Introduction

Teacher

A Higher Education Teacher is an education professional who specializes in delivering advanced academic programs at the tertiary level, typically in universities and colleges.

Higher Education Teachers may work in a variety of disciplines, ranging from humanities and social sciences to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. They are responsible for designing and delivering course content, developing and grading assignments, and providing feedback to students. 

Higher Education Teachers are expected to stay up-to-date with the latest developments and trends in their field, and may also participate in professional development activities and conferences to further enhance their knowledge and skills. Overall, Higher Education Teachers play a critical role in preparing students for success in their academic and professional lives, while also contributing to the broader academic community through their research and scholarly work.

Compliance

As an Australian Higher Education provider, there are specific teacher compliance requirements that need to be met to ensure that the institution is delivering high-quality education and training to its students. The teacher compliance requirements for an Australian Higher Education provider are as follows:

• Qualifications: Teachers must have the appropriate academic qualifications and expertise to deliver the courses they are teaching. These qualifications must be relevant to the courses being taught, and they must be recognized in Australia.

• Professional Experience: Teachers must have relevant professional experience to ensure they can provide students with practical, up-to-date information and skills.

• English Language Proficiency: Teachers must have sufficient English language skills to effectively communicate with students.

• Ongoing Professional Development: Teachers must engage in ongoing professional development to ensure their skills and knowledge are up-to-date and relevant.

• Compliance: Teachers must comply with all relevant legislation, regulations, and policies, including those related to academic integrity, assessment, and feedback.

• Performance: Teachers must be able to demonstrate satisfactory performance in delivering courses, assessing student work, and providing feedback to students.

• Research Activity: Teachers are expected to be actively involved in research activity that supports and enhances the quality of their teaching and the academic programs they deliver.

• Supervision: Teachers may be required to supervise research students, provide mentorship and guidance to other teachers, and assist with academic administration tasks.

• Record Keeping: Higher Education providers must keep accurate and up-to-date records of their teachers' qualifications, professional experience, ongoing professional development, research activity, and supervision duties.

These compliance requirements are designed to ensure that the Higher Education provider is delivering high-quality education and training to its students and that the students are receiving the best possible learning experience. It is important for Higher Education providers to regularly review and update their compliance processes and procedures to ensure they continue to meet these requirements.

Meshed Platform

This menu provides the various function associated with management of Teachers within the Meshed Platform.

Add New Teacher

This menu allows you to add a Teacher's personal information and user account in the system.
To perform this function, follow the instructions below:

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• On your Meshed Higher-Ed site, click Teacher > Add New Teacher.

• Enter Teacher's Personal and Employment information on the fields provided. Note that fields with asterisks are considered as mandatory.

• Enter the Username

• Enter the Password or select to have the System generate a Random Password.

• Enter Security Question and Security Answer. The default question can be changed and Teachers can change the question when they login to the System.

• Click Create New teacher to save.

Manage Teacher

This function allows you to manage all Teachers. You can view and update information in a Teacher's profile.

To set this up, follow the instructions below:

• On your Meshed Higher-Ed site, click Teacher > Manage Teacher. 

• List of all the teachers will show up on the page. If you are searching for a specific teacher, use search filters e.g. First name, Status. All teachers etc and click Search button. 

•  Click this icon  to go to Teacher profile Summary Home page. This page opens up in a new window lets you view a Teacher profile, latest communication log, Teacher Matrix and other documents. 

Action Icons

Teacher Matrix

This menu allows you to view/ update/ edit Teacher matrix.

The Matrix lets you associate Teacher's knowledge level or their expertise with a specific Subject for a Course. This will later be used to filter and show the Teachers that are eligible to Teach during Timetable creation.

To perform this function, follow the instructions below:

• From the Teacher Profile Summary page, click Matrix icon located on the top right hand side of the page. 

• Select Course from the drop down menu. 

• Tick the box to specify Selected Subject. 

• Select Knowledge Level to indicate Teacher's level of expertise. 

• Click Add Teacher Matrix to record information. 

Teacher Availability

This menu allows for the recording of a Teachers day and time availability for each semester. e.g. Monday 3PM-5PM, Tuesday 9AM-2PM.   This supports situations where Teaching Staff are not full-time and may only be available for specific days and times. 

This information is integrated into the timetabling functionality to check Teacher availability.

To add Teacher Availability, follow the instructions below:

• Click Home > Teacher Availability.

• Select the Teacher
• Select the Semester
• Select the Available Day, From and To times
• Click Save
• Repeat for additional days as required

There is an option to delete Image Modified the record if required.

There is an option to modify Image Modified the record if required.

Manage Timesheet (Optional Module)

The optional Manage Timesheet module in Higher-Ed allows Teachers to submit their timesheet and the Director of Studies/Academic Manager to approve the timesheet.
This then gets flagged for Finance/Account user to generate the timesheet.

This feature is only accessible to the following user roles.

• Sadmin (Super Administrator users)
• Admin (Administrator users)
• DoS (Director of Studies/Academic Manager)

To manage Teacher Timesheets navigate to Teacher > Manage Timesheet

Manage Timesheet

This function is to view, modify, delete, and approve timesheets entered by the Teachers using the Teacher Portal.

To Manage Teacher Timesheets:

• Select the Manage Timesheet menu tab

• Enter the required search Criteria - Activity Type, Financial Year, Pay Period, Teacher
• Click View Timesheet
• The search result Teacher Submitted Timesheet list of will be shown on the bottom of the page.  This list provides a summary of the Timesheet information, including status flags.

• For each listed Timesheet there are two Action Icons

Edit Timesheet 

To Edit the Timesheet:

• Click the Edit Timesheet Action Icon 
• An edit mode section is displayed for the Timesheet.

• Modify the timesheet information as required
• Click the Update Action Icon to save 
• Click the Cancel Action Icon to exit the Edit function 

Delete Timesheet 

To Delete the Timesheet:

• Click the Delete Timesheet Action Icon Image Removed

Approve Timesheet 

To Approve Timesheets:

• Select the check-box for Timesheets to Approve

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• Click on the Approve Action Icon Image Removed 
• Approved Timesheets will now be displayed in the list on the bottom of the page

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Submit Timesheet

Timesheet 

To Delete the Timesheet:

• Click the Delete Timesheet Action Icon Image Added

Approve Timesheet 

To Approve Timesheets:

• Select the check-box for Timesheets to Approve

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• Click on the Approve Action Icon Image Added 
• Approved Timesheets will now be displayed in the list on the bottom of the page

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Submit Timesheet

This function is for the SAdmin/Supervisor to submit a timesheet on behalf of a Teacher if required (e.g. Teacher not available etc.).

This submission uses the Class Timetables for the Teacher. A Teacher must have a timetabled Class.

If a Teacher is replaced the Class Teacher is changed (updated) to the new Teacher. The Class timetable will be available for the new Teacher and not for the original Teacher.
If a Teacher is relieved, the timetable is still available for the original teacher. This needs to be handled using the Manual Time sheets functions.

To Submit Teacher Timesheets:

• Select the Submit Timesheet menu tab

• Enter the required search Criteria - Staff/Teacher, Financial Year, Timesheet Period
• Click View Timesheet
• The search result for Timesheets list of will be shown on the bottom of the page.  This list provides lists the available Timesheets for submission.

• Enter the amount in Total Payable, Comments etc. as required
• Select the check-box for items to submit

• Click Submit Timesheet

• SubmittedTimesheets Submitted Timesheets will now be displayed in the list on the bottom of the page

View Approved Timesheet

To View Approved Teacher Timesheets:

• Select the View Approved Timesheet menu tab

• Select the Financial Year
• Select the required Pay Period 
• Select the Teacher (or optionally select ALL)
• The list of approved Timesheets for the Teacher(s) will be displayed on the page

• For each listed Approved Timesheet there are two Action Icons

To view the Approved Timesheet:

• Click the View Class Timesheet Action Icon 
• A window is displayed that contains the Approved Timesheet information for the Teacher.

To view the Approved Extra Activity Timesheet:

• Click the View Extra Activity Timesheet Action Icon 
• A window is displayed that lists the Approved Extra Activity Timesheet information for the Teacher.

Assign Supervisor

This function is to assign the Supervisor for the Teachers. The Supervisor is responsible to review and modify the Teacher timesheet if required.

To Assign Supervisors for Teacher Timesheets:

• Select the Assign Supervisor menu tab

• Select the Teacher
• Select the required Pay Period Type 
• Select the Supervisor
• The list of Teachers for the selected Supervisor will be displayed on the page

• Click Assign
• The list of Teachers for the Supervisor will be updated

• Teachers can be removed from the list using the Delete Action Icon

Generate Pay Period

This function is to generate the pay period based on the requirement for the current financial year.

To Generate the Pay Period for Teacher Timesheets:

• Select the Generate Pay Period menu tab

• Select the Pay Period Type - Academic Pay Period or Admin Pay Period
• Select the Pay Period Frequency - weekly, fortnightly, or monthly as required
• Select the Start Date and End Date
• Click Generate Pay Period
• The System will generate pay periods for the dates.

Pay Periods are listed on the bottom of the page for the financial year selected from the drop-down menu.