Self-assessment of people management in HEIs

To:

Heads of HEFCE-funded higher education institutions, Heads of universities in Northern Ireland

Dear Vice-Chancellor or Principal

1.   This letter reminds higher education institutions (HEIs) that the final deadline for submitting the results of their self-assessment is Friday 30 May 2008. Those HEIs that did the self-assessment in 2006 or 2007 do not need to respond.

2.   Self-assessment enables institutions to monitor their own progress in people management, while providing assurance to stakeholders that they are committed to continuous improvement. Where institutions can successfully demonstrate to us that they have assessed their people management practices, we will remove the conditions of grant attached to the funding awarded under the Rewarding and Developing Staff (R&DS) in higher education initiative. This funding will then be treated as part of the mainstream teaching grant.

3.   There are different methods of self-assessment. One is the self-assessment tool (SAT) available on the HEFCE web-site. The SAT was developed by the Universities Personnel Association and the Standing Conference of Principals Personnel Network specifically for assessing people management in HEIs. It has been streamlined into an easy-to-use workbook, which can be completed online.

4.   Our core requirements are set out below.

Timetable for completion

5.   Self-assessment of people management is being phased over three years (2006 to 2008); 64 HEIs have so far gone through the process. HEIs aiming to have the conditions on R&DS funding removed from August 2008 should submit the results of their self-assessment by 30 May 2008 at the latest. When we consulted with the sector about self-assessment, 85 per cent of respondents agreed that it would be reasonable to withhold R&DS funds if self-assessment had not been completed by May 2008 at the latest.

The self-assessment process and HEFCE's requirements

6.   About half the higher education (HE) sector has already completed the self-assessment process; in some cases HEIs did so in preparation for revising their human resources (HR) strategies. In other cases, self-assessment will result in the production of an action plan for future activity. The revised HR strategy or the action plan or some other way of demonstrating the outcomes of the exercise (whichever is relevant for your institution) should be sent to us, along with a short explanation of the self-assessment process undertaken. (This could be, for example, a brief report of no more than two sides, or a copy of the relevant agenda paper submitted to a governing body committee.) We do not expect to need any other information. However, we may ask for specific information to supplement the submission, such as more evidence of how the self-assessment process was independently validated. A summary of HEFCE requirements can be found on the HEFCE web-site. The same link will lead you to generic feedback, drawn from the submissions of HEIs in 2006 and 2007, plus a sample report which you may find helpful.

7.   If you have any queries about the process please contact Tracy Allan on 0117 931 7025 or e-mail t.allan@hefce.ac.uk.

Yours sincerely

Professor David Eastwood
Chief Executive

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