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Regular version of the site

Frequently Asked Questions

On this page you can find answers to frequently asked questions.

I have just started a job. What do I need to do to start working comfortably?

Once your employment documents have been processed, you need to sign them in the HR office or at your coordinator's office. It is also recommended that you sign an E-Communication Agreement to facilitate future interactions with the university.. A corporate email address is created at the request of the department manager - this will also be your login to the Smart Point. When you log in for the first time, it is recommended that you update your password to one you are comfortable with. At the same time the services are immediately available to you:

  • SmartLMS - a platform for organizing the learning process of the discipline
  • MS Teams - an approved tool for online classes at the Graduate School of Business.
  • It is also advisable to request access to the LMS. This is especially important if you are the designer of the discipline.

In order to enter the HSE buildings, you should apply for an electronic pass. This can be done at the Pass Office. Instructions for applying for a pass will be provided by your coordinator.

Who can solve current issues related to my work?

Once you are accepted, you will become an employee of one of the GSB departments. After accessing your department webpage you should find your department manager in the employee list. In case of complicated issues the manager can forward the question to the head of the department or ask for advice. You can also contact your coordinator.

What does my annual workload consist of?

All GSB Faculyu have certain workload standards. For full-time teaching staff, these norms can be 600 (professor), 700 (associate professor), 750 (senior lecturer, lecturer, assistant lecturer) hours per year. For the teaching staff employed on the terms and conditions of a civil contract, the amount of workload is fixed in the contract.

A teacher's workload can be divided into classroom and extracurricular workloads. The classroom load includes lectures, seminars, research seminars and practical classes. At the Graduate School of Business, the norms of classroom work are established on an annual basis.

The extracurricular workload includes supervising coursework and course projects, final qualifying works, internships and student projects, as well as current monitoring and examinations in the disciplines.

In this module, I am starting a class. What do I need to do?

  1. Make sure that a course syllabus is designed for your course. The course syllabus (PUD, Course Syllabi) is a document that describes: the abstract and purpose of the course; the content of the discipline, planned learning outcomes and the literature used, elements of current control and the format of interim and ongoing attestation. The course syllabus is being developed on the LMS platform.
  2. Check the timetable of the discipline. If adjustments to the timetable are necessary, contact the GSB Curriculum Support Office of the educational programme in which the discipline is implemented.
  3. Ask the manager of the educational programme for a list of students. This will give you an idea of how many should come to your classes.

Can I make changes to the course syllabus during the course?

According to the Regulations on Course Syllabi for Bachelor’s, Specialist, and Master’s Degree Programmes at National Research University Higher School of Economics, the Update of the course syllabus does not require its re-approval before the expiry date if the changes affect up to 30 % of the text. This means that minor changes can be made to the course syllabus during the discipline (using the course syllabus constructor). The format of the control cannot be changed - a blocking control cannot become a non-blocking control and vice versa.

How to (fairly) assess the work of students in the Graduate School of Business?

Assessment of students during their studies is regulated by the Regulations for Interim and Ongoing Assessments of Students at National Research University Higher School of Economics. However, it should be noted that the Graduate School of Business has additional, specifying the Regulations on the organisation of mid-term attestation.

In the first half of 2021, the university held a discussion on grade inflation, the results of which were published on the portal. At present, it is recommended that full mastery of the programme be assessed with a grade of "8" (excellent), and grades of "9" and "10" be given only in cases where the student goes beyond the scope of the programme.

What is considered a legitimate reason for a student not coming to class?

An illness confirmed by a medical certificate and other valid reasons (this does not include circumstances related to the student's employment) are regarded as valid reasons for not attending a monitoring element. The medical certificate must be presented to the study office on the day on which the student is required to start the class (it is reflected in the certificate). Other valid reasons are documented to the programme manager no later than 3 working days after the failure to appear. A declaration of a valid reason will be approved by a programme manager.

What should I do if a student fails to attend an assessment element for a legitimate reason? 

A student who has missed a component that has a weight of at least 30 per cent in the grade for the mid-term assessment has the right to retake such a component. If a student misses an examination during a session for a legitimate reason, the retake shall take place during the retake period. The study office shall schedule the examination for such a student on the first of the proposed retake dates in the timetable.  The retake shall result in an updated grade for the mid-term examination.

When and how will students take an exam in my discipline?

The HSE's academic timetable assumes 4 sessions per year: at the end of October, December, March and June. These dates are subject to slight changes. You can check the approved schedule for the current course code by clicking here. You can find out the exact time of your discipline from the timetable or in the LMS system, under the "Teaching load" tab. As the session approaches:

If the examination is conducted as an online test, it is recommended to use the StartExam system. To do this, request access to the system and operating instructions from the Digital Learning Centre and upload the test to it. You can also use Proctoring Technologies when administering an exam, a system that allows you to monitor students' breaches of exam procedure, either synchronously or asynchronously. A request to conduct a discipline using proctoring should be sent to the Academic Supervisor of the educational programme.

After the examination and grading has been completed, the examination papers may be displayed. Afterwards, fill in a summary sheet and send it to the study office.

What if students demand a higher grade for an element of control?

The only way to change the results of an element of control is an appeal, the procedure for which is determined by the PPATKUS. A student has the right to appeal the results of Control Elements (including retakes) declared as blocking and/or examinations in the course syllabus. An application for appeal shall be submitted by the student to the academic supervisor within three working days of the announcement of the grade for the blocking control element and/or examination whose results are being appealed. The application must state specific grounds for appeal. These may include:

  • inappropriateness in the formulation of questions, going beyond the syllabus of the discipline, mistakes (including uncertainty) in the wording of tasks and test assignments made by the authors;
  • violation of the procedure for conducting the control element established by the University;
  • a violation of the grading system;
  • circumstances that prevent the teacher from evaluating the work objectively.

A student's dissatisfaction with a grade received may not be grounds for appeal.

If a student fails the examination, he/she is given two attempts to retake the examination. Re-takes of modules 1 and 2 take place at the beginning of module 3; re-takes of modules 3 and 4 take place at the beginning of the first module of the following academic year. Prior to the re-take periods, Education Programme Officers will send out a form to teachers identifying the desired re-take dates, and the training office staff will send out the examination sheets. The procedure for the first re-take should be similar to the examination procedure. The procedure for the second re-take involves at least 3 teachers on the committee. The procedure for re-take is described in more detail in the Regulations for Interim and Ongoing Assessments of Students.

How do I find out who is in charge of administrating the education programme?

The Graduate School of Business has four Curriculum Support Offices. The page of each employee indicates which educational programme(s) they are a member of. Once you have found the staff of the educational programme you are teaching in, send them an email with the question you want to ask.

How can I conduct classes using digital technology?

A desktop computer and projector are installed in each of the classrooms at GSB, and some classrooms are specially equipped for hybrid format. If you have any questions about the technical equipment of the classrooms, please contact the the Curriculum Support Offices. For technical issues, you can contact the helpdesk (Digital Learning Centre) at sd.gsb@hse.ru. You can also contact the educational programme manager.

How is the quality of my work as a teacher assessed?

There are several ways of assessing the quality and professionalism of a teacher at GSB. One of them is the fairness of the teacher's evaluation of students (no unreasonably high number of excellent grades) and student feedback on the discipline. At the end of each module there is a Teaching Quality Assessment, which allows students to evaluate the teacher's work according to several criteria, and at the end of the year there is an election of the Best Teachers.

In addition, individual development within the professional trajectory is assessed. Starting from 2020 all the teachers who pass the competition must meet the requirements for the academic, practice-oriented or educational-methodological trajectory teaching staff. The requirements for academic trajectory teaching staff are the same for the whole university, while the requirements for other categories are approved by the Faculty Council.

How can I access library and information resources?

The Higher School of Economics has several libraries in different university buildings. The Graduate School of Business also has its own library. In order to gain access, you will need to apply for a library card. This can be done remotely.

In addition to paper publications HSE also has a huge collection of electronic resources, including regularly updated databases of journals of leading academic publishers, both domestic and international. To access electronic resources you need to fill out an application form.

Where can I find answers to questions that are not in the International Faculty Handbook?

You can contact an appropriate office or your coordinator. Also you can check HSE Academic Handbook.

Where can I get expert guidance on distance education?

Digital teaching consultants are available to provide teachers with ongoing and expert guidance on working remotely, helping to tailor courses for online use and selecting effective digital tools for student engagement, assessment, feedback gathering and much, much more. Request for a consultation.

How do I get a bonus for re-reading courses in English?

Teachers who participated in the Competition on Teaching a Course in English and received approval and compensation can receive an allowance for repeating courses in English. Allowances are paid for budgeted undergraduate and graduate programmes at the Graduate School of Business. To get more information, please contact GSB Centre for Learning Methodologies and Quality Assurance.

How do I get help from a teaching assistant?

A teaching assistant is a GSB student selected by a faculty member as an assistant to carry out educational activities at GSB as part of the educational process. GSB Centre for Learning Methodologies and Quality Assurance is responsible for organising the teaching sssistant project.

Where can teachers get stationery for their classes?

There is a dispatch office at the Shabolovka Campus where teachers can obtain the necessary consumables for their classes. The dispatch room is located at 28/11 Shabolovka St., bld. 3, room 3221. Phone: +7 (495) 772-95-90 ext. 26114


 

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