Time Allocation Survey: Activity codes

Detailed list of TAS activity codes

This information is available to download in spreadsheet (.xlsx) format here

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What is included in a particular category?

T1: Support and administration for teaching activities

Administrative and clerical work relevant to teaching, such as:

Photocopying lecture notes
Timetabling
Preparing exam timetables
Preparing exam papers
Exam boards
Preparing course prospectuses
Schools liaison/outreach
Interviewing prospective students
Committees related to teaching
Learning teaching skills
Attending training courses about teaching skills
Widening participation activity
Pastoral support and care
Teaching systems and software
Work with OfS
Improving access to higher education
Operating or maintaining teaching equipment or systems
Learning technologists
Writing reference letters for ex-students
Market research to improve student recruitment
Examinations Officer
Supporting student welfare
Employability lead - supporting students to find careers
Employability projects
Meeting with careers service
Personal tutor meeting
Preparing lab practicals
Demonstrating
Preparing equipment for examinations
Open days
Marketing and events (for example for prospective students)
Resolving student complaints
Discipline and unfair means
Learning and Teaching committees
Academic and professional review meetings
Study skills training for students
Training and supervision of post graduate taught students
Student lifecycle project
Developing software to support teaching
Training students to use equipment and software
ELTC co-ordinator
Teaching quality assurance e.g. related to TEF

T1 also includes any special non-departmental assignments of a temporary nature, such as service on a University committee or devotion to a task relevant to teaching. Where this work benefits research or other activities as well as teaching, try to apportion the time between support and administration for teaching, support and administration for research & support for other activities as you think is appropriate. Where such assignments cannot be attributed to teaching, research, or other activities, it should be counted under section G1: General support, administration and management.

Other examples of support and administration for teaching activities include:

Academic exchanges involving block time in other institutions, for example relating to development of teaching materials or skills, potential collaboration on syllabus content or student exchanges
Advancement of personal knowledge and skills related to teaching, eg through training courses, attending professional development courses
Accreditation boards for courses would come under support and administration for teaching.

T2, T3 and T4: Undergraduate and taught postgraduate teaching

T2, T3 and T4 specifically includes: Undergraduate and taught postgraduate teaching, this includes all award and credit-bearing courses and taught postgraduate courses. Include here EU educational programmes such as Erasmus and Tempus.

T2 to T5 Teaching activities include:

Preparing materials for lectures, seminars, workshops, tutorials and laboratory classes or projects; organising fieldwork, or external placements for students.
Programme Development
Delivering lectures, seminars, workshops and tutorials
Supervising laboratory classes, or student or class projects
Other contact time with students on educational matters, including counselling, visiting students on external placements, attendance at fieldwork activities
Providing formal courses to other departments or Universities, where these are part of the department's normal teaching programme
Assessment work - setting and marking examination papers, assessing student theses, essays and project work, external examining for other institutions.
Writing text books and similar publications intended primarily for teaching purposes. (In some disciplines research, done for its own sake, may lead to the writing of a teaching text, in which case put the research time in section R.)
Course Development
Laboratory group meetings involving taught students
Communicating with distance learning students

T5: Teaching of non-credit bearing courses (incl. short courses)

T5 specifically includes:

Providing short courses including CPD courses
Teaching services delivered externally
Courses held overseas and any other teaching for external organisations.

T2 to T5 Teaching activities include:

Preparing materials for lectures, seminars, workshops, tutorials and laboratory classes or projects; organising fieldwork, or external placements for students
Delivering lectures, seminars, workshops and tutorials
Supervising laboratory classes, or student or class projects
Other contact time with students on educational matters, including counselling, visiting students on external placements, attendance at fieldwork activities
Providing formal courses to other departments or Universities, where these are part of the department's normal teaching programme
Assessment work - setting and marking examination papers, assessing student theses, essays and project work, external examining for other institutions
Writing text books and similar publications intended primarily for teaching purposes. (In some disciplines research, done for its own sake, may lead to the writing of a teaching text, in which case put the research time in section R.)
Course Development
Communicating with distance learning students

R1: Support and administration for research activities

For the purposes of this review research must be classified in accordance with the 1994 Frascati Manual. A fuller definition of what constitutes research can be found by clicking here: Link to definitions.

This section would include support for activities in categories R2 to R7, such as:

Posting invoices to research accounts
Attending general research meetings
Drafting proposals for bids to external bodies and negotiating resulting contracts
Advisory work for Government departments or committees if unpaid and where it enhances or potentially benefits your research work [Note: paid advisory work should be included in section O]
Exceptional time spent in a given year on procurement of special research equipment, such as liaison with suppliers over specifications for custom made items, installation and commissioning of the equipment
Administrative and clerical work including departmental or University committee work, faculty tasks, etc., where relevant to research. (Note general management, administrative, clerical or committee work not specifically supporting teaching, research, or other activities should be counted under section G1 of the form.)
Editing professional journals, if unpaid
Refereeing research papers
Research quality assurance e.g. related to REF
External advisory work if it benefits research work and is unpaid
Procurement of research equipment
Operating or maintaining research equipment or systems that are not project specific
Laboratory group meetings not connected to a specific project
Assisting post docs in research if not connected to a specific project
Preparing research grant applications
Reviewing our research grant applications
Work for a research grant award panel
Preparing materials for research
Networking for research
Organising research impact workshop or conference
Improving research impact
Knowledge exchange
The following, if carried out to help prepare for a grant application: Recording experiment results, Collecting data, Analysing data, Analysing experimental results or Developing software to support research
Providing technical support within a hub
Advising on research application including informal input
Attending research seminars and group meetings
Reviewing research documentation if not connected to a specific project

R2: Internally funded research i.e. University of Sheffield funded

We need to record separately the time spent on research, whether identified as a specific project or not, where there is no external sponsor. In some departments this forms a high proportion of the total time spent on research. The resources for this work essentially derive from use of paid time and University equipment, consumables and other resources. Where relatively small amounts of external support are involved (eg a few hundred pounds) compared with the total costs of the research, count it as own-funded (R2).

Internally funded research includes any speculative research, for example to investigate novel ideas or to assess their potential before preparing a grant or contract bid to a sponsor. By its nature some own-funded research work may simply abort and does not lead to publications or external project bids. However, own-funded research is an important academic activity.

Note that for such work to be included in categories R2 to R7 the work must have an output, for example an internal report. If there is no output this work should appear under S1, scholarship.

Research time spent on collaborative work with another University department or another University off-site should be built into the time for either internally-funded work or externally sponsored work, as appropriate. It counts as direct research activity whose costs are attributable to your department.

Research for government QUANGOs would come under UK Government funded research.

Research for non-departmental government bodies, such as the Environment Agency would come under R4: Research funded by UK Government bodies.

Please note that time you spend supervising postgraduate research students is to be shown separately under category P2.

Activities in category R2 could include:

Collaborative research work, depending on the nature of the funding
Writing research reports or papers that are not sponsored
Clinical trials Phase I if not funded
Clinical trials Phase II if not funded
Research project management
Research work resulting in an output
Writing research papers or reports
Advising on an active research project

Activities in category R3 to R7 (Depends on research sponsor) could include:

Funded research work
Recruitment and supervision of staff for research project
Attending or organising research conferences or meetings relating to a specific funded project
Research funded by a bequest would be recorded as R7: UK Industry & Other sponsors including overseas bodies

C1: Support and administration for Clinical Services and C2: Clinical Services provided to the NHS (excluding "on call" time)

If you are involved in providing these services to the NHS, normally under knock-for-knock arrangements or with your salary costs being reimbursed by the Trust based on the number of hours provided, please put your hours spent during the week on Clinical Services under section C2.

In the Dental School, however, the primary purpose of sessions should be considered. E.g. if the primary purpose of a session is to supervise students carrying out clinical procedures, to teach students how to carry out clinical procedures, or to demonstrate to students certain clinical procedures, your time in this session should be apportioned to teaching.

Please do not include time spent "on call" when estimating the figure for C2 as this should not be recorded in the survey at all.

Any administration or management of clinical activity, support work specifically relating to Clinical Services, NHS services or hospital management should be recorded under C1. Attendance at professional clinical meetings or work on professional committees would also be recorded under C1.

Please note that work done for the NHS for which there is an identifiable income stream other than your salary costs being reimbursed by the Trust should be included in O2, Other University activities.

Other C2: Clinical services are:

Clinical Services
Examination of patients
Diagnosis of patients
Treatment of patients
Referring patients
Reviewing patient notes
Do not include time in the survey for Clinical 'on call' time
For travel time, allocate the same code as the main purpose of the travel.

O1: Support and administration for Other University activities

Support for other activities includes:

Booking room for presentation of consultancy work
Administrative and clerical tasks relating to consultancy and other services
Drafting bids for externally funded work (not research or teaching)
Unpaid technology transfer work (eg supporting patent applications, licence negotiations, formation of start-up company).
Negotiating contracts for non-research work
Preparing bids for non-research work

Please include support for clinical services (if applicable) separately in C1: Support and administration for Clinical Services.

O2: Other University activities

Include here any activities which are neither teaching nor research but which are carried out in University time and have an identifiable income stream. For example:

Consultancy, including Consultancy for the NHS that is separately funded (this does not include normal clinical work)
Technology transfer work, if remunerated, such as directorships of start-up companies, and/or consultancy contracts for the companies. (If such work is not remunerated, the time spent should be included in support for other activities.)

Other services rendered including:

Work undertaken in University time and paid for by non-academic departments or units (such as residences, University Sport or catering)
Advisory work (including advisory work for government departments or committees), if remunerated. This includes time on services to Research Council committees.
Note: Time on unpaid work of this type should be allocated to support for teaching, research or other activities, or a combination of these where appropriate
Commissioned professional work (e.g. editing a journal for remuneration).
Working for a professional body, if renumerated
Routine testing for external organisation

and for Medical/Dentistry (and Nursing if applicable) Departments only:

Phase III Clinical Trials (Note: To reflect NHS conventions, only Phase III counts as other services rendered (O2). Phases I & II Clinical Trials are to be counted under section R4).

Exclude from section O time spent on private consultancy (or any other private work) which is done in private time.

Time spent on residences and catering work.

Time spent on conferences for which there is an identifiable income stream should be shown under O2.

G1: General support, administration and management

This section covers time spent on support activities, including administrative and clerical duties, which cannot be attributed to support and administration for teaching, research or other activities, such as internal management duties, for example:

Safety Officer
Health & Safety
Training on new financial system
Inputting information onto database that does not specifically support teaching, research or other activities
Internal databases
Completing sickness returns
Attending and taking minutes at departmental committee meeting on health and sickness
Administrative work which cannot be assigned specifically to teaching or research
Committees not specifically related to teaching or research
Purchasing, commissioning and maintaining computer systems which cannot be assigned specifically to teaching or research
Sickness management
Departmental planning (not linked to research or teaching)
Managing the estate
General staff management
Department management
Arranging and/or attending general departmental meetings.
Faculty management
Faculty meetings
Inspections by Government bodies and training staff, unless connected specifically to research or teaching
Mentoring colleagues
Attending or preparing for Senate meeting
SRDS review
Recruiting staff
Working on websites and blogs, unless it supports a specific activity, in which case code as T1, R1 or O1
General administration support
Staff development
One to ones, catchups, and other meetings between managers and staff
Completing probation form for new member of staff
Work related to the One University Pillar
Work related to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI), unless it supports a specific activity, in which case code as T1, R1 or O1

Section G1 also includes committee work, for example:

Finance
Planning & resources.

Also include under section G1 advisory work for Government and advisory work for professional bodies which is not attributable to teaching, research or other activities.

S1: Scholarship, professional development & research without an output

Research that does not result in an internal or external output, such as a report
Reading literature
Attending or organising professional conferences, if not research
Maintaining professional or clinical skills
Thinking time
Attending or supporting learned societies
Attending reading groups
Attending general seminars

P1: Support & administration specifically for PGR students

Admissions for PGR students
Progress monitoring PGR students
Promoting PGR recruitment
Generating publicity for PGR activity

P2: Training & supervision of PGR students

Review of PGR theses
Supervision of PGR research work
Assisting PGR students in labs or clinical work
Assisting PGR research work
Examination of PGR students
Teaching PhDs (PGRs)

How to allocate a particular activity?
(Arranged alphabetically)

Accreditation bodies, interaction with
T1 Support and administration for teaching.

Administration
Depends on the nature of the activity. If supporting teaching or research then code as T1, or R1, otherwise code as general support (G1)

Admissions work
T1 Support and administration for teaching.

Annual leave
Holidays should be recorded in the appropriate box near the top of the form. If you were on holiday for the whole 7 days required by your time allocation survey, you would return a form with no hours on; however, please fill in the Holidays box in the top section of the form. Time on private work carried out in personal time should be excluded.

Assessment of projects/dissertations
T2, T3 or T4 Undergraduate and postgraduate teaching.

Assessment of students on placement
T2, T3 or T4 Undergraduate and postgraduate teaching.

Attending or organising Conferences for teaching
T1: Support and administration for teaching

Attending or organising research Conferences
R1: Support and administration for Research. If research paper is being presented, preparation & presentation time should be included. Time travelling to the conference should also be included. Time outside formal sessions should be treated as private time & therefore not recorded.

Bank holiday
Bank holidays and other Statutory Holidays should be counted as holiday on the TAS form.

Building relationships with external partners
If the primary purpose relates to teaching or research then code as T1 or R1. Otherwise O1.

Careers advice for taught students
T1 Support and administration for teaching.

Clinical services
C2: Clinical Services provided to the NHS
Medical/Dental (and Nursing if applicable) schools only.

Clinical Trials
Phases I and II are Research. Phase III is O2: Other University activities

Collaborating - Non Research - External
T5: Teaching of non-credit bearing courses (incl. short courses).

Collaborating - Teaching
T2, T3 or T4: Undergraduate and postgraduate teaching.

Collaborating - Research
R2 to R7: Depends on research sponsor.

Commercial teaching
T5: Teaching of non-credit bearing courses (incl. short courses).

Committee membership - Department
G1 General support, administration and management, if the committee is not specifically supporting teaching or research. The prime purpose of committee will determine category.

Committee membership - University
G1 General support, administration and management, if the committee is not specifically supporting teaching or research. The prime purpose of committee will determine category.

Committee work supporting research
R1: Support and administration for Research.

Committee work supporting teaching
T1 Support and administration for teaching.

Consultancy
O2: Other University activities, if University receives income O1: Support and administration for other activities, in no income received

Consultancy - Private outside University time
Do not record time on time allocation schedule.

Continuing Professional Development (personal)
S1: Scholarship unless the skills acquired relate directly to your teaching or research in which case time would be classified under. T1 :Support and administration for teaching or R1 Support and administration for research.

Counselling students
T1: Support and administration for teaching

Course module reviews
T1: Support and administration for teaching.

Covering for absent staff
Classify the activity as you would it it were your own activity.

Credit bearing courses
T2, T3 or T4: Undergraduate and postgraduate teaching.

Curriculum Development
T1: Support and administration for teaching.

Drafting project proposals
R1: Support and administration for Research.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) work
G1: General support, administration and management unless it supports a specific activity, in whihch case code as T1, R1 or O1.

ERASMUS
T2, T3 or T4: Undergraduate and postgraduate teaching.

Exam boards
T1: Support and administration for teaching.

Examining
T2, T3 or T4: Undergraduate and postgraduate teaching
or T5: Teaching of non-credit bearing courses (incl. short courses).

Flexi leave
Record as holiday in the appropriate box near the top of the form.

Gaining new skills
S1: Scholarship unless the skills acquired are specifically to support teaching or research in which case the time would be classified as T1 Support and administration for teaching or R1: Support and administration for research.

Giving students support and advice
T1: Support and administration for teaching

Holding Seminars for students
T2, T3 or T4: Undergraduate and postgraduate teaching or
T5: Teaching of non-credit bearing courses (incl. short courses).

Holiday
Holidays should be recorded in the appropriate box near the top of the form. If you were on holiday for the whole 7 days required by your time allocation survey, you would return a form with no hours on; however, please fill in the Holidays box in the top section of the form. Time on private work carried out in personal time should be excluded.

Information returns or statistical returns
G1 General support, administration and management.

Interviewing prospective students
T1: Support and administration for teaching

Invigilation of exams
T2, T3 or T4: Undergraduate and postgraduate teaching
or T5: Teaching of non-credit bearing courses (incl. short courses).

Lectures - award bearing courses
T2, T3 or T4: Undergraduate and postgraduate teaching.

Lectures - non award bearing
T5: Teaching of non-credit bearing courses (incl. short courses).

Marking
T2, T3 or T4: Undergraduate and postgraduate teaching or
T5: Teaching of non-credit bearing courses (incl. short courses).

Marking course work
T2, T3 or T4: Undergraduate and postgraduate teaching or
T5: Teaching of non-credit bearing courses (incl. short courses).

Marking exams
T2, T3 or T4: Undergraduate and postgraduate teaching or
T5: Teaching of non-credit bearing courses (incl. short courses).

Mentoring students
T2, T3 or T4: Undergraduate and postgraduate teaching or
T5: Teaching of non-credit bearing courses (incl. short courses).

Non credit bearing courses
T5: Teaching of non-credit bearing courses (incl. short courses).

Non award bearing short courses
T5: Teaching of non-credit bearing courses (incl. short courses).

One University work
G1: General support, administration and management.

Overseas courses/collaboration
T2, T3 or T4: Undergraduate and postgraduate teaching (for credit bearing provision, e.g. overseas distance learning) or
T5: Teaching of non-credit bearing courses (incl. short courses).

Part time
If your appointment is part time, please fill in the correct box at the top of the form with what proportion of full time you work. For example, you may work 50% (half time) or 20% etc. Then complete the rest of the form with the hours you actually worked during your survey week. Alternatively, you can complete the number of hours you are contracted to work and leave the % time box empty.

Photocopying lecture notes
T1: Support and administration for teaching.

Preparing materials for lectures
T2, T3 or T4: Undergraduate and postgraduate teaching or T5: Teaching of non-credit bearing courses (incl. short courses).

Professional development relating to teaching
T1: Support and administration for teaching

Publicity for research
R1: Support and administration for Research.

Publicity for teaching
T1 Support and administration for teaching.

Preparing for REF
R1: Support and administration for research.

Professional services staff
Professional services staff play a crucial role in delivering departments' activities.
Normally the activity will be coded as a supporting role.
If possible please attribute time to supporting a specific activity:
Support and administration for teaching (T1), for example helping to recruit students
Support and administration for research (R1), for example helping with a research grant application
Support and administration for other activities (O1), for example helping with a consultancy project
If it isn't possible to identify a specific activity, for general department administration, this should be coded as
General support, administration and management (G1).

Public Engagement or Knowledge Exchange
In principle public engagement activity should be coded according to the primary purpose of the activity. This may relate to the University's mission to widen participation in further education and therefore be T1: Support for teaching, even if the activity includes telling the wider public about the results arising from research activity. On the other hand, if the public engagement forms part of a research project, for example if public engagement is specifically included in the research award or funded through HEIF research funds, it should be treated as research activity and coded accordingly. If there is a sponsor it should be coded against the relevant research sponsor in categories R3 to R7. If there is no sponsor it should be coded as R1: Support for research.

Quality assurance
G1 General support, administration and management.

Recruitment of students
T1: Support and administration for teaching.

Refereeing papers
R1: Support and administration for research.

Research exchange schemes
R1: Support and administration for research.

Research with multiple funding sources
Research activities need to be split into the categories shown on the time allocation survey. If there is more than one source of funding, pro rata the hours against the appropriate headings based on the funding proportions.

Research with split funding sources
Research activities need to be split into the categories shown on the time allocation survey. If there is more than one source of funding, pro rata the hours against the appropriate headings based on the funding proportions.

Schools liaison and outreach
T1: Support and administration for teaching.

School visits
T1: Support and administration for teaching.

Secondment (or academic exchanges with other universities for teaching activities)
T1: Support and administration for teaching.

Sick leave
Sick leave should be recorded in the appropriate box near the top of the form. If you were on sick leave for the whole 7 days required by your time allocation survey, you would return a form with no hours on; however, please fill in the box in the top section of the form.

SOCRATES/ERASMUS
T2, T3 or T4: Undergraduate and postgraduate teaching.

Supervision of Postgraduate Research Students
P2: Training and supervision of Postgraduate Research Students.

Teaching CPD courses
T5: Teaching of non-credit bearing courses (incl. short courses).

Teaching for any external organisations
T5: Teaching of non-credit bearing courses (incl. short courses).

Teaching non-credit bearing courses
T5: Teaching of non-credit bearing courses (incl. short courses).

Teaching of Continuing Professional Development courses
T5: Short courses including externally funded CPD courses.

Teaching short courses
T5: Teaching of non-credit bearing courses (incl. short courses).

Technical support
If this relates to a specific activity it should be coded to support for Teaching, Research or Other (T1, R1, O1). If it is general support then code as G1.

TEMPUS
T2, T3 or T4: Undergraduate and postgraduate teaching.

Timetabling
T1: Support and administration for teaching.

TQA
T1: Support and administration for teaching.

What category does laboratory work (lab work)
Depends on the nature of the activity. If the work is on a specific research project then R2 to R7, depending on sponsor. If supporting research, but not a specific project, then R1. If supporting teaching T1. If general work, for example maintenance of equipment used for multiple purposes, then G1

Writing or responding to email
In principle you could code the time you spend on each email as teaching, research, other or general administration, depending on the nature of the email. However, unless you are spending a large amount of time dealing with emails on a particular topic, that would be an excessive burden. Therefore a pragmatic approach is acceptable. If you spend time on emails that are varied in nature, record the time as G1: General support, administration and management. (Please do not use O1 or O2: Other Activities as this is intended to cover activities that are funded through other sources, for example consultancy activity). If you spend a concentrated period of time dedicated to an email conversation on a specific area of activity, for example supporting an undergraduate student, it should be coded to that activity (in the example that would be T2: Teaching of undergraduate courses).