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What is a 'department'?

What is the definition of a ‘department’ for Athena SWAN?


Not all institutions use the term ‘department’ and there are many equivalent academic groupings with different names, sizes and compositions. It is down to the individual institution to decide the composition of units that put forward award applications. However, below are some areas for consideration when making an application.

Departments/schools/faculties that are planning ‘department’ award submissions but are unsure as to the appropriateness of the proposed grouping, should contact Athena SWAN as early as possible and no later than two months before the submission deadline.
The main considerations of a ‘department’ are:
1. Its size;
2. Its students; and
3. Its management structure.

A ‘department’ can have staff and students working in a number of different locations. The range and number of disciplines within a ‘department’ are not relevant, provided that a substantial majority of academic staff are in SET disciplines.
 
Size
  • It is recognised that there are some departments with significantly large numbers of staff and some with really small numbers. Size alone does not exclude any department from making a ‘department’ submission.
  • Some key considerations for large departments:
    = The panel expect data from the sub-units in a large department, not data averaged across subunits as a whole. For example an Engineering School might have a range of disciplines (say naval architecture and bioengineering) that attract very different proportions of female students and consequently will have very different female/male graduate student and staff profiles.
    = The panel expect to see good practice across all sub-units of a large department and evidence that the whole department is operating at the award level applied for.
    = The panel expect to see real communication of the Athena SWAN Charter and awards process across the whole department.
  • Some key considerations for small departments:
    = A small department needs to demonstrate sufficient autonomy to implement initiatives for staff within the department.
    = Departments with small staff numbers may want to combine with others to share the workload in preparing for a submission and in implementing the activities they decide upon.
Students
  • A ‘department’ is expected to have its own students, undergraduate and/or postgraduate, for whom the ‘department’ staff provide all or the majority of their teaching and research supervision. (Note the focus for Athena SWAN is career progression and the wastage at all points in the supply line).
Management structure
  • The head of ‘department’ would have overall responsibility (within the university and or faculty/school/college systems/policies) for resource allocation/budgets, academic strategy, and policy in that ‘department’.
  • The head of department would manage the ‘department’ as a whole, with support from an executive committee/management team, and with reporting and accountability lines for all the sections/units/groups/divisions within the ‘department’.
  • The head of ‘department’ would be in a position to deliver on the action plan across the ‘department’ as a whole.
  • The head of ‘department’ may report to a faculty/school/college head, or direct to the Vice Chancellor or Pro-Vice Chancellor.
Note

All departmental submissions must provide clear evidence to the panel that all its parts (groups/sections/units) are at the appropriate level (Bronze/Silver/Gold), and that this must be evidenced in both the data and in each area of good practice. This must be done within the word counts specified in the form.
 
If in doubt, contact the Athena SWAN Charter Coordinator (athena.swan@ecu.ac.uk) well in advance to check eligibility.
 
This information is available to download below:
 
 
 
 



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