The College Board has approved a new system of senior academic promotions, which Trinity hopes will see more rounded academics move up the ranks of the college.
Reforms to the system were recommended in a report by the University of Cambridge’s Jeremy KM Sanders and approved by the College Board on November 15th.
Previously, academics had indicated that there was a lack of clarity in the criteria for appointment. As well as this, there had been disquiet over a perception that excelling in research, regardless of other contributions to university life or the discipline, was the core criteria for promotion.
The new measures will change the way academic staff apply for associate professorship positions and above.
The new system outlines four categories under which an applicant will be assessed. Applicants will now be examined by reference to research, teaching, service to the College and service to their discipline or society at large. A prospective appointee will have to score a threshold mark in all four categories, and then must excel further in teaching and research.
Speaking to The University Times, the Vice-Provost, Chris Morash, indicated that the reforms aimed to reward academics who were “citizens of the university” and encourage positive behaviour toward that end. “You have to play on all four parts of the pitch”, he explained. According to Morash, an ideal candidate is now encouraged to carry out research and publishing, but notes that instead of prioritising this above all else, candidates need to think about their teaching and how they interact with students. “You should be looking at taking on roles of responsibility in your school. You need to be out there in the world outside of the university”, he said.
Previously, he said, academics could almost “pass by compensation” in certain categories, but this will no longer be the case under the new measures. This aims to combat a culture of a “two-tier university”.
“People who were absolved of doing things like teaching had more time to do research and pull in the funding and fly higher”, he said, leaving others “carrying the weight”.
The measures will be applied flexibly, with certain concessions and amendments made where necessary because of the nature of the applicant’s discipline. For example, Morash said that certain disciplines are unlikely to publish books and so not having done so would not weigh heavily against a candidate.
The measures also provide for external examiners for candidates, with three allocated to the appointments committee of each school.
The system was welcomed by the Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT). Speaking to The University Times, the Chairman of the Trinity branch of IFUT, John Walsh, said that it was “positive that College has embraced many recommendations of the Sanders report”. He noted that members had raised concerns around consistency, as well as a lack of transparency – for example, there was no provision for written feedback.
