Faculty Restructure Information

Can the university give assurances that there will be no redundancies whatsoever as a result of the implementation of this new restructure? 

This is a restructuring of the academic areas of the university. The model is intended to include all existing staff in these areas. There is no plan for redundancies arising from the implementation of the new structure.

Is the university planning to resume like-for-like recruitment of teaching staff in order to address problems of turnover, gaps of expertise and workload, with this new structure? 

The University has a well-documented process for the appointment of new staff in which each post is considered individually in terms of the needs of the School/Department and the University and also the current SSRs. This process will continue to be used.

What can be anticipated at this stage with regards to the role of subject leads in this new structure? What will the consequences be of this restructure on other existing job roles and job descriptions?

Roles other than those in the Phase 1 consultation paper will be considered under Phase 2 of the consultation.

Has the university made an assessment about the costs of this restructure and how does the university propose to cover those costs? 

The University is working towards this process being cost neutral in the medium term. The process will involve the promotion of some colleagues which will bring a limited amount of additional cost initially.

How does this restructure complement the university’s aims to shore up its finances? How does this restructure help with our goal of student recruitment and retention? 

The restructure will release academic staff time currently spent on administrative processes and in meetings. This will provide additional opportunities to develop new courses, improve the student experience and to develop new initiatives to generate income. The creation of larger more resilient administrative teams will provide a more consistent and supportive environment for staff and students which should improve student continuation. The Faculty structure will bring academic staff together to provide new opportunities for collaboration both in terms of research and knowledge exchange. The role of the new Associate Deans will be central to all of these developments with a focus on the Student Experience, External Engagement and Research. 

This restructure addresses several of the initiatives which the university is using to address the current need to improve its financial viability which is a substantive challenge based on Hope’s reduced intake of student numbers and other factors such as rising utility bills and increasing pension contributions. These initiatives are firstly, to recruit more students either by enlarging existing courses or developing new ones (full degrees or shorter courses). Secondly to ensure that more students are retained i.e. continue with their studies (the university lost approx. 500 students through in-year attrition last year, which represents approximately £5million of income lost). Thirdly by finding forms of income other than student fees, particularly including an increase in external research funding.

Can the university provide some examples of concrete benefits that this restructure will give to both students and staff that are not administrative in nature? 

The restructure will facilitate closer working of colleagues within each faculty and will enable joint projects to be more easily brought to fruition. This might be in terms of research collaborations or international partnerships or in increased numbers of postgraduate students. This will be facilitated by the new Associate Dean Research. The role of the Associate Dean Student Experience will include a focus on improved retention/continuation and the Associate Dean External Engagement role will include the development of new partnerships with employers which should then result in improved opportunities for progression into employment for our students. The new structure will also enable better sharing of good practice across both teaching and learning and research. It will promote consistency both in terms of staff and student experience.

Can the university disclose more details about the modelling that led to the decision of these two faculty models to be presented to staff?

The senior team has investigated a number of models, based on the criteria that have been published. They looked at a number of models and decided to share the two presented in the document with the Hope community. The models were selected on the basis of the criteria described in the consultation document.

If the university is really open to alternative models, why were staff not consulted for their views earlier, given the knowledge that alternative modelling would be time consuming?

Colleagues are welcome to propose other models provided they meet these criteria. Any proposed models will be given due on consideration. The consultation period is 4 weeks which USET consider appropriate for the nature of the consultation in the first instance. Phase 2 will involve a further round of consultation.

Has the university conducted any impact assessments for these two models? What was the outcome of those impact-assessments and will the university share its findings?

I can confirm that an Equality Impact Assessment has been initiated for each of the proposed Faculty models. This will continue to be developed as the process moves into subsequent stages.

How will this change of structure positively impact organisational culture? How is this new structure going to help the university address existing problems with workplace culture?

The Faculty Deans will be strategic leads for each group of Schools/Departments. They will take responsibility for the culture within their units and will ensure appropriate and consistent relationships develop between individuals within their Faculty and beyond. The new leads will thus have a critical role in supporting the Values and Ethos element of the new University strategy, both in their personal behaviours and in how they implement them to create a positive working culture. The new leads will also take responsibility for ensuring that all staff within the Faculty undertake the required staff development relating to leadership, culture and other matters as determined by the University. 

What is the university going to do to ensure that promotion and leadership opportunities remain available for colleagues belonging to traditionally marginalised or underrepresented groups?

An Equality Impact assessment has been undertaken with regard to this process. The University is in the process of developing a range of opportunities for leadership training which will be a requirement for all those taking up these posts. We are also in the process of reviewing the academic promotion process. This will be subject to a separate consultation in which we will welcome UCUs involvement as well as that of the wider community.

Can the university provide justification for the creation of these new senior management roles given the freeze on recruitment of entry-level staff and the challenging financial position of the university that has made this necessary?

These roles have been created to facilitate closer working of subjects within the new faculties, to provide consistency of purpose and to facilitate the development of university projects and initiatives. This matter is also covered in the answers to some of the previous questions, but it is important to note that the University is in a time of significant financial challenge and that we need to make every effort to improve both recruitment and success of students. The role of the new Associate Deans will key in ensuring that this happens.
There is currently no freeze on the recruitment of staff. Each post is being considered on its merit as it becomes vacant. The documented procedure is being used, this considers both SSRs and the workload model, along with other factors.

Similarly, what is the justification for and benefit of the addition of another layer of management? Is this not contrary to the aims of the restructure to simplify line management across the university, particularly in faculties consisting of only two Schools with relatively low numbers of teaching staff?

The intention is to introduce Faculty Deans to bring senior and strategic oversight of a broader range of subjects within a Faculty. This will allow the University to celebrate and externally promote areas of excellence and to facilitate close collaborations within and outside the university, whilst also pinpointing areas which may need more intervention from a range of angles form recruitment to research capacity. The Faculty Deans will also work with the UEMs to oversee more resilient and flexible administrative support which can be directed to where the need is greatest. The associate Deans will facilitate good practice, broaden the horizons and ensure consistency of the areas in their remit across the subjects in the Faculty.

The numbers of teaching staff in each of the proposed models are roughly equal across each of the proposed Faculties.

Given that the documentation appears to suggest that vacancies for leadership roles will be drawn from within the existing staff roster, what assurances can the university provide that staff will not be pressured into accepting these roles in the event that nobody from within a given subject wishes to take on these responsibilities?

These roles will be advertised to the University community with full job descriptions and person specifications. Expressions of interest for the Associate Dean roles will be sought from the full academic community. These roles will be filled at Faculty level so there is no need for expressions of interest from every subject. If there are no expressions of interest for a given role the University will reconsider the way forward. Pressure will not be put on any colleagues to apply. 

Additionally, why has the university decided only to recruit from within the existing staff roster for these management positions? Is the university opposed entirely to further outside recruitment for these roles?

This process is a restructure involving the current staff. It will provide opportunities for colleagues to express an interest in more senior roles should they wish to do so. There is no need to advertise externally because the University is confident that there are colleagues with the appropriate skills to fill these roles. These changes have the potential to open up leadership opportunities for a range of colleagues and to create a more proportionate leadership team across the University.

Additionally, as you will be aware, the University has under-recruited students in 2023/4, so we do not have the available financial resource to add to the overall number of staff at present. If during the period of this process any colleagues resign or retire then their posts may or may not be replaced, dependent on the need of the business as determined through the published process.

Do the new management positions come with additional pay on top of the salaries of those who take them on? 

Arrangements for salaries in relation to new leadership roles will be published with the advertisement at the scheduled date. Each role will have an agreed point on the pay scale or other arrangement as appropriate. The Faculty Dean is a senior strategic role and payment will commensurate with the seniority of the position. For other roles an allowance may be required, but his will be dependent on the underlying substantive grade of the individual. Further clarity on this matter will form part of the Phase 2 consultation.

Are the names in the document the final names for the new faculties?

The faculty names in the document are not the final names for faculties, they should be seen as place holders. If you have other ideas the university would really like to hear them. Please send your feedback to faculty@hope.ac.uk.

Will there be a role for subject leads or will the role be subsumed within the role of the Associate Dean? 

The Associate Dean roles are at faculty level and provide leadership for consistent and innovative work in the areas described in the job titles. The arrangements for leadership roles within the schools and department will be subject to consultation in phase two.

How will the restructure affect professional service staff?

Any change would be variable depending on the professional services unit concerned but the close working relationship that have been established between academic and professional services will continue to be at the heart of Hope way of working.

Will there be a distinction between the role of a Head of School and the role of a Faculty Dean?

Yes, there will be a difference between these roles. Role descriptions for both will be published in due course.

What benefit will this have for students?

There will be a consistent and more resilient offer in terms of administration opportunity to ensure the student experience is consistent across the institution in the context of subjects.

How will the Associate Deans undertaking the same roles in each Faculty work together?

The Associate Dean roles mean that there will be one senior person responsible for critical aspects of the life of university. The Intention would be that they meet regularly to share good practice and meet challenges together. 

Would there be any consideration as to where subject will be physically placed?

The faculty restructure at this point is about reorganising current schools and departments into faculties. Consideration to the location of individual subjects will be given at a later date.

How have the schools and departments been put together?

A number of different models have been investigated and developed based on the criteria set out in the consultation document.

Will faculty Deans have a layer of management under them?

The role of Faculty Deans is a strategic role operated at University level. Faculty Deans will have a layer of management underneath them as set out in the consultation document.

In terms of recruitment once the new Dean is appointed is it expected that they will carry out both roles until a Head of School replacement has been appointed?

The appropriate interim arrangements will be made to ensure the smooth running of the four faculties.

If a Dean of School becomes a Dean of Faculty will this be replaced with a Head of School or would this be replaced like for like?

All roles will go through the standard recruitment process with role descriptions appropriately published in due course.

Will there be a grade requirement as I note the paper says existing senior leaders is there a definition of terms of what an existing senior leader is?

The definition of the requirements of a senior leader for the Faculty Dean role will be contained in the associated job description and person specification.

Will the personal service of administration staff be lost?

The University sees the move to the Faculty structure as being key to improving and enhancing the student experience and therefore crucial in improving the service provided to students.

How will this work for academic staff, for instance, SSAAs who currently work across Schools?

Other roles not pointed out in phase 1 of the consultation will be discussed in phase 2 of the consultation.

I am concerned that this will result in admin becoming more remote and that this will lead to the erosion of our identity. How will this be avoided?

The move to a faculty restructure will mean that the administration of faculties will be fully equitable and flexible. The intention will be that admin offices perform a faculty wide function. This will mean that administration teams will be larger and therefore provide a more resilient service for students and staff. 

Will subjects maintain their autonomy as regards teaching, assessment, expenditure of enhancement and library budgets ect?

While the autonomy of individual subjects will be maintained, the restructure will facilitate the closer working of colleagues across faculty level to ensure a consistent approach and therefore improve the overall student experience.

Will this result in redundancies?

The restructure is about the reordering of all current academic staff and departments.

Can you confirm what the clear lines of authority in faculties will be?

The arrangements for all roles will be subject to consultation in phase two.