UCL UCU: Agenda for tomorrow's Alterations to Timetable & Working Hours meeting (Weds 24 Aug, 1-2pm)

What the meeting is about

This is an open discussion meeting to get feedback, comments, and views to input into our response. The changes are listed in the extract from the University Management Committee (UMC) instructions below (see appendix).

We are suggesting the meeting should cover the following areas (please bring questions, views, and feedback):

1. The changes in process (see below)
2. Feedback: how will these affect you and your colleagues (in terms of workload)?
3. Your views on this
4. Suggestions for action (members and UCU reps to sum up) 

Have you been asked to teach outside the 9am-6pm period? Come and tell us. If you have, you have the right to say ‘no!’ to unreasonable demands. See our advice notes on responding to such requests.

UCL UCU Executive

www.ucl.ac.uk/ucu 

@ucl_ucu 

Appendix 1: Extract from University Management Committee instructions to faculties/departments

…As agreed, the current position in respect of timetabling (with still only 89.9% roomed) means that the following was agreed.

1. That a Critical Incident Team will now be set up (see action below)
2. That the teaching day would be extended and should run from 8am – 7pm
3. Departments to review all room allocations and immediately return any ‘speculative’ allocations/over-bookings. Your assistance in ensuring that this happens would be greatly appreciated.
4. That you will instruct you Departments that they must now make changes to the way that they deliver F2F teaching. This includes:

• Removing constraints that make a teaching event hard to room
• Rescheduling teaching from peak hours to evenings or 8am slots
• Rescheduling teaching from peak weeks
• Teaching ‘short fat’ events in Reading Weeks and/or ‘bundling up’ ad hoc teaching events to a ‘short fat’ offer in Reading Week
• Moving teaching to Term 3 (changing assessment where necessary)
• Break down multi-hour events to teach in single hour blocks
• Vary group sizes to fit the room capacity rather than preferred group size
• Teaching twice

5. Deans to instruct their Departments to share their specialist PC labs with others where capacity exists
6. We will all continue to pursue opportunities to create additional teaching space through converting office space to teaching space. If you have any suggestions please do let me know. The Timetabling Team will ascertain availability at other external providers as a last resort.
7. It was also agreed that we will not move teaching online.

Could you please:

      (i) Share this instruction from UMC with your Departments and….

END

Appendix 2: For your diary - UCL UCU meetings coming up soon

• Tuesday 30 August, 1-2pm: Departmental Reps Discussion meeting on where we are with the two disputes. Open discussion and feedback from reps. This will be a zoom meeting
• Thursday 1st September, 1-2pm: All-members discussion meeting/town hall. Open discussion meeting for members to ask questions, raise any issue, and comment on the ballot and possible approaches to industrial action. This will be a hybrid meeting with lunch provided
• Week of Monday 5 September: Departmental meetings on the ballot.
• Wednesday 14 September or Thursday 22 September (tbc): Extraordinary General Meeting on the ballot.