and returned to the Director of Human Resources. Targets set will be considered by Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Student Experience and Academic Quality Enhancement), and may then be subject to revision. Targets should be reviewed annually by the probationer and his/her Probation Supervisor.
In setting targets, Probation Supervisors should bear in mind the total commitment of probationary members of staff and the requirement that teaching staff achieve HEA Fellowship. The total workload for probation staff should not exceed the departmental norm, and should normally be below this at least in the first year of appointment.
ATeaching
Please list principal teaching responsibilities for the three years of probation. Modules on which the probationer is likely to teach should be listed, and the nature of the contribution clearly indicated. Postgraduate teaching and supervision, as well as under-graduate teaching, should be included. Please indicate whether the modules are new modules or existing modules, and which years you anticipate their being taught in. Please indicate likely contact hours per module, and overall contact hours for each of the three probationary years. Please also give an indication of contact hours for other academic staff and the departmental norm or average.
Proposed Teaching Responsibilities
Year 1:
Year 2:
Year 3:
Contact Hours, Departmental Norm:
BResearch and Publication
Please set research and publication targets for the three years of probation. These should clearly specify the nature of the research to be undertaken and the anticipated outputs. In particular you should indicate targets for publication for each of the three years and set appropriate targets for applying for research grants. It may be appropriate to set targets for conference papers/presentations and for applied research. Targets for publication may be expressed in terms of target dates for submission of papers, articles, and books.
Where the probationer will be expected to undertake significant amounts of commissioned research, this should be clearly indicated, and separate targets set for commissioned research and research output that might contribute to the REF.
Where a probationer is expected to undertake or complete research for a higher degree a target completion date should be specified.
Proposed Research Targets
Year 1:
Year 2:
Year 3:
CAdministration
Please indicate the administrative responsibilities, which you expect the probationer to undertake during his/her three probationary years. Please give an indication of either the real time commitment involved or the approximate percentage of the probationer’s time you anticipate being committed to administration.
Proposed Administrative responsibilities
Year 1:
Year 2:
Year 3:
DContribution to the Profession and to the University's Innovation and Engagement Agenda
Where a probationer's contract specifies contribution to the profession, or innovation and engagement, targets should be set for this in the same way as for teaching. In setting these targets, Heads of College should bear in mind the requirement to undertake research and publication, and training requirements. A clear indication of the overall load should be given.
Where it is anticipated that a member of staff should make a contribution to the University's Community Mission during his or her probationary period, this should be indicated and objectives set. This may comprise teaching that contributes to lifelong learning, the community university; work with SMEs, entrepreneurial ventures, and/or public sector institutions; contributions to the subject community through involvement in professional bodies/subject associations, sixth form lectures etc.; and working with bodies within HE such as QAA and ILT. This list is indicative, not exhaustive, and many members of staff may not be expected to undertake significant responsibilities in any of these areas during their probationary period.
EProfessional Development
Swansea University expects all probationary staff to undertake an appropriate programme of professional training and development. The University’s current policy is to expect members of staff to gain Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy during probation. Support is available for probationary teaching staff working towards HEA Fellowship. This will normally be gained through completion of PGCtHE but may be via peer accreditation. All staff are expected to attend safety courses, courses on securing research funding, and such other courses as are required by their Head of Department/School and/or the Academic Staffing Committee.
Please indicate any additional courses that you expect the probationer to attend, and please confirm that allowance has been made for the time commitment by an appropriate adjustment of the administrative and teaching load.
Signed
...... Probationer...... Date
...... Head of Department...... Date
...... Pro-Vice-Chancellor ……………...... Date
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