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Academic Staff Support

 

 

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In the first instance, please use our ‘looking for something in particular’ sheet. This provides you with direct links to original sources of information you need.

This overview page provides you with a variety of topics that are hosted across a number of different sources. We are currently working with these stakeholders to re-align the information under one roof. 

FeedbackThis overview page is maintained by the Academic Development & Diversity Team on behalf of these stakeholders. If you’d like to become a stakeholder and contribute to this resource, have a suggestion for content or just want to offer feedback, click the feedback button and let us know!

 

 

 

Academic Induction

Here, we provide you with a range of guidance and information to introduce you to various aspects of induction at Hallam. Click on one of the following headings for more details: 

 

Staff policies, procedures and systems

  • HROD Policies, Procedures and Guidance hub and A-Z Policies and Guidance provide all policy and procedures for staff at Hallam, such as annual leave, sickness absence, behaviour etc.
  • Guidance for employees and managers at Hallam, such as pay slips, HROD training and various HR processes, please visit the CORE Portal to learn more. 
  • Guidance on Hallam’s regulatory policies and procedures that underpin all our teaching, learning and assessments along with additional resources to support, please visit the Regulations, Policies, Procedures for students and staff overview page.
  • Guidance on Hallam’s various online systems, such as access to emails, IT equipment, VLE (Blackboard and Curriculum View/Catalogue/SITS)  printing, copying and scanning and a host of other digital platforms, please visit the Digital Capability, Skills and Support overview page. 
  • HESA staff return – the university is required to return anonymised staff data to HESA (the Higher Education Statistics Agency) every year. Please access the HESA staff return page and follow the step-by-step instructions to check that your record is complete and as accurate as possible, including any new qualifications. This should only take a couple of minutes. All uses of the HESA Staff Record must comply with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). You can find out more in the HESA Staff Collection Notice.   

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Common acronyms

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Are you new to HE teaching?

Within Sheffield Hallam’s Transforming Lives strategy is a commitment to achieve consistently outstanding teaching and a high quality learning experience for all its students. This requires a concomitant expectation that all staff who teach them or support their learning can evidence a high level of teaching competence.  Staff who are new to HE teaching have an allocation of hours in accordance with Academic Work Planning (AWP) (see section below), received during their first academic year of employment.  Click on one of the following headings for more details: 


TALENT scheme

One of the ways that teaching competence can be expressed is by formal recognition through Advance HE fellowship; our accredited TALENT scheme aims to provide a variety of pathways through which all staff associated with student learning can gain fellowship.  Find out more about the routes to fellowship through our scheme or contact us for more information.

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Hallam Academic Award (HAA)

The Hallam Academic Award is aimed at academic staff who do not hold a teaching qualification in higher education and/or those who are new or relatively new to HE teaching.  Most lecturers will be eligible for the HAA but part time, temporary, or international lecturers should apply for the PG Diploma in Academic Practice. Please contact  Helen Donaghue if you are not sure whether to apply for the HAA or PG Dip version of the course. You can also access guidance and resources on UK Professional Standards Framework for teaching and supporting learning in HE.  

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Online Training Courses – Epigeum

Sheffield Hallam has paid for an institutional subscription for access to a number of Epigeum online courses including:

  • University Teaching: Core Skills
  • Teaching Online
  • Teaching and Assessment for Nursing and Allied Health Educators
  • Research skills, research methods, ethics and doctoral study supervision

They are available via an external website hosted by Oxford University Press (the owners of Epigeum).  This content is available to all SHU staff and students. To sign up for an account please follow these instructions ensuring you enter the correct token for teaching or research courses. 

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National Teaching Fellows (NTF) Teaching Excellence

Take a look at our dedicated National Teaching Fellows (NTF) Teaching Excellence website. The NTF Network aims to:

  • foster, promote and encourage innovation in learning and teaching. 
  • help embed a culture of educational excellence in the University by supporting the establishment of a strong professional academic community focused on building and sharing best practice.
  • support the development of colleagues. 

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Professional Standards Framework (PSF)

As part of Advance HE’s sector-led review of the Professional Standards Framework (PSF), Advance HE  have had great insight from the initial stakeholder consultation, with clear indications as to the strategic importance of the PSF. Analysis is underway and a revised draft framework consultation will launch in January 2023. 

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Development Programmes

Visit the How we support our academic colleagues section below. 

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Academic Management and Leadership

There are many roles that come under the ‘academic management and leadership’ umbrella, here we provide you with access to our academic frameworks, types of roles within our Colleges and Departments and the development opportunities for staff who undertake these roles. Click on one of the following headings for more details: 

 Academic Frameworks

  • Academic Work Planning (AWP):  All staff undertaking an academic role will fall under this framework and enables good academic standards, promoted through work planning processes for individuals and academic areas. 
  • Academic Careers Framework (ACF): is a set of indicators to show the contributions academics can make to develop a successful career and recognise achievements.
  • Performance & Development Review (PDR):  to align your personal performance and development with that of Transforming Lives. Through the introduction of the Academic Careers Framework (ACF), Transforming Lives has been translated into a set of indicators that show the contribution academics can make in order to develop a successful career and help Sheffield Hallam realise its ambitions.

Academic Roles

There are a number of academic roles within the university, those that are linked to spinal point grades and those that are an additional role and have allocated hours attached to them.  All of these roles can be found on the HROD Academic Role Outline SP site. 

  • Course Leadership: an overview of how course leadership is supported by the Academic Development & Diversity Team (ADD). 
  • Module Leadership: an overview of how module leadership is supported by the Academic Development & Diversity Team (ADD). 
  • External Examining: an overview of how we develop staff to become an external examiner, supported by the Academic Development & Diversity Team (ADD). 
  • Academic Advising: guidance and information on the role of Academic Adviser at Hallam.  

Leadership & Management Support

  • Academic Essentials: academic contacts and communications overview page – provides details of who you can contact in academic management and leadership roles.
  • Academic Development & Diversity (ADD) offer academic management and leadership development support.
  • HROD’s Leadership and Management Essentials (LME) (SP site) is a flexible, modular programme which incorporates the Hallam Values. It is designed to provide existing and new line managers, in both professional services and academic areas of the University, with essential skills, tools and techniques for leading and managing a team.
  • PASS Network: provides support, training and networking opportunities to staff working in roles supporting senior leaders at the University, and individuals who work with staff in those support roles.
  • Aurora: future * change * growth.  Aurora is a leadership development initiative for all people who self-identify as women. The programme is run by Advance HE and brings together leadership experts and higher education institutions to take positive action to address the under-representation of women in leadership positions in the sector.  

 

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How we support our academic colleagues

Here we present a range of development opportunities for our academic community from teams across the university.  For staff wishing to undertake any form of study leave / development activities, please speak with your Line Manager in the first instance. All academic staff are entitled to apply for study leave/funding. You can also read more on the Academic Work Planning (AWP) allocation manual (SP site): section Research and Scholarly Activity Time. 

Click on one of the following headings for more details: 

 

Academic skills and development

We have a number of pathways that support our academic community:

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Apprenticeships

Level 7 master degree apprenticeships are a good way to enhance your leadership skills and boost your earning potential without taking a break in your career. Your manager would need to allow you roughly half a day per week to work on your assignments and portfolio.

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Hallam Deal

The Hallam Deal outlines details of our progress towards the commitments we made and our future plans in the five key areas: working together, our working environment, the job you do, valuing our contribution, and supporting our development. 

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Hallam Values

Our Values: the beliefs, philosophies and principles that we stand for. Read more about our Hallam Values.  

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Mediation

Mediation is an informal, confidential and voluntary process where an impartial 3rd party helps people in dispute or in a difficult relationship explore and understand issues and seek mutually agreed solutions. Visit HROD’s Mediation – resolving disputes early SharePoint site for further details.

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Mentoring

U-Connect – Universities Diversity Mentoring Scheme

U-Connect is the product of a collaboration between a number of universities in the Yorkshire region who have joined together to provide the opportunity for colleagues to mentor others – and to be mentored – by colleagues from diverse backgrounds, from a different institution.  The collaboration was born out of the desire of all universities involved to improve career development and progression opportunities for those who may have experienced barriers on account of their race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, any other protected characteristic, or intersectional disadvantage. The scheme aims to boost the confidence and prospects of those taking part by opening up networking opportunities, providing a different perspective and supporting higher education colleagues to achieve their potential through external mentoring.

Visit the U-Connect website for information and application forms.  Applications should be made to Emma Booth, Senior HROD Advisor by Friday 3 September. Training for mentors will be delivered by an external consultant, Sneha Kiley from Blue Tulip Consultancy, and will take place on Friday 17 September from 2.00pm to 4.00pm. You must be available for this session if you wish to be considered as a mentor.

 

Become a volunteer mentor! 

The New Beginnings Project, run by Voluntary Action Sheffield, supports asylum seekers and refugees’ integration into Sheffield life through volunteering, employment, education, and mentoring. Our staff have for many years mentored people who are settled in the UK and ready to work or study, but we’re now looking for more volunteers to be mentors, as part of our commitment to supporting access to higher education for refugees.

The role is open to all staff with support and guidance available. Mentoring requires a small commitment from you but can make a transformational change in someone’s life. To find out more about what’s involved, please refer to the FAQs.   

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Peer Review and Enhancement (PRE)

Is a supportive developmental activity that all academic teaching staff are required to undertake annually.  Formal completion of PRE should happen by the end of the academic year.  ​​​​​​​

PRE activity can happen within or across courses and subject groups, in pairs, threes or other groupings. The activity would usually include observation of teaching (synchronous or asynchronous), and can also include review of: teaching materials, a Blackboard site, other online materials, assessment and feedback approaches, or specific tools (for example for promoting active learning). Look at:

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Recruitment of academic staff

When planning your recruitment campaign, please use the new Inclusive Recruitment Checklist. When making recruitment and selection decisions, it is important to understand the impact that our decisions can have on recruiting for diversity. This is a responsibility we all share, and we will not be able to make a difference unless we all take responsibility and examine our own practice and decision-making.  Visit HROD Recruitment SharePoint site for all the guidance and information you need to recruit staff to the University.

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Staff Wellbeing

Visit Academic Essentials: equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) overview page for mental health and wellbeing support. 

Well.Me Programme (Health Kiosk & App)

We are pleased to introduce a new Health and Wellbeing platform Well.Me, for Staff and Students.

The Well.Me programme provides precision physical monitoring of vital health metrics via a Well.Point Health Kiosk combined with a digital tracking and analytics platform – Well.Me app, that tracks progress through an intuitive dashboard, allows users to set personal goals and share experiences with others in the SHU community. 

The Salus Pilot Scheme

Fatigue Related Conditions –  aims to provide support and guidance to our staff who are living with fatigue related conditions such as ME, Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Long Covid. The scheme is 12 weeks long and launches June 2021.  Find out more on the Staff Health, Wellbeing and Welfare site. 

Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)

Here to support you with any personal or professional problems that could be affecting your home or work life, health or general wellbeing. The service is provided 365 days a year, 24/7 online, telephone and face to face. Call 0800 028 0199 or visit the EAP intranet page for more information. 

Caught short on campus? 

In January 2019, NHS England committed to providing free period products to hospitals. Since then, local authorities across England have begun to adopt a similar service to supply free period products to students at schools and colleges, although this has not yet extended to universities.  We want to make sure that everyone has access to the products they need, when they need them. That’s why from Monday 13 September, staff and students who find themselves caught short on campus will be able to access free products at a number of locations across our campuses. Visit our staff guidance webpage for full details.  

Advance HE: Connect Benefit Series – Organisational Wellbeing

As part of their Connect Benefit Series for 2021-22, the Organisational Wellbeing Project runs from May 2022 to July 2022 and will explore the link between healthy and prosperous universities and the wellbeing of staff and students. 

Visit our Advance HE’s membership and benefits overview page for more details. 

Resources

Wellbeing Support for Staff: Presented by Laura Humphreys, Senior HROD Advisor, HROD and Rebecca Malone, Planning & Operations Manage, Academic Development & Diversity Team at the December 2020 Course Leader Fest ‘Engaging and Thriving’. 

Wellbeing: Helping ourselves to help our students and each other: Presented by Naomi Saxton, Lead Wellbeing Practitioner, Report and Support, Student Wellbeing, SAS at the December 2020 Course Leader Fest ‘Engaging and Thriving’.

Action for Happiness: remember, we’re all human so take time out for you and others. Read their self-care guide at any time.

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SHU Wellness Service

  • The SHU Wellness Service delivers workplace wellness to over 1000 SHU staff annually through health checks, wellness workshops and lifestyle consultations. Each College/Directorate has its own Healthy Hallam Champion who will circulate key updates from the Healthy Hallam Network. 
  • Physiotherapy clinic is now open – free student-supervised physiotherapy appointments are now available to staff. Appointments can be booked face-to-face or online. Places are limited, so please book your place now. 

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UK Advising and Tutoring (UKAT)

UKAT, the United Kingdom Advising and Tutoring association, is a learned society of professional practitioners and researchers interested in advancing the scholarship and practice of student advising and personal tutoring in Higher Education in the UK. We advance the field through our conferences, symposia, workshops, support for original research, peer-reviewed academic publications, accreditation of practice, professional courses, and resources.

Sheffield Hallam University have their own UKAT Community of Practice (SP site), led by Melissa Jacobi, Student Engagement, Teaching and Learning (SETL).

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Volunteering

June – National Volunteers week. We know that volunteering contributes positively to staff wellbeing and development and makes a difference to the community in which we work. Because of this, the University encourages employees to be involved in volunteering by providing paid time off work – one day’s leave can be taken by staff as Volunteering Leave during each leave year. You can find more information about the University’s support for volunteering on the HROD intranet site.

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How we support our Research colleagues

For all guidance, information and resources relating to Research at Hallam. Click on one of the headings to read more:

Research Institutes College Research Resources and development

 

Research Institutes

Culture & Creativity Research Institute Health Research Institute Industry and Innovation Research Institute Social and Economic Research Institute
  Research and Innovation Research areas  

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College Research

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Resources and development

Creating Knowledge

Creating Knowledge: conference resources 2021 and 2020

Research Excellence Framework

The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is the UK’s system for assessing the quality of research in higher education.

Research Informed Teaching Toolkit

Over the last few years HWLS have been working on students perceptions of research informed teaching. As an output of the work a new Research Informed Teaching Toolkit has been developed and covers key tips on delivering research informed teaching in the curriculum.  

You can also hear more about this from Dr David Smith in his talking head Hallam Model case study. 

Valuing Research in Higher Education

This group aims to encourage and value research into higher education practice. 

Educational research into higher education practice is important to both research and teaching practice. There is huge potential benefit to this research, both in terms of involving colleagues in creating knowledge and, through the enhanced practice that emerges from educational research outcomes, to more effectively shape the futures of our students.  The group aims to consider the benefits, practicalities and impact of research into HE practice at Hallam, and to raise the profile of such research. 

A statement has been produced by the group on ‘Valuing research in higher education practice’ with a foreword by our Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sir Chris Husbands.

Research CPD modules for new academics

Would you like to have a go at preparing your own Researcher Development Framework (RDF) profile like those showcased on the VITAE website? 

This can be a great way of assisting your reflections on your research CPD needs and might be a useful tool to support conversations with others such as:

  • during your Personal Development Reviews (PDR)
  • identifying development needs, career aspirations and opportunities linked to the SHU Academic Careers Framework (ACF).
  • thinking about how you can support the development of other researchers (colleagues, mentees, research students, etc.).

You can also visit your Blackboard site and under organisational sites (top left-hand section), select from a wide range of researcher CPD online courses.  

Early Career Research and Innovation Fellowship Scheme

Following the recent launch of the Early Career Research and Innovation Fellowship Scheme, 32 colleagues from across the institution have been awarded Fellowships for the 21/22 academic year. The response to the scheme was extremely positive, with 92 applications submitted from across the university. Each application was reviewed by two independent reviewers and a panel moderator. Following two review meetings, the Panel has awarded Fellowships as detailed on the Research and Innovation (RIS) ECR Fellowship page.

The standard of the applications was extremely high, with the awarded Fellows clearly demonstrating their potential to be a future independent researcher/research leader through projects and collaborations across the Hallam Research and Innovation landscape.

Hallam’s commitment to supporting the career development of researchers 

The Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers was first published in 2008 as an agreement between the funders and employers of researchers in the UK. It established principles for how researchers are recruited, recognised and valued by their employing university, and how they are supported through personal and career development. The Concordat was revised and relaunched in 2019, covering three principles: Environment and Culture; Employment; and Professional and Career Development.
Hallam is a signatory to the new Concordat, and our Concordat action plan underpins our research and innovation strategic priorities to recruit, retain and reward research excellence, embed EDI, and promote an open, strong, and confident research culture. Within the UK, institutions who can demonstrate alignment with the Researcher Concordat are able to apply for the European Commission’s HR Excellence in Research Award (HREiR). Hallam has held this award since January 2013, and we were recently successful in retaining the award at our 8-year external review.

October 2020 – David Smith, Jo Lidster and Girish Ramchandani – HWLS.

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Last updated: 10th October 2022 NB