Promotion to Senior Lecturer (Teaching & Scholarship pathway)
SCHEME OF ASSESSMENT FOR PROMOTION TO SENIOR LECTURER
2013/14 (Teaching and Scholarship Pathway)
1
Introduction
For staff on the Teaching and Scholarship pathway promotion to the grade of
Senior Lecturer is available to those able to demonstrate the required level of
contribution and achievement in respect of the agreed benchmarks for
promotion (please see Sections 4 and 5 below). Candidates are required to
provide evidence of excellence in respect of the breadth of the benchmarks
agreed for teaching and scholarship, as well as evidence of excellence in
respect of two of the four benchmarks listed under innovation and
engagement. In addressing these benchmarks applicants are expected to
provide evidence of strategic responsibility for a major operational role and to
demonstrate the impact of this activity on academic performance/student
experience and /or the operational effectiveness of Cardiff University. Such
activity will have an impact on a significant number of students and/or will
require co-ordination of the activities of several academic and support staff
colleagues.
In addition to addressing the relevant benchmarks, all applicants for promotion
are expected to provide evidence of contribution to University citizenship.
University citizenship can take many forms and includes undertaking School
roles and responsibilities; serving on School/University Committees, policy
networks, working groups and panels; contributing to an inclusive community
through promoting equality and diversity; and mentoring/supporting/appraising
colleagues. An exceptional contribution in this area will not constitute a
primary basis for promotion, but may be accorded importance in augmenting
an otherwise marginal application.
In reviewing applications in respect of this process, the Academic Promotions
Committee will expect the scale and scope of activity to reflect the absence of
the obligation to deliver research. Staff on the Teaching and Scholarship
pathway will however have to demonstrate that their teaching is informed by
relevant research findings and exhibits scholarly excellence in the relevant
discipline or field.
1.1 Using the Benchmarks for promotion
Candidates applying for promotion must provide evidence of excellence in
respect of the breadth of the benchmarks agreed for teaching and
scholarship, as well as evidence of excellence in respect of two of the four
benchmarks listed under innovation and engagement. These benchmarks are
supported by indicators of assessment. These indicators are designed neither
to be exhaustive nor prescriptive, but are examples of the areas considered in
assessing applications for promotion to Senior Lecturer (Teaching and
Scholarship). It is acknowledged that some areas will be more appropriate to
some disciplines than others and these are factors that will be taken into
consideration by the Academic Promotions Committee. Applicants are NOT
expected to meet all indicators in all areas.
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Promotion to Senior Lecturer (Teaching & Scholarship pathway)
1.2 Equal Opportunities
Cardiff University is committed to promoting equality in all of its practices and
activities. The University celebrates diversity and recognises that the different
backgrounds, experiences, views, beliefs and cultures that individuals bring to
the institution enhance the working environment and reputation of the
University. The procedures used by the University for promotion are intended
to be open, fair and equitable.
This Scheme of Assessment applies equally to full-time, part-time, and jobsharing staff. In assessing cases, the School Promotions Panel and the
Academic Promotions Committee take into account the contractual
arrangements (full-time, part-time, job-share, clinical nature1 of the
candidate’s employment), and other relevant factors (see section 2.1 below) in
interpreting the benchmarks outlined in Section 4 and 5 below and in
assessing the quality of the application. More generally, account will be taken
of any personal, familial or other non-academic circumstances that may have
restricted or delayed the development of an applicant’s professional career.
Taking into account all the relevant factors, decisions on promotion will be
based on merit, with the expectation of significant evidence of both the
appropriate level of performance and future career trajectory.
1.3 Application process
Applications for promotion must be submitted to the Director of Organisational
and Staff Development by email (Academicpromotions@cardiff.ac.uk), in the
format specified in sections 2 and 3 below, no later than 12 noon on Friday 4
October 2013. Please note that changes to publications, awards or other
achievements which post date 4 October 2013 cannot subsequently be taken
into account.
Decisions on all applications will only be announced when the Academic
Promotions Committee’s work has been completed, which is likely to be June
2014. Successful applicants will be promoted with effect from 1st August
2014.
Unsuccessful candidates for promotion to Senior Lecturer will be offered the
opportunity to attend a meeting with the Vice-Chair of the Academic
Promotions Committee, together with their Head of School, to gain feedback
on the basis for the decision and for guidance on future development. All
unsuccessful candidates are strongly advised to take up the offer of feedback.
1In
evaluating a clinical academic, the level of the academic contribution remains the same as
for non-clinical lecturers, but the quantity to be expected is reduced to take account of the
clinical service provided by the individual. Details of the designated sessional commitments
to both the University and the relevant Trust should form part of the information provided in
respect of sections 2.1 and 2.1of this Scheme.
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Promotion to Senior Lecturer (Teaching & Scholarship pathway)
If a candidate has concerns about the process which remain after the
feedback meeting, s/he can appeal against the decision not to recommend the
promotion but only on the grounds of a defect in the application of the
current procedure. Notice of the intention to appeal must be made in writing
to the Director of HRSHE, providing details for the grounds of the appeal,
within fifteen working days of the feedback meeting.
A re-application following notification of an unsuccessful submission will only
be progressed in circumstances where the candidate can demonstrate an
appropriate improvement in his/her case and evidence of having met the
promotion criteria. Key developments since the previous submission should
be outlined in the statement of application (see 2.1 below).
Additional copies of this procedure may be downloaded from the HR Web-site
at:
http://www.cf.ac.uk/humrs/staffinfo/academicpromotions/index.html.
Should the material be required in an alternative format, please contact the
Human Resources Division on ext 76555 or e-mail DeeryJ@Cardiff.ac.uk.
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Promotion to Senior Lecturer (Teaching & Scholarship pathway)
2
Content of Application
Candidates should provide:2.1
A short (3 page maximum 2) statement addressing the basis of the
application, ensuring that the benchmarks listed for teaching and
scholarship and the two selected benchmarks for innovation and
engagement are addressed and used to structure the case, and cross
referenced to other parts of the application where information is
provided to substantiate the claim. Candidates are asked to include a
clear summary of developments and achievements since appointment/
previous promotion/application and to draw the attention of the
Academic Promotions Committee to any specific issues that may be
relevant to the case. Members of the School Promotions Panel and the
Academic Promotions Committee will wish to take into account all
relevant factors that have had an effect on each candidate’s career
profile, and on the volume of output. Candidates are therefore asked to
provide, if appropriate, information on:-
absences for maternity, paternity, parental or adoption leave and
arrangements on return to work following these periods;
part-time or other flexible working arrangements;
periods of absence or flexible working arrangements or limitations
on speed of working arising from a disability, ill-health or injury;
career breaks;
personal, familial, or other non-academic circumstances that have
restricted or delayed the applicant’s professional career.
2.2
A curriculum vitae (four page maximum) covering:- present and previous appointments;
- qualifications;
- major honours and distinctions;
- details of internal/external funding;
- teaching responsibilities and postgraduate supervisions;
- School, University and/or external
management/administrative/leadership responsibilities;
- membership of professional bodies/learned societies/ peer review
Panels.
2.3
An evidenced based Teaching Profile. This should not exceed 3,000
words and should be accompanied by limited (i.e. no more than ten
sides of A4) supporting documentary evidence. For more details on
Teaching Profiles, please refer to the HR web-site.
2.4
An evidenced based statement regarding contribution to innovation and
engagement. This can be omitted if candidates believe that they have
addressed their full contribution to this area as part of their 3 page
statement. Any additional information should not exceed 3,000 words.
2
This limit may be extended by 1 page for those candidates submitting additional information
regarding specific individual circumstances, as outlined in 2.1.
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Promotion to Senior Lecturer (Teaching & Scholarship pathway)
2.5
A numbered list of publications under the following headings - books,
refereed journal articles, chapters in books, other articles such as those
in professional journals, reviews and other items. These should be
consecutively numbered throughout the whole list, but arranged in date
order under each heading (starting with the most recent). Each
publication should be individually rated according to the candidate’s
judgement of its worth, as outlined below.
Grading of Publications: Research and/or Scholarship
4*
Work that makes a significant addition to knowledge and to the
conceptual understanding of the field, introduces a new way of
thinking about a subject, or is distinctive or transformative, and
has exerted, or is likely to exert, a significant influence on an
academic field or practical applications.
World-leading: displays the highest attainable standards of
originality, significance and rigour.
3*
Work that makes an important contribution to the field at an
international standard, contributing important knowledge, ideas
and techniques which are likely to have a lasting influence, but
are not necessarily transformative or leading to fundamentally
new concepts or ideas.
Internationally excellent: displays international standards of
originality, significance and rigour.
2*
Work that makes a substantial contribution to its field, providing
useful knowledge, and/or involving incremental advances, which
might include new knowledge which conforms with existing ideas
and paradigms, and has the potential to inform subsequent work.
Internationally recognised, in terms of originality, significance and
rigour.
1*
Work that makes a contribution to its field.
Recognised nationally in terms of originality, significance and
rigour.
0*
Research
Related
Scholarship
Work that is not classified as research for REF but which
supports and enhances academic or research activities. For
example:
 work that comprises outputs that disseminate the findings of
other researchers, without significant contribution to
knowledge
 textbooks and other scholarly activity
 standard review articles or textbook chapters that survey
previously published work without a significant, novel,
intellectual contribution
 editorials and discussion papers
 abstracts (refereed or otherwise).
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Promotion to Senior Lecturer (Teaching & Scholarship pathway)
Scholarship
as Research
Scholarship that is defined as research and may be classified as
4*-1* as above.
The creation, development and maintenance of the intellectual
infrastructure of subjects and disciplines, in forms such as
dictionaries, scholarly editions, catalogues and contributions to
major research databases, or other corpora of knowledge.
Teaching
Related
Scholarship
Significant contributions to the understanding of pedagogy of the
subject area/professional practice, scholarship related to learning
and teaching and involving:
The application of the most current knowledge of a discipline or
professional specialism or broader activities and practice,
communicated in ways that are validated by peers and influence
others beyond the institution.
This work may be characterised as 4*-1* as above
Work accepted for publication and “in press”, but unpublished at the
time of application may be included, but must be supported by a letter
of acceptance for publication for journal articles, and in respect of
books, a letter confirming the schedule of production, to verify that this
work is “in press” – these letters to be sent in a separate email
attachment (see section 3 below). Please note that publications that
have been submitted, but not yet accepted for publication, do not fall
into this category and should not be listed here, but may be mentioned
in your 3 page statement.
Applicants are also asked to indicate with a cross (X) in the left hand
margin all research published since promotion to their current grade (or
since appointment to the post) and in respect of these publications for
co-authored/co-produced outputs, to indicate for each publication the
percentage of their contribution3.
2.6
An evidence based statement regarding contribution to University
citizenship. For all cases, this should be no more than 500 words.
2.7
The name, postal address, and email address of one referee. This
referee should not be from Cardiff University, and should be a
professor, or of professorial standing, familiar with the general
standards for promotion within UK universities. In exceptional
circumstances this referee may be chosen from another type of
institution. Candidates are asked to provide a rationale for their choice.
3
Publications prior to last promotion/appointment which have had high impact since that time
can also be annotated.
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Promotion to Senior Lecturer (Teaching & Scholarship pathway)
3
Format and Submission of Application
Applications should be created in a word processing package (e.g. Word), and
should not be in pdf form4. The font to be used throughout is Arial 12 point,
with page margins of at least 1.8cm (0.71"), and all pages should be
numbered.
In order to ensure that referees and assessors receive and access full
documentation, please send your application by email (to the address below)
in the form of two attachments as follows:
Attachment 1) the main application – points 2.1 to 2.6 above, excluding the
letters of acceptance for publications
Attachment 2) Referee details, including the rationale for your choice (Item
2.7 above) and letters providing evidence of work ‘in press’ (point 2.5 above).
Email address for applications:
Academicpromotions@cardiff.ac.uk
Please do not send a hard copy of any part of your application.
4Candidates
may, however, attach a scanned document (pdf file) as part of the
supplementary evidence to the Teaching Profile, where an electronic original of a
document is not available.
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Promotion to Senior Lecturer (Teaching & Scholarship pathway)
4
Assessment of Teaching and Scholarship
An application claiming “Excellence” in the sphere of teaching and scholarship will need to demonstrate excellent and innovative
practice in research-led teaching, learning and assessment, supported by evidence of educational leadership or scholarship.
4.1 Benchmarks
Within the University
i
ii
evidence of a high level of teaching quality as indicated by quantifiable measures and confirmed by the School;
evidence of teaching innovation and/or course development;
External to the University
iii
iv
evidence of significant contributions to the pedagogy of the subject area/professional practice;
scholarship related to learning and teaching.
4.2 Indicators of Assessment
The following are illustrative examples of indicators that can be included in an application to demonstrate excellence against the
above generic benchmarks. Please note that candidates are NOT necessarily expected to meet all the indicators in all areas.
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Promotion to Senior Lecturer (Teaching & Scholarship pathway)
Benchmarks –Teaching &
Scholarship – Within the University
i Evidence of a high level of
teaching quality as indicated by
quantifiable measures, and
confirmed by the School
ii Evidence of teaching innovation
and course development, course
design and administration at both
postgraduate and undergraduate
levels
Indicators of Assessment
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Benchmarks - Teaching &
Scholarship - External to the
University
iii Evidence of significant
contributions to the pedagogy of
the subject area/professional
practice
iv Scholarship related to Learning
and Teaching
a reflective, reasoned and innovatory approach to teaching, course design, assessment and evaluation;
familiarity with, and use of, theory and publications on learning and teaching in higher education;
explicit attention to meeting the needs of individual students;
use of student feedback to evaluate and develop teaching;
development and/or use of peer assessment of teaching;
evidence of successful assessment of teaching by students and peers;
evidence of developing the teaching skills of other staff within the School or within the University;
evidence of commitment to continuing professional development.
development of new teaching materials or methodologies influencing the pedagogy of the subject;
contribution to the development of new approaches to course design, learning and teaching and
assessment practice within the School/University;
effective use of and engagement with technology to support teaching;
contributions, e.g. publications or development of computer schemes, that have shaped the way in
which the subject is taught within the discipline/School;
acting as an innovator/champion in Learning and Teaching for the School/University;
leading curriculum development and design;
use of methods which support an inclusive learning environment;
clinical relevance, linking teaching with ‘evidence based healthcare’.
 involvement in learning and teaching at a national level, for example running workshops or specialist
courses in other UK universities;
 conference presentations on pedagogy;
 contributions, e.g. publications or development of computer schemes that have shaped the way in
which the subject is taught nationally;
 contribution to a professional organisation or learned society or subject area;
 collaboration - examples of teaching across subject and disciplinary boundaries that demonstrate a
contribution to interdisciplinary/professional education;
 external examining experience;
 contributions to national curriculum and pedagogy debate in the subject area.
 text book in the discipline;
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Promotion to Senior Lecturer (Teaching & Scholarship pathway)
 acting as editor of a journal;
 joint or sole authorship of books, publications in refereed journals, and other articles, papers and
conference proceedings particularly with regard to the status of the publication and the role of referees
in its assessment;
 development and/or design of learning and teaching resources;
 evidence of obtaining external funding for learning and teaching developments, where appropriate.
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Promotion to Senior Lecturer (Teaching & Scholarship pathway)
5
Assessment of Innovation and Engagement:
Innovation and engagement will be assessed primarily in terms of contribution to activities that promote/maintain links with industry,
business, the professions, cultural bodies, government, or the community, and are of value to the University.
“Excellence” in respect of innovation and engagement will be assessed through evaluation of the impact of the individual’s
contribution to the national reputation of the University.
5.1 Benchmarks
i.
ii
iii
iv
evidence of sustained contribution to knowledge transfer;
evidence of successful contribution to interdisciplinary and/or large scale projects;
leadership and senior level management/co-ordination;
evidence of activities that promote/enhance the University’s reputation/profile;
5.2 Indicators of Assessment
The following are illustrative examples of indicators that can be included in an application. Please note that candidates are NOT
necessarily expected to meet all the indicators in all areas.
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Promotion to Senior Lecturer (Teaching & Scholarship pathway)
Benchmarks – Innovation &
Engagement
i
Evidence of sustained
contribution to knowledge
transfer
ii
iii
iv
Evidence of successful
contribution to
interdisciplinary and/or large
scale projects
Leadership and Senior Level
management/co-ordination
Evidence of activities that
promote/enhance the
University’s reputation/profile
Indicators of Assessment
 development and/or management of a significant portfolio of knowledge transfer activities, with
demonstrable social and/or economic impact and benefit to the University, (e.g. applied and collaborative
research, consultancy, development and delivery of CPD programmes, etc);
 contribution to the successful commercialisation of patents, inventions and any other exploitable
intellectual property;
 involvement in work that has made a significant contribution to the advancement of knowledge and/or its
application to the subject area/professional practice/policy-making at a national level;
 the translation of research findings towards clinical application and policy;
 contribution to the public understanding of one’s subject at a national level;
 contribution to capacity building in Cardiff and wider communities;
 contribution to culture and cultural enrichment.
 project management for large projects including interdisciplinary groups that have a national profile;
 financial management for large projects or interdisciplinary groups, with a national impact;
 leadership and co-ordination of significant School and/or University projects.
 significant and substantial contribution to management and/or policy formation at School, University, or
national level;
 significant and substantial contribution to the planning, governance and academic management within the
School and/or University;
 sustained contribution to the management of the discipline and/or School which has produced material
benefits to the unit’s academic reputation or professional, clinical or vocational practice.
 the initiation or maintenance of links between the University and national groups, organisations and
businesses;
 significant involvement in academic quality assurance assessments, validation panels, etc, at external
institutions;
 significant involvement in the enhancement of the University’s profile for promoting equality and diversity;
 advising government bodies;
 the initiation or maintenance of links between the University and the Community;
 recognition as a UK specialist able to give expert opinion in a particular field;
 significant involvement in widening participation, schools outreach or public understanding of the
discipline.
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