The key themes of the UEL's approach to learning and development are indicated below.

Transcription

1 HR Services Staff Training and Development Policy 1. Introduction Our continuing success of University of East London (UEL) is dependent on recruiting, engaging and developing staff who have the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver our strategic plan and ensure excellence in academic practice (teaching, learning support for students and research and scholarly activity) and professional practice. The key themes of the UEL's approach to learning and development are indicated below. What Sort of University Do We Want to Create? Developing staff professional, adaptable, creative, E-focused and competent leaders who shape compelling organisational goals and unlock the potential in others to achieve them. Developing Communication and Relationships - building our capability in knowledge management; building partnerships, internal and external; sharing best practice; marketing ourselves internally as well as externally; working collaboratively, sharing knowledge, developing and agreeing service standards and sharing this information effectively. Developing the Organisation - empowering people, encouraging an environment of creativity; celebrating our successes; building our capability to deal with change, adaptable; a learning organisation, one that makes time for reflection, planning and review. Developing Supporting Systems and Processes - electronically held records of individual's training and development activities, with information available to both staff members and line managers. This Staff Training and Development Policy builds on our achievement of Investors in People (IIP - attained in 2005) and outlines the aims and scope of

2 staff development for our employees and describes the processes and procedures which should be followed. 2. Aims of the Staff Training and Development Policy The aims of the policy are to: Support the achievement of UEL's strategic objectives and priorities. Enhance the potential and personal effectiveness of staff through the acquisition of appropriate qualifications, skills, knowledge and understanding which will support them to contribute and to deliver School or Service plans. Enable staff to develop new skills for their current and future roles so that we can respond positively to change. Ensure that all staff have equality of opportunity and access to training and development. Facilitate our commitments as an Investor in People. Support the development of UEL to meet the competing demands of the 21st century. Develop a culture of participation and accountability. Provide opportunities for positive action and implementation of equality through targeted and accredited, where appropriate, staff development and training. 3. Equality of Opportunity We will ensure equal access and opportunity to development, education and training for all staff, from all areas of UEL. Hourly-paid, part-time and staff on fixed-term contracts of employment will have the same access to UEL learning and development opportunities as other colleagues. Our Equality and Diversity Policy will inform staff development and support policy and practice. All Staff will receive induction and training as is deemed appropriate to ensure that they can carry out their role within UEL effectively and creatively. Staff with disabilities will be invited to identify any particular requirements they may have to enable them to participate fully in all training and development events offered e.g. materials in alternative formats, sign language interpreters, ergonomic seating. 4. Key Stakeholders in Training and Development Process

3 4.1 The Corporate Management Team (UMT) has the role of agreeing the Training and Development Policy as advised by the Director of HR Services. UMT members are also responsible for ensuring full compliance with the Policy in the areas they manage. 4.2 The Director of HR Services is a member of UMT and the HR Strategy Group. S(he) delegates the annual developed budget to the Learning and Development Manager. 4.3 The HR Strategy Group is responsible for advising and verifying cross institutional wide training and development objectives and plans. 4.4 The Learning and Development Manager is responsible for: Planning, delivering and evaluation of institutional wide staff training and development. Publishing an annual Learning and Development Handbook for all staff. This will be available in hard copy. The Learning and Development website publishes a shorter version of this. Submitting an annual staff development evaluation report to UMT The report will include data recorded on our HR data base, the number of staff studying for qualifications at UEL in each School or Service and data on allocation of funds for staff to attend courses and conferences outside UEL. Responding to staff needs quickly and to offer as varied a programme as possible. Some training and development events will be arranged as required during the year. Managing the staff training and development budget. Managing the staff development database and provision of timely and relevant information. Developing the communications through which staff are kept informed of training and development activities. Supporting Deans of Schools and Directors of Services to develop local staff development plans arising from the annual business planning cycle and the collective results of generic training and development needs emerging from the data of the Learning and Development Review process. Supporting Deans of Schools and Directors of Services with development programmes and solutions which are not part of the institution wide programmes and which address specific local needs. 4.5 All managers are responsible for: Identifying and prioritising staff training and development needs and ensuring they are implemented in conjunction with our strategic objectives. Appraising staff as set out in our annual Learning and Development and Review Scheme (SDR), setting personal targets, identifying training and development needs, monitoring progress and outcomes.

4 development needs, monitoring progress and outcomes. Ensuring local staff development plans are identified, implemented and evaluated. 4.6 All staff participating in training and development activities are expected to: Use supervision and SDR sessions to identify their training needs and training outcomes with their managers. Attend training or other development events where there is an essential requirement to attend in order to meet institutional or legal requirements. Complete all evaluation forms for internal and external training and development activities. Provide reasonable feedback and dissemination to colleagues following attendance at a course or conference. 5. Training and Development Processes 5.1 Identification of Training and Development Needs There are a number of ways to do this: Strategic training needs will be identified by our strategic priorities and our HR strategy. Staff training and development needs will be identified at senior management and team levels as well as by individual members of staff. The context for the identification of these needs will be the successful delivery of our strategic plan. The collective needs of staff should be consolidated into School/Service Learning and Development Plans which should reflect our institutional priorities, as well as the collective team needs in relation to operational objectives. This should be done by the Dean of School/Director of Service devising a report which summarises the collective results of generic training and development needs arising from the data of the Learning and Development and Review process. Line managers should review training needs on a continual basis and certainly as needs arise, for example when a team restructures and job roles are redefined. Individual training needs should be reviewed through the SDR scheme. For those who are not yet in the SDR scheme, personal development should be agreed through the probationary processes, self-assessment review and individual supervision. 5.2 Definition of Training and Development The following are examples of staff training and development for which funding and support can be made available: Staff induction at UEL, School/Service and Team levels.

5 Professional updating through attendance at external or in- house courses, conferences or events. Professional or academic courses leading to an appropriate qualification through attendance at a UEL course. Industrial, commercial or educational secondments, visits or placements. Acting as an external or internal verifier, examiner, assessor or consultant. Coaching and mentoring programmes. Team development work. Up-skilling in area in areas such as Information Communication Technologies (ICT), which are relevant to present and possible future roles and technological advancement within UEL. Specialist training as agreed and directed by the Vice Chancellor (or nominee) Not all learning needs can be best met by training. UEL places high importance on other forms of learning and development such as: Action learning sets Mentoring Work based projects Research and scholarly activity Job shadowing and secondments On the job learning Peer Observation and review Opportunities to learn more about UEL and /or national trends such as the UEL annual Learning and Teaching conference. Opportunities for more cross UEL group working and sharing best practice. 6 Monitoring and Evaluating Training and Development This is fundamental to the management of the training and development provision at UEL. All staff have responsibility for feedback processes which are essential in order to: Assess progress in achieving UEL's strategic aims. Continually improve our staff training and development provision. Provide evidence of return of investment of the training and development resources, in terms of the benefits to UEL, its students and external customers. 7. Application for Funding Training and Development Programmes 7.1 Applying for Cross Institution Wide training The Learning and Development Unit of HR Services manages the administration of the institution wide programmes. All members of staff are sent a copy of the published programme annually. The Unit sends regular reminders though

6 monthly global and information is also available on the Learning and Development web site. There is no cost to individuals or to the Schools/Services to attend these except when there is a late cancellation (less than 10 working days notice given from the start date) or a "no show" when there is a 100 cancellation fee charged to the staff member's School/Service. In exceptional circumstances, a decision may be made to charge for the course. This charge will be calculated to cover the necessary costs. To apply: Discuss your need with your manager and seek approval for release. Contact the Learning and Development Unit by or by completing the application form in the annex of the Learning and Development Handbook to book a place. The Learning and Development Unit will confirm a place for you and send you joining instructions 10 days before the event. Please note that when joining instructions are issued, no response from participants is deemed as acceptance of attending. A reminder is also placed on the date of the event in Outlook Calendar. 7.2 Applying to Study at UEL - full or part time UEL encourages all full time and part time staff to work towards recognised vocational and academic qualifications related to their role as part of its commitment to career development and the achievement of the IIP status. UEL will normally meet the tuition fees for staff to study for a UEL qualification. Staff can study at UEL without being liable for tuition fees; these will be waived. Schools or Services will not have fees deducted from their budgets, although they will be required to provide their budget codes at the approval and application stage. The fees waiver is subject to a number of conditions: The course of study must be approved by the manager as being relevant to the needs of your current role and reasonable career development aspirations. A staff member may be asked to repay of some or all of the fees if he or she fails to complete the course or leaves the employment of UEL before completion of the course.

7 Once a staff member is accepted on a UEL course, they muct complete the online registration task within the time limits set when notified to complete it by Registry. Failure to do so will incur a late penalty charge of 100, which is the responsibility of the individual to pay and not the School or Service. Approval to study at UEL is given on an annual basis and a staff member will need to submit their application, following the process outlined in Appendix 1. UEL will normally provide funds for staff to study for a qualification which is related to their professional or career development. If the application is not approved by the staff member's manager, the staff member will need to decide if they wish to pay the full fee costs. 7.3 Applying to Study for the Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education. It is a condition of UEL's Probation Policy that staff who have less then two years experience in teaching must complete successfully the Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education. Staff members do not pay fees and time to attend the taught sessions is agreed with the staff member's manager. Appendix 1 details the application and registration process. 7.4 Continuous Professional Development - Applying to Study Outside UEL - full or part time A staff member may find a qualification more suitable for his/her professional development at another institution and the opportunity to study for a similar qualification at UEL is not available. If this is the case, the Dean of School/Director of Service has discretionary rights to agree to fund part or all of the fees from their school or service budget or provide other support such as release time. The Dean of School/Director of Service will take into account the availability of funds and school/service budgets and the extent to which to which the proposed course of study is necessary for the staff member's work at UEL. If a staff member is given approval to study outside UEL, his or her manager will raise a purchase order under the UEL commitment accounting system which will authorise the payment of agreed fees or funds. 7.5 Applying for Other Development Activities Staff may wish to attend other development activities such as short courses and conferences. The fees for this are normally paid out of the School or Service

8 conferences. The fees for this are normally paid out of the School or Service budget and approval to attend is at the discretion of the Dean of School or Director of Service and the availability of funds. Staff wishing to attend such development activities will need to seek approval from their manager. The manager will raise a purchase order under the UEL commitment accounting system which will authorise the payment of agreed fees or funds including travel and complete the appropriate Expenses Claims forms available on the Financial Services website. 8. Resources Allocation for Training and Development Activities 8.1 Only excess travel i.e. in excess of the normal travel to work expenses is payable. Travel by car to a place of study is payable at local transport rate only. Current rates are available from Financial Services. Travel expenses are normally paid through a School or Service budget allowance. 8.2 Although there are no specific allowances for study time, it is recommended that the Dean of School or Director of Service should consider granting the staff member one day's paid leave to sit examinations and a further day's paid leave to prepare for the exams. It is not expected that the staff member will be required to make up the time at work. Learning and Development Policy -- HR Services -- Updated 25/03/2014 Appendix 1 Continuous Professional Development - How to Apply to Study at UEL Before applying, make sure that you have discussed your reasons for your chosen qualification and have obtained written approval from your manager. Once this approval has been agreed, you need to follow the process outlined below:

9 1. Obtain and complete the application form for your chosen programme of study from the Admissions Team, once your application has been accepted you will be notified of your student number and given details of Registration. 2. Download and complete a PS14 application form as part of the enrolment task, for an undergraduate or postgraduate qualification via UEL-Direct as part of the Registration process or contact Student Records studrec@uel.ac.uk. Once PS14 is completed an will be immediately sent to your Dean of School, Director of Service or Budget Holder to seek their approval. He or she will need to return this to Student Records to be processed. An example of the they will receive. Note: Where a UEL member of staff wishes to study at UEL for a qualification that is not deemed to be relevant to their role or reasonable career development, then either the UEL employee or the school/service is required to pay the fees. Note: If you are applying for a postgraduate research qualification, you will need to go through the same application process via the Graduate School. 3. Once your application is accepted, you must register on the course using the UEL registration on line task. You will be notified automatically by Registry. Note: It is important that you do this otherwise you will be personally liable to pay the 100 late penalty charge. 4. To re- register, you will need to seek re approval each year by completing the PS14 as described above. The rationale for this is that your manager can discuss your progress annually and ensure that you are getting the right level of support. 5. UEL reserves the right to require you to repay of some or all of the fees if you fail to complete the course or if you leave UEL's employment before completion of the course. Appendix 2 Application Process for the Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education

10 1. HR Services will inform the staff member that they will need to take this course and also inform the School of Education, where the programme is based. 2. The School of Education will contact the Dean of School to inform him/her that their staff member(s) will need to do the programme and that the staff member will need to register for the programme. 3. Admissions unit will allocate the staff member with a student number and an account.they will also provide details on how to register on line including the deadline for registration. Failure to meet the deadline will incur a late pen late penalty charge of 100, which is the responsibility of the individual to pay and not the School or Service. 4. Once the staff member has registered, he or she needs to complete a PS14. This is a fee waiver form and needs to be signed by the budget holder and sent to student records. The form can be obtained from Student Records or via UEL Direct as part of the registration process. April 2008