Recommendations of Task Team on role of HoD

RECOMMENDATIONS BY THE TASK TEAM RESPONSIBLE FOR REVIEWING THE ROLE OF THE HoD

At the HODs’ Imbizo held on 20 and 21 July 2007, an HoDs’ Task Team was established comprising members of all faculties who would consider the roles and responsibilities of HoDs.

Membership: Prof D Sewry (Chair), Prof R Dorrington, Prof M Goebel, Prof C Macleod, Prof H Nel, Adv L Roberts, Ms S Robertson, Dr. M Schafer, Prof B Schmahmann and Prof R Walker.

Terms of Reference: ? To consider the report entitled “The role of the Academic Head of Department atRhodesUniversity: The ideal, the actual and the possible”, as well as the minutes of the Imbizo

? To make recommendations on the roles and responsibilities of HoDs

? To consider the cost implications of any recommendations

? To report to the Deans’ Committee, Institutional Planning Committee and Senate

It should be noted that some of the recommendations of the Task Team have already been implemented (see STATUS column).

ROLE / RESPONSIBILITY	ISSUE / CONCERN	RECOMMENDATION	COST	STATUS
Initial Appointment	Appointment Process	The Dean of the Faculty should call for and receive applications/nominations for the position of HoD. (In the event of no applications/nominations, the Dean of the Faculty should meet with staff to encourage applications/nominations.) Applications/nominations should be accompanied by a short statement of vision for the Department. The Dean of the Faculty should meet with the applicants/nominees to discuss the position of HoD, as well as with the staff of the department, either as a group or on an individual basis as appropriate, to canvass their views on the applicants/nominees. After consultation with the applicants/nominees and staff of the department, the Dean of the Faculty should recommend for approval the appointment of an applicant/nominee for the position of HoD to the Institutional Planning Committee (IPC). The appointment of an HoD should be completed by the start of the year in which the appointment takes effect (see Date of Appointment and Succession Planning and HoD Mentoring/Handover). The Dean may elect to involve senior members of the Faculty in these appointment processes.	None None None None None Not yet implemented Not yet implemented Not yet implemented Not yet implemented Not yet implemented
	Date of Appointment	HoDs should normally be appointed with effect from July in any given year.	None Implemented
	Succession Planning and HoD Mentoring / Handover. Currently, limited succession planning is conducted and no formal mentoring/handover is undertaken.	The incoming HoD should shadow the outgoing HoD during the 6-month period prior to the incoming HoD taking up appointment. During this period, if the incoming HoD is not a member of Senate, the incoming HoD should attend Senate in an observer capacity. A formal hand-over from the outgoing to the incoming HoD should be undertaken. Newly-appointed HoDs should be mentored by the Dean of the Faculty. A newly-appointed HoD should also be twinned with another HoD for day-to-day help and advice.	None None None for the time being – may need to be revisited if it becomes onerous None for the time being – may need to be revisited if it becomes onerous Not yet implemented Not yet implemented Not yet implemented Not yet implemented
	Term of Office Currently, a term of 3 years is prescribed, with the option for renewal Rotating Headship	The term of office of HoDs should be 3 (three) years. HoDs may be re-appointed for further terms of office. All HoDs who are currently permanently appointed should have their positions converted to a three-year contract to standardise the positions of all HoDs.	None None None Implemented Implemented Implemented
Review of the Contribution of the HoD	Review	The Dean or Deputy-Dean of the Faculty should review the contribution of the HoD. Where the HoD is also the Dean, the review should be conducted by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Academic and Student Affairs. The review should take place at the end of the first year of appointment and 18 months later (that is, at the same time the re-appointment of the HOD or appointment of a new HoD is considered). The Review should examine the contribution of the HoD in the following areas: the HoD as Change Agent, Academic Leader, People Manager, Administrator, Resourcer and Advocate. A special focus of the review should be the manner in which the HoD has managed to sustain teaching and research during her/his tenure and the concomitant support required. The Review should take particular cognisance of the state of the department prior to the appointment of the new HoD and the present state to determine the contribution made by the new HoD to the development of the department. The review should also involve an analysis of any evidence gathered on the HoDs' role. An internal evaluation of the HoD by colleagues could provide useful information. The results of the review will inform the re-appointment of the HoD. *[A specific process needs to be constructed by which an HoDs term of office can be terminated prematurely.]*	None None None None None None None Not yet implemented Not yet implemented Not yet implemented Not yet implemented Not yet implemented Not yet implemented Not yet implemented
Change Agent	Change Agent - None – currently very limited because of the admin burden	HoDs should be provided with sufficient time and space to execute the role of Change Agent (see recommendation under Administrator: Administration Load; and People Manager: People Management).	None Not yet implemented
Academic Leader	Academic Leader - None – currently limited because of the admin burden	HoDs should be provided with sufficient time and space to execute the role of Academic Leader (see recommendation under Administrator: Administration Load; and People Manager: People Management).	None Not yet implemented
People Manager	People Management – An integral component of the HoD’s role is people management (academic and support)	The HoD should manage all facets of the department including academic, administrative, technical and support matters. Following analysis and investigation of the specific circumstances of the Department, the HoD should be provided with the necessary personnel to execute the academic (lecturers), administrative (departmental managers, administrators, secretaries and receptionists), technical (Chief Technical Officers and Technical Officers), and support (cleaners) functions. HoDs should ensure that any further management or coordination functions (course coordinators, examinations coordinators) are delegated to staff of the department. HoDs should also ensure that any specific portfolios, for example, school visits, are assumed by staff of the department. Role profiles should be developed for all staff, including academic members of staff.	None Cost of new academic, administrative, technical and support staff – the cost is difficult to determine without knowing what staff are needed and at what level. Illustratively though the bottom of the scale for a Manager: Administration post (grade 11) = R201, 944 and the mid-point is R252, 430. The salary would probably vary between these two numbers. In places where this model has been implemented, the headcount has not been increased, but a current administrative post has been upgraded, for example, in Law and Psychology. The size and complexity of departments are taken into account when determining a need for a resource at the Manager level. This will be actively explored with HoDs and HR. HoDs who are of the view that their administrative support requires review should contact HR. It should be noted that whenever there are vacancies HR, together with the department, proactively reviews the needs of the department. None None None Implemented Partially-Implemented Partially-Implemented Partially-Implemented Not yet implemented
	People Management Skills	HoDs should be encouraged to attend any such courses, workshops or training sessions to enhance their people management skills, as well as conflict management skills. None - there is currently no charge for staff to attend training. The costs are “indirect”, i.e. the cost of having someone away from their desk on training. For attendance at external courses, the HR Division has budgets to accommodate attendance. Partially-Implemented
Administrator	Administration Load	Following analysis and investigation of the specific circumstances of the Department, HoDs should be provided with such administrative support including departmental managers, administrators, secretaries and receptionists so as to be able to administer the department appropriately. Specific attention should be given to the appointment of Deputy HoDs and/or departmental managers and/or academic sectional heads, especially in large (staff and/or student) departments.	Cost of departmental manager, administrators, secretaries and receptionists. Difficult to cost without knowing how or what staff are needed and at what level. Costs for Admin Managers have been outlined above. For grade 8 the minimum of the scale is R100, 402 and the mid-point is R125, 503. For grade 7 the minimum of the scale is R75, 918 and the mid-point if R94, 898. For grade 6 the minimum of the scale is R66, 016 and the mid-point is R82, 520. The size and complexity of the department would need to warrant this. The allowance paid to Deputy HoDs can be found on the Human Resources webpage. Partially-Implemented Partially-Implemented
Resourcer	Relationship with Support Divisions Currently, the priority of the HoD-initiated projects/requests seem to conflict with support function priorities.	A client service ethos is required from support functions regardless of the source of the request for support, that is, service should be the same for HoDs, professors, secretaries and technical staff. *[An analysis is required of current service delivery by support functions.]* New HoDs and departmental administrative staff should attend a presentation on the roles and responsibilities of the various support divisions (Registrar’s Division, Estates, Finance) to enhance HoD and departmental administrative staff institutional knowledge. The presentation should also be attended by representatives of the support divisions with whom HoDs and departmental administrative staff could network following the presentation. None None Not yet implemented Not yet implemented
Advocate	Institutional vs. Departmental Conflicts of Opinion	HoDs should seek opportunities to convey institutional concerns, imperatives and objectives to staff for inclusion in departmental discussions and decision-making.	None Partially-Implemented
Other	Teaching and Research Load – Currently, unless internal arrangements have been secured the HoD carries a normal teaching and research load	HoDs should be provided with such teaching and research assistants so as to enable HoDs to continue to contribute meaningfully to the teaching and research programme of the department in such a way that fellow staff workloads are not negatively impacted.	These costs are variable, depending on what is required and for how long. The key is to plan for these costs and get them into the budget. If this is accepted in principle then HoD should motivate together with the Dean for these resources.	Partially-Implemented
	Reward	HoDs should continue to be paid an allowance that makes the appointment sufficiently attractive (see point 3). The Dean of the Faculty should recommend HoDs for a merit bonus for heading departments well, i.e. exceeding expectations. Where the HoD is also the Dean, the recommendation should be from the Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Academic and Student Affairs. HoDs may make application for funds to assist them maintain a research profile (see document “Protocol to Govern the Allocation of Research Support Provided to Heads of Departments”) HoDs who meet expectations may make application for additional sabbatical leave (subject to usual academic leave conditions), over and above that which is earned in the normal course of events.	Cost of HoD allowance – already in place. Cost of merit bonus – amount to be determined – mechanisms for assessment need to be discussed and developed. To be determined on an ad hoc basis. Maximum amount available per HoD is 1000 hours per annum. To be determined on an ad hoc basis. Maximum amount of leave available per HoD is 1 month per completed year as HoD. The usual monies for academic leave will be allocated to the Department. Partially-Implemented Partially-Implemented Implemented Not yet implemented
	The role of the Dean in relation to the role of the HoD	The role (“job description”) of the Dean should be clarified and scoped in relation to the role of the HoD. This is of particular importance in single-department faculties where the Dean may or may not also be the HoD. Deans and HoDs should be in regular contact to facilitate information transferral, mentoring and support. Such contact would also facilitate identification of good practices and early detection of problems. The Dean of a faculty should convene a meeting each semester of all HoDs in their faculty to discuss matters of interest.	None None None Not yet implemented Not yet implemented Not yet implemented
	HoD Networking	An HoDs’ Forum comprising all HoDs should be established. The Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Academic and Student Affairs should convene a gathering of the Forum each semester. The format of the Forum should include a presentation on a topic of current interest to HoDs, followed by informal networking. The Forum should specifically exclude the need for formal agenda and minutes. Should the Forum wish to take up any matter formally, an ad hoc committee of HoDs should be constituted who should report to Senate.	None None Cost of refreshments for quarterly/semester get-together. None HoDs to bring their secretaries on a rotational basis. Not yet implemented Not yet implemented Not yet implemented Not yet implemented Not yet implemented

NOTE: The salary costs quoted in the above document are BASIC CASH numbers only. For the total cost to employer approximately 30% should be added to the basic cash number.