Approved Teacher/Tutor
Approved Teacher, Tutor and Marker status is required of all persons involved in teaching, tutoring and/or marking as defined under the terms of Ordinance P6 - Approved Teachers, Approved Tutors and Approved Markers. This applies to staff who are involved in activities both on and off-campus.
Anyone who is involved in teaching activities for five or more hours of student contact per course, and who is not already a full- or part-time member of staff, must be approved by the University as a Teacher, Tutor, Marker or Demonstrator.
Each role has different responsibilities which are summarised below and more details are found on each of the pages to help you decide which category you need to apply for.
Colleagues at Heriot-Watt University can visit our internal Approved Teachers, Tutors, Markers and Demonstrators Hub for further information on all areas relating to the approval process.
Approved Teachers
Approved Teacher duties include:
- Develop teaching and learning materials
- Deliver courses
- Provide tutorial, laboratory and project design and support
- Mentor students
- Undertake formative assessment of students
- Undertake summative assessment of students (e.g. coursework, examinations, dissertations, etc)
- Supervise students undertaking projects or research dissertations as part of a programme of study
Approved Teachers may make a contribution to course summative assessment and to programme specification and design but they should be supervised by a suitable member of academic staff
Approved Markers
Approved Marker duties include:
- Undertake marking of formative assessment
- Undertake marking of summative assessment (e.g. coursework, examinations, dissertations, etc)*
All summative assessments will be moderated by a member of the Academic Staff and Approved Markers will be assigned a mentor
Approved Tutors
Approved Tutor duties include:
- Provide support for teaching and learning in the form of tutorials, seminars, workshops and laboratories
- Lecture on programmes where the syllabus and academic content have been approved by the programme team and when the student learning materials and tutor guidance are provided by the School
- Contribute to the marking of course formative assessment, which shall be set and moderated by a member of the Course Board who is a member of the academic staff of the University
- Exceptionally, persons with suitable experience or after appropriate training, may undertake development of the curriculum, preparation of teaching materials, summative assessment and other academic duties, with the proviso that these activities do not contribute to more than 25% of any course.
Approved Demonstrators
Approved Demonstrator duties include:
- Approved Demonstrators can assist in lab, tutorial and class delivery under continual supervision of the lecturer.
- Approved Demonstrators are not responsible for producing teaching plans, creating notes or design of assessment. However, Approved Demonstrators may undertake associated marking on the condition that formal training and support is provided within the School (associated marking is limited to within their own role, e.g. lab reports).