2012_PBRF-advice-to-members

The disclosure of PBRF quality category scores – a guide for TEU members July 2012 Many TEU members have contributed information to an Evidence Portfolio (EP) for the PBRF 2012 Quality Evaluation. That information will be used to create individual component scores and an individual Quality Category (QC) pertaining to their Evidence Portfolio. Quality Category scores will be used to determine research funding allocations to your institution. The Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) plans to disclose individual Quality Categories (but not component scores) to your employer (as is outlined in the PBRF 2012 Quality Evaluation Guidelines). The TEU has expressed its concerns about this to the TEC, and has developed its own policy that advocates for individual Quality Categories being released to institutions only in an aggregated form.

On receiving the Quality Category scores, it will then be up to each institution to determine which members of staff have access to your individual scores. The TEC has developed guidelines about the internal use of the scores, however each individual institution will manage this process as they see fit.

Component scores and Quality Categories are personal information, and this guide outlines: a. how this information might be used by TEC and/or by your institution; b. what you can do to limit the use of your information: o if it is distributed without your consent; or o if it is used for purposes other than those outlined in the TEC’s PBRF guidelines; and c. what you can do if you believe your information is being misused by your institution Use of personal information Under the Privacy Act an agency such as TEC may not disclose personal information to another agency unless they have reasonable grounds for believing “that the disclosure is authorised by the individual concerned”.

TEU has received an opinion that there may be no breach of the Privacy Act in relation to the disclosure of individual Quality Category information by TEC to your employer. The TEC believes that disclosure of individual Quality Categories is justified, on the grounds that this disclosure is “directly related to the purposes in connection with which the information was 1

obtained”. Those purposes include the improvement of the quality of research. Furthermore, the intention to disclose individual Quality Categories to employers has been published by the TEC well in advance of the submission of Evidence Portfolios.

What can I do to protect the privacy of my information?

This advice notwithstanding, TEU’s policy is that individual scores should not be released to institutions, except in an aggregated form. Additionally the Privacy Act still requires the assumption of implicit consent to be “reasonable”.

Members who wish to object to this disclosure can directly advise the TEC that they do not consent to the release of their individual Quality Category or component scores to their institution. If a member chooses to do this, the TEC will still be able to produce and release aggregate information for the stated purposes of the PBRF. Therefore members may choose to advise the TEC in writing (before 7th December 2012 – this is the date by which peer review panels will have completed their evaluation of EPs) that: I (name/PBRF identifier) do not consent to the Tertiary Education Commission releasing my individual Quality Category information to my employer (institution name) in anything other than an aggregated form.

Members may also choose to include the following statement on institutional PBRF protocol documents they may be required to sign: I support the TEU’s policy that states individual information relating to Quality Category scores should only be released to institutions in an aggregated form. The TEU believes that such an approach provides the best protection for individual employees against misuse of this information in ways that may adversely affect their employment or career.

Note: You cannot be forced to disclose your PBRF Quality Category score to anyone – contact your TEU organiser if this happens.

According to the TEC guidelines, how can my institution use the information obtained from my Quality Category scores?

The TEC guidelines indicate that individual Quality Categories and associated information may be used for the following: a. Aggregated to establish the level of research funding your institution will receive; b. Provided to your institution so that the information can be used to improve overall research outputs; c. To improve the quality of data collected about research outputs nationally.

Any institutional policy or protocol about the release of individual Quality Category information should reflect these guidelines.

2

Note: A strict reading of privacy laws would suggest that if you have advised the TEC that you do not consent to your Quality Category information being provided to your institution in anything other than aggregate form, then your Quality Category score should only be reported back in aggregate and anonymised form.

The TEC’s PBRF guidelines also provide some clear limitations around the use of individual Quality Categories by institutions; however each institution will decide its policy on use of this information, based on the guidelines: a. the TEO will not use individual Quality Categories as a basis for salary determinations; b. the TEO will not request individual Quality Categories for recruitment purposes, and, if the TEO makes recruitment decisions informed by individuals’ Quality Categories, then the TEO will consider the Quality Categories in the context of other evidence of research performance and will take account of the TEO’s overall staff profile (particularly since the offered Quality Category cannot be verified by the TEO); and c. the TEO will not use individual Quality Categories for performance appraisals or for disciplinary action against staff.

(PBRF Quality Evaluation Guidelines 2012: 148) If your institution has based its policy/protocols on the recommendations, examples of ways your individual Quality Category and associated information should not be used include: a. b. c. d. e. f. g.

internal recruitment decisions; variable salary payments; promotion processes; as selection criteria for redundancy or early retirement; in performance appraisal; for disciplinary action; to justify the creation of teaching-only positions.

Your institution should provide a copy of their policy or protocols around the release of individual Quality Category information. If you have concerns about how your information may be used, please contact your TEU organiser.

When were we told about the release of individual scores?

The PBRF 2012 Quality Evaluation Guidelines note on page 152 that individual Quality Categories will be released to institutions: The release to the TEOs of the Quality Categories assigned to individual staff members is for the following purposes in connection with which the data was obtained: a. To increase the average quality of research produced by a TEO. Having a full set of employees’ Quality Categories gives a TEO more information about its areas of strength and weakness. This allows the TEO to take steps to improve

3

the quality of research through targeted internal resource allocation and staff support b. To improve the quality of information on research outputs.

TEU’s policy about the distribution and use of individual Quality Categories TEU’s policy is that because PBRF is a bulk-funding model where the purpose of an individual’s Quality Category is to inform the level of funding for the whole institution, individual scores should only be made available to the institution in an aggregated form. By doing so, this preserves an individual’s privacy, and prevents employers using these Quality Categories as one of the factors in recruitment and performance appraisal. Aggregated results also protect the integrity of your discipline or subject area and encourage a collegial approach to academic life.

The TEC’s guidelines are not explicit as to who may view this information, but given the very limited purposes for which the TEC is planning to disclose individual Quality Categories to employers, in a typical large institution, it would usually be unnecessary and inappropriate for heads of academic units and heads of faculties or colleagues (Deans or PVCs and below) to have access to this information. If you believe your information is being distributed or used in a manner that breaches the guidelines, contact your TEU organiser.

If I have concerns, who should I talk to?

At the branch, contact your local TEU organiser (see the TEU website for their contact details www.teu.ac.nz ) If you wish to inform the TEC of possible breaches or misuse of individual information, contact their helpline: 0800-727-301. This is a confidential service.

As at 17th July 2012

4