News feedsStaff handbook
Welcome to the English staff handbook. This is basically an alphabetically-arranged annotated collection of documents on Departmental policies and procedures, and useful links to other sources of information; it's revised annually. If you have any corrections or additions to suggest, please contact Bella at enm@soton.ac.uk.
Contents
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X
A
Administrative roles: List of current administrative responsibilities of academic staff.
Academic Integrity: University procedures for dealing with plagiarism and cheating.
Admissions interviewing: This is a page for all academic staff, giving guidance on our procedure for undergraduate interviewing; please check it out first if you're asked to interview.
Attendance: Guidelines for academic staff on what is expected by way of student attendance, including monitoring and regulations.
Availability of staff: Departmental policy on availability for office hours, academic advisees, consultation weeks, and essay return; linked to the current list of office and consultation hours.
B
Blackboard (on-line virtual learning environment, aka ready-made course websites): it is School policy that academic staff should maintain a Blackboard site for all courses. Click on the link for a guide to its use for academic staff.
Book ordering: see Library ordering, Textbook ordering
Bullying: see Dignity at work policy
C
Changing or leaving courses: advice for students: See SUAIC pages.
College and University support network: site 'where teachers and lecturers can get confidential support 24/7 from trained and fully qualified professionals': includes fact-sheets and free advice and counselling service.
Complaints: see Student complaints
Consultation hours: see staff availability (general policy), office and consultation hours (details)
Consultation weeks: see staff availability.
Contacting students: This page gives advice on communicating with students by email via Blackboard and other means (please don't use the year lists unless the message concerns the whole year). Also tells you how to check student details online.
Counselling service: see University Counselling Service.
D
Data Protection Act: see Parental/external enquiries
Dignity at work policy: covers bullying and harassment of both staff and students.
Disability Discrimination Act: see the University's page on Disability Legislation Information.
Documentation: a collection of paperwork for quality assurance (course specs., skills, marking schemes, etc.).
Dyslexic students: We are getting an increasing number of dyslexic students, and colleagues should look out for this, particularly in the first year (quite a few of our dyslexic students were diagnosed only after their arrival at university). Fortunately the University provides an excellent support service, and offers screening for suspected cases; see the Education Support homepage.
E
E-prints: you're strongly encouraged to enter your publications on to e-prints, so that they appear automatically on your homepage (from which you can easily update them); they can handle forthcoming and online publications, and offer the added publicity value of weblinks, abstracts, and, if you're in a position to provide them, full texts. Log on to http://eprints.soton.ac.uk, using your normal University username and password, to make an entry; once you've worked it out--which it is possible to do unaided---it's not difficult, but if you get stuck there are instructions and contact details on the website.
Email lists: see contacting students.
Enquiries: see parental/external enquiries
Essay return to students: see staff availability
European Working Time Directive
H
Harassment: see Dignity at work policy
I
Incidents involving students: The University Security Service Central Control Room should be contacted on their 24-hr number, 023 8059 2811 (extn 22811) to report any incident or anxiety concerning the safety of students. The Security Service will respond appropriately to assist students with the emergency or incident and will contact Student Support to ensure that students receive any assistance they need from the Support Services.
Interviewing: see Admissions interviewing.
L
Library ordering.
Library resources: links you to the main Library homepage.
M
Marking criteria: see Documentation page.
Module information templates: see the R: drive on your University computer; the English module descriptions on the Humanities website will give you examples to follow (NB keep descriptions and booklists short and punchy; these descriptions are designed as introductions to modules for applicants and current students, and fuller information can be put up on the module's Blackboard site).
O
Office hours (academic staff): see staff availability (policy), office and consultation hours (details)
P
Parental/external enquiries: It's important that members of staff read this, as the Data Protection Act puts strict limitations on what we are allowed to tell parents and others about our students.
PCAP: A one-year training course, of which the first half is compulsory for probationary academic staff.
Peer observation policy: This is our system of sitting in annually on each other's classes. It involves a fair amount of paperwork, but is nevertheless usually instructive to both parties.
Plagiarism: see Academic Integrity
S
Sickness - arrangements for missed classes: Departmental policy document on what to do if you have to miss a class through illness.
Students' Union Advice and Information Centre (SUAIC)
An invaluable resource, especially on financial and legal matters; they know their stuff and are very helpful.
Student complaints: The University policy allows for a carefully-graded system of escalation.
T
Textbook ordering: Textbooks for students on your courses can be ordered in advance from October Books, 243 Portswood Road, Southampton, SO17 2NG (t: 023 8058 1030, e: info@octoberbooks.org), who have bookstall sessions in the Avenue Campus during term. There is also a John Smith & Son bookshop on the main University campus (Gower Building), tel. 023 8056730, email so@johnsmith.co.uk. See also library ordering.
Transfer applications: Transfer applicants (internal or external) should be passed to the current Single Honours admissions tutor (Bella Millett for 2009-10); but this document gives general guidance and details of our current policy.
U
UCU (national website; your English representative): University and College Union, the union for all HE staff; you can apply for membership online on the national website. Colleagues are actively encouraged to join, since it's important that the local branch of UCU has a critical mass of members to support them in negotiations with the University.
University Counselling Service: provides confidential support for both staff and students.
W
Whistleblowing (University procedure): see Human Resources website, on SUSSED portal under 'Services'.
Workload, excessive: See UCU, European Working Time Directive.