Allocation of hours for Teaching Assistants

Teaching Assistant work being undertaken by a Humanities full-time PGR student must adhere to a maximum of 180 hours per academic year. This should be pro-rata’d for part time PGRS. 

180 hours, as detailed in the Humanities Teaching Assistant Policy, is standard practice within Higher Education and the limit is intended to ensure that full-time PGR students have sufficient time to complete their PhD studies.

In line with Faculty policy and the University of Manchester’s duty of care to PGR students to ensure submission of a high quality and timely thesis (see PGR Code of Practice) it is recommended that this 180 hours is not exceeded by Schools unless there are ‘emergency’ or ‘exceptional circumstances’.

Examples of exceptional circumstances

• Industrial Action
• Unforeseen additional marking requirements
• Long-term sickness cover
• Technical training for the delivery of specific course units (e.g. the use of specialist software) which requires additional hours 

For non-exceptional circumstances, Schools should use additional TAs from the pool.

Examples of non-exceptional circumstances

• Students expecting an income to fund their studies
• Reduce the workload on DTAs
• Reduce the workload on Course Unit Conveners
• Assistance with open days/outreach or conference activity

If Schools require clarification on what constitutes an ‘exceptional’ or ‘non-exceptional circumstance’ they should contact the Faculty Office.

Appropriate processes for more than 180 hours

If there is a case where Schools deem a TA is required to work more than the 180-hour limit, there must be appropriate and transparent processes in place.

Whilst these are expected to be School specific, it is suggested that they follow a similar process as to the one identified below which has been adopted from the Alliance Manchester Business School (AMBS) model:

1. Course Unit Convenor makes a case to the relevant academic that allocates works within a Division/Group
2. Academic then consults with the student’s supervisor and assesses fully the impact the additional workload would have their PGR studies
3. If it is agreed that there is minimal impact then approval is to be sought from the PGR Office. Once received, the pool database will be updated to record the decision
4. The TA Database is then reviewed on a monthly basis to monitor hours
5. TAs over the 180-hour limit need to be reviewed

Schools will then need to take steps to ensure that there has been no negative impact on the student’s studies via a review of their progress. A list of students who have undergone this process of review should be sent to the PGR Office who will then make a decision as to whether they are eligible to continue to teach based whether they are making satisfactory progress in their studies.

Students who do not meet these criteria, whilst not removed from the pool, will have the decision noted by the PGR Office on their record. Should they required level of progress be reached this note could be lifted allowing them the opportunity to undertake further teaching.

As stated in the policy, the 180 hours relates only to teaching activity, for PGR students undertaking work not related to teaching, consideration must be given to the impact on their PhD and Schools are required to monitor this closely. For information on re-numeration for additional research work Schools are advised to contact Human Resources directly.