Staff Handbook

 

1.1       Academic staff

You are recommended to use email wherever possible

 Dr Ana Costa-Pereira, Head of Centre for Languages, Culture and Communication - Room S302

 Dr Michael Paraskos, Programme Manager for Adult Education - Room 306 (0.5 post)

Dr Felicitas Starr-Egger, Director of Language Studies - Room S304

As Programme Manager, Dr Michael Paraskos handles all teaching and course issues.

The following are coordinators for individual languages, responsible for the syllabus and course material in their respective languages. They will be able to advise staff on these matters.

Dr Mashail Ali	Arabic	Room 324
Sibylle Moulin	French	Room S307
Dr Yuki Tokumaru	Japanese	Room 323
Dr Felicitas Starr-Egger	German	Room S304
Dr Sheila Lecoeur	Italian	Room S305
Hyejin Jang	Korean	Room S305
Dr Ruth Herd	Mandarin	Room 323
Prof Charles Drage	Russian	Room 324
Almudena Sánchez-Villén	Spanish	Room S306

1.2       Administrative staff

Christian Jacobi, Adult Education Administrator - Room 308 

Christian handles enrolments, room bookings and database maintenance. We use a web-based database which holds all courses, the registrations for them and the students’ attendance.

When Christian is not in the office you can either email him or leave a voicemail message In an emergency such as illness etc. please contact Christian, Michael or one of the Centre managers (see below).

Claire Stapley, Centre Manager - Room S308 

Mel Mullin, Centre Manager - Room S308

Claire and Mel job-share: Claire (c.stapley@imperial.ac.uk) works Mondays through Wednesdays, and Mel (mellanie.mullin@imperial.ac.uk) works Wednesdays through Fridays. Normal office hours are 9am to 5pm.

Problems regarding your pay should be referred to Mel or Claire in the first instance.

Paul Chauncy, IT/AV Support - Room S312C

Paul deals with anything to do with technical support (computers or projectors not working, etc.). His office is located in the CLCC postgraduate area. Paul works Mondays to Thursdays 10am to 6pm only.

 1.3       Overview of principal Centre contacts                                             

 

2.1       Contract and bank details form

New staff must sign their contract, complete a bank details form and return all relevant documents to Mel Mullin in the CLCC (not directly to HR).

Existing staff are not normally sent a new contract, and a new bank details form need not be submitted unless you have changed bank accounts

2.2       Pay arrangements

For Adult Education teaching only you will be paid monthly. However, your first payment will be made at the end of November.

Payment can only be made if your bank details are available, so please submit your new or amended form promptly. If you need assistance please contact Mel or Claire.

Your contract states what services are expected of you in return for your pay. Included in your duties is the attendance of one staff meeting.

Any problems regarding tax or National Insurance must be referred to the Payroll Office payroll@imperial.ac.uk, 020 7594 8738. 

Pay rates are given on the Staff Pages of the website at www.imperial.ac.uk/adult-ed 

2.3       Changes of contact details

If any of your telephone, email or postal address details change please inform Mel or Claire as well as Christian right away so that we can update our records. You should also inform the College’s HR department via an online self-service facility accessible here: www.imperial.ac.uk/staff. 

2.4       Lateness and rescheduling of classes

Unless we have agreed to a different pattern, evening classes run 18.00-20.00. Please be in your classroom not later than 6pm and stay there the whole duration of the class. Students have been known to complain even if a class is curtailed by as little as 15 minutes.

 When you start your class you may want to use the first 5-10 minutes for completing the online register or recapping while you wait for latecomers.

Students can be late, but staff lateness is very serious. If there are problems and you can phone in on your mobile, at least we can reassure your class that you are on your way. Please make up lost time to your students, discussing with them first the most convenient arrangement for all of you.

Also, Michael or Christian must be notified should you be prevented for any reason from taking your class on the scheduled day. Do not make other arrangements without checking with Michael or Christian first. 

It should be understood that staff absence will be permitted only in case of illness or other unavoidable reasons.

2.5       College ID card

Every tutor must be in possession of a College ID card. This enables you to visibly identify yourself while on campus and you must wear it in a prominent position (it comes with a lanyard) while on the College premises. Your ID card also acts as a key card for getting in and out of buildings when doors are locked, and it is needed to operate photocopiers in the CLCC, the Library and elsewhere in the College. It will also act as your library ticket and it has your CID number printed on it which you will need to apply for any college training (such as first aid training, HEA fellowship etc). Finally, the card gives you a discount in the College refectory on food and drink.

Existing staff will get their ID card updated by us for all required building and room access in the new academic year once all classes are confirmed. You should notify us if you experience any access issues.

New staff must obtain a College ID card before term starts. The ID Card Office whose opening hours are 08.30-10.30, 12.00-14.00 and 15.45-16.45 is located in Room 151, level 1 Sherfield building. To obtain your ID card you will have to show:

1.    A copy of your contract of employment (for inspection only)

2.    Your Safety Induction form  must be signed by an authorised signatory in the CLCC – for evening class tutors this is usually Michael or a member of the admin team.

2.6       Imperial College email account

New staff in possession of their College ID card must activate their Imperial College email account by accessing the following web page: www.imperial.ac.uk/ict/activateaccount/

Please check your College email daily as it is our main means of communication with you. We recommend installing the free Outlook app on your phone and linking this with your College email. 

2.7       Photocopying

Only use the photocopiers and printers for copying/printing items related to your  only for your teaching at Imperial College. Photocopiers are operated by either tapping your College ID card on the black reader attached to the copier or, if you don’t have yours with you, by entering your normal log-in details (same as to access your College email, etc.) on the copier touchscreen. If you are new or need orientation, one of the team can show you where the copiers are located and how to use them.

The copiers are also the printers, so if you print from a network connected printed in Imperial College you can press “pull print” on any photocopier in the College and you should be able to retrieve your printing. Be aware the photocopiers and printers can be temperamental and so we do not guarantee they will be available.

Please do note that you are limited to 500 photocopies per course, with a higher allowance of 750 for those teaching a new script (e.g. Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, etc.). Your card will be programmed to stop working after your limit has been reached. Photocopier usage is monitored by the Centre Manager.

Please avoid lengthy photocopying sessions just before 6pm as there is high demand around that time and as staff may be unavailable to fix paper jams at that busy time.

2.8       Building and classroom access

Where classroom classes take place most will be in the Sherfield building. The building is accessible via its level 1 doors. The CLCC door is locked from 7pm, after which you should press the large green button to the left of the door to exit the CLCC. If your evening class takes place elsewhere you will need your College card to re-enter our space after your class.

Access for you and your group will be arranged (Imperial College members only) should you teach in another building. Non-members of the College may obtain a guest access pass from us the process for which is explained at the start of term.

You should normally find your classroom empty and unlocked. If it is not then please ask for help locally. To get CLCC rooms unlocked for evening class teaching please go to Reception. For locked rooms in the Seminar and Learning Centre (SALC) in the evening you should ring Security (020 7589 1000) and they will come and open the room for you.

2.9       Classrooms and furniture

We are aware that your classroom may not be set up in an ideal way for teaching, however please do not move from your allotted room before consulting with us.

If you wish to rearrange the furniture in any classroom please ensure it is replaced in the prescribed teaching configuration at the end of your class. Any furniture or equip­ment which has been borrowed from elsewhere must be returned to its original location or other correct place.

2.10     Whiteboards

Please only use dry-wipe whiteboard writers provided in our stationery cupboard (for location and a key please ask Christian).

Ordinary felt tips or marker pens should not be used as they can be difficult to erase completely. Please do not remove any marker pens from the rooms in which you find them and remember to wipe clean the whiteboard clean in any classroom you use.

It is preferable not to use black dry-wipe whiteboard writers as these also tend to leave a mark on the whiteboards, and so we ask you not to use these.

2.11     Safety and security

Once you have been assigned a teaching room please check the evacuation route for this building bearing the following in mind:

1.    In the event of the fire alarm sounding you must follow the green directional signs to the nearest exit. Please operate the green break glass boxes to release the final exit doors should they not readily open;

2.    Should you discover a fire you must raise an alarm immediately by operating one of the red manual break glass call points and by ringing the emergency number for Security Control (please see below under ‘Emergency contact numbers’);

3.    The assembly points are as follows:

• For the Huxley and Blackett building please go to the corner of Queen’s Gate and Prince Consort Road from the street-side exits, or make your way to the car park adjacent to the Roderic Hill building if using exits onto Callendar Road;
• For the Sir Alexander Fleming building (SAFB), the Sherfield building and the Electrical Engineering building the primary assembly point is by the Queen’s Tower.

4.   You are responsible for aiding your students to evacuate the building and so we require you to familiarise yourself with the nearest emergency escape route to your teaching location and guide the students towards it in the event of a fire or other emergency alarm.

2.12     Emergency contact numbers and the SafeZone App

For all emergencies (medical, fire, police, etc.) the Security Control Room must be contacted. Please dial 4444 from a campus phone or 020 7589 1000 from any other phone. You might want to program this number into your phone for easy access.

We also recommend you download the College's SafeZone app. SafeZone allows you to directly alert the Security team in the event of an emergency, whilst also sharing your location and profile to ensure an effective and quick response. 

2.13     Desk and storage space, and computers

Evening Class staff may use Room 303, located next to the kitchen in the CLCC, to prepare for their lessons from 4pm onwards only. This room contains computers for your use. Additional computers can be found in the CLCC in rooms 321 and 325 (adjacent to the Centre for Academic English), again from 4pm onwards only. The College Library also has additional computer rooms..

Room 303 should be kept locked at all times when unattended. You will be given a key to it by Christian (if you want one), but please never leave it unlocked if it is unattended. We have had thefts in the centre.

2.14     Kitchen area

You can gain access to the staff kitchen in the CLCC with your ID card and inside you will find a microwave, fridge, kettle and coffee machine. There is communal milk, tea and coffee, but please do not use any food or drink marked with a name as this is personal property. If you wish to store your own food or drink in the kitchen (for example in the fridge) please ensure it is clearly marked with your name.

If you use the kitchen you must clean up after yourself immediately. Wash and dry cups, crockery, cutlery etc. immediately (do not leave it to dry on the draining board) and put things away. Cleaning staff will not wash up any cups, plates, cutlery etc that is left unwashed in the kitchen.

The kitchen is for staff use only. Please do not allow students or visitors access to the kitchen area.

2.15     Post and pigeon holes

If you are only involved in lunchtime and/or evening class teaching, for your convenience your post will normally be left for you at Reception next to the tutor sign-in sheet. Please check the post there regularly and take yours home with you promptly.

As the College issues monthly payslips and yearly P60s in electronic form only, no hard copies of these are posted.

2.16     Social Connections

Whether you are new to Imperial College, or have taught here before, connecting with your colleagues is an important part of becoming part of the Imperial College community. As well as staff events within CLCC to bring everyone together, for example at Christmas, there is also a College-wide social networking club, called Meet Up Imperial, designed to help staff get to know each other by joining up for sports, arts or other activities. For details visit: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/health-and-wellbeing/advice-and-support/making-connections/ 

2.17     Staff Welfare

If you are having any problems relating to your mental, physical or social wellbeing, Imperial College has a confidential advice and counselling service, called Confidential Care. Confidential Care's telephone helpline is staffed by trained counsellors, and can provide information and advice on a wide range of work and life issues. The number is 0800 085 4764, and is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Alternatively, you can visit the website: www.imperial.ac.uk/health-and-wellbeing/advice-and-support/confidential-care

2.18     Staff Training

In common with almost all educational institutions, Imperial College encourages tutors to engage in relevant staff training, to improve their teaching skills, gain teaching-related qualifications, and become aware of current issues in education, such as safeguarding policies, and diversity awareness issues.

Imperial College also runs training programmes for those wanting to gain fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (called the Imperial Star Framework). We recommend you take this programme to obtain at least Associate Level fellowship. For information on staff development and training visit www.imperial.ac.uk/staff. This is currently offered free of charge.

We encourage all of our tutors to enrol on one of Imperial College’s free First Aid Training courses. If you would like to enrol on one of these courses please email Claire at c.stapley@imperial.ac.uk Places on these courses do tend to go fast.

2.19     Imperial ‘Perks of the Job’

Imperial ‘Perks of the Job’ is a scheme that gives Imperial College staff discounts at online and high street shops, including major supermarkets and department stores, and also large discounts on things like supermarkets, cinema tickets, railway tickets, etc. For further details please visit www.imperial.ac.uk/human-resources/working-at-imperial/benefits/.

2.20 Personal Safety While Teaching On-Site

While teaching on-site we ask all teaching staff to have their mobile telephone with them and to have the number of the Imperial College Security Services programmed into the telephone. The Security Service number is 020 7589 1000.

If you have a smart phone you can also download the College's Safezone app to your phone, giving you access to the College's Security Services. You can download this at https://www.imperial.ac.uk/estates-facilities/security/safezone/ 

Some rooms also have telephones in them (usually wall mounted), where the emergency number is 4444. 

It is preferable that evening teaching staff try to avoid being alone in the CLCC and so it is advisable that you leave the premises with your students (or some of them) at the end of your class. 

In an extreme and urgent emergency you can also call the national emergency services number on 999 where it is not possible to call the College Security Services.

We also recommend you download the College's SafeZone app. SafeZone allows you to directly alert the Security team in the event of an emergency, whilst also sharing your location and profile to ensure an effective and quick response. 

3.            Essential Weekly Tasks and Class Management Information

 

3.1       Your class register

At the start of every class you must take a register. Attendance marks are recorded online, and a brief manual showing how the register works is provided. If in doubt please ask Christian to show or remind you. On the register enter a ‘tick’ for a student who is present, and a ‘red circle’ for one who is absent - there is no third category for authorised absence.

Registers are very important as they indicate who will be entitled to an Attendance Certificate at the end of your course. Attendance Certificates will be sent out automatically by the register to eligible students at the end of the course (eligible students must attend 80% of the sessions).

Please do not allow anyone to be in your class who is not on the register list. Only those who have enrolled and paid are allowed in the classroom. If they insist they have paid, ask them to forward their payment confirmation email to Christian.

3.2       Student Transfer Requestes

Please advise students wishing to change classes permanently to first notify Christian by emailing eveningclass@imperial.ac.uk. Please do not indicate to any student that a transfer is possible. Authorisation of transfer has to be made by the Programme Manager for Adult Education, Dr Michael Paraskos, and is not automatic.

3.3       Standardised Slide/Powerpoint Presentation

It is a requirement that slide presentation (eg. Powerpoint/Keynote/LibreOffice etc) do not show any other institutions' logo when being used for teaching at Imperial College. This is particularly important to note if you are teaching at multiple institutions and you use similar slides at those institutions.

For all classes starting after September 2024 you are required to have a start screen (first slide) using one of the templates, which you can find here. This should include (1) the name of the tutor, (2) the course title and (3) the session title (if different from the general course title).

For the rest of your slides in the presentation it is preferred that you use the standard slide backdrops for each slide, which you can also find here. There may be exceptions to this - for example when an image needs to be full screen or when showing an image where the backdrop might be a distraction - but the default position should be to use the departmental backdrops and to modify existing slides in relation to those backdrops.

3.4       Text books and other equipment

If text books are required for a course, tutors are expected to buy their own copies unless advised otherwise.

If a text book is used please explain to your students that they will be asked to buy it after the first week. As a general rule we tell students to wait until after the first week before buying any text books or equipment.

If you do ask students to buy a text book please make sure that you use it regularly. We have had complaints in the past that text books have not been used, and also students who have to miss a class will be able to refer to their text book know what their class has covered that week.

If you require students to buy other equipment for a class, such as art materials, and to bring it with them to a class this should be indicated as a likely cost on the relevant course web page so potential enrolees can make an informed choice as to whether they can afford to attend your class. You are required to let either Michael or Christian know before the web page for your course is open for recruitment if any such purchases by students on your course will be required so as to allow this to be indicated on the web page. Try to be reasonable in terms of what you expect students to purchase.

3.5       Certificate of attendance

Students who attend classes regularly are eligible for a certificate of attendance issued automatically by email by the register program after the final class. It is therefore essential that your students’ attendance is recorded promptly, accurately and completely throughout. Please inform students early on in the course about the certificate of attendance. A minimum attendance of 80% is required for a certificate. The certificate is not a validated award and it should be made clear to any students enquiring about the status of the certificate that it is only a record of class attendance.

3.6       Optional end-of-course test / ECTS credits

We no longer offer an end of course test for any of our courses and no course results in ECTS or other academic credits being awarded.

4.            Adult Education Class Course Viability Criteria and Decisions

 

4.1          What is a "viable" course?

CLCC Adult Education courses (evening classes/lunchtime learning/after:hours etc) receive no subsidy from any source to run. We are not a government-designated adult education provider and we receive no direct financial assistance from Imperial College to run our classes. Consequently every CLCC Adult Education course is required to be financially viable on its own.

A financially viable course is one which has reached the mimimum recruitment threshold to run according to the advertised number of hours and schedule shown for the course on the CLCC website. Financial viability is not based on student numbers, it is based entirely on course fee income. For most courses we base the minimum threshold for financially viable courses as being the equivalent fee income of 12 (twelve) internal enrolees on a course. This number may differ depending on the fee charged for a course - ask if you are in doubt.

In some cases, where there are a larger number of full-fee paying external enrolees a course might run with fewer than 12 enrolees, but for most courses the income will be the equivalent of 12 internal-fee-rate enrolees.

4.2         Financial viability and tutor pay

Financial viability is not the same as the amount a tutor is paid to deliver the course. In addition to financial costs Imperial College is required to pay to employ a tutor on top of actual take-home pay, we are also required to cover our costs in terms of administrative staff support, use of physical buildings and their utility services, internet access and licence fees for program such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams, publicity costs to advertise courses and similar. Consequently, if the income from fees for your course seems to cover your take-home pay, that does not necessarily mean it will cover these additional costs. Where a course reaches financial viability we will endeavour to run it, but you should be aware that financial viability is not the same as your take-home pay.

4.3        Cross-subsidy of courses and course modfication for financial reasons

Cross-subsidy of courses is not permitted and so each individual CLCC Adult Education course must reach financial viability for itself.

Similarly we are not permitted to unilaterally cut course hours without offering students enrolled on a course the opportunity for a full refund or partial refund, which tends to result in some drop-out of enrolees, as this would be illegal, and similarly we are not able to cut tutor wages, even with the tutors' permission, to make a course financially viable.

4.4        Course running decisions

Historically we have always told tutors to let us know if they would like to set a specific deadline for confirmation or not of a course being financially viable, and able to run. Most, but not all, tutors have preferred to let recruitment run until the very last moment before a course is due to start before that decision is made, but if you would like to set an earlier deadline please let the adult education team know in good time. It would help if we can place this deadline on the web page for the particular course.

Where no early deadline is set we promise to let enrolees know at least seven days before a course is due to start whether a course will run (Adult Education Terms and Conditions 13.1). This means we will make a decision on whether to run a course or not at least seven days before the course is due to start.

We no longer allow low recruiting courses the possibility of a recruitment extension beyond the seven day period before a course is due to start.

4.5        Promotion of courses

Courses are promoted through a number of channels, with the process for the October intake starting in late June and July with the creation of the website for the adult education programme. At the same time we produce the artwork for publicity leaflets and brochures and these are all readied for the launch date for recruitment to October courses which opens on 1 August annually.

During the period of August and September large numbers of leaflets and emails are sent out, with leaflets going to various departments and sections of Imperial College, Albertopolis-partner institutions, London libraries, bookshops and other venues, and our emailing list of almost 10,000 individuals receiving messages from us. This is a very labour-intensive activity and goes on throughout the period.

External Twitter and internal intranet announcements also begin in August, with messages sent on a daily basis, and in September we begin our campaign of online paid-for advertising. Tutors are also encouraged to promote their courses on their own social media accounts, if they have them, and this has proven an excellent way to boost course enrolments in the past, especially if you are able to target your messages to special interest groups, or have a personal following of previous students.

Posters are placed around the Imperial College campuses in September and the adult education team begins to attend promotional events for new students within Imperial (mainly in October), and leafleting continues, making summer a very busy time for the adult education team.

For the January and Easter course promotions we have less time and resources to undertake this kind of promotion and so the programmes are commensurately smaller to allow this process to take place.

 

5 January starting courses

 

5.1  Deadline to inform us of a desire to offer a January starting course

You should be aware that we no longer run a January-recruitment cycle. Because of this all courses due to start after the New Year (such as in January) must be included in the programme (i.e. on the website) not later than the 30 June preceding. No courses will be added after this.

You should also be aware that publicity for January starting courses will be sent out at the same time as October-starting courses and there is no additional publicity for January starting courses after October.

 

6 Third Party Industrial Action Preventing Attendance by Lecturers at Imperial College

 

6.1  Reasonable Effort to Get to Teaching Location(s)

Teaching staff and teaching-support staff (“co-pilots”) are required to make all reasonable efforts to get to their advertised place of teaching during transport strike days, or days when other disruption might occur (such as environmental protests closing roads). Because of this there is no automatic cancellation of evening and other adult education classes and there is no automatic transfer of those classes online when industrial or other action is announced or expected. All requests for cancellation and/or transfer online are dealt with on an individual basis.

6.2   Viable Alternative Transport Means

Except in extreme cases, such as there being no other viable alternative for travel, we do not cancel classroom sessions because of Tube strikes or other strikes where there is likely to be a viable travel alternative for the member of teaching staff or teaching-support staff (eg. travelling by bus or rail instead of Tube).

6.3  Imperial College’s policy on industrial action affecting public transport

Imperial College’s policy on industrial action affecting public transport states the following:

Where no other means of transport is available, a walk of up to one hour in each direction* (approximately four miles) is not considered unreasonable, except for those who are disabled or otherwise infirm or for whom such a journey would be a risk to health. *in line with Civil Service guidelines. 

To this we add, soley for adult education /  evening class tutors, the rider “when and where it is safe to do so.”

6.4  Customers' expectations, and rights

You should be aware that cancelling a face-to-face taught session, or rescheduling it to online delivery, is rarely a popular move amongst our adult education learners, and it could open us up to requests for refunds (as per the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and the Terms and Conditions) if we cannot demonstrate that every effort has been made to deliver the course as advertised. Of course, this will not always be possible, but please be aware that adult education class participants are technically not students – they are customers – and so we must always try to deliver what they pay for as described in our publicity material and terms and conditions.

6.5   Discussing concerns with line managers

We will always try to address individual concerns relating to travel on days when it is difficult to do so, and so it is important to speak to your line manager if you foresee any problems getting to work, as far in advance as possible.

 

7 Student Interactions and Expectations

 

7.1   Care, Courtesy and Consideration: Students

In line with Imperial expectations, we expect all tutors on the after:hours programme to interact with students and colleagues in a courteous and considerate manner that meet the highest professional standards for higher education. There is a duty of care towards our students which includes their mental as well as their physical well-being and so it is important to avoid any language or action that might cause distress to our students, as well as other people in and around Imperial and of course our colleagues.

7.2    Care, Courtesy and Consideration: Tutors

In line with Imperial expectations, we expect all students on the after:hours programme to interact with tutors and other colleagues in a courteous and considerate manner. This is made clear in the Terms and Conditions signed by students (section 6). Where a student acts in a manner that appears discourteous, dangerous or abusive, and this cannot be dealt with in an appropriate informal manner at the time, it should be reported afterwards to your line manager or the Programme Manager for Imperial after:hours.

In extreme cases you are within your rights to require a student to leave a class, and request assistance from Security if necessary, but this will result in an investigation to ascertain the circumstances of the exclusion.

7.3    Student Feedback

We collect feedback on courses lasting more than 10 hours as part of our QA process, and this is collected once a year, usually at the end of the course. We no longer gather student feedback mid-course. Student feedback is collected anonymously.