Teaching Availability Arrangements

What is a Teaching Availability Arrangement?

The Teaching Availability Arrangement (TAA) process provides a mechanism for staff to request not to be timetabled to teach on certain days and/or times. Whereas a Flexible Working Arrangement (FWA) is an arrangement relating to all aspects of work, a TAA is specific to the scheduling of teaching activity (e.g. you may be available to undertake research or other work-related activities, but not to teach).  

When can colleagues apply for a Teaching Availability Arrangement?

Each Faculty will annually remind staff to submit their TAA requests using a form, for the next academic year. Faculty Scheduling teams will publish the deadlines for the submission of applications and communicate this information. 

For the 2024/25 timetable, the TAA application form was opened for submissions on in January 2024, and will close on Friday 15th March 2024.

The next opportunity to apply for a TAA will be at the start of the 2025 calendar year, to be factored into the 2025/26 timetable. If you need to make a change to your TAA application before this time, please contact your Faculty Scheduling team directly at the earliest opportunity.

If you did not apply for a TAA, and your availability to teach changes after the TAA deadline has passed (after 15th March 2024) you will need to request a formal change to the timetable. You should contact your Faculty Scheduling team to make this request. If this occurs after Monday 5th August 2024, you may be required to submit a formal timetable change request.

I have submitted an application for a Teaching Availability Arrangement - what happens next?

All submissions will be assessed by a faculty panel convened by the Dean in April/May 2024; each Faculty will manage the exact timeline for assessing the applications. The Dean or their nominated academic delegate will inform colleagues of the outcomes of the applications.

Teaching Availability Arrangement applications may not all be granted. Those that are approved are considered to be ‘soft constraints’ (a preference, to be prioritised in scheduling decisions where practicable) in the timetable and are not guaranteed to be fully honoured. They are valid for one academic year only and will not be rolled from one year to the next.

To understand more about the process and timelines for reviewing TAA applications, colleagues are encouraged to read the Project's guidance for TAA applicants here.