• Section 1 - Purpose and Context
• Section 2 - Definitions
• Section 3 - Policy Statement
• Part A - Eligibility
• Part B - Requirements for Promotion
• Part C - Criteria for Promotion
• Fields of Attainment
• Section 4 - Procedures
• Part D - Application Method
• Part E - Submission of Applications
• Part F - Referees
• Part G - Determination and Notification
• Part H - Professorial Promotions Committee
• Part I - Appeals
• Section 5 - Guidelines

Section 1 - Purpose and Context

(1) Nil.

Section 2 - Definitions

(2) Nil.

Section 3 - Policy Statement

(3) The University acknowledges through internal promotion to Professor the contribution of academic staff who demonstrate outstanding achievement at a level normally expected of a Professor in Australian universities. The opportunity of promotion to Professor on the basis of personal merit illustrates that the University values excellence, innovation and achievement in teaching, educational development, research, scholarship, and the advancement of knowledge, and leadership within the University, the region and the wider community, nationally and internationally. The University also expects that all staff promoted to Professor will have, and be able to demonstrate, a high personal standing in terms of ethical behaviour, a collegial approach, and support for the University's values and strategic directions. Unless a successful applicant is exceptionally talented in other ways, significant academic leadership ability will be regarded as an essential attribute. The policy enables recognition of academic staff members' diverse achievements and talents, and supports different pathways for academic excellence.

(4) Promotion to Professor is exceptional and is reserved only for those demonstrating outstanding achievement. Promotion to Professor should therefore not be seen as the usual career progression expectation for all academic staff.

(5) In the promotion process, social justice principles will be observed.

Part A - Eligibility

(6) Any full-time or part-time member of the academic staff of UWS with a continuing appointment may apply for promotion, provided that the staff member has served at least two academic years as an academic staff member at UWS prior to the date on which applications for promotion are invited. Any period of leave without pay or secondment to another institution cannot be included in the two year period. Exemptions from the two-year rule will only be considered in exceptional circumstances and will be at the discretion of the Chair Promotions Committee, to whom a case must be put prior to the close of applications.

(7) Academic staff who take more than a period of six months leave without pay, are not eligible to apply for promotion in the calendar year (January - December) that the leave commences.

(8) Academic staff employed on the basis of a fixed-term contract are also eligible to apply, but promotion of a person who is employed on a non-renewable contract does not vary the length of the contract.

(9) Academic staff whose employment is externally funded are not eligible to apply for promotion unless the funds include provision for an increase to support the promotion.

(10) Academic staff employed on a casual basis are not eligible to apply for promotion.

(11) An academic staff member may not normally apply for promotion in consecutive years. This provision may only be varied if the Chair Promotions Committee considers a case to be exceptional.

(12) An applicant may make only one application in a promotion round at any level and applications for promotion to Professor will only be considered for that level.

(13) Before a promotion can be confirmed, the applicant must have a current, signed workload agreement and have participated constructively and in good faith in the Academic Performance Planning and Review process.

Part B - Requirements for Promotion

(14) Applications for promotion to Professor will be assessed against the University's general standard for appointment to an advertised Chair, which reflects the Position Classification Standard for Level E in Schedule 3 of the UWS Academic Staff Agreement 2006 - 2008 and reads as follows:

(15) It is expected that successful applicants will normally be able to demonstrate a minimum of "meritorious" activity in all three of the fields of attainment listed below in clause (23) and "distinguished" activity in at least two. The fields of attainment claimed as "distinguished" must include either: (1) Research and/or Scholarship, including engaged research or (2) Teaching, including engaged teaching and/or Curriculum Development and/or Educational Leadership.

(16) When demonstrating an outstanding level of achievement in research, applicants must have been recognised by the University as "research-active".

(17) Allowance will be made for those (e.g. research only staff) who have not had an opportunity to engage in all three fields; however their performance in designated areas would be expected to be of an accordingly high level of distinction.

(18) Where an applicant is of the view that a field of attainment does not apply, the reason must be stated and justified under the relevant criterion in the application template.

(19) In the case of the requirement of "distinguished activity in at least two fields", the Promotions Committee will consider exceptions, as, for example, in a case where the applicant's outstandingly distinguished work in one field may make it unreasonable to expect a distinguished contribution in another.

(20) The performance of applicants who have had interrupted or non-traditional career paths will be assessed accordingly.

Part C - Criteria for Promotion

(21) When assessing candidates for promotion to Professor, the Promotions Committee will give regard to the specific fields of attainment in clause (23). Information relating to the levels of attainment appears in Appendix 1 and examples of evidence appear in the guidelines for completing the application template.

(22) Applications for promotion to Professor should take an all-of-career focus, but with clear delineation of achievements since the applicant's last promotion at UWS or since the applicant's appointment to UWS, whichever is the shorter period. Applications should include a CV with a complete list of qualifications, appointments, honours and awards, publications, grants, courses developed and taught, supervision of research students, scholarly activities, committee membership, etc.

Fields of Attainment

(23) The fields of attainment are:

(24) a. Research and/or Scholarship, including engaged research

(25) Evidence of the initiation, or undertaking, of successful entrepreneurial activities on behalf of the University is admissible to support a case for promotion. While such activities may not fall clearly into any one of the fields of attainment listed above, candidates should include any relevant evidence under the field to which it seems, in the light of the activity involved, most appropriate.

(26) It is expected that research outcomes cited in the application will have been registered with the Office of Research Services. The Promotions Committee may, at its discretion, seek validation of claims relating to research achievements from the Office of Research Services. Only consulting projects that have been approved by, and conducted through, UWS are eligible to be considered in support of an application for promotion.

Section 4 - Procedures

Part D - Application Method

(27) The Vice-Chancellor will invite applications for promotion annually at least two months in advance of the closing date for applications. This invitation will include a timetable for completion of the promotion process.

(28) Works accepted for publication but not published before the closing date for applications may be included in the publications list so long as they are marked as such. Evidence of acceptance by the journal or publisher will need to be provided to the Executive Dean for endorsement and submission to the Executive Officer Promotions by the time the Promotions Committee meets.

(29) Where appropriate, the application should include citation data from the relevant citation index for each publication, excluding self-citations. It is acknowledged that citations will only be possible where they are routinely available.

(30) The applicant must provide evidence of information in the application (e.g. publications, research grants, consultancies etc.) to the Executive Dean who must sign that the information has been sighted.

(31) Applicants must clearly state the percentage of their contribution to publications, must include numbers of pages in books, page numbers of articles or chapters in books and must use the referencing system recognised as appropriate for their discipline. Publications in alternative media must include an explanation of their content.

(32) Applications must be made on the template provided, which consists of a cover sheet (including personal details, academic qualifications and employment history), the written case for promotion, which should not exceed ten pages, and evidence of achievements, including details of qualifications, appointments, honours and awards, publications, grants, courses developed and taught, supervision of research students, scholarly activities, governance participation, etc., in tabular form. Publications should be listed under the standard DEEWR categories.

(33) Applicants are required to address all the requirements for promotion as outlined in Parts B and C (i.e. all three fields of attainment), except where not applicable, in which case, the requirements of clause (18) above will apply; and to specify for each promotion criterion whether their level of attainment is to be considered by the promotions committee as distinguished or meritorious. Definitions of these terms can be found in Appendix 1.

(34) Although applicants may refer to achievements across the criteria, they must ensure that they do not duplicate their case in more than one criterion.

(35) For fields of "distinguished" activity, the template includes provision for a short comment about the five best, or most significant, publications, or, where appropriate, about major achievements or other outputs.

(36) Two copies of each cited work must be provided to the Executive Officer Promotions.

(37) All material cited in the application must be available to the Committee if requested.

(38) Guidelines to assist in completing the application are also available. Applicants are strongly encouraged to use the guidelines when preparing their application for promotion.

(39) Applicants for promotion may provide a brief statement on any equity considerations relevant to their application.

(40) Applicants should note that the submission of additional information will not normally be accepted after the closing date for receipt of applications for promotion. Exceptions may apply in cases where information is requested by the Committee or is information that relates directly to an activity detailed within the application where an outcome is pending, e.g. notification of successful or unsuccessful application for a research grant, conferral of a qualification etc.

Part E - Submission of Applications

(41) Applicants are required to submit an electronic version of the application to the Executive Officer Promotions (email: promotions@uws.edu.au) by the closing date specified in the notice calling for applications. On the same date, applicants should also submit a copy of their application to their Executive Dean and Academic Supervisor. Applicants must also provide the Executive Dean with evidence of their publications, research grants and consultancies etc.

(42) All applications for promotion will be acknowledged by the Executive Officer Promotions, within one week of receipt of the application.

(43) The Executive Officer Promotions will request a recommendation report from the relevant Executive Dean within seven working days of the closing date for applications. The Executive Dean must submit the report to the Executive Officer Promotions on the required template within 21 calendar days of the request. The report is to be completed by the Executive Dean in consultation with the Academic Supervisor and the template contains provision for addition or qualification by the Academic Supervisor. The report should not comment on Research nor recommend to promote or not promote.

(44) Prior to the submission of the report, the Executive Dean and the Academic Supervisor are required to read the application in full. The Executive Dean must give a copy of their report to the applicant at the same time as they submit the report to the Executive Officer Promotions.

(45) If an applicant disagrees with any aspect of the Executive Dean's recommendation report, they have a right of reply. The applicant must send their response (no more than one page) to the Executive Officer Promotions within seven working days of the receipt of the copy of the Executive Dean's recommendation. The Executive Officer Promotions will send a copy of the response to the Executive Dean.

(46) Once the Promotions Committee has held its first meeting, an applicant cannot normally withdraw his or her application except in the circumstances in clause (46) below.

(47) An application for promotion is to be withdrawn if the applicant has accepted an offer of redundancy, a position in another institution, or has resigned from the University.

(48) Applicants must not contact a member of the Promotions Committee or an assessor to discuss their application, except to receive official feedback from the Chair or nominee after results have been notified.

Part F - Referees

(49) All referees' reports will be requested by the Executive Officer Promotions immediately following receipt of applications. Applicants should try to avoid nominating members of the Promotions Committee as referees.

(50) Applicants are required to provide the names, addresses (email and postal) and facsimile numbers of three referees of appropriate standing, who have agreed to act in this capacity. Normally, two of the referees should be external to the University and, except where referees of international standing are unobtainable or not relevant because of the nature of the applicant's work, of international standing. At least one referee must be internal. See further under Guidelines. It is the responsibility of the applicant to provide a copy of the promotion application to the nominated referees.

(51) The relevant Executive Dean, without reference to the applicant, should nominate a panel of experts in the discipline to act as independent assessors, of which the Committee may select two. The independent assessors must be experts within the relevant discipline at full professorial level, or if this is not appropriate they should be readily identified as distinguished industry leaders. The selected assessors are to review the significant works nominated by the applicant, in addition to providing information on the standing of the applicant in the particular discipline. The applicant may inform the relevant Executive Dean of people whom they would not wish the University to approach. The Committee may also obtain advice from other internal and external advisors of its own choosing and will inform the applicant where this advice is sought, for what purpose the advice is sought and the identity of the advisor(s).

Part G - Determination and Notification

(52) The Committee will consider all applications and has the right to recommend an applicant to be promoted or not to be promoted, without interview. In fact, interviews are not normally held. If the Committee does wish to interview the applicant, it may communicate in writing those aspects of the application that it wishes to clarify. Interviews are to seek further clarification of certain aspects of the application and new information or material may not be presented.

(53) Recommendations for promotion must be supported by a minimum of the full complement of the Committee members, excluding the Vice-Chancellor, less two. Final approval of recommended applicants rests with the Vice-Chancellor.

(54) Each applicant will be advised of the outcome of their application within 14 working days of the Vice-Chancellor's decision.

(55) The Vice-Chancellor, as Chair of the Committee, has the sole responsibility of providing feedback to unsuccessful applicants, if requested. This feedback may take the form of a meeting, with the Secretary of the Committee in attendance.

(56) All successful applicants will be promoted with effect from 1 January of the year following application, unless the Vice-Chancellor determines an earlier date for all successful applicants.

(57) The Vice-Chancellor will provide Academic Senate with a report about the promotion round, including the number of applications received, the number of promotions approved (incorporating a breakdown based on gender) and the number and outcomes of any appeals.

Part H - Professorial Promotions Committee

(58) Membership of the Professorial Promotions Committee will comprise at least:

(59) a. the Vice-Chancellor (Chair)

(60) The Vice-Chancellor may co-opt an additional Professor of the University to the committee to achieve gender or disciplinary balance. While the Committee should be broadly-based, there is no requirement that all disciplines are represented.

(61) The UWS Director Equity and Diversity will provide advice on the composition of the Committee.

(62) Where a member of the committee is unable to attend or continue to serve once the consideration of applications has commenced (for example, due to illness or other unforeseen circumstances), the Vice-Chancellor may nominate an appropriate replacement.

(63) The Director Equity and Diversity will be invited to be in attendance at meetings of the committee as an observer.

Part I - Appeals

(64) Unsuccessful applicants for promotion who believe that they have been treated unfairly owing to a defect in the process followed during the promotion round, and who consider that defect has materially affected the decision of the Promotions Committee, may lodge a formal appeal. The grounds of any such appeal are limited to:

(65) a. failure by the Promotions Committee to comply with the procedural requirements of the Policy; and/or

(66) All appeals must be submitted in writing to the Director Human Resources within 20 working days of notification of the decision.

(67) Appeals must refer to the Promotions process and cannot be based on advice received after notification of the result.

(68) A Promotions Appeals Committee will be established on a triennial basis to consider appeals from all levels.

(69) The Promotions Appeals Committee will consist of three members approved by the Vice-Chancellor, being:

(70) a. An independent chairperson, with appropriate knowledge of procedural fairness and administrative justice, nominated by the Vice-Chancellor;

(71) In the case of the staff members in clause (66), each nominee will be a UWS staff member, classified as full-time (being half-time or greater), who has accepted and entered upon duty in a position with duration of one year or more.

(72) The appellant is to be notified of the membership of the Committee and be given the opportunity to present a case for the consideration of the Vice-Chancellor, where there is any perceived conflict of interest.

(73) The Director Human Resources will appoint a secretary to assist the Committee.

(74) Members of the Committee are entitled to examine all documents relevant to the appeal under consideration, including referees' reports that have been submitted in confidence to the University. The deliberations of the Committee are confidential. Control of documents available to the Committee is the responsibility of the Committee Secretary.

(75) The Committee will advise the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic and Research in writing of its recommendation to uphold or reject the appeal. The Office of Human Resources will notify the appellant of the decision of the DVCAR to uphold or reject the appeal.

(76) In the event of a successful appeal, the Committee will furnish an account of its reasons for upholding the appeal to the Professorial Promotions Committee. The Professorial Promotions Committee will then reconvene to reconsider the application while taking every care to avoid the procedural defect that led to the successful appeal.

Section 5 - Guidelines

(77) Nil.