Teaching encompasses all tasks related to the provision of education. There are no hard definitions of what we mean by teaching duties. This includes (but is not limited to):
- Developing and preparing a course.e.g. determining and describing learning objectives, determining foreknowledge of students, structuring the learning material, making sheets.
- Execution. e.g. giving lectures or tutorials.
- Assessment and examination.. e.g. making and checking (homework) assignments, making and checking exams.
Teaching forms a vital part of experience in academia. If you want to pursue a career in academia, you should be given the opportunity to gain experience in teaching. The collective labour agreement contains an intention that all novice teachers should receive supervision and are given the opportunity to develop teaching skills, for example by taking part in the University Teaching Qualification (UTQ) track.
Amount of teaching
There are no strict overarching rules on how much a PhD candidate can be asked to teach, but your contract can make explicit what part of your position is allocated to teaching. Within a four-year contract, it is common to have a teaching load of between 10% and 20% of your working hours. This range also shows from the PNN Employment Conditions Monitor. If your contract contains teaching obligations exceeding 20% of your contract, this is difficult to call into question due to the current lack of a legal basis. However, if your teaching load exceeds 50% of your total fte, you no longer qualify as a PhD candidate and should be appointed as a lecturer. There are no strict overarching rules on how much a PhD candidate can be asked to teach, but your contract can make explicit what part of your position is allocated to teaching. Within a four-year contract, it is common to have a teaching load of between 10% and 20% of your working hours. This range also shows from the Employment condition monitor. If your contract contains teaching obligations exceeding 20% of your contract, this is difficult to call into question due to the current lack of a legal basis. However, if your teaching load exceeds 50% of your total fte, you no longer qualify as a PhD candidate and should be appointed as a lecturer.
Junior lecturers pursuing a PhD
Your employer can offer a combined junior lecturer and researcher or PhD candidate position within a temporary employment contract of six years, again in principle. During this period, you are expected to obtain the Universal Teaching Qualification (UTQ) and successfully complete your thesis. Moreover, there are agreements that if a full-time position should become available, junior lecturers should be offered a permanent position as an assistant professor. The (longer) fixed-term employment contract should allow the faculty to better absorb any fluctuations in education and teaching for a longer period in terms of quality. In addition, a longer employment contract can be used as a period to scout for talent to take up a career in research and academia. For you, this period increases your chances of an academic or research career, possibly even outside your own university.
