Membership

• Research Director (Chair)
• Director of Teaching, Learning and Students
• Heads of Department
• Research Support Manager (secretary to the committee)

Remit

Academic Leave allows academic, both those on teaching and research contracts and teaching and scholarship contracts, and non-externally funded research staff with an open-ended contract to undertake activities that might not always be possible within the normal course of their academic duties.

The aims are to provide (1) a regular opportunity for periods of focussed research and study, and (2) a foundation for future endeavours. 

The remit of the committee is to review the applications submitted for academic leave ensuring that the research plans are robust enough, and if the contribution made to the Department’s collective workload has been sufficient to merit research leave.

The Committee considers the quality of each applicant’s research case and makes recommendations as to whether there is a case for academic leave or not. HoDs are required to confirm that the academic leave is resource-neutral and does not impose additional costs on the Department in question.

The deadline for applications usually falls in April each year, for the leave period 2 years in advance.

Guidance

• SEED Research Academic Leave Guidance 2026-27
• SEED Teaching & Scholarship Academic Leave Guidance 2026-27
• SEED Research Academic Leave Application Form 2026-27
• SEED Teaching & Scholarship Academic Leave Application Form 2026-27
• SEED Academic Leave Report Template

Contact

If you have any queries, please contact Louise Gorton.

Membership

• Chaired by the Associate Director of Assessment
• Department Exams Officers/Chairs
• SEED Director of Teaching and Learning
• Assessment and Progression professional services team
• Department Directors of Teaching and Learning can also attend. 

Remit

• Communicating assessment specific policy (from both SEED and Faculty) 
• An opportunity to discuss new ways of working with a view to implementing standardised (good) practice as well as understanding context specific differences in practice, as appropriate. This is particularly significant in our SEP transition with its focus on a consistent and equitable experience for all students across the university.  
• Providing a ‘voice’ for SEED colleagues that can inform /shape discussions in wider School/Faculty/University fora.

Meetings

Meetings take place 3-4 times per year

Resources

Minutes are available on the Teams area.

Membership

• Director of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (Chair)
• Director of Social Responsibility
• School Operations Manager
• Deputy School Operations Manager
• Management Information Analysist
• People and Organisational Development Partner

Membership

• Co-chaired by the Associate Director for Employability and Professional Learning, and the Director of Teaching & Learning.
• Members of TLSE’s Information Advice and Guidance (IAG) team
• Student reps from across all year groups/programmes/departments.

Remit

A forum for student reps/student employability champions, TLSE PS colleagues and relevant academics to come together to discuss matters around employability, careers and professional learning.

Meetings

One meeting per semester.

Resources

The Faculty of Humanities has created a webpage that can be used to support the embedding of employability in T&L activities.

Membership

• Director of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (chair)
• Director of Social Responsibility
• Disability Equity Lead(s)
• Race Equity Lead(s)
• Gender and Sexuality Equity Lead(s)
• Taught Student Lead(s)
• Postgraduate Rep(s)

Remit:

The group reports to the School Policy and Resources Committee, the School Board and Head of School. The remit of the group is to actively promote dignity, respect, inclusivity and equal treatment among staff, students and visitors. All the equality leads are responsible for leading on action and activities within their areas, and together they consider an intersectional perspective and work together to address issues.

Meetings:

The group aims to meet four times a year.

Membership

• Associate Director for Field Courses (Chair)
• Field course leads
• Relevant professional services staff 

Remit

To discuss field course processes, raise issues and share best practice.

Meetings

Meetings take place three times per year

Resources

Visit Fieldwork and Placements for further information and guidance, including Committee minutes.

Membership

• Head of School (Chair)
• School Operations Manager
• Compliance, Safety and Estates Manager
• School Operations Senior Administrator (CSE)
• Technical Workshop Manager
• Senior Technical Manager
• Senior Technical Operations Manager
• Head of Technical Operations (Faculty)
• Executive And Compliance Support Officer (Faculty)
• University Safety Co-Ordinator (Faculty)
• Senior Programmes Administrator, Fieldwork
• Student Support & Guidance Manager
• Senior Faculty Estates Officer
• TLSE Administrator
• Student Representative (UG)
• Student Representative (PGT) 
• Student Representative (PGR)

Remit

• Foster positive Health and Safety management practices and promote the interests of employees and students in a Health and Safety context.
• Represent views of SEED’s staff and students from their respective areas with regard to Health and Safety issues and raise specific concerns that require action. 
• Work in partnership with the SSAs to ensure workplace/School buildings hazards are identified, reported and managed. 
• Assist the SSAs in investigation of fieldwork or workplace accidents and complaints (relating to Health and Safety).  
• Ensure new and transferring employees meet with the SSAs to complete a Health and Safety induction. 
• Assist the SSAs in reporting good practices and SMART objectives for the annual HASMAP audit review.  
• Make recommendations and issue hazard notices as appropriate for Laboratory and Workshop areas.
• Attend Health and Safety training as required. 
• Attend Health and Safety meetings. 
• Raise Health and Safety issues at local team meetings as required. 
• Communicate and provide feedback to employees and local Health and Safety forums relating to discussions and outcomes of the Health and Safety committee. 
• Keep updated and informed of current Health and Safety practices. 

Meetings

3 per academic year.

Minutes and resources:

• March 2023
• October 2022

Membership

• Chaired by the Director of Postgraduate Research
• Discipline co-ordinators
• PGR representative (elected each year).

Remit

The Postgraduate Research Committee manages the Postgraduate Research Programmes in SEED. The Director of Postgraduate Research is responsible for the overall academic and strategic direction of the programme.

The committee meets at regular intervals throughout the academic year, where it discusses and makes decisions on key issues affecting the Programme and its students and reports on University, Faculty and School-level news (such as changes to policy and processes).

The committee is also responsible for considering and granting approval for applications of changes to a student’s programme (eg change of supervisor, research title, mode of attendance, interruption, extension, fieldwork). Normally such applications are considered by the Chair of the Committee. However, where serious cases arise, these are brought to the full committee for consideration.

Membership

• Head of School (Chair)
• Deputy Head of School
• People Partner
• All Heads of Department
• Director of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
• Director of Postgraduate Research
• Director of Research
• Director of Social Responsibility
• Director of Teaching and Learning
• Secretary to the Probation Committee (usually a G5 School Operations Senior Administrator).
• Additional members may be invited on a year by year basis by Head of School to increase the diversity of the committee, once the committee members based on role (as above) are known. 

Remit

Meets annually to review the progress of staff subject to academic probation, and to approve those who have met the probation criteria as having “passed” their probation. Academic/Researcher Rewarding Exceptional Performance (REP) cases may also be discussed and approved/rejected at this meeting, depending on Faculty deadlines. 

Meetings: 2 annually, one mid April (to review staff in their fourth year of academic probation), one in early May (to review all other staff subject to academic probation). 

Any queries about this process should be sent to HOS SEED SEEDHeadofschool@manchester.ac.uk, or SEED’s People Partner. 

Membership

• Director of Social Responsibility (Chair)
• Programme Directors and relevant PS. 

Remit

Forum for PS and Programme Directors to discuss and collaborate on TLSE activity.

Meetings

Meetings take place monthly

Resources

Meeting minutes are available on the Teams area.

Membership

• Head of School (Chair) 
• Deputy Head of School 
• People Partner 
• All Heads of Department 
• Director of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion 
• Director of Postgraduate Research 
• Director of Research 
• Director of Social Responsibility 
• Director of Teaching and Learning 
• Secretary to the Promotions Committee (usually a G5 School Operations Senior Administrator).  
• Additional members may be invited by Head of School to increase the diversity of the committee, once the committee members based on role (as above) are known. 

Remit

Meets annually to consider Academic/Research promotions cases and makes recommendations to Faculty Promotions committee. Academic/Researcher Rewarding Exceptional Performance (REP) cases may also be discussed and approved/rejected at this meeting, depending on Faculty deadlines. 

Meetings: 1-2 meetings per year, held in early February (based on Faculty deadlines). If more than 40 promotions cases are received, a second committee meeting will be held as soon as possible following the first meeting. 

Any queries about this process should be sent to HOS SEED SEEDHeadofschool@manchester.ac.uk, or SEED’s People Partner. 

Membership

• Director of Teaching and Learning (Chair)
• Departmental Directors of Teaching and Learning
• Associate Directors
• Relevant professional services staff

Remit

The Committee is responsible for the approval of new programme proposals, programme suspensions, withdrawals and programme amendments.

Meetings

Meetings take place monthly.

Resources

Meeting minutes are available on the Teams area.

Membership

• Director of Research (Chair)
• Departmental Research Directors
• Associate Director for Research: Impact
• Associate Director of Post Graduate Research
• Associate Director for Internationalisation
• Associate Director for Business Engagement
• Manchester Urban Institute Research Manager
• Global Development Institute Research Manager
• Manchester Environmental Research Institute representative
• Ethics Committee Co-Chairs
• Research Knowledge Exchange and Impact Officer
• Research Support Office Manager
• Research post award project officer
• Communications and Engagement Officer
• Early Career Researcher representative
• Library representative
• Research Facilitator

Remit

Indicative strategic responsibilities

• To ensure oversight of all research matters in SEED.
• To set strategic goals for the school’s researchers.
• To represent researchers in SEED’s disciplines and between them so that their needs and wants find a voice.

Indicative operational responsibilities

• To determine the means for the allocation of internal research support.
• To issue the call for, and accept, annual reports from School-based Research Centres.
• To review the intellectual quality of Visiting Research Fellows and Honorary Research Fellows.
• To review the intellectual quality of SEED-based applications to the Simon and Hallsworth fund.
• To ensure REF preparations occur in a timely fashion in SEED.

Meetings

The research meeting meets monthly for 2 hours, usually in-person.

Resources

Committee Members have access to a dedicated Microsoft Teams space.

Documents and Forms

• Personal research expectations plan (prep)
• Research group proposal form
• SEED Policy on Buy-out and WAM for Teaching and Research Staff - Revised September 2024
• SEED Policy on Buy-out and WAM for Teaching and Scholarship Staff - Revised September 2024

Membership

• The current Chair of the School Board is Dr Miriam Firth
• The current Secretary to the School Board is Ollie Taylor
• All staff in SEED - Academic, Research and Professional Services (PS) - are members of the School Board

Remit

Please see the remit document.

Meetings

School Boards take place 4 times per academic year. These are all conducted in person bar a final online meeting.

Resources

Teams space – UOM-HUM-SEED-SCHOOLBOARD

Since 2023, all School Board papers have been hosted on Microsoft Teams. If you do not have access to this space, please contact oliver.taylor-3@manchester.ac.uk

Membership

• School Leadership Team
• Professional Services Leadership Team
• School Operations leads
• Research Support Manager
• SEED Admissions Officer

Meetings: Every 2 months

Membership

See: School Executive

Meetings are chaired by the Head of School

Secretary to the meetings is the Executive Assistant to the Head of School and Director of School Operations.

Remit

The School Executive is the senior body within the School of Environment, Education and Development, charged with providing overall leadership and management.

Meetings

School Executive meets on a fortnightly basis.

Membership

• SEED Social Responsibility Director - Nicola Banks - Nicola.banks@manchester.ac.uk
• Social Responsibility Champion for Geography - Nerea Okong’o - nerea.okongo@manchester.ac.uk
• Social Responsibility Champion for the Global Development Institute - Tom Gillespie - thomas.gillespie@manchester.ac.uk
• Social Responsibility Champion for Manchester Institute of Education - Rui He - rui.elin.he@manchester.ac.uk
• Social Responsibility Champion for Planning, Property and Environmental Management - Joe Ravetz - joe.ravetz@manchester.ac.uk
• Deputy School Operations Manager – Kerry McCann
• SEED Senior Communications and Engagement Officer – Kelly Burgess
• SEED Student Communications Coordinator – Maria Baltazar Viegas
• School Operations Assistant - Fran Forster

Remit

SEED SR Committee leads on the implementation of the School’s strategic objective for social responsibility, namely to promote excellent SEED social responsibility initiatives and broaden participation in social responsibility activities across the School.

The SEED SR Committee will provide leadership and direction for social responsibility in the School focused on the University’s strategic priorities:

• Social inclusion
• Environmental sustainability
• Prosperous communities
• Better health
• Cultural engagement

This includes supporting the colleagues and PGR students through the SEED Catalyst Fund and building a SEED student change-maker team to provide a platform through which SEED students can come together to make a difference in the areas that they are passionate about.

The SEED SR Committee comprises the Director for Social Responsibility for SEED, departmental Social Responsibility Champions, the SEED PS lead for Social Responsibility and the SEED Communications team.

For departmental champions, 500 WAM points are associated with the role for each academic[KM5]  year, and a budget of £500 per departmental champion to support activities. Our current departmental champions were appointed in 2024 following an application process.

Meetings

Every 2 months (6 per year).

Membership

• Co-chaired by the Associate Director for Academic Advising and Student Wellbeing and the Director of Teaching and Learning
• TLSE Professional Services colleagues
• TLSE Associate Directors
• Relevant academics
  
• Departmental directors of teaching and learning
• Student reps from across all year groups/programmes/departments.

Remit

A forum for student reps, PS colleagues and relevant academics to come together to listen and respond to the student voice in matters of all aspects of the student experience.

Meetings

The SSLC meet once each semester.

Resources

• Students’ Union Rep Support webpage

Membership

• Chaired by Director of Teaching and Learning
• Department Directors of Teaching and Learning (DoTLs)
• Associate Directors (ADs)
• G7 PS

Remit

Responsible for overseeing all taught provision in the School, including Initial Teacher Education and Training and Distance Learning. It also has responsibility for the promotion and monitoring of the School’s T&L strategy and for the student experience, as required by the School’s Strategic Plan

Minutes

Available on the Teams area.