So it’s 11:55 and I am supposed to finish at 12. I don’t mind doing extra time, I actually stay over my hours most days – but I don’t think this should be taken for granted…Anyway it is 11:55, I have just finished the stack of marking I had to get done this week and was printing off the feedback sheets (mini whinge, it would help if the admin team mentioned they had put transcript blanks in the printer before I did this so I didn’t have to do them all again…), and just had to do a stack of moderation, and a final check of incoming emails before I felt I had completed all the this week deadline tasks. Currently it is impossible to do anything more than deadline imminent tasks.

Anyway 11:55 and TA walks in. She has not spoken to me since Easter and chooses 11:55 to come in, and starts casually asking about what I did at Easter. Quite frankly I had no time for chit chat so I was probably a bit curt, and intimated that the Easter weekend was no holiday for me as I normally don’t work Mons and Tues, but yes I went to London to see friends (BMG actually but she wouldn’t understand that). She says something about am I hiding she hasn’t seen me all week, I indicate the stack of marking and say I have been in my office working through this and I still have the moderation to do before 12:00 (ha ha).

She makes some cryptic comment that I didn’t really understand to do with how they work out our working hours and what is or is not allocated to moderation (I wonder idly now that if there are no hours allocated to it then maybe I don’t do it??), and then she asks what have I done about marketing the programme I tutor. (Obviously she has been asked to check up on this and this is the real reason for her ‘visit’)

The truth is that I have sent some stuff to our marketing people and not had a reply – yes I should have followed this up, but quite honestly I have deadlines with current student work and feedback that are being missed, and if we got a whole lot more due to advertising the damn stuff I would be less able to cope. I don’t see this as a priority right now – but I guess student numbers enrolled are a KPI, not timely and supportive feedback given to existing students.

I was so mad I chucked the moderation in my bag, did a check of outstanding emails since this morning (and responded to two students wanting some support) and then switched off and came home.

Whinge whinge….

Thanks, feel better now.