Process for application for Conferment

What is Conferment/Academic Progression?

Route/ Process / Academic Progression / Conferment
What / Progression to:
•Lecturer/Research Fellow/Teaching Fellow
•Senior Lecturer/Senior Research Fellow/Senior Teaching Fellow
Substantive posts / Conferment to:
•Associate Professor or Reader in a named academic specialism
•Professor of a named academic specialism or generic
Academic titles; substantive posts when advertised as such
How / Application through the annual academic progression process or through the recruitment process / Application through the annual conferment process or through the recruitment process
Who / Faculty Executive Group (FEG) / FEG and Committee for the Conferment of Academic Titles

Criteria and description

1)Criteria for the conferment of Associate Professorship

Candidates must be able to demonstrate a very high level of achievement (normally refers to national recognition) in one of the following two categories:

1)Learning and teaching

2)Academic leadership

Applicants should note that an associate professorship is seen as a pathway role to a professorial title and candidates should clearly address the steps they will put in place to achieve this with anticipated timescales in their application. All applications must be accompanied by a 300-word plan for personal development, contribution and impact over the 3 years following conferment, referenced to the University and relevant Faculty strategy. The plan will form part of the annual performance review.

2)Criteria for the conferment of Professorship

Candidates must be able to demonstrate either outstanding achievement or a very high level of achievement in two of the three following:

1)Research, creative work, consultancy, professional practice or performance to the furtherance of a subject

2)Learning and teaching

3)Academic leadership

3)Criteria for the conferment of a readership

Applicants should note that a readership is seen as a pathway role to a professorial title and candidates should clearly address the steps they will put in place to achieve this with anticipated timescales in their application. All applications must be accompanied by a 300-word plan for personal development, contribution and impact over the 3 years following conferment, referenced to the University and relevant Faculty strategy. The plan will form part of the annual performance review.

*‘Outstanding’ in this context typically means showing demonstrable international reach, while ‘a very high level of achievement’ normally refers to national recognition.*

1)Research, creative work, consultancy, or professional practice to the furtherance of a subject

Research and/or creative work are required for this category either in themselves or in support of consultancy or professional practice. Where a claim is made on the basis of consultancy, it is expected that this will have been carried out in an academic context. Applicants in this category must briefly describe the originality, significance and rigour of their work for the furtherance of their subject.

Applications in this category will typically be based on a selection of the following:

  • a sustained track record of peer-assessed publications for significant journals, conferences and/or publishers, at a level of demonstrable international excellence
  • a sustained track record of reports or projects commissioned by government, industry, public sector bodies and/or other influential agencies
  • the award of significant external funding for research, innovation and/or creative work
  • performances, recordings, exhibitions, software, processes and/or other artefacts/products such as have enjoyed at least national impact and/or application
  • a sustained track record of supervising Knowledge Transfer Partnerships and/or other consultancy and innovation projects.

2)Learning and teaching

Applicants must be able to show how their achievement in learning and teaching has had beneficial impact both within and beyond their home institution(s). Attainment of at least Senior Fellowship status with the Higher Education Academy (HEA) is a prerequisite for this category.

Applications in this category will typically be based on a selection of the following:

  • a sustained track record of peer-reviewed articles in the field of Learning and Teaching, for journals with at least national impact
  • the award of external funding for Learning and Teaching projects
  • authorship of peer-reviewed textbooks and/or online learning resources with at least national reach and impact
  • a sustained track record of contributions to key Learning and Teaching conferences
  • education-related reports and/or consultancies commissioned by government, public/private sector bodies, the HEA and other agencies
  • the granting of an HEA National Teaching Fellowship and/or other awards for educational practice and impact
  • the design and leadership of courses and/or course components featuring successful innovation with clear external impact.

3)Academic leadership

Applicants must be able to demonstrate significant success and innovation as academic leaders, with impact beyond their home institution(s).

Applications in this category will typically be based on a selection of the following:

  • responsibility for rising trajectories in accepted proxies for quality (NSS, REF, TEF, DLHE, etc)
  • the award of significant discretionary funding for development
  • innovative and successful partnerships with other HEIs, industry, cultural, scientific and other bodies
  • senior responsibility with education-related government or other agencies such as the QAA
  • thought leadership through publication, policy consultation and/or conference activity
  • invited contributions to or leadership of policy consultations at subject or institutional level.

Application process

Applications, prepared by the applicants, must consist of the following documents which shall be provided electronically in a single Word or pdf file. Please note hard copies will not be accepted.

  • Cover sheet / Check List

The applicant shall complete a standard cover sheet and Check List to accompany their application pack.

  • Statement of application

The applicant shall set out his/her case systematically, taking particular care to indicate how achievement in the chosen categories is evidenced. The statement shall be no more than four sides of A4 paper in length and typed in Arial 11 font. It must be clear, accurate and informative and written to a high standard of English. Statements of application which are poorly presented may lead to an unsuccessful application irrespective of the strength of the underlying academic case.

  • IPR

Copies of the previous year’s IPR / appraisal documentation. If an IPR / appraisal has not been completed or the performance levels recorded in the IPR / appraisal are considered unsatisfactory then an application will not proceed.

  • Development Plan

All applications must be accompanied by a 300-word plan for personal development, contribution and impact over the 3 years following conferment, referenced to the University and relevant Faculty strategy. The plan will form part of the annual performance review. Where there is no evidence of continuing development and achievement commensurate with professorial status, the University reserves the right to de-confer the title following review by the conferment committee.

  • Curriculum vitae

The applicant shall provide a relevant and up-to-date copy of his/her curriculum vitae which supports the statement of application and which includes a full publications summary clearly indicating refereed work and normally referenced using the Harvard method.

  • Supporting evidence

Relevant supporting evidence shall be appended. Supporting evidence shall be clearly labelled as such. Please note, large amounts of supporting material in files or in the form of bound books, brochures, pamphlets, programmes etc will not be copied to the members of the Committee for the Conferment of Academic Titles or to the referees, but will be made available to the members of the Committee should they ask to see this.

  • Referees (only required for Professor)

The applicant shall provide the names, addresses; phone numbers and email addresses of four referees with knowledge of the relevant field (see Appendix 2). The applicant shall ensure that all contact details are in full, clear and up-to-date. To ensure impartiality the referees must be external to the University and independent in the sense that they have not collaborated with the applicant on research/scholarship/consultancy projects or worked closely with the applicant in the previous five years. It is also not advisable for the candidate to include the former supervisor of their doctoral thesis. The referees shall normally hold a professorship in a discipline related to the applicant’s field of work. However, it may occasionally be appropriate to include a referee who is distinguished in the field but does not hold a professorship. The referees may or may not be known personally to the candidate and the University will assume that the candidate has not approached their referees in advance. All referees are approached in confidence once applications have been considered by the Faculty Executive Group /Senior Leadership Team and recommended for approval.

*Refer to the appendices in the HANDBOOK FOR THE CONFERMENT OF ACADEMIC TITLES for the relevant forms on this*