STUDY TIME

4.14.2.1 Staff Studying on a Part Time Basis

Study time may be granted at full pay to staff who are studying on a part time basis.

It is not to be granted to a person to attend a course organised essentially for full time students or which, in later stages, requires full time attendance.

4.14.2.2 Power to Grant or Refuse

The grant of study time is subject to the relevance of the course and Departmental convenience. The Director-General has the power to grant, and to refuse, study time.

4.14.2.3 Eligibility

All permanent and long term temporary staff, both full and part time are eligible to apply.

4.14.2.4 Departmental Convenience

The approval of study time will be at Departmental convenience with consideration of such factors as proposed absences, combination of study time with other types of leave and maintenance of service at the school.

4.14.2.5 Use of Study Time

Study time may be used for:

a) attending compulsory lectures, tutorials, residential schools, field days etc. where these are held during working hours; and/or

b) necessary travel during working hours to attend lectures, tutorials etc. held during or outside working hours; and/or

c) private study; and/or

d) accumulation, as outlined in Section 4.15.2.18 4.14.2.6 Study Time Arrangements

While study time may be used for any of these purposes, the actual arrangements must be negotiated between the staff member and the principal.

4.14.2.7 Courses Eligible for Study Time

4 LEAVE

Handbook for non teaching staff in schools 2007 Page 4 - 74

Courses for which study time is granted should meet the following criteria:

a) i) lead to a recognised qualification; or ii) be a TAFE special course; or iii) be a bridging/qualifying course; or

iv) be an incidental subject which forms part of a course for which study time would be available, where the incidental subject is of relevance to the Department or service.

b) i) be administered by a public institution; or

ii) be accredited by the Recognition Services Directorate of the Department of Education and Training; or

iii) lead to membership of a registered professional organisation.

c) be able to be taken on a part time basis.

4.14.2.8 More than One Course Studied at the One Time

Study time may be granted for more than one course at the same time, provided that the two courses together result in a part time load and the resulting attendance pattern is convenient to the Department. Regardless of the number of courses studied at one time, the maximum grant remains four hours per week, as outlined in Section 4.15.2.9.

4.14.2.9 Calculation of Study Time Grant

Half an hour is granted for every hour of class attendance required, up to a maximum grant of four hours per week.

Where there are block attendance requirements or field days, the grant is calculated by:

a) totalling the attendance requirement, in hours, for the semester;

b) dividing this amount by two; and

c) dividing this by the number of weeks in the semester that lectures are held.

This amount, or four hours, whichever is the lesser, is the weekly amount granted.

4.14.2.10 Additional Leave

Where the grant outlined in Section 4.15.2.9 is insufficient to cover essential absences, the necessary extra leave should be granted. Additional leave which, together with leave granted under Section 4.15.2.9, totals four hours or less does not have to be made up. Leave of more than four hours per week must be made up.

4 LEAVE

Handbook for non teaching staff in schools 2007 Page 4 - 75

4.14.2.11 Making Up Time

In all cases, the arrangement for making up time must be negotiated with the principal. Where such an arrangement is being negotiated, the following factors should be considered:

a) nature of the duties;

b) needs of the workplace;

c) whether additional leave granted can be made up before the next grant;

d) use of other forms of leave to offset the additional study time where making it up is impractical.

4.14.2.12 Part Time Staff Members

Part time staff members are granted leave on a pro rata basis.

4.14.2.13 Daily Contract Hours to be Worked

Staff members who are taking study time on any particular day must work contract hours on that day. For example, a staff member who is entitled to two hours study time on a Wednesday afternoon, must ensure that he or she works the remainder of their daily contract hours before proceeding on study time.

4.14.2.14 Classes not Attended

Study time is not to be taken on any week when classes are not attended. If a staff member attends more than one class, the weekly study time should be reduced correspondingly when one of those classes is not attended.

4.14.2.15 Study Time not Taken at the Nominated Time

Study time is an expendable grant which if not used at the nominated time, is lost. If an emergency situation occurs, a person may have to give up their normal study time. If circumstances allow, however, such time may be granted on another day during the same week.

4.14.2.16 Accrual During Other Leave

Study time does not accrue during any other form of leave.

4.14.2.17 Repeated Subjects

Study time is not available for repeated subjects unless evidence can be provided that failure to successfully complete the subject at first attempt was caused by circumstances outside the staff member's control. A staff member attending repeat subjects during working hours, for which study time has not been granted, must make up all the time taken off in attending those subjects.

4 LEAVE

Handbook for non teaching staff in schools 2007 Page 4 - 76

4.14.2.18 Accumulation

Subject to Departmental convenience:

a) staff members may choose to accumulate part or all of their study time;

b) accumulated study time may be taken in any pattern or at any time.

4.14.2.19 Correspondence Courses – Basis of Grant

Correspondence students are granted study time in the manner outlined in Section 4.14.2.9. That is, half an hour for each hour of lecture or tutorial attendance involved in the corresponding face-to-face course, up to a maximum grant of four hours per week. Where there is no corresponding face-to-face course, the institution should be asked to indicate what the attendance requirements would be if such a course existed.

4.14.2.20 Compulsory Residential Schools

Correspondence students may accumulate their study time as outlined in Section 4.14.2.18 in order to cover any compulsory residential schools.

4.14.2.21 Correspondence Courses – Eligibility

Subject to the provisions of Section 4.14.2.18, study time is available for any one subject studied by correspondence for only one academic year.

4.14.2.22 Courses Requiring Block Attendance

Some courses, such as psychology and social welfare, require substantial block attendance to allow students to undertake compulsory practical work experience.

4.14.2.23 Block Grants

A block grant may be made, either in addition to or instead of study time accumulating under Section 4.14.2.9, where the Department is satisfied that:

a) block attendance is compulsory;

b) the usual study time grant is inadequate; and

c) the course is of significant value and therefore warrants a different kind of grant.

4.14.2.24 Maximum Period of Block Grants

Block periods of study time may be granted as follows:

a) up to ten days study time may be granted in addition to the grant outlined in Section 4.14.2.9; or

b) up to twenty days study time may be granted instead of the grant outlined in Section 4.14.2.9.

4 LEAVE

Handbook for non teaching staff in schools 2007 Page 4 - 77

4.14.2.25 Study Time Granted for the Whole Course

In some circumstances, it may be more appropriate to grant an amount of study time for the whole course, which can then be taken according to the needs of the staff member and Departmental convenience. In such cases, the average yearly study time taken should not be more than ten days if taken in accordance with Section 4.14.2.24 a) or twenty days if taken in accordance with Section 4.14.2.24 b).

4.14.2.26 The Application Process

Staff members who wish to apply for study time should formally apply through their principal to the Employee Services Bathurst as early as possible. Where study time has been granted, staff members should give reasonable notice of the program for each year or semester and their proposed pattern of leave. This will allow any negotiations to be completed before the academic year or semester begins.