Staff Development Procedure - Academic Promotion Rehearing Process Levels B-E

Parent Policy

Staff Development Policy

Preamble

Academic promotion candidates not recommended for promotion by the dean, Committee for Academic Promotions and Appointments Levels B-D (CAPA), Special Professorial Appointments Committee (SPAC), or faculty or university committees’ may lodge an application for rehearing. The sole ground for lodging an application for a rehearing is that there has been a procedural irregularity resulting in a material disadvantage. A request for a rehearing which questions the decision not to promote based on the merit of the application does not constitute a procedural irregularity.

This procedure applies to candidates not recommended for promotion to:

• lecturer (level B)
• senior lecturer (level C)
• associate professor or reader (level D)
• professor (level E).

Definitions

Procedural irregularity: refers to where the University has not followed a process that is articulated in the Staff Development Procedure - Academic Promotion for Candidates Levels C-E, Staff Development Procedure - Academic Promotion for Candidates Level B or the Staff Development Procedure - Academic Promotion Committees Level C-E. Examples of procedural irregularities which may result in material disadvantage include:

• the membership of the committee was not properly constituted
• a section of the application for promotion submitted by the candidate is omitted from the paperwork considered by the promotion committee
• a conflict of interest between the candidate and at least one member of the committee.

Material disadvantage: refers to the effect that the procedural irregularity has had on the outcome of the assessment of the candidate’s application. A candidate has been materially disadvantaged if the procedural irregularity has had a direct impact on the decision not to promote the candidate.

CAPA: Committee for Academic Promotions and Appointments Levels B-D (CAPA). In accordance with the Staff Development Procedure - Academic Promotion Committees Levels C-E, CAPA is responsible for receiving and considering applications for academic promotion to lecturer, senior lecturer or associate professor from staff members not located in a faculty. Applications supported by CAPA are submitted to the University Associate Professor Promotion Committee for resolution. CAPA is chaired by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education).

SPAC - Special Professorial Appointments Committee. In accordance with the Staff Development Procedure - Academic Promotion Committees Levels C-E, SPAC is responsible for receiving and considering applications for academic promotion to professor from staff members not located in a faculty. Applications supported by SPAC are submitted to the University Professorial Promotion Committee for resolution. SPAC is chaired by the Vice-Chancellor.

Initiating the rehearing process

Candidates must seek the advice of the chairperson of the relevant promotion committee, the dean, or both, before lodging an application for a rehearing.

Candidates who choose to lodge an application for a rehearing must within seven days of being notified of the decision submit the application in writing to:

• the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education), in the case of an application for promotion to lecturer
• the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education), in the case of a faculty promotion committee;
• the Vice-Chancellor, in the case of CAPA, SPAC or the university associate professor committee; or
• the Secretary to Council in the case of the university professorial promotion committee.

The candidate must ensure that the written application includes:

• a statement of the alleged procedural irregularity with an explanation of how the candidate has been materially disadvantaged;
• sufficient evidence to enable the review panel to decide whether a prima facie case exists that the alleged procedural irregularity occurred; and
• a copy of the statement for the chairperson of the relevant promotion committee, or the dean (in the case of lecturer promotion), or chairperson of CAPA or SPAC, where candidates are not faculty based.

The rehearing process for promotion to lecturer

The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) will consider the application within fourteen days of receipt.

Applicants will be notified in writing of the outcome by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) within fourteen days of her or his decision.

If the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) is satisfied that a prima facie case exists, the application will then be referred to a sub-committee of the relevant faculty senior lecturer promotion committee for consideration.

The sub-committee of the relevant faculty senior lecturer promotion committee will consist of the following individuals:

• the chairperson of the faculty senior lecturer promotion committee (usually the dean); and
• three members from the faculty senior lecturer promotion committee.

Where the application is referred to the senior lecturer promotion sub-committee, the committee will meet within twenty-one days of receiving notification from the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education).

Applicants will be notified in writing of the outcome of the meeting by the chairperson of the sub-committee within seven days of the review panel making its decision.

The rehearing process for promotion to senior lecturer, associate professor, reader and professor

Applications for a rehearing are subjected to a two-stage process with an initial assessment undertaken by a review panel. If the review panel is satisfied that a prima facie case exists, the application will then be referred to the relevant promotion rehearing committee.

1. The review panel

The review panel will meet to consider an application within fourteen days of receipt.

Applicants will be notified in writing of the outcome of the meeting by the chairperson of the review panel within seven days of the review panel making its decision.

The review panel will comprise:

• the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education), or nominee (chairperson) (or the Vice-Chancellor if the application was considered at the SPAC);
• a representative from the university professorial promotion committee, nominated by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education); and
• a representative at the level of professor nominated by Academic Board.

The majority of the review panel will not have been members of the committee that dealt with the original application.

Should the review panel decide that the ground for a rehearing has been established, the decision will be referred to the promotion rehearing committee with a written report including the:

• original application;
• application for a rehearing, with its supporting evidence; and
• review panel’s findings.

The rehearing committee will then consider the case, taking into account the facts of the procedural irregularity as found by the review panel and the extent of the material disadvantage to the candidate.

2. The promotion rehearing committee

2.1 Faculty promotion rehearing committee

The faculty promotion rehearing committee will meet within twenty-one days of receiving notification from the chairperson of the review panel.

Applicants will be notified in writing of the outcome by the chairperson within seven days of the committee making its decision.

The membership of the faculty promotion rehearing committee will include:

• at least two thirds of the members of the relevant faculty promotion committee, including the chairperson;
• a representative appointed by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education); and
• a nominee of the President of the National Tertiary Education Union, Monash Branch.

A quorum for the faculty promotion rehearing committee is six members, comprising the chairperson, external member, at least one of the elected and one of the appointed members, the representative appointed by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) and the nominee of the President of the National Tertiary Education Union, Monash Branch.

2.2 Non faculty promotion rehearing committee

CAPA or SPAC will meet within twenty-one days of receiving notification from the chairperson of the review panel.

Applicants will be notified in writing of the outcome by the chairperson within seven days of the committee making its decision.

The membership of the non faculty rehearing committee will be:

• at least two thirds of the members of the CAPA or the SPAC, including the chairperson;
• a representative appointed by the Vice-Chancellor; and
• a nominee of the President of the National Tertiary Education Union, Monash Branch.

A quorum for the non faculty promotion rehearing committee for promotion to senior lecturer and associate professor is six members, comprising the chairperson, at least one dean and one member of the university associate professor promotion committee, the professorial member of academic board, the representative appointed by the Vice-Chancellor and the nominee of the President of the National Tertiary Education Union, Monash Branch.

A quorum for the non faculty promotion rehearing committee for professor is five members, comprising the chairperson, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education), the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), a dean and the nominee of the President of the National Tertiary Education Union, Monash Branch.

2.3 University promotion rehearing committee (associate professor and professor only)

The membership of the university rehearing committee will be:

• at least two thirds of the university promotion committee, including the chairperson;
• a representative appointed by the Vice-Chancellor; and
• a nominee of the President of the National Tertiary Education Union, Monash Branch.

A quorum for the university promotion rehearing committee for associate professor is nine members, including the chairperson, external member, the representative appointed by the Vice-Chancellor and the nominee of the President of the National Tertiary Education Union, Monash Branch.

A quorum for the university promotion rehearing for professor is seven members, including at least one of the Vice-Chancellor, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) or the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), the external member of Council, the representative appointed by the Vice-Chancellor and the nominee of the President of the National Tertiary Education Union, Monash Branch.

Applicants will be notified in writing of the outcome by the chairperson.

Responsibility

Committee members are responsible for:

• carrying out a fair, confidential and objective assessment of applications for promotion and not act as advocates for candidates; and
• ensuring the voting process is duly followed.

If a quorum has been achieved, each voting member shall be permitted to cast one vote. Each voting member has the ability to cast a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ vote. If a committee member chooses to abstain from voting, her or his decision is to be noted by the committee secretary and will not be considered by the committee as a vote. A candidate will be promoted if at least two-thirds of those present and voting cast a ‘yes’ vote.

The chairperson is responsible for:

• ensuring the committee has as close to equal gender representation as reasonably practicable, with a minimum of one-third representation of each and ensuring the committee carries out a fair, confidential and objective assessment of applications for promotion.

The Human Resources Division is responsible for:

• providing a representative of the Division to attend and provide procedural support for the review panel and rehearing committees;
• providing full secretarial support for the review panel;
• supporting the faculty promotion coordinator to convene the faculty promotion rehearing committee; and
• preparing the candidate letter following the faculty promotion rehearing committee meeting.

The faculty promotion coordinator is responsible for:

• providing assistance to the Human Resources Division, as required; and
• convening the faculty promotion rehearing committee and distributing the relevant documents to committee members.

Related Procedures

• Staff Development Procedure - Academic Promotion for Candidates Levels C-E
• Staff Development Procedure - Academic Promotion for Candidates Level B
• Staff Development Procedure - Academic Promotion Committees Levels C-E

Enterprise Agreement Clauses

• Clause 2

Related Documents

• Academic promotions website
• Examples of Supporting Evidence For Candidates Applying For Promotion: Levels C-E
• List of Faculty Promotion Coordinators

Forms

• Academic Promotion Application Form: Level B
• Academic Promotion Application Form: Levels C-E