Current project: Undergraduate Supervision System Task and Finish Group
Colleges received a number of notifications and representations relating to a current UCU and CSU campaign relating to the treatment and expectations of providers of undergraduate supervisions. There have been a number of requests for negotiations with all Colleges and calls for open discussions to facilitate that. The Colleges have no right in law to act as a consortium for collective bargaining over matters such as agreeing salaries, wages and payments for services, so a number of the requests cannot be addressed in the way requested by the campaigners. The Senior Tutors’ Committee and the Bursars’ Committee, however, established a task and finish group which identified and discussed where Colleges could lawfully act together.
Members
Finished Tasks
The Task and Finish Group completed the following areas of work, which it progressed over the 2022 Long Vacation:
- Developed a statement about how the undergraduate supervision system operates across the Colleges and the University.
- Reviewed the reliability of statistical data across the Colleges relating to supervision provision and published appropriate contextual data.
- Developed a statement to clarify the difference between the agreed intercollegiate re-charge rates and how Colleges independently use that information for setting their own payment rates.
- Advised Colleges on supervisors who provide a substantial number of supervisions exclusively for their College.
- Advised Colleges on supervisors who provide a substantial number of supervisions for their College, as well as for other Colleges.
- Reviewed the current courses provided for supervisors, and particularly the CCTL courses provided on behalf of the Colleges, and considered its fitness for purpose.
- Created a levy proposal to fund a payment to new supervisors who have completed relevant training.
- Created a public-facing webpage explaining the undergraduate supervision system to a general audience.
- Reviewed and revised the document providing guidance to supervisors, approved from time to time by the Senior Tutors’ Committee.
- Developed a response to requests from supervisors on student visas, for clarification on how their rate of pay has been calculated.
Referred Tasks
The Task and Finish Group considered the following areas, and referred them to other relevant committees for further work:
- review the annual process of assessing 'supervision norms', and whether they are exceeded by Colleges.
- review the proportion of supervisions given by various roles in the collegiate University, and whether University Teaching Officers are contributing sufficiently.
Other related material
- Confirmation of the 2022/23 intercollegiate re-charge rates, and the methodology used, by the Bursars' Committee.
- Development of a template Worker's Agreement for supervisors, by the Legal Affairs and Employment Sub-Committee of the Bursars’ Committee.
