Clearer instructions for the employment of teachers
The President has decided on a clarification of the instructions on the employment procedure for teachers at KI. The revision will make things clearer and more transparent for both the applicants and the ones assessing them. The updated instructions come into effect on 1 November 2024.
The aim of the revision, which has involved a review of the eligibility requirements and assessment criteria for teachers, has been to clarify and document current practices, not to adjust the “bars” (the overall levels of requirement) of the employment procedure.
The eagerly awaited clarification of the requirements and criteria will make it easier for external experts to assess applicants, and for applicants to understand the process. It also creates transparency as to what is required for a teaching post at KI, which also enhances the legal certainty of the employment procedure.
Some adjustments:
- The pedagogical assessment matrix has been developed
- More detailed assessment criteria and eligibility requirements for the position of lecturer and assistant professor
- More detailed assessment criteria and eligibility requirements for the position of senior lecturer and professor
- Clearer instructions for assessing promotions to senior lecturer from assistant professor.
You can find out more about the changes that have been made in the Q&A section below.
No effect on ongoing recruitments
The amendment of the instructions will not effect ongoing recruitments.
If you’re an assistant professor applying for a promotion to senior lecture, you will be assessed in accordance with the instructions in effect at the time of your recruitment to your current position.
For recruitments managed within the department (not through the Recruitment Committee) , new eligibility requirements and assessment criteria have been added to the positions of senior lecturer, assistant professor, lecturer and adjunct lecturer.
Review of qualification criteria will commence soon
The instructions have been updated to clarify the current procedures. KI will also shortly be reviewing the qualification criteria for teachers in priority focus area C.
This is necessary to prevent KI losing valuable competence and eventually being hampered in the fulfilment of its educational mission. There will be different parts to this review, which will be effected through transparent dialogue and proper anchoring.
Background
According to feedback from applicants and assessors (both experts and members of the Recruitment Committee) the former instructions were hard to understand and follow. Since it was unclear just what was required to qualify for a position, assessments could be flawed. When the qualification portfolio was to be revised and more explicitly linked into the process, it seemed natural to clarify the instructions at the same time.
The revision process lasted two years and was led by the chair of the Recruitment Committee, with members from the committee and representatives of the HR Office’s Recruitment of Professors and Lecturers Unit.
Q&A
- Improved eligibility requirements and assessment criteria: The eligibility requirements and assessment criteria have been revised in order to clarify what it takes to be employed as a professor or senior lecturer. This makes it easier for external experts to assess applicants and creates clarity and transparency for applicants as regards what is required to teach at KI.
- Clarified pedagogical qualifications: Clearer demands for pedagogical qualifications – for example, supervision is now a pedagogical qualification, where it was once a scientific qualification.
- Extended exemptions to the requirement of ten weeks of courses on teaching in higher education: To enable and promote international recruitment, the exemption to the ten-week requirement has been increased and now applies to recruitment to all positions (except for promotion from assistant professor to senior lecturer with a focus on education and research), with the requirement is to undergo training during the first two years of employment
- Harmonised academic pedagogy training requirement for recruitment to the positions of adjunct professor, senior lecturer and visiting professor, as for senior lecturer and professor: In the interests of clarity, the same requirement for academic pedagogy training applies to all professors and senior lecturers, including adjunct professors, visiting professors and adjunct senior lecturers.
- Improved eligibility requirements and assessment criteria for recruitment to the position of assistant senior lecturer, assistant professor, lecturer and adjunct lecturer: The eligibility requirements and assessment criteria for these positions have been added to the instructions to help clarify the competencies these different teaching positions require.
- Greater emphasis on overall assessment and a thorough revision and clarification of the instructions: The instructions have been clarified throughout, making it clearer that an overall assessment of the assessment criteria must be made.
- Clarified link to the qualifications sought after in KI’s qualifications portfolio: Along with a revision of the instructions, KI has been reviewing its qualification portfolio. The two projects have been closely linked to ensure that the qualifications sought after in the qualifications portfolio are based on those required for the various teaching positions. The revised qualification portfolio is planned to come into effect in the new year.
They will be in effect from 1 November 2024. For advertised positions, vacancies published after this date will be covered by the new instructions.
For the positions of adjunct professor, senior lecturer and visiting professor, the new instructions will apply to applications received by the Academic appointment unit on 1 November onward.
The aim of the revision has been to clarify and document current procedures rather than change the qualification criteria (the overall levels of requirement). But one risk that has been identified is that KI will lose valuable competence, eventually hampering its ability to fulfil its educational mission. The qualification criteria for teaching staff will therefore be reviewed in priority area C. This work will commence soon.
This is also the reason why the new instructions have not been circulated for comment. Instead, importance will be attached to creating broad inclusion during the revision of the qualification criteria.
It will take the broad participation of the whole university to revise the qualification criteria for the recruitment of teaching staff at KI. Consequently, the work will take some time to complete. It is important that the ensuing dialogue is transparent and firmly anchored. The work will be led by Head of HR Johanna Bäckström.