QUT HESDC Enquiry on Adjuncts

Background

The Queensland University of Technology (QUT) HR Department is reviewing how we (QUT) report on adjuncts and visiting academics within the Higher Education Staff Data Collection (HESDC), which was originally reviewed and included in our HESDC in 2005. Currently, we report these positions within the FT/FFT submission, aligning to an existing HR protocol that set the level for the respective contributing ‘appointment’ (Level C through E). It has been determined that this is at odds with our internal workforce planning and other reporting, and our HR department is hoping to align or minimise the variances.

To assist in progressing this, HR has asked if we (the information and analysis team) might seek a response from the sector (particularly the Table A universities) as to what they do regarding this distinctive cohort. It is not my intention to provide any information beyond overall ‘sector’ level granularity to anyone, although it may be necessary to the restrict HEP/VET cohort distinction for our immediate purposes.

All correspondence will be confidential unless otherwise released through a written request to the contributing officers, and even then, no HEP/VET will be identified directly. Any contributions will be viewed/collated by myself and one other officer within the Enterprise Data and Analytics department only.

If contributors are in agreeance and interested, we will release the summarised results through an accepted AAIR medium. No data matching (or use beyond collating the generalised summary table(s)) will be performed, and once completed and followed up with the respective contributors, all original correspondence and workings related to individual HEP responses will be deleted from our mail accounts and server, retaining only the final sector-only summaries.

Question

QUT wishes to table a Higher Education Staff Data Collection (HESDC) question to the AAIR subscribers within the Australian Higher Education sector (especially Table A universities, although any assistance is welcome). Responses will be summarised to sector only, and individual HEPs will not be listed.

Please do not disclose anything unnecessarily. Please include only what is essential for your answers. Do not disclose any of your sensitive business content. This is a lightweight environmental scan only.

1. How are adjunct and/or visiting fellows reported within the definition of member of staff in your organisation?
   Do you include adjunct and visiting fellows in your HESDC?

(a) We don’t include unpaid academics in our collection;

(b) Within our full-time and fractional full-time file (FT);

(c) Within our casual (CA) file;

(d) Within both our FT and CA files;

(e) No response.

Note: QUT will disassociate any response with individuals and institutions, except where directly communicating with the owning contributor.

Please direct all responses to Jeff Bibby (j.bibby@qut.edu.au).

Email Jeff