OfS – Time Allocation Survey (TAS) Categories

TAS - TEACHING DEFINITIONS

Please note – do not include time that is not available for university business i.e. annual leave, sickness and unpaid leave, jury service and private consultancy undertaken in non-University time.

Record information on TAS in respect of teaching time

T1 Teaching

Teaching is a core activity.

It includes all costs and activities that provide or support the teaching of undergraduate and postgraduate taught students, including those studying through an apprenticeship route. It also includes further education provision, where applicable.

It comprises:

Academic staff time directly attributable to teaching, including:

• Holding lectures, seminars, and tutorials
• Project, workshop, and laboratory supervision
• Preparing materials for lectures, tutorials, and laboratory classes
• Preparing materials for an agreed new course
• Editing and updating course materials
• Organising and visiting placements, fieldwork
• Supervision / contact time relating to projects and dissertations, and their assessment.
• Other student contact time relating to educational matters, including remedial classes.
• Preparing and marking examination papers, including resits
• Oral examinations / viva
• Reading and assessing student dissertations, reading and markings essays and other student work
• Invigilation of examinations including external examining (both at own and other institutions)
• Mentee meetings

Note: Please exclude contact with Postgraduate Research Students (PGR) – this is reported under R7.

T2 – Teaching Support

Support is not a core activity. It includes the time taken on the following activities:

• Timetabling
• Examination boards
• Preparing prospectuses Interviewing students; admissions and inductions
• Course and other committees relating to teaching
• Schools liaison
• Pastoral support (outside timetabled tutorials); counselling
• Courses development; module reviews
• Writing books and other publications for teaching purposes
• Secondment to / academic exchanges with other universities for teaching activities
• Publicity for teaching facilities and opportunities

TAS – RESEARCH DEFINITIONS

Please note – do not include time that is not available for University business i.e. annual leave, sickness and unpaid leave, jury service and private consultancy undertaken in non-University time.

Research is a core activity.

It is defined as: Research and experimental development (R&D) comprise creative and systematic work undertaken in order to increase the stock of knowledge - including knowledge of humankind, culture and society - and to devise new applications of available knowledge as per Frascati Manual (see here for more details: https://www.reading.ac.uk/research-services/preparing-an-application)

 

Research and experimental development as per the Frascati Manual.

Activities include:

• Fieldwork, laboratory, studio, desk/library work
• Management of research projects, informal discussions, progress reports related to specific research projects,
• Staff recruitment and supervision for specific research projects,
• Production of research reports and academic papers/ monographs for publication,
• Attendance at conferences, etc that are directly connected with specific research projects,
• Outreach where research is the underlying activity (e.g. KTP)

Must lead to a research output e.g. an internal or external report, a journal article or monograph – if an output is not produced or envisaged, record under Other.

Scholarship and personal development must not be recorded as research. Should be recorded under Support Impact and related activities with no research component and not aimed at producing an output, should be recorded under Other.

R1 – Research Councils

All research funded by a UKRI Research Councils, like:

• AHRC (Arts & Humanities Research Council)
• BBSRC (Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council)
• EPSRC (Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council)
• ESRC (Economic & Social Research Council)
• MRC (Medical Research Council)
• NERC (Natural Environment Research Council)
• STFC (Science & Technology Facilities Council)

Includes - contracts such as NCAS (National Centre for Atmospheric Science) and NCEO (National Centre for Earth Observation).

Note: Exclude contact with Postgraduate Research Students (PGR)

R2 – Government Departments & Local Authorities

All research where a UK Government Department or Local Authority can be identified as a sponsor, including:

• British Council
• Central Government Departments, like: DFID and DEFRA
• Hospitals and health authorities

Note: Exclude contact with Postgraduate Research Students (PGR)

R3 – EU Government Bodies

All research where an EU Government body can be identified as a sponsor, like:

• European Commission
• Horizon 2020
• German Research Council, etc.

Note: Exclude contact with Postgraduate Research Students (PGR)

R4 – UK Charities

All research where an UK Charity can be identified as a sponsor, such as:

• Royal Society
• Leverhulme Trust
• British Academy
• Wellcome Trust, etc.

Any charity research funded work whether Open Competition or Commissioned should be included here.

Note: Exclude contact with Postgraduate Research Students (PGR)

R5 – Industry, Overseas Charities and Other

All externally funded research for a sponsor not covered by the research funders in categories R1 – R4, including:

• EIT Food
• ESA
• ECMWF
• Overseas funding (excluding European Commission)
• Met Office, etc.

Note: Exclude contact with Postgraduate Research Students (PGR)

R6 – Research – No External Sponsor

All research internally funded, like:

• RETF
• Policy Support Fund
• Research funded through School/Department funds directly or indirectly (conducting research with no funding for your project)

Must lead to a research output.
Note: Exclude contact with Postgraduate Research Students (PGR)

R7– Supervision of PGR Students

Contact time with Postgraduate Research Students including:

• Training in research methodology
• Review of research drafts
• Preparation of thesis
• External examining

R8 – Support for Research

Research Support includes:

• Drafting and re-drafting proposals for new research work and supporting bids to external bodies (where bid involve a significant amount of speculative research, that element can be attributed to institution own-funded Research)
• Quality assurance
• Peer review of papers and grant proposals
• Refereeing papers
• Publicity for research facilities and opportunities
• Advancement of knowledge and related skills which directly contribute to the academic’s research work, e.g. attending a conference,
• Unpaid work advising government departments or committees, professional bodies or agencies in relation to research matters,
• Institute and department committee work supporting research,
• Supporting the REF
• Time spent in other institutions on research exchange schemes
• Dissemination or publication work after a grant has ended.

TAS – OTHER DEFINITIONS 

Please note – do not include time that is not available for university business i.e. annual leave, sickness and unpaid leave, jury service and private consultancy undertaken in non-University time.

O1 – Other (income-generating activity)

Other is a core activity. 
It relates to activities that generate income or could potentially generate income.

It comprises:

• Consultancy that is contracted to the University and carried out during University working time, including advisory work, journal editing and feasibility studies,
• Other services rendered, including routine testing and non-research clinical trials (i.e. activities not covered under the definition of Research in the Frascati Manual),
• Work carried out through trading/commercial companies that is not teaching or research,
• Technology transfer work if remunerated through the University (e.g. directorships of start-up companies and/or consultancy contracts for the companies) – if it is not remunerated then report under Support  for Other O2
• Outreach and impact (when the outreach and impact activity is not teaching or research).

Note: Unfunded research activity, which satisfies the definition of Research should not be allocated to Other.

O2 – Support for Other

Other Support is not a core activity. It includes:

• Drafting and re-drafting proposals for new work and supporting bids to external bodies for consultancy and other services rendered (where bids involve a significant amount of speculative research, that elements can be attributed to institution own-funded Research,
• Negotiating contract terms and conditions for non-research work with external bodies,
• Technology transfer work that is not private, nor undertaken commercially by the institution (e.g. supporting patent applications, licence negotiations, formation of start-up companies)

TAS – GENERAL SUPPORT DEFINITIONS

Please note – do not include time that is not available for University business i.e. annual leave, sickness and unpaid leave, jury service and private consultancy undertaken in non-University time.

S1 – General Support

General Support is not a core activity. It is a support for the University and the University Sector (institution management and administration, general committee work, staff development).
It includes:

• Management and administration not specifically related to Teaching, Research or Other,
• Membership of / participation at faculty boards, senate, institution committees etc. (where these relates to Teaching or Research this time could alternatively be recorded as Support for Teaching or support for Research),
• Management duties such as deans, heads of admissions, assistant deans,
• Staff management, appraisals, etc.
• Publicity, representative work on behalf of the institution or academic department,
• Careers advice,
• Information returns,
• Quality assurance contribution to sector e.g. on (unpaid) committees or secondments to panels (where the quality assurance activity relates to teaching or research, then it should be charged to Support for Teaching – T2  or Support to Research – R8),
• Secondments, exchanges, all other tasks not attributable to other categories.