1. Introduction
The rules regarding required duties apply to all employees in an ordinary academic position (Professor, Associate Professor / Assistant Professor, Senior Lecturer and Lecturer) and persons employed as a PhD Candidate, Postdoctoral Fellow and Adjunct Professor. The numbers specified in the rules for teaching, grading and assessment also apply to short-term contracts for such work that are paid on an hourly basis (part-time teachers, assistant teachers, external examiners, and members of assessment committees).
The academic management (Head of Department) at the unit is responsible for ensuring compliance with the rules regarding required duties. The Head of Department is also responsible for fair distribution of the workload among the employees. This responsibility means that the distribution of tasks is within the employer's managerial prerogative, and that all duties to be recorded in the accounts must be agreed in advance with the Head of Department or his/her representative.
Particular attention must be drawn to the fact that also work outside the faculty must be approved by the Head of Department in advance in order to be counted towards the required duties completed at the department.
Staff must be on site at the university during working hours, unless special reasons indicate that the work should take place elsewhere; such work must be agreed with the Head of Department after he/she assesses its academic merits. It will then be counted towards the normal required duties.
Paid research leave is considered a PhD Candidate period, and is not included in the normal distribution of required duties. The consecutive period of time that can be spent on pure research is regulated by the rules in the faculty's Supplementary rules regarding granting of research leave. The exceptions to the normal distribution of required duties also apply to managers.
2. Plans and reports
2.1. Work plans
Work plans must be drawn up for each member of the academic staff. They must cover research, dissemination, any data collection activities, professional development, teaching and administration of a scope appropriate to each category of position.
At the beginning of the year, part of the work plans will normally form part of the department's teaching plans.
2.2. Recording teaching and administration hours
Teaching (including supervision and assessment of doctoral work) and administration (including assessment of positions) are the required duties for which hours must be recorded. Teaching and administration are documented by means of the department's administration completing forms that show which tasks have been completed by whom. Completed forms are presented to the employees, who can add information or correct the details listed. The forms are finally signed by the employee and the department's management.
Each employee's hourly accounts should virtually balance over time. 'Virtual balance' for teaching permits a surplus/deficit corresponding to one semester's teaching requirement. If an employee's teaching accounts deviate from the required duties by more than the limit for a virtual balance, the virtual balance must be restored within one year by performing more or less teaching and/or administrative duties. There is a ceiling on the registration of surplus hours of two semesters of teaching requirement. Hours in excess of this cannot be recorded in the accounts.
Employees who enter a research sabbatical with more than a virtual balance will have their excess reduced to a virtual balance at the end of the sabbatical, as all hours in excess of one semester's teaching requirement will be struck out.
There is no financial remuneration for surplus hours.
2.3. Research, dissemination, data collection activities and professional development
Hours are not recorded for this part of the required duties. All relevant academic activities must be reported in the national FRIDA research database. Units that organize data collection draw up their own guidelines for reporting such activities.
If it becomes clear that an employee is not fulfilling or is unable to fulfil their research requirement, the local employer may impose a greater teaching or administrative requirement.
2.4. Managers, leave, buy-outs and research sabbaticals
The following applies to employees on leave from their ordinary position or who have been bought out from all or part of their required duties in order to perform management tasks, take a research sabbatical or participate in a project:
- Records are not kept of required duties associated with teaching and administration for employees on research sabbatical, on full leave or who have been fully bought out to participate in a project. Any teaching, in the form of supervision, can be given on a limited basis, and without keeping a record of required duties if the employee requests this.
- In special cases, the Head of Department may grant an exception to this rule by keeping records of the hours for employees on full leave, on research sabbatical or who have a full buy-out until the total surplus corresponds to one semester of surplus time.
- A general exception is granted to the previous rule for Master's students who were admitted before the research sabbatical, buy-out or leave, and who take an examination during the period of the supervisor's research sabbatical, buy-out or leave. Credit will be granted for examinations taken during the period of the research sabbatical, buy-out or leave until the total surplus corresponds to one semester of surplus time (see the guidelines for credit below).
- Surplus hours of up to one semester of teaching requirement earned before a period of management, research sabbatical or buy-out for project participation may be transferred to after the period of management, research sabbatical or project participation.
- Surplus hours can only be reduced after the end of the management period for managers who have been fully bought out or who are on leave from teaching and administration. In other words, leave cannot be taken from the management period in order to reduce surplus hours.
- It is within the employer's managerial prerogative to distribute buy-out from positions between research and teaching duties, and for this to follow an assessment of the department's total needs.
3. Definitions
Definition of tasks within the required duties:
- Research – own research, and planning and facilitation of own research. Professional development.
- Teaching – teaching, preparation and after-work in connection with own teaching, examination work, supervision of students, including doctoral students, assessment of doctoral theses, continuing education and distance learning.
- Administration – the academic community's planning of teaching and research, assessment of applicants for academic positions at their institution, required participation on ad hoc?committees, boards and councils.
- Dissemination – sharing of knowledge of scientific methods and results, and documentation from data collection activities.
- Data collection activities include collection and registration of material and immaterial forms of cultural expression and research, and dissemination in these areas. Such activities can comprise all or part of a position.
4. Academic positions – required duties
The required duties for academic staff in full-time positions amount to net working hours of 37.5 hours per week, 7.5 hours per day, or 1695 hours per year for employees under the age of 60 (with a deduction for 5 weeks of holiday and movable public holidays). This corresponds to 1657.5 hours per year for employees who turn 60 by 1 September of the holiday year (with a deduction for 6 weeks of holiday and movable public holidays).
The required duties are distributed as follows:
4.1 For persons employed as a Professor, Associate Professor, Assistant Professor, and in research positions with a teaching requirement:
- Required duties: 1695 hours (1657.5 hours)
- Research/dissemination: 45–47%* = 763–797 hours (746–779 hours)
- Teaching: 45–47% = 763–797 hours (746–779 hours)
- Administration: 6–10% = 102–170 hours (99–166 hours)
For employees over the age of 62 (deduction for an extra week of holiday and twelve 7.5-hour days):
- Required duties: 1567.5 hours
- Research/dissemination: 45–47%* = 705–737 hours
- Teaching: 45–47% = 705–737 hours
- Administration: 6–10% = 94–157 hours
4.2. For persons employed as a Professor, Associate Professor, Assistant Professor, and in research positions with data collection functions (the distribution key may differ according to the department):
- Required duties: 1695 hours (1657.5 hours)
- Research/dissemination: 45% = 763 hours (746 hours)
- Data collection/storage: 45% = 763 hours (746 hours)
- Administration: 10% = 170 hours (166 hours)
For employees over the age of 62 (deduction for an extra week of holiday and twelve 7.5-hour days):
- Required duties: 1567.5 hours
- Research/dissemination: 45%* = 705 hours
- Data collection/storage: 45% = 705 hours
- Administration: 10% = 157 hours
4.3. For persons employed as a Senior Lecturer or Lecturer:
- Required duties: 1695 hours (1657.5 hours)
- Teaching: 75% = 1271 hours (1243 hours)
- Administration: 6% = 102 hours (99 hours)
- Professional development: 19% = 322 hours (315 hours)
For employees over the age of 62 (deduction for an extra week of holiday and twelve 7.5-hour days):
- Required duties: 1567.5 hours
- Teaching: 75% = 1176 hours
- Administration: 6% = 94 hours
- Professional development: 19% = 298 hours
4.4. For persons employed as a Adjunct Professor
The position of Adjunct Professor comprises a net 339 (331) hours of work per year, or 20% of a full-time position, on a contract of a fixed duration. The required duties are regulated according to the contract entered into between the department and the Adjunct Professor regarding distribution of working hours between teaching, supervision, examination work, assessment work, participation in research projects etc.
4.5. PhD Candidates and persons employed as a Postdoctoral Fellow
The working year for PhD Candidates corresponds to the working year for employees in academic positions; i.e. 37.5 net working hours per week and 5 weeks' holiday.
PhD Candidates with a contract of a maximum 3 years do not have required duties. All PhD Candidates who submit their thesis for assessment with a written recommendation from their supervisor within 3 or 3? years of the beginning of the PhD Candidate period will be offered a 12 or 6-month completion grant.
Postdoctoral Fellows: In order to prevent the impediment of research, the required duties are limited to 25% of the position for postdoctoral fellows with a contract of more than three years. For contracts of more than two years and up to three years, the required duties are limited to 10% of the position.
The foundation for calculating hours of work is the same numbers that are applied to employees in academic positions. In addition, PhD Candidates are credited with two extra full hours per hour of teaching (single session) for teaching preparation.
PhD Candidates without required duties are compensated for participation on boards and councils (through an extended PhD Candidate period).
5. Teaching
5.1. Creating and revising courses
a) New courses:
A course is defined as new when faculty approval is required. The department must have ordered the employee to create the new course, and will give credit when the course is first offered. The tasks include writing the course description (academic content and learning outcomes), reading list / syllabus, and teaching and assessment plan.
- Creating a new course: 50 hours
b) Major course revision:
This applies to revisions that entail comprehensive changes to learning outcomes and the teaching plan. The department must have ordered the employee to perform this work, and it must be so comprehensive that it cannot be delegated to the study administration. Credit will be given the first time the course is offered after the revision. Minor ongoing changes must be made on the initiative of the course coordinator, and are considered part of the ordinary work of teaching. This also applies to revisions that serve as follow-up of the interim evaluation.
- Major course revision: 25 hours
5.2. Duties when the course is offered
5.2.1. Credit for the academic course coordinator:
Each course offered must have an academic course coordinator who will write a detailed teaching plan, coordinate lectures, seminars and groups, draw up exercises, qualification tasks and examinations, receive answer papers and organise feedback. Organization of visits to museums, minor excursions, etc. is part of the duties. The course coordinator is also responsible for carrying out and following up the assessments required by the quality assurance system.
- Responsibility for courses, including quality assurance: 10 hours
- Examen philosophicum: Each teacher receives credit for 10 hours as the course coordinator of their groups.
- Excursions: Major excursions should be organized as dedicated courses that award credits. 20 hours of credit are awarded to the course coordinator.
When a course has more than 25 students, the seminar teaching must be organized in parallel groups. When this acquires a certain level of complexity, the academic coordination of the groups will require extra work.
- Supplement for coordinating parallel 25-student groups: 5 hours
When forms of teaching that incorporate IT are used, credit will be granted in cases where the necessary technical facilitation is not performed by the administration. This may include building the course space in the Class