The recording of time split amongst the wide range of activities engaged in by academics on each type of TRAC activity heading (i.e. teaching, research and others) is a major driver for allocating costs and is therefore a key component of the return.
The Time Allocation Survey (TAS) data is information collected from individual staff members on the proportions of their working time spent on different categories of work (Teaching, Research & Other). The percentage of time recorded is used to allocate the staff costs to the different categories for the completion of the TRAC Return to the Office for Students (OfS) & Funding councils. All academic staff, and research staff who contribute to teaching need to complete a TAS every 3 years. All data are processed anonymously, and returns are aggregated to show how time is spent across the University.
The TAS needs to be completed over the course of the year and at Queen Mary the survey is split across the following periods. –
To ensure compliance, a high response rate to the survey is required across all schools and institutes of the University. Mapping-TRAC-Activities-to-Categories [PDF 40KB]
The data will be uploaded by January 2025 after the survey has been thoroughly analysed and processed. This preparation is necessary for the annual TRAC return, ensuring that all information is accurate and complete before submission.