Teaching and Learning Development Unit

Frequently asked questions

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What is an Associate tutor?

Associate Tutors are employed by the University on an hourly paid basis to undertake teaching duties. They are usually postgraduate students of the University undertaking PhDs, though some parts of the university (notably the Sussex Centre for Language Studies and those involved with professional practice) use different types of Associate Tutors.

How do I apply for Associate tutor work / teaching?

There are differences in recruiting of Associate tutors between Schools. Please contact the relevant School Administrator for further details.

What are the rates of pay for Associate tutors?

You can find the Associate Tutors rates of pay on the Salary Scales / Rates of Pay page. The rates of pay are reviewed on 1st August every year in line with the nationally agreed academic staff pay award.

What are the terms of my employment as an Associate tutor?

Refer to the Terms and conditions of employment for Associate Tutors. If you have any queries regarding contracts or pay related matters you can contact human.resources@sussex.ac.uk

What paperwork do I need to complete before I can receive payment?

Once you have received a letter of appointment from Human Resources (Personnel), you must complete the 'Personal Details form' and 'Asylum and Immigration Act form' and provide the necessary documentation in order to receive payment.

Why does the University need to collect personal details from me, for example, my ethnicity?

The University is committed to equality and diversity and collects sensitive personal data in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 in order to monitor the diversity of its workforce. In addition, the University is required to submit information about you, including personal information, in coded and anonymous form, to the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) on an annual basis. The agency collects data from all Higher Education institutions for statutory purposes and is registered under the Data Protection Act 1998. Further information can be obtained from HESA's website.

How will I know what my teaching commitments are?

Your Head of School (or nominee) is responsible for confirming your teaching hours to you. Hours of work are not detailed in the paperwork provided by Human Resources. If, having received an appointment letter and completed the necessary paperwork, you have not been informed of your allocated teaching, you should contact your Head of School. You will receive written confirmation of your allocated teaching from the School Administrator, normally between weeks 2 and 4 of term.

How can I check what I have been paid for?

The Associate tutor payments factsheet [PDF 36.09KB] will help you to understand the information about your pay in Sussex Direct and/or on your payslip.

Why haven't I been paid this month?

This could be because you have not yet taken your documents to Human Resources and accepted the contract, or the School may not have entered your hours worked on the system in time for the payroll. You can find out more from the Payroll Office which has specific contacts for ATs in alphabetical order.

Who is my line manager?

For most purposes the course convenor or the Head of School will be your line manager, but the School Administrator will be able to tell you who your official line manager is.

Do I need a National Insurance (NI) number to work as an Associate Tutor?

Yes. If you do not have a National Insurance number please get in touch with your School's contact in the Payroll Office who will help with applying for a temporary number.

What should I do when I do not want to continue to work as an Associate tutor?

You should send a letter of resignation to your Head of School, copied to Human Resources (Personnel). You are required to give three months' notice or notice equivalent to the remainder of the course(s) you are teaching on, whichever is the shortest period. You need to resign from your contract when you leave Sussex or cease teaching even if you have completed all your contracted teaching.

What is included in the hourly rate I receive for my teaching?

The hourly rate includes provision for preparation, delivery of the session, and related assessment and administration. There are 'multipliers' used to differentiate between work where no preparation is involved, such as office hours, required staff development and other non-teaching duties and duties that require varying amounts of preparation. Refer to the Academic Role Profile for your grade to see a description of the duties associated with your role and the Multipliers used to calculate associate tutor pay [PDF 17.12KB].

What qualifications / experience / abilities do I need to be an AT?

Associate Tutors are employed for a range of different purposes and the qualifications, experience and abilities required will depend on the type of appointment and your intended role. For example, in the case of a postgraduate student employed to take a series of seminars, a degree or equivalent and some relevant research experience in the appropriate subject area would probably be sufficient, but a practitioner/specialist called upon to make an input into a professional programme would probably require a relevant professional qualification, and related practical experience. The Head of School is responsible for deciding such matters, but in most instances the module convenor will be the person to give you more details about what is required.

How much teaching can I do?

 The Associate Tutor terms and conditions of employment states that 'Teaching hours should not normally exceed 18 hours per week (or six hours per week for post-graduate students) except where reasonable in relation to the teaching concerned, e.g. block teaching or short courses' and the Associate Tutor Policy [DOC 58.50KB] makes clear that 'in the case of postgraduate students acting as associate tutors, the implications for the completion of the student's thesis must be considered; the approval of the student's Director of Doctoral Studies (or equivalent) should always be obtained before the student is appointed; and the amount of teaching allocated must take account of employment law restrictions (for example, overseas students must not work for more than 20 hours per week in total during term-time), and any restrictions placed by funders of studentships.'

What is the difference between Associate tutors and Graduate Teaching Assistants?

Graduate Teaching Assistants are research students who have their tuition fees waived and receive a bursary from the University for living expenses and a payment in return for undertaking some teaching. They are not issued with a specific employment contract - the assistantships are arranged by the Schools and the Head of School is responsible for ensuring that contracted hours are not exceeded. The teaching they do is, however, the same as that undertaken by Associate Tutors so many of the issues and questions are the same for both groups.

What is expected of me as an Associate Tutor?

The Associate Tutor terms and conditions of employment detail your duties as an Associate Tutor as follows: As an Associate tutor you will be responsible for the preparation of teaching materials, the teaching and assessment of undergraduate, postgraduate and/or short course students and associated essential administration. The Associate tutor role does not include, for example, responsibility for course or curriculum development, pastoral care of students, research, or administrative duties that are not directly related to the teaching undertaken.

Your duties will normally fall into one or more of the following categories:

(i) Teaching and related duties

Preparation: determining the structure and style of the learning experience; preparation of supporting teaching materials (handouts, visual aids, exercises, practicals, reading lists etc.); liaison with colleagues to ensure the learning experience fits appropriately with the overall context of the programme.
Teaching: delivery of lectures, seminars, tutorials and equivalent classes, as appropriate, and providing feedback to students in relation to assessed work.
Assessment: to undertake the necessary assessment activity associated with the teaching. Associated administration: participation in essential meetings; completion of all necessary administrative requirements, for example, student attendance records, assessment records, reporting on students’ academic progress.

(ii) Additional assessment or assessment only

Where the amount of assessment would otherwise be unreasonable in relation to the teaching hours, or where an Associate Tutor is employed to undertake assessment only, as in project marking, s/he will be paid at the appropriate assessment rate.

(iii) Other additional duties

Examples of such duties would be: office hours, observation of lectures in order to deliver associated seminars, interviewing prospective students where an academic judgement is required, attendance at additional meetings, required staff development.Associate Tutors with a substantial amount of teaching should normally be expected to provide office hours to the students concerned, as appropriate, and in agreement with the Head of School.

How will I know how to teach?

The Teaching and Learning Development Unit (TLDU) runs Associate Tutor Training which is designed to be flexible and focused on the needs of the tutors. Separate Starting to Teach training is run for the Sciences and the Arts and Humnities to reflect the different teaching roles of the two groups. If you are in any doubt as to which version of the Sussex Associate Tutors Training Programme you should be taking please discuss this with the course convenor and TLDU (tldu@sussex.ac.uk).

There is no cost to participants at the point of delivery, and most Associate Tutors and Demonstrators (check your specific contracts here) will also be paid to attend as part of the training policy.

Teaching related matters will also be explained to you at Subject / Departmental induction events. The Associate Tutor Policy [DOC 58.50KB] says 'It is the responsibility of the Head of School (normally via the course convenor) to ensure that associate tutors receive the appropriate induction and are made aware of what is and is not required of them.'

Do I have to do the teaching training course run by TLDU? (Sussex Associate tutors Training Programme)

The Associate Tutor Policy [DOC 58.50KB] states that 'It is expected that in order to meet the requirements of Associate Tutor A or B, an associate tutor should have registered for the relevant ‘starting to teach’ course, and that the course will be completed by the end of the first term of teaching.'

How much time should I spend preparing for teaching?

This will vary enormously depending on the type of teaching you are doing and how familiar you are with the material. The convenor may give you very detailed guidance on what to include in your session or you may have to design your sessions from scratch. Demonstrating technical skills in a lab setting requires very different preparation from a two-hour seminar. This is really something you need to discuss with the convenor of the course before you begin and take into account when managing your time, especially if you have research to do alongside your teaching.

The behavior of a student is impacting on my teaching and on the other students’ learning, what should I do?

There are various reasons why this may be happening and therefore there isn’t an easy solution which can be written about in a few sentences. The student may not be aware of how his/her behaviour is affecting the class or they may be anxious about something, so finding out what the underlying reason is for their behaviour will help you decide on a course of action. You may wish to have a quiet word with the student after class, in your office hour or to email him/her.

If the student is anxious or worried about personal issues, suggest that they visit an Advisor in the Student Life Centre or the Welfare Officer in the Student Union. The student may be referred to the Student Support Unit which can offer specialist help. If they are worried about their course work, then suggest that they contact their Academic Advisor who will have an oversight of all their courses.

There may be teaching strategies which may minimise the student’s behaviour so talking about it with the Course Convenor and other ATs or contacting an Education Developer from the TLDU will probably help you to consider ways to handle the situation. You may find it useful to read this online guide ‘In at the Deep End’ pages 34-36.

In case of emergency, if the above sources of help, guidance and support are unavailable you can always ask the School Administrator in your School.

What do I do if one of my students is disabled?

It depends if the student has already notified the University that he/she is disabled. If they have, then they will have a flag symbol next to their name when you access your class details on Sussex Direct. To find out how you can support this student, you will need to click on their name in order to get more details and take whatever steps are suggested. If you’re unsure about what the details mean then contact the Student Support Unit.

If the student hasn’t disclosed their disability to the University  (and therefore there isn’t a flag next to their name), then  suggest to the student that they contact the Student Support Unit, or an Advisor in the Student Life Centre or their Academic Advisor. It is important that the student knows that there are procedures and processes which can help support their learning at Sussex and that these supports can only be put in place if they visit the Student Support Unit.

You can get information and advice from the Student Support Unit. For online advice, look at the Equalities Unit pages and the Inclusive Teaching Study Direct site.

Who can I talk to about my teaching?

The Associate Tutor Policy [DOC 58.50KB] states that 'It is the responsibility of the course convenor, and ultimately of the Head of School to provide the guidance and support required by associate tutors...Associate tutors will be encouraged to discuss problem scripts with course convenors...Mentors should be provided for all associate tutors with less than 3 years teaching experience and they should hold meetings at least once a term.'

The Starting to Teach course will give you the opportunity to talk to other Associate Tutors about your teaching practice and it would be a good idea to try to build peer networks within your course team, department or school to share experiences, perhaps over a coffee once a week.

What feedback will I get on my teaching?

The Associate Tutor Policy [DOC 58.50KB] requires that Associate tutors' work be evaluated and that appropriate feedback be given. For example: 'Associate tutors must be informed of the outcomes of student evaluations of the course on which they teach and be provided with appropriate support and guidance where there are indications that improvements could be made.' Also 'The observation of teaching by associate tutors (on a sampling basis) must be included in School arrangements for peer-observation of teaching.' This should be a developmental activity geared towards helping you to improve your teaching rather than judging your abilities. You should get feedback on your marking because 'Mechanisms should be instituted for moderating all coursework or examinations marked by associate
tutors undertaking work covered by role profiles A and B.' The Head of School is responsible for seeing that the policy is implemented.

What are office hours?

An hour a week for students to come and discuss and obtain feedback on the course work/essays etc. associated with the course(s) you are teaching. Rooms for this can be booked through your School / Departmental office.

Where can I get stationery for my teaching?

General stationery (paper, pens etc) and material for teaching (acetates etc) should be available from your school or department office.

Will I have an office?

This varies depending upon School / Department and the role of the Associate Tutor. Schools / Departments should provide the resources necessary for Associate Tutors to undertake their teaching duties and this includes access to appropriate workspace. Any accommodation will almost certainly be shared. If you have any difficulties regarding your work space please contact your School Administrator. For further information please see Associate Tutor Policy [DOC 58.50KB].

How long can I be an AT?

D.Phil students can be Associate Tutors for the duration of their studies. Associate Tutors who are brought in to provide a specialist/practitioner input will have individual contracts. For further information see the Associate Tutor Policy [DOC 58.50KB].

Where do I get marking scales from?

This information is available from your School / Departmental office. If you have any doubts or questions, please contact the course convenor before commencing any marking.For further information see the Associate Tutor Policy [DOC 58.50KB].

How long do I have to complete my marking?

The Academic Office has a policy page called Feedback to students on course work which gives details of timescales and other important information on feedback requirements.

What should I do if I suspect that work has been plagiarised?

Contact the course convenor. He/she will know how to proceed.

How can I get in contact with other Associate Tutors?

Through the course convenors and course handbooks where the email addresses of all the tutors for that course are noted and School or Departmental Associate Tutor mentors.

Will I be told how to structure a seminar?

You will get general guidance on how to run seminars from the Starting to Teach course. Specific suggestions for the subject you are teaching will be given by the course convenor.

How can I contribute to course plans and seminar structures?

In the first instance any suggestions and feedback on specific courses and seminars should be offered to the convenor. This can be done through the tutor feedback form or less formally if you choose. If you have more general suggestions, then talk to your AT representative who should then pass this on to the Head of Department via departmental meetings. For more information see the Associate Tutor Policy [DOC 58.50KB].