Code of Practice on the employment of Postgraduate Students for Teaching and Marking

1.1 Postgraduate students can be involved in teaching and marking undergraduate modules. Exceptionally, for example where students have previous teaching experience or special expertise, they may also be involved in teaching and marking postgraduate taught modules.

1.2 Normally the employment of postgraduate students for teaching and marking purposes is limited to research students. Postgraduate taught students may also be employed in certain circumstances, for example where they have previous teaching experience or special expertise, but their teaching should be restricted to Foundation and Undergraduate modules only.

2.1 As part of their professional training and development, postgraduate students may be offered the opportunity to run undergraduate tutorials, seminars or laboratories. They should not normally undertake lecturing, unless they have prior teaching experience and/or particular subject expertise. Even then, this should amount to no more than an occasional lecture.

2.2 Under no circumstances can postgraduate students be appointed as Internal Examiners nor may they serve as members of an examination board.

2.3 Postgraduate students’ teaching activities may also include marking. Where this applies it is the responsibility of the Internal Examiner to ensure that:

a) Such marking is normally limited to Foundation and Part A Undergraduate level, i.e. those elements of assessment that do not contribute to the degree classification. However, postgraduates may be involved in marking work at Part B or beyond, provided that their involvement is limited to a an agreed departmental norm, and that a case has been made that is approved by the ADT;

b) The postgraduate is adequately briefed and provided with a comprehensive marking scheme;

c) The marking is comprehensively monitored and double marked by selective sampling by a member of academic staff in accordance with the “Code of Practice on Undergraduate Modular Assessment”;

d) Appropriate and prompt feedback is given to the students in accordance with the “Coursework Code of Practice”;

e) In the case of the marking of a formal presentation or oral, a second marker should normally be present or an audio/visual record taken. (This need not apply to laboratory marking.)

3.1 Full-time postgraduate students should not undertake more than 6 hours’ teaching activity per week, including preparation, averaged over the whole year, with an annual maximum of 180 hours. The 6 hour per week averaged maximum for teaching-related activities shall apply to all postgraduate students, including overseas nationals who are in the UK on a student visa and who are permitted to work up to 20 hours per week in total whilst registered as a student on a UK course.

3.2 Preparation time will be allowed in line with normal departmental practices, for example: 1 hour preparation for each new 1 hour tutorial session, 1.5 hours for each new 3 hour lab session.

3.3 Marking time will be allowed in accordance with departmental workload models.

4.1 All postgraduate students (including those employed for less than one month) should receive appropriate training before commencing teaching and marking duties. Those engaged in teaching delivery activities should complete the short course ‘Teaching Skills for PGRs/RAs’ ; those involved in marking should undertake the stand-alone workshop offered by the Graduate School.

4.2 Training for those involved only in laboratory demonstration, excluding marking, should continue to be provided by the relevant department.

5.1 Research students may only undertake teaching activities with the permission of their Supervisor and Director of Research and with the permission of their Head of Department. Such permission needs to be renewed annually and should take account of the student’s overall commitments and progress.

5.2 Postgraduate students on taught programmes may only undertake teaching activities in exceptional circumstances and with the express permission of their Head of Department. Again, account will be taken of their overall commitments and progress in deciding whether to grant permission.

5.3 Responsibility for teaching activities undertaken rests entirely with the Internal Examiner who is held accountable to their Head of Department for the actions of any postgraduate employed to teach or mark on their behalf.

Human Resources must issue contracts to all postgraduate students engaged for teaching duties, including appointments of less than one month.

JT/DB
16/05/05