Academic Promotion: Level C - E Procedure: Purpose
Academic Promotion: Level C - E Procedure: Purpose
PROCEDURE
PURPOSE
Promotion at Monash is a thorough and fair assessment process based on merit. We are committed to equal opportunity principles and
recognise that our employees contribute to our vision and goals in diverse ways.
Applications for promotion are accepted annually and are assessed by promotion committees. Successful promotions take effect from 1
January the following year.
SCOPE
This procedure applies to Australia and Malaysia based employees of the University (‘us’, ‘our’ or ‘we’) applying for academic promotion to:
Senior Lecturer or Senior Research Fellow (Level C);
Associate Professor (Level D); and
Professor (Level E).
Staff are herein collectively referred to as ‘you’ for the purpose of this procedure.
The procedure also applies to committee members responsible for evaluating applications.
PROCEDURE STATEMENT
Information sessions
2.8 You should attend an information session in the year prior, and the year you plan to apply for promotion so you are clear on the
process in the year you intend to apply. Refer to the academic promotion website for sessions.
2.9 If you are employed in a non-faculty area, you should consult with your head of unit about the most relevant faculty to assess your
application. This will also inform your choice of which information session to attend. You should contact the relevant promotion
coordinator to arrange agreement from the relevant faculty dean.
3.2 Your application should be consistent with the academic performance framework across research, education and engagement.
Weightings
6.3 You are required to allocate weightings to research, education and engagement relevant to your employment contract type.
Weightings should represent the quality and impact of achievements (rather than workload allocations). Please contact your relevant
promotion coordinator for advice regarding your contract type.
6.4 When allocating weightings, you should:
consider the weighting of your case carefully and seek advice from your performance supervisor, associate deans and head of
unit before finally determining the balance;
choose weightings that strengthen your case in relation to achievements and which reflect the assessments made annually as
part of the Performance Development Process: Academic Staff; and
enable you to provide a thorough narrative and supporting evidence of achievements against the chosen criteria in the relevant
areas of academic activity regardless of the weighting attached.
6.5 Weightings should add to 100% and meet the minimum requirements below:
Weighting
Employment Contract
Research Education Engagement
20% minimum 30% minimum
Teaching and research 10% minimum
30% minimum 20% minimum
60% with significant
Teaching and research: 40% for research and education combined, with a minimum of emphasis on the impact
‘special case’ based on 10% for each, if it reflects the agreed performance development that leadership has had
outstanding engagement plan on the University,
community/discipline
85% maximum, with particular
Education-focused (as a 5% minimum emphasis on educational
subset of the Teaching & 10% minimum
design and delivery and
Research category)
educational leadership
6.6 A ‘special case’ for outstanding engagement may only be considered by senior lecturers or associate professors currently in a
leadership role or who have been in such a role within the University for a substantial period.
Academic Requirements
Area
Demonstrate your achievements drawing on relevant evidence (including the Research Achievement
Record) that focuses on outcomes and impact. You must address:
research criterion 1 and 2 of the academic performance framework; and
Research research criteria 3-5 (where relevant).
You should highlight it in bold up to 5 significant research achievements.
You may elect to include achievements in research supervision in either the research or education
category (but not in both).
Demonstrate your achievements drawing on relevant evidence that takes into consideration three distinct
areas of practice:
activities directly involved in the delivery of learning and teaching to students;
the scholarship of teaching; and
continual professional enhancement and self-review.
If you are involved in teaching you must address education criterion 6 of the academic performance
Education framework.
In addition,
For teaching and research – you must elect and address two additional education criteria from 1 to 5;
For education-focused – you must address education criterion 5 and elect and address two additional
education criteria from 1 to 4.
Further information is available at the Monash Education Academy website.
Demonstrate your achievement against each chosen criteria drawing on relevant evidence that focuses on
outcomes and impact.
Engagement You may select the engagement criteria from the academic performance framework that most applies to
your case. Examples of engagement activities are available on the academic performance framework
website.
Nomination of assessors
6.20 Assessors will provide a confidential and objective evaluation of your case for promotion.
6.21 The head of unit will recommend impartial and independent assessors to the Dean/Pro-Vice Chancellor and President (Monash
University Malaysia) who will nominate assessors for you.
6.22 An assessor should be a person of eminence in the discipline and at least at the academic level to which you are applying,
preferably higher.
6.23 Assessors should not have:
a close professional or personal association with you;
co-published or collaborated with you in the past 5 years;
supervised your PhD thesis (or have been supervised by you); and/or
a material personal interest that may impact their ability to perform the role as independent assessor.
6.24 The head of unit must contact each assessor on behalf of the dean/Pro Vice Chancellor (Monash University Malaysia) to determine
their independence, willingness, and availability to provide an assessment and record details of the assessors on the form.
6.25 The following number of independent assessors are required:
6.26 You should review the list of nominated assessors and confirm they are sufficiently independent of you.
New information
7.3 You are able to present new information that meets the following criteria after you have lodged your application.
7.4 The nature of the new information is to:
clarify or update information alluded to in your application, for example the success of a grant application listed as ‘pending'; or
provide new information about a fact or event that significantly strengthens your case for promotion, for example the receipt of
an award or admission to a learned body or academy.
7.5 You must correct or update information that may mislead the committee, for example the outcome of a grant application or
manuscript submitted to a publisher or journal that has been rejected.
7.6 You may be requested to provide further information on your application if requested by the committee.
8. Reports
8.1 Following the round close, the relevant promotion coordinator will make all reasonable efforts to obtain reports from:
associate dean (research) and (education);
dean (for professorial candidates); and
assessors.
8.2 Associate Dean(s), Deans and assessors are encouraged to consider potential, perceived or actual conflicts of interest that exists as
a result of preparing a candidate report. Examples may include:
where a head of unit or associate dean is applying for promotion to the same level as a candidate;
co-publishing with the candidate;
ongoing joint scholarly projects; and
a mentoring or personal relationship with the candidate.
The relevant faculty promotion coordinator should be contacted for advice if unsure.
Assessor reports
8.11 The relevant promotion coordinator is the point of contact with assessors. They will provide the assessor with a copy of your
application and a copy of this procedure to enable them to:
provide an opinion drawn from their understanding of the education and research achievements expected of an academic at
the relevant level in their field, including whether your work aligns with internationally recognised academic standards in that
field;
comment on the application submitted (in its entirety) and make an assessment of the quality and impact of your achievements
in a specific area of activity in the particular circumstances of the case;
indicate the extent of their support for the application;
indicate whether you would be promoted at their university or institution and, if not, explain why;
indicate whether or not they have a professional and/or personal relationship with you and if so, the nature of the relationship;
and
at professorial level, comment on your current international reputation in the field.
8.12 Where a close professional or personal association exists, the report will still be provided to the committee. However, the committee
will consider the likely objectivity of the report.
9. Promotion Committee
9.1 Applications for promotion are considered by the following committees to inform the decision of the chair.
University Professorial Promotion Committee (level E) Provost and Senior Vice President
*Non-faculty applications will be considered by the faculty committee that is most relevant to their discipline/area
9.2 Where a dean delegates responsibilities, the dean remains responsible for the decision of the nominee and any committee that they
chair within the parameters of this procedure.
9.3 The decision about whether a professorial candidate is promoted rests solely with the chair on the advice of the University
Professorial Promotion Committee.
Committee membership
9.4 All committee members must be at the same academic level or higher than the level you are applying for.
9.5 The chair will ensure committee gender diversity, with a minimum of one-third female and one-third male representation. In the case
of faculty/Malaysia Committees, if the chair is unable to meet the minimum gender representation requirement, the relevant
promotion coordinator will assist by suggesting representatives from a cognate area. In exceptional circumstances the chair may
request the Provost and Senior Vice-President vary or waive the requirement.
9.6 The chair will ensure the committee includes broad representation across disciplines and academic activity (which will normally
include research only, teaching and research, education focused representation) and may appoint additional committee members to
ensure sufficient expertise.
9.10 Members of faculty promotion committees must be academic faculty staff of 0.4 fraction and above.
9.11 Committees should have:
equal numbers of elected and appointed members; and
a provision for alternate members in the event of unavailability of any member.
9.12 Committee composition should be determined following elections to assist the chair in attaining gender diversity and a broad
representation across discipline and academic activity.
9.13 Members are normally elected for a three-year term and may be re-elected. Only academic faculty staff of fraction 0.4 and above are
eligible to vote in faculty elections.
9.14 Where there are insufficient nominations to fill an elected position, the position will be re-advertised. If unsuccessful, the chair may
directly appoint a member who will be regarded as an elected member for quorum purposes.
9.15 Appointed members are academic staff of 0.4 fraction and above appointed by the dean and may be re-appointed.
9.16 The external member on the Senior Lecturer/Senior Research Fellow (Level C) committee may be external to the faculty or to the
University.
9.17 The chair may appoint an external member to the Associate Professor/Associate Professor (Research) (Level D) committee for the
purposes of improving or ensuring sufficient disciplinary or academic focus. The external member may be external to the faculty or to
the University.
9.18 All members of the Malaysia promotion Committees are appointed by the chair.
9.19 The Chair must appoint four professors (excluding deputy deans) to the University Professorial Promotion Committee.
9.20 The Chair should ensure equal discipline representation from the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) and STEMM.
9.21 The chair may appoint additional committee members, including an external member for the purposes of improving or ensuring
sufficient disciplinary or academic focus.
Conflict of interest
10.5 Committee members must declare to the chair any potential, perceived or actual conflict of interest prior to the meeting date. If a
committee member is uncertain, advice should be sought from the chair as soon as possible. Examples may include:
a supervisory postgraduate studies relationship (past or present);
a direct supervisory working relationship with the candidate;
co-publishing or collaborating with the candidate;
a mentoring or personal relationship with the candidate; and/or
a material personal interest that may impact their ability to objectively perform in the role.
10.6 The chair is responsible for ensuring that no declared conflict of interest can influence or be perceived to influence the outcome of
the application. The chair will seek advice from the committee if there is a conflict of interest and may ask the member to withdraw
from deliberations where a conflict of interest cannot be resolved.
Candidate interviews
11.4 If you are applying for Associate Professor (level D) you may be interviewed at the chair’s request.
11.5 If you are applying for Professor (level E), you will be interviewed by the University Professorial Promotion Committee
11.6 Interviews allow the committee to clarify information contained in your application and for you to answer relevant questions.
11.7 It is your responsibility to be available for all dates on which the relevant committee meeting is held. Individual requests for a specific
interview date or time will not normally be met.
Dean interviews
11.8 The dean will be interviewed by the University Professorial Promotion Committee.
11.9 The focus of the interview is to allow the committee to ask the dean questions regarding your application or to seek further clarity or
context. The dean will be familiar with all background material relating to your case and be prepared to discuss it in detail.
11.10 In exceptional circumstances the deputy dean may act as proxy for the dean at interview.
Voting
11.11 A committees vote will inform the decision of the chair.
11.12 The chair, in consultation with committee members, may determine the method of voting.
11.13 During the meeting, each voting member may cast one ‘yes' or ‘no' vote. There can be no abstentions. Any committee member with
an unresolved conflict of interest would not be present during the vote.
14. Rehearing
14.1 If your application is not successful, you may lodge an application for a rehearing only on the basis that a procedural
irregularity substantive enough to result in material disadvantage to you has occurred with regards to the decision. For further
information, refer to the Academic Promotion Rehearing Procedure.
DEFINITIONS
Academic Performance A framework that articulates high level expectations for academic performance adopting a consistent
Framework approach across the three categories of Research, Education and Engagement, against which all
academic performance will be measured. Further information is available on the Academic
Performance Framework website.
Achievement(s) relative to An evaluative framework in which the overall quality and impact of achievements is given more weight
opportunity than the quantity, rate or breadth of particular achievements. Assessing achievements relative to
opportunity involves giving consideration to circumstances, arrangements, career histories and overall
time available. This in turn allows appropriate evaluation of achievements in relation to:
the quantum or rate of productivity,
the opportunity to participate in certain types of activities, and
the consistency of activities or output over the period of consideration.
Achievement relative to opportunity is a positive acknowledgement of what a person can and has
achieved given the opportunities available and is not about providing “special consideration” or
expecting lesser standards of performance.
Conditional promotion A conditional promotion means that the committee authorises the chair of the committee to approve
the promotion if certain specific criteria are met before 1 May in the following year. A conditional
promotion will come into effect on the date that the chair approves the promotion or 1 January in the
year following the candidate’s application, whichever is the later.
Dean The dean/Pro Vice-Chancellor and President (Monash University Malaysia) or director of institute or
centre or, where applicable, a person acting as nominee. Even when responsibilities are delegated,
the person remains responsible for the decision of the delegate and any committee that they chair
within the parameters of this procedure.
Education-focused A candidate for promotion who is employed on an education-focused contract of employment and is
candidate characterised by educational innovation and leadership in educational design and delivery.
Head of Unit The head of an academic or organisational work unit, for example Head of School, Head of
Department or where applicable, a person acting as nominee. If there are no heads of unit within the
faculty, a deputy dean or equivalent may be delegated the head of unit’s responsibilities for the
academic promotion process.
myPlan An online performance planning tool that supports academic employees and supervisors to manage
the performance development cycle.
Performance Development A plan that documents the annual work goals and career aspirations and development goals for the
Plan employee and the specific targets and progress towards achieving those goals. The performance
development plan forms the basis for the annual performance planning and review cycle.
Procedural irregularity Where the University has not followed a process that is articulated in this procedure.
Promotion coordinator The designated employee within Monash HR who is responsible for administration and coordination of
the promotion process. The relevant promotion coordinators are:
for applications to professor (Level E), the Senior Adviser, Academic Performance (Promotion) in
Monash HR;
for Australian-based applications to lecturer or research fellow (level B), senior lecturer or senior
research fellow (level C) and associate professor (level D), an employee within the Academic
Performance team, Workplace Relations, Monash HR; and
for Malaysian-based applications to lecturer or research fellow (level B), to senior lecturer or senior
research fellow (level C) and associate professor (level D), a member of the HR team at the
University's Malaysia campus.
Promotion Committee The relevant panel committee constituted in accordance with item 10 in this procedure that is
responsible for assessing the promotion application.
Pure The University’s research management software which provides information for Monash employees on
their grants, contracts, research outputs and research achievements.
Research Achievement A report that details the candidate's research outputs, funding applications and awards, and HDR
Record supervision during the relevant promotion period. For Australian candidates, this report is generated
via the University's Business Intelligence system.
Research-only candidate: A candidate for promotion who is employed on a research-only contract of employment and who is
appointed to undertake predominately research and research-related activities.
Student Evaluation Record A record of a candidate's student evaluation results for units/unit offerings in which the candidate has
had a teaching role and will cover the period relevant to the promotion application. The report is
generated by University Planning and Statistics and is requested via the UPS website. The report will
not contain Monquest data (i.e. 2010 and before). This data is still available and can be requested by
Committees via the relevant promotions co-ordinator if required.
Legislation mandating
compliance
Responsibility for
implementation
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