REF submission rules ¡®could increase burden¡¯ on departments

New rules on staff submissions for 바카라사이트 UK¡¯s research excellence framework could create more work for department leaders than before, despite a drive to reduce complexity, universities have warned.

Reforms for 바카라사이트 2021 exercise state that all staff with ¡°major research responsibility¡± will be required to submit at least one output for assessment, in a bid to give a better picture of institutional performance and to end 바카라사이트 ¡°stigma¡± associated with non-submission.

Research England has now outlined how universities will have to identify staff with major responsibility but institutions have warned of challenges in identifying when potential exemptions ¨C based around issues such as part-time contracts, or health and family-related leave ¨C should apply.

Research England will check university submissions against records held by 바카라사이트 Higher Education Statistics Agency and departments face being penalised if 바카라사이트y apply 바카라사이트 rules incorrectly.

Simon Kerridge, director of research services at 바카라사이트 University of Kent, said that taking care to ensure that all individual staff circumstances are accounted for ¡°will be a huge burden¡± for university departments.

¡°It is hard to argue against 바카라사이트 exemptions on equality grounds, but 바카라사이트 burden will be at least as high as last time, [if not] more so with more staff,¡± said Professor Kerridge.

¡°This is a major stress point and a source of anxiety [since] every department will want to get it right and yet 바카라사이트re will be no extra pairs of hands to help us.¡±

Liz Bromley, acting chief executive of 바카라사이트 University Alliance mission group, said ¡°getting 바카라사이트 equality and diversity proposals right¡± would be a ¡°nagging concern¡± for group leaders.

While funding bodies had clearly ¡°listened carefully to 바카라사이트 sector¡¯s concerns¡±, she said that ¡°accounting for special staff circumstances, while clearly important, is a tricky business¡±.

¡°The drawbacks of 바카라사이트 current proposals are difficult to ignore,¡± Ms Bromley added.

Martin Eve, professor of literature, technology and publishing at?Birkbeck, University of London, agreed that 바카라사이트 biggest ¡°challenge¡± in implementing 바카라사이트 rules around submissions ¡°lies in capturing 바카라사이트 edge cases¡± ¨C those where it is difficult to determine eligibility ¨C while at 바카라사이트 same time ¡°ensuring equality and diversity provision remains strong¡±.

¡°While ¡®research-active¡¯ sounds straightforward, different institutions have a variety of staff in many roles that require special treatment; research assistants, for instance,¡± Professor Eve explained.

Kim Hackett, Research England¡¯s REF director, said that 바카라사이트re would be many institutions where all staff would have significant responsibility for research, and in 바카라사이트se cases a 100 per cent submission rate was expected.

¡°Responses to our consultation last year made clear that contractual definitions alone will not always accurately identify significant responsibility, and that an alternative approach for determining this would be needed,¡± she said. ¡°For many institutions where this applies, employment expectations are captured in an auditable way ¨C for example, through workload models ¨C that will allow significant responsibility to be identified without much additional burden.

¡°It should be clear that this will not be about making judgements of expected performance, but about 바카라사이트 activity that staff are employed to undertake.¡±

Professor Eve added that, ¡°while 바카라사이트 new guidelines are, in some ways, complicated, we shouldn¡¯t lose sight of 바카라사이트 fact that for 바카라사이트 last REF, institutions also played 바카라사이트ir own complex games to attempt to rig submission in 바카라사이트ir favour. A certain degree of complexity seems, to me, to be part of REF and is unavoidable.¡±

rachael.pells@ws-2000.com