• Section 1 - Overview
• Section 2 - Procedures
• Information Sessions for candidates and supervisors
• Candidates register their intention to apply
• Promotion round opens
• Candidates prepare their case for academic promotion
• Candidates lodge applications — academic promotion round closes
• HRS source assessors and collect supervisor's reports
• Academic Promotion Committees
• Interviews conducted for candidates seeking promotion to Academic Level E
• Candidates notified of outcome
• Appeals
• Authority and Compliance
• Section 3 - Definitions

Section 1 - Overview

(1) These procedures provide guidance on the application of the UNE Academic Promotion Rule.

Section 2 - Procedures

Information Sessions for candidates and supervisors

(2) It is highly recommended that prospective candidates attend a promotion information session in the year prior to applying for promotion as well as the year an application is to be submitted.

(3) Supervisors of staff applying for promotion are strongly encouraged to attend the Supervisor's Information Session.

Candidates register their intention to apply

(4) Prospective candidates must discuss their intention to apply for academic promotion with their supervisor. Further, this intent would normally have been identified through the Performance Planning Development and Review process.

(5) Where the Supervisor is not the Head of Cost Centre, the Supervisor will ensure the Head of School is informed of the candidate's intention to apply for promotion (prior to the key date provided by Human Resource Services Directorate for registration).

(6) The Head of School provides the list of staff in their School who are intending to apply for promotion, and the names of their supervisors, to Human Resource Services Directorate. This will occur in the manner and by the key date indicated on the Human Resource Services Directorate website.

(7) Where the Supervisor considers an application to be premature, the supervisor will provide advice to assist in a future application and develop an action plan with the staff member.

Promotion round opens

(8) The University will normally adhere to the Schedule of Key Dates, available to staff via UNE login and password at the Academic Promotions section of the Human Resource Services Directorate website (www.une.edu.au/staff-current/development/academic-career-path/academic-promotions). 

(9) All relevant documentation and key dates for candidates and supervisors will also be available at the Academic Promotions section of the Human Resource Services Directorate website (www.une.edu.au/staff-current/development/academic-career-path/academic-promotions).

(10) Candidates are encouraged to seek advice early in the promotion round with their supervisor to discuss timely completion of the Application for Promotion form.

(11) Candidates must not consult or discuss their application with Academic Promotions Committee members (published on the Human Resource Services Directorate website) and if applying for Level D or E, with any person identified on their list of potential assessors, once it has been submitted to the Head of Cost Centre (HoS). Candidates will confirm the assessors are willing to write the report, before submitting the nominated assessors form to the Head of Cost Centre.

(12) The University recognises that unforeseen or exceptional circumstances may arise from time to time, preventing candidates from adhering to submission dates. In such circumstances a candidate may, with the support of the Head of School, apply to the Chair of the Academic Promotions Committee for consideration of an extension to the submission date.

(13) A request for submission of the application after the closing date must be made to Human Resource Services Directorate by the candidate, and accompanied by a draft application of their submission. The request must be received no later than five (5) days prior to the closing date for applications. In the event that the request is successful, an extension of up to two weeks may be granted.

Candidates prepare their case for academic promotion

(14) Academic promotion is based upon merit, and as such, cases should reflect meritorious achievements and service undertaken since a candidate's appointment, or latest promotion.

(15) Cases for promotion must include:

1. evidence of the candidate's capacity to perform at the level to which they are seeking promotion; and
2. clear evidence of a performance trajectory that would warrant advancement to the next level.

(16) Candidates are required to complete an Application for Promotion Form, available from the Human Resource Services Directorate website. More specific details regarding the requirements for the completion of an application are provided as Guidelines to these procedures.

(17) Weightings:

1. candidates are required to allocate weightings to each of the categories of research, teaching and service based on their demonstrated workload;
2. weightings as indicated by candidates will be confirmed by their HoS/Supervisor. If the specified weightings are not aligned to the balance of teaching, research and service in their demonstrated workload, this will be indicated by the Supervisor in the Supervisor's report; and
3. candidates applying for promotion to Level D and E are expected to demonstrate leadership.

Candidates lodge applications — academic promotion round closes

(18) All candidates must lodge their completed and signed application by 5pm on the closing date of the promotion round. Prior to the closing date, Human Resource Services Directorate will provide guidance to candidates to ensure their application complies with the requirements for Student Evaluation Reports and section and/or page limits. To be clear, it is not HRS's responsibility to ensure an application is compliant, moreover Human Resource Services Directorate will provide guidance in support of staff applying for promotion.

(19) Where a candidate for promotion submits an application that does not comply with the requirements for Student Evaluation Reports, the application is deemed to be an invalid application and therefore is not counted as an unsuccessful application for eligibility purposes (refer clause 5.c. of the Rule).

(20) Where a candidate for promotion submits an application that does not comply with the section and/or page limits required, additional pages to those permitted will be deleted by HRS prior to the application being made available to the Academic Promotions Committee.

HRS source assessors and collect supervisor's reports

(21) Assessors will be required for Level D and Level E candidates only:

1. for promotion to Level D: the candidate must nominate five (5) potential assessors where the Supervisor will select two (2); and
2. for promotion to Level E: the candidate must nominate six (6) potential assessors where the Supervisor will select three (3).

(22) Nominated assessors should be recognised at a national or international level in the candidate's discipline. They must also be at or above the Academic level to which the candidate is applying. It is advisable to include assessors external to UNE.

(23) The relevant form for nomination of assessors is available at the Human Resource Services Directorate website.

(24) The Head of School will select assessors and confirm that they are willing to assess the application. Assessors will be able to submit their reports to Human Resource Services Directorate as per the key date on the Academic Promotions page of the Human Resource Services Directorate website.

(25) The identity of assessors chosen by the HoS is confidential.

(26) Supervisor's report:

1. The author of a Supervisor's report must not be a candidate for promotion at the same level as the applicant about whom they are providing a report. This and any other conflicts of interest between Supervisor and applicant (e.g. publication or creative works co-authorship, co-CI on research grants, PhD supervision of applicant, etc) must be declared prior to the application submission process;
2. At Levels D and E, the Head of Cost Centre will normally write the Supervisor's report;
3. A Supervisor's report will provide an evidence-based assessment of the application against the criteria provided. Submission of the supervisor's report to Human Resource Services Directorate by the key date indicated will include verification that the candidate has met with the supervisor prior to submission of application for promotion;
4. The Supervisor's report will indicate whether the supervisor supports the application for promotion; and
5. Where there are special circumstances, for example a recent change to a HoS, the Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor may assign an alternate supervisor, either at the request of the candidate or after consultation with the candidate.

(27) The Supervisor must email a pdf of these report(s) with all relevant signatures to Human Resource Services Directorate by the key date indicated.

(28) Human Resource Services Directorate will email a copy of supervisors' reports to candidates by the key date indicated.

(29) The candidate may submit a rebuttal of a comment contained in a Supervisor's report, within five (5) days of receiving the supervisor's report from Human Resource Services Directorate. A copy of the rebuttal must be provided to the supervisor with the signed supervisor's report.

(30) Where a rebuttal includes demonstrated factual error/s in the supervisor's report, Human Resource Services Directorate will review and assess all relevant documentation and provide a recommendation to the Chair of the Academic Promotions Committee for their approval. Where a supervisor's report is amended as a result of demonstrated factual error/s, Human Resource Services Directorate will delete the contested material before providing the report to the Academic Promotions Committee. A copy of the revised supervisor's report will be provided to the candidate and supervisor.

(31) Additional Information:

1. Candidates may provide additional information that may have become available following the lodgement of their application;
2. The nature of the additional information is to:
   1. clarify or update information referred to in their original application, such as the success of a grant application previously listed as 'pending'; or
   2. provide new information about a fact or event that significantly strengthens their case for promotion, such as the receipt of an award.
3. Additional information (no more than two (2) pages) must be submitted to Human Resource Services Directorate  in accordance with the key dates provided at the Academic Promotions section of the Human Resource Services Directorate website.

Academic Promotion Committees

(32) Academic Promotions Committee membership will be in accordance with Section 19 of the Academic Collective Agreement.

(33) More specific details regarding Academic Promotions Committee and their processes are provided as Academic Promotion Committees Guidelines. These are available on the Human Resource Services Directorate website.

Interviews conducted for candidates seeking promotion to Academic Level E

(34) All candidates applying for promotion to Academic Level E (Professor) will be interviewed by the Level E Academic Promotions Committee. The interview allows the Committee to further explore areas such as leadership and the future contribution of candidates and for candidates to respond to relevant questions.

(35) It is the candidate's responsibility to be available to attend the relevant Academic Promotions Committee meeting at the date published on the Human Resource Services Directorate website. Candidates unable to attend an interview in person may arrange an alternative option with the Chair of the Academic Promotions Committee.

Candidates notified of outcome

(36) All candidates will be advised in writing of the outcome of their application:

1. Where a candidate's application has been unsuccessful, they will receive a report approved by the Chair providing the reasons for the Committee's decision. The report will highlight both the strengths and the weaknesses of the candidate's application.
2. A brief report will also be provided to successful candidates.

(37) All candidates will be offered an opportunity to meet with the Chair to discuss the outcome of their application. The candidate's supervisor will be present and, in exceptional circumstances, permission may be sought from the Chair for the candidate to nominate another person to be present.

(38) The purpose of such a meeting will be to provide feedback and guidance for future applications and is therefore strongly encouraged. Discussion at this meeting may not be used as grounds for appeal. Explicit advice as to when the candidate should next apply for promotion will not be provided.

(39) To assist candidates in addressing the feedback provided by the Committee, supervisors will meet with unsuccessful candidates to develop an action plan, where appropriate, in accordance with the Performance Planning and Review Policy.

Appeals

(40) Candidates not recommended for promotion may lodge an appeal on the basis there has been a procedural breach substantive enough to result in material disadvantage to them with regards to the Academic Promotions Committee's decision.

(41) Appeals may be lodged electronically via the formal appeals template/s provided at the Academic Promotions section of the Human Resource Services Directorate website.

(42) An appeal must be lodged with Human Resource Services Directorate within fifteen (15) working days of the date on the letter providing the feedback from the Academic Promotions Committee.

(43) More specific details regarding the Promotion Appeals Committee and processes are provided as Academic Promotion Appeals Procedures.

Authority and Compliance

(44) The Procedure Administrator,the Director Human Resource Services, pursuant to the University's Academic Promotion Rule, makes these procedures.

(45) UNE Representatives must observe these Procedures in relation to University matters.

(46) These Procedures operate as and from the Effective Date.

(47) Previous Procedures relating to Academic Promotion are replaced and have no further operation from the Effective Date of this new Procedure.

Section 3 - Definitions

(48) Academic Collective Agreement means the UNE Academic and ELC Teaching Staff Collective Agreement 2014-2017 as extended or varied from time to time, and is taken to include any Collective Agreement that replaces or varies one or more of these documents.

(49) Academic Staff means employees covered under the UNE Academic and ELC Teaching Staff Collective Agreement 2014-2017 or the replacement Collective Agreement, with the exception of English Language Teaching Staff.

(50) Exceptional circumstances are normally those that are considered unusual, uncommon or abnormal and are beyond a staff member's control. Examples include serious illness or injury; death of an immediate family member, partner or close relative; acute or substantive illness or injury of a partner, immediate family member or close relative.

(51) Normally means that it is the default position that must be followed unless exceptional circumstances exist that require a departure from the default position, as determined by the Policy Administrator acting reasonably.

(52) School means School and other organisational units such as Oorala, Teaching and Learning Support and UNE research centres.

(53) Supervisor means the role to which a position reports.