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Academic Promotion Policy

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Purpose | Scope | Principles | Policy statements | Roles and responsibilities  | Definitions  | Approval information  | Version history  | References  | Appendix 1: Academic Board pool of academic staff

1. Purpose

1.1 The Academic Promotion Policy (the policy) outlines the process and requirements for promotion to the positions of senior lecturer, associate professor and professor.

1.2 The purpose of this policy is to:

  1. recognise and reward academic staff who contribute to achieving the UTS 2027 strategy and whose workplace behaviour reflects the university’s values, social justice and equity principles, collaborative community, ethical standards, respect for others and personal accountability (refer Equity, Inclusion and Respect Policy)
  2. provide an identifiable career pathway for academic staff, and
  3. foster a culture of performance excellence.

2. Scope

2.1 This policy applies to eligible full-time, part-time and sessional staff, including academic managers in the senior staff group who hold substantive academic staff positions.

3. Principles

3.1 Academic promotion at UTS is based on the following principles:

  1. Strategic alignment: Evidence of contribution towards the UTS 2027 strategy and the achievement of the university’s strategic vision and outcomes.
  2. Excellence: UTS strives for excellence in learning and teaching, research with impact and industry engagement. The promotion process recognises and rewards staff who demonstrate and are committed to excellence.
  3. Fairness: UTS is committed to a fair and transparent promotion process that incorporates evidence-based decision-making.
  4. Equal opportunity: UTS is committed to providing equality of opportunity for all staff, factoring in an academic’s contribution relative to opportunity when assessing promotion applications in line with the Equity, Inclusion and Respect Policy.
  5. Flexibility: UTS aims to accommodate a range of academic contributions across different career paths, roles and disciplines that align with the university's vision and new ways of working.
  6. Impact: Promotion decisions are evidence-based, focusing on the outcomes of an academic’s work.
  7. Equivalence: Academic performance is expected to be equivalent to that at comparable or more highly ranked universities to ensure the academic excellence and mobility of UTS's academic staff.

4. Policy statements

Eligibility and assessment

4.1 Full-time, part-time or sessional academic staff are eligible to apply for academic promotion under this policy where they have completed 2 years’ aggregated service at UTS (excluding casual service and leave without pay) following appointment. Academics who fit this criterion are eligible to apply for promotion twice in any 4-year period. Applicants must follow the Guidelines for writing a case for promotion (PDF) (available at Apply for academic promotion (Staff Connect)).

4.2 Suitability for promotion will be assessed against 3 key areas of academic performance:

  1. teaching and learning
  2. research and innovation
  3. service and engagement.

4.3 Applicants must demonstrate contribution and impact in these 3 key areas according to work allocation averaged over the previous 4 years. UTS also expects that applicants have, and are able to demonstrate, high personal standing in terms of workplace behaviour, including ethical and collaborative behaviour, respect for others and personal accountability.

4.4 Consideration for academic promotion is assessed against faculty academic benchmarks (refer Academic benchmarks (Staff Connect)). Meeting the faculty academic benchmarks alone does not guarantee promotion. Applicants should also:

  1. meet expectations in the key areas at their current academic level
  2. demonstrate that they have exceeded expectations at their current level where the average percentage of work allocation exceeds 40 per cent in a key area, and
  3. demonstrate how they will progress to the requested promotion level and how they are meeting (or will meet) expectations for that level.

Promotion applications

4.5 Applications for promotion to senior lecturer, associate professor and professor will be called once a year and must be submitted by the deadline published at Apply for academic promotion (Staff Connect).

4.6 An application for academic promotion must include:

  1. an academic CV, including a list of publications and research income and grants
  2. a case for promotion not exceeding 6 pages in length
  3. for applicants seeking promotion to professor, an additional one-page outline of their future objectives (resulting in a total promotion case of 7 pages in length)
  4. an assessment of the statements outlined in the case for promotion by the applicants and report from head of school, discipline group or director (as appropriate)
  5. the names and contact details of nominated advisors (refer Nominated advisors) who can provide an assessment of, and recommendation on, the application.

4.7 The completed application should be submitted before or on the relevant deadline and in line with the published advice. In exceptional circumstances, applicants may request approval (before the submission deadline) from the chair of the promotion panel (the panel) to lodge a late application.

Preparing a case for promotion

4.8 Applicants must clearly present and explain their case for promotion (within the context of their discipline) to the panel. A case for promotion should outline the applicant’s performance against the relevant areas for the level of promotion.

4.9 In making their case for promotion, applicants must:

  1. refer to the Guidelines for writing a case for promotion (PDF) (available at Apply for academic promotion (Staff Connect))
  2. refer to the relevant faculty academic benchmarks
  3. describe any discipline specific contextual factors (as necessary)
  4. include supporting evidence to justify the achievements claimed.

4.10 While contribution and impact against the 3 key areas over the previous 4 years is prioritised, due consideration will be given to an applicant’s whole career (particularly for promotion to professor), particular achievements since the applicant’s last promotion or commencement of employment at UTS (whichever is relevant).

4.11 Where applicable, applicants must outline their response to feedback provided as part of any previous unsuccessful promotion application, specifically indicating their development since the last application. The case for promotion must however stand on its own merit and not rely on material provided in previous applications.

4.12 A case for promotion should provide comment on the applicant’s:

  1. learning and teaching and other education-related activities
  2. research activities, outcomes and impact, and
  3. most significant work(s) for the relevant period, providing explanations and evidence for these choices (for example, results of teaching evaluations, impact and citation data).

4.13 Where relevant, the case for promotion should outline circumstances that may have restricted or delayed the development of the applicant’s professional career (refer contribution relative to opportunity in Definitions).

4.14 In making or reviewing a case for promotion, assessment-based applicants, supervisors and panel members should follow the advice provided in the Guidelines for considering academic promotion applications (PDF) (available at Apply for academic promotion (Staff Connect)).

Head of school, head of discipline group or director report

4.15 Before submitting a promotion application, applicants must provide their application to their head of school (or dean in faculties without heads of school), head of discipline group or director (hereafter head of school) for their review.

4.16 The head of school will provide a report on the application, including a validation of achievements and claims and any other comments relevant to the case for promotion.

4.17 Where the head of school is an applicant for promotion, the Provost will nominate a UTS academic of senior standing to provide the endorsement.

4.18 Where an applicant has been on secondment to another faculty or area for longer than 6 months, the head of school should consult the area to which they are seconded regarding the achievements and claims outlined in the application.

4.19 The head of school should be given sufficient time in advance of the submission deadline to review the application, provide feedback and for the applicant to make changes to their application if necessary.

4.20 Where the applicant believes (for whatever reason) that their head of school is not the best person to make a recommendation on the promotion application, the applicant may request that the chair of the panel appoint an alternate senior academic (an alternate) to fulfil this duty.

4.21 This request for an alternate should be made well in advance of the application deadline and should clearly state the reasons for the request. Alternates are appointed at the discretion of the chair, who may seek advice from the faculty or elsewhere in making this decision.

4.22 Where an applicant disagrees with the head of school report, the applicant may:

  1. indicate why and how there is disagreement between the applicant and the head of school report in an additional attachment to the promotion application for consideration by the panel (who may seek further information and/or clarification on the contents of the application), and/or
  2. seek advice from their dean or the chair before submitting their application.

4.23 Advice can also be sought from the Centre for Social Justice and Inclusion and/or the People Unit as appropriate.

Nominated advisors

4.24 Applicants and faculty deans will each be requested to provide the names and contact details of nominated advisors (hereafter advisors) who can provide an independent assessment of, and recommendation on, the promotion application.

4.25 To ensure independence, and avoid an actual, potential or perceived conflict of interest (refer Conflicts of Interest Disclosure Policy), when nominating an advisor the nominated person must not:

  1. be a close colleague, as evidenced through recent collaboration, and 
  2. have a strong personal relationship with the applicant.

4.26 The dean’s advisors must be different to those nominated by the applicant. The dean and the applicant must not consult each other in relation to their advisors. A maximum of one advisor in each category may be internal to UTS as outlined in table 4.26.

Table 4.26 Nominated advisors

LevelApplicant’s nominated advisorsDean’s nominated advisors
Promotion to senior lecturerTwo advisors, at least one external to UTSOne external advisor
Promotion to associate professor and professorThree advisors, at least 2 external to UTSThree advisors, at least 2 external to UTS

4.27 Advisors must be of high standing and capable of judging the impact of the academic’s achievements. Applicants and deans must select their nominated advisors carefully, ensuring they can provide relevant, in-depth comment and an independent view of the claims outlined in the case for promotion.

4.28 Advisors must provide written reports addressing the requirements for promotion (advisor report). Advisor reports are confidential to the panel and official observers. A minimum of 3 external advisor reports (2 for promotion to senior lecturer) must be received for consideration by the panel. At least one of these external reports must be from a dean’s nominee.

4.29 In exceptional circumstances, applicants may also identify up to 2 individuals who should not be consulted as part of the application assessment. This is normally requested to avoid conflict of interest issues or for legitimate disagreement on academic matters. A brief explanation should be provided as part of this request.

Promotion panel membership

4.30 The chair of the panel should consider gender balance and diversity of members, and may make substitutions to the panel membership to achieve gender or diversity balance. Selection panel requirements as outlined in the Recruitment and Appointment Policy may serve as a guide to diversity requirements. Promotion panel members must:

  1. complete (or have completed at least within the previous 5 years) unconscious bias training and cultural awareness training, or
  2. obtain an exemption from the chair of the panel in line with advice available from Recruiting at UTS (SharePoint). Any exemptions must be noted to the Provost or the Vice-Chancellor with the approval request.

4.31 A senior lecturer promotion panel will be formed as follows:

  1. one member of the senior executive nominated by the Vice-Chancellor (chair)
  2. 3 faculty deans nominated by the Provost
  3. one academic at the level of associate professor or above, selected by the chair from a pool of academic staff elected by Academic Board (refer Appendix 1)
  4. one external or internal member at the level of associate professor or above, appointed by the Vice-Chancellor.

4.32 An associate professor and professor promotion panel will be formed as follows:

  1. Provost (chair)
  2. Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education and Students)
  3. Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research)
  4. all faculty deans
  5. one academic at professor level, selected by the chair from a pool of academic staff elected by Academic Board (refer Appendix 1)
  6. one external member at professor level or equivalent, appointed by the Vice-Chancellor.

4.33 A nominee of the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Social Justice and Inclusion) or the Executive Director, People and Culture may attend any promotion panel as an observer and to advise on appropriate matters of policy and procedure at the request of the chair.

Promotion panel process and approval of promotion

4.34 There are no quotas for any level of academic promotion and a promotion panel may recommend as many applicants for promotion that it considers meet the promotion requirements.

4.35 The promotion panels will assess the suitability of applicants based on the written information provided in the promotion application.

4.36 Panels may request supplementary information and/or evidence from an applicant, head of school, head of discipline group or director. Any additional information provided will be made available to the applicant for comment.

4.37 The applicant’s CV and any evidence provided as part of the case for promotion may be subject to validation or audit.

4.38 Panels are not required to interview applicants but may choose to do so if they believe that further information is required to clarify claims made or enable a complete assessment of the applicant’s case for promotion.

4.39 Panels must document and record the outcome of its deliberations and its assessment of each applicant, and make a recommendation for academic promotion approval to the: 

  1. Provost for approval of promotion to senior lecturer, or
  2. Vice-Chancellor for approval of promotion to associate professor and professor.

4.40 The chair of each panel will offer to provide feedback to unsuccessful applicants for promotion.

4.41 Promotions are effective from the nearest pay date after 1 July or 1 January, following approval by the Provost or Vice-Chancellor.

Academic promotion appeals

4.42 Applicants may appeal to the Academic Promotions Appeals Committee (APAC) only on the ground of lack of due process. Appeals must be lodged with the People Unit within 7 days of the applicant receiving advice of their unsuccessful application (refer Academic promotion appeals guidelines (PDF) (available at Apply for academic promotion (Staff Connect)).

4.43 A promotion panel’s assessment on the academic merit of an application is final and will not be the subject of an appeal.

Records management and privacy

4.44 All records and information relating to the academic promotion process must be classified, stored, managed and retained for a minimum of 2 years in line with the Records Management Policy and the Data Governance Policy. Destruction of any records must only be undertaken in line with the Records Management Policy.

Policy breaches

4.45 Breaches of this policy or any associated procedures or guidelines are managed under the Code of Conduct. This includes the right of UTS to notify a relevant statutory authority and/or agency where there is a breach of legislation.

4.46 Data breaches will be managed in line with the Data Breach Policy.

4.47 It is a breach of this policy to provide false or incorrect information. In circumstances where evidence provided as part of an application is found to be factually incorrect, the application for promotion may be rejected and/or appointment withdrawn. Where an applicant is found to have deliberately falsified information, disciplinary action may be initiated.

5. Roles and responsibilities

5.1 Policy owner: The Provost is responsible for policy enforcement and compliance and initiating any review of the academic promotion process. The Provost is also responsible for approving the deadline for academic promotion applications and any procedures, templates, forms and guidelines associated with this policy.

5.2 Policy contact: The Executive Director, People and Culture is the primary point of contact for advice on implementing and administering this policy.

5.3 Implementation and governance roles:

Heads of school, heads of discipline group and directors are responsible for ensuring that all relevant academic staff have annual workplans in place. Academic staff are expected to have an annual workplan in place for at least 2 years before any application for promotion. Annual workplans are the appropriate vehicle for discussions around performance and career development.

Academic managers are responsible for:

  1. providing guidance, support, feedback and information to their academic staff about their performance, career development, readiness for promotion and their application
  2. reviewing the promotion application and completing an assessment and promotion recommendation in a fair and transparent manner
  3. participating in the process of providing feedback to unsuccessful applicants.

Chairs of promotion panels are responsible for:

  1. ensuring that the promotion process is administered according to this policy
  2. ensuring that promotion applications are assessed fairly by the promotion panel and in accordance with this policy
  3. ensuring that any potential conflicts of interest are managed appropriately, and
  4. offering to provide feedback to unsuccessful applicants.

Members of promotion panels are responsible for actively participating in the panel’s deliberations and assessing all applications fairly and in accordance with this policy. Panel members should declare to the chair any potential conflicts of interest, either professional or personal, that might arise due to their participation on a promotion panel.

The People Unit is responsible for publishing information about academic promotions, including application deadlines, at Apply for academic promotion (Staff Connect).

The Vice-Chancellor and the Provost are responsible for approving academic promotions in line with this policy.

6. Definitions

The following definitions apply for this policy and all associated procedures and guidelines. These are in addition to the definitions outlined in Schedule 1, Student Rules. Definitions in the singular also include the plural meaning of the word.

Academic manager means an academic staff member who has an active role in the supervision and development of others, including providing guidance, support, feedback and information to the academic staff they supervise about their performance, career development and readiness for promotion. 

Applicant means the academic applying or considering application for promotion under the scope of this policy.

Contribution relative to opportunity means the circumstance(s) where an academic’s career has been impacted by personal, professional or other circumstances that may have restricted or delayed the development of a professional career path. These circumstances include, but are not limited to, caring responsibilities, illness, disability, part-time work or any other relevant circumstances.

Senior staff group is defined in the Enterprise agreements.