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Recruitment, Selection and Appointment Procedure – Translation of existing staff to an education-focused academic roleParent PolicyRecruitment, Selection and Appointment PreambleMonash University recognises that excellence in learning and teaching is vital to its success in transforming the lives of students. As a member of the Group of Eight, the University seeks to continue to build upon its reputation for research excellence while attracting, supporting and retaining outstanding educators who are committed to high-quality student experiences and outcomes. To this end, the University has introduced education-focused academic roles as part of its Education Excellence Strategy, for the purpose of recognising and rewarding existing academic staff members for outstanding contributions in learning, teaching and scholarship. The expectations for education-focused academic staff at each of the levels have been developed in line with the University's Teaching and Research Academic Standards, the Commonwealth Government's Office of Learning and Teaching criteria for teaching excellence and the education-focused role requirements used in other Group of Eight Universities. The role requirements are defined further in the Education Performance Standards. Existing academic staff members, who meet the criteria for an education-focused academic role may have their current engagement profile modified as outlined in this procedure. Education-focused staff will continue to be employed under the terms and conditions of the Monash University Enterprise Agreement (Academic and Professional Staff) 2009. This procedure applies to all eligible, existing fixed-term and continuing teaching and research academic staff classified at levels A through to E. DefinitionsAcademic performance standards: faculty or discipline-specific performance standards for all academic staff against which academic performance will be measured, particularly for the purpose of probation, promotion and performance development. The standards are qualitative, quantitative or a mixture of both across the three key areas of academic activity - research, education and service. They include identified minimum performance standards, below which the staff member would be managed for unsatisfactory performance in accordance with the Staff Development Procedure – Managing Unsatisfactory Performance: Academic Staff. The required performance standard:
Education-focused academic: is an academic staff member whose primary role is to provide a high standard of learning and teaching; educational design and delivery; and educational leadership. Dean: means the dean of the faculty (or in the case of the Monash University Sunway Campus and Monash South Africa, the Pro Vice-Chancellor and President) or his or her nominee where the dean has formally nominated a person to act as his or her nominee for the purpose. Head of Unit: is the head of an academic or organisational work unit or, where applicable, a person acting as his or her nominee. HR Business Partner: is a member of Monash HR who operates as a strategic partner responsible for providing a range of human resources services for an assigned Faculty or administrative Division. HR Business Partners are located within a HR Service Hub. Mechanisms for the appointment of academic staff to education-focused rolesThere are three mechanisms for appointing an academic staff member to an education-focused role. The:
Eligibility criteriaWhen considering eligibility criteria, the academic performance supervisor, head of unit and Dean should take into account the staff member’s:
The academic staff member must have demonstrated, relative to their level:
The template position descriptions for education-focused roles will provide guidance on the application of these eligibility criteria at each academic level. The template position descriptions are available under “Forms” below. The University’s Education Performance Standards will help to guide decision-making. Variation to engagement profileWhen seeking authorisation for an appointment to an education-focused role, the staff member, academic performance supervisor, head of unit and Dean should take into account that:
Recommendation for appointment to an education-focused role and approval of appointmentThe head of unit, in consultation with the staff member and the performance supervisor, will prepare a written recommendation for appointment of the staff member to an education-focused role and will submit the recommendation to the Dean for approval. All recommendations should include:
The Dean will consider the recommendation and where necessary, will consult with the Associate Dean (Education) or an expert in teaching and learning. The recommendations for appointment of existing academic staff to education-focused roles must be approved by the Dean. The Dean’s decision will be communicated as soon as possible to the head of unit and to the applicant. Finalisation of appointmentWhere the recommendation to appoint to an education-focused role is approved, a formal offer of the appointment will be made to the academic staff member. The relevant HR Business Partner will send the staff member a formal Offer of Variation of Contract, with a copy to the Dean and, where applicable, to the head of unit. The variation will stipulate the terms of engagement including any probationary conditions that will continue to apply. The positions that will be offered for education-focused academic staff are:
The staff member must return the signed Offer of Variation of Contract to the HR Business Partner. Education-focused workloadsUpon confirmation of the appointment to an education-focused role, the performance supervisor must meet with the staff member to ensure that:
Workload allocation for education-focused staff should be managed consistent with the requirements outlined in the relevant Enterprise Agreement. In the case of education-focused academic staff, a significantly greater emphasis should be placed on learning and teaching, and less emphasis on research. A flexible approach to setting workload is recommended in light of the diverse range of teaching-related activities that may be described under ‘research and scholarship’, including scholarship of teaching, educational research, and honours and HDR supervision. Workload allocation should not disadvantage education-focused staff considering applying for promotion. Consistent with workload allocation requirements, staff in education-focused roles should be fully engaged in teaching activities during teaching periods. Education-focused academic staff may be invited to participate in a third teaching period in one year (i.e. teaching periods include a summer teaching period). Education-focused staff agreeing to participate in a third teaching period will be offered a summer teaching loading. Translation back to a standard teaching and research roleAt any time, the Dean, acting on advice from the staff member's performance supervisor and head of unit, may propose to a staff member that she or he translate back to a standard teaching and research role. This will require the agreement of the staff member. The performance supervisor will then work with the staff member to adjust his or performance expectations and engagement profile to accord with the faculty's academic performance standards for the staff member's academic level. An education-focused staff member who was translated to the role in accordance with this procedure, may request to translate back to a standard teaching and research role. The request will be considered by the staff member's performance supervisor and head of unit and will require the approval of the dean. The performance supervisor, head of unit and dean must be satisfied that the staff member has the capacity to meet the faculty's academic performance standards, including the research performance standards, for the staff member's academic level. Where a staff member can demonstrate that he or she is meeting the academic performance standards, the approval of the dean will not be unreasonably withheld. If the staff member is not meeting the academic performance standards for the relevant level, the parties may agree to adjust the staff member's goals in his or her performance plan to work towards meeting the performance standards over an agreed period. If a translation is agreed, the HR Business Partner will issue the staff member a formal Offer of Variation of Contract, with a copy to the Dean and the head of unit. ResponsibilityStaff MemberThe staff member is responsible for completing their own performance development plan, aligning their three-year goals to the University's objectives for learning and teaching excellence and maintaining an up-to-date portfolio of evidence to substantiate performance. Performance Development SupervisorThe performance supervisor is responsible for:
Head of UnitThe head of unit is responsible for coordinating the preparation of a written recommendation for appointment of a staff member to an education-focused role in consultation with the staff member and the performance supervisor. DeanThe Dean is responsible for approving appointments to an education-focused role for academic staff and requests to translate back to a standard teaching and research role. Monash HR ResponsibilitesHR Business Partner The HR Business Partner is responsible for:
HR Operations HR Operations is responsible for updating the staff member’s SAP record to ensure that the staff member is identified as education-focused. Related procedures
Related enterprise agreement clausesRelated documents
Forms
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