Academic Staff Register Policy

PURPOSE

This policy outlines the processes for academic staff across all delivery sites to be added to the Leaders Institute (LI) Academic Staff Register, including determining the appropriate level of academic, professional and/or practice-based experience and expertise deemed equivalent to one qualification standard level above the course delivered.

SCOPE

All academic staff

PRINCIPLES

The Vice President Academic maintains an Academic Staff Register that lists approved academic staff and the units they are approved to teach. Approval of academic staff is guided by the following principles:

• lecturers are qualified in a relevant field, to at least one Australian Qualification Framework (AQF) qualification level higher than the unit being taught (AQF+1) or are to demonstrate equivalent professional experience. Guest speakers, field placement mentors, and tutors are exempt from this requirement. In this case, the Unit Coordinator and/or lecturer oversees the academic activities to ensure an appropriate standard;

• Unit Coordinators should be AQF+1 to the unit;

• Program Directors, Unit Coordinators, and lecturers will demonstrate current and relevant industry and management experience, where relevant;

• lecturers will demonstrate continuing scholarship that informs their teaching;

• lecturers who are not AQF+1 may be appointed, providing they can demonstrate professional equivalence to meet the learning needs of students;

• lecturers with no prior experience in teaching at the relevant AQF Level will be supervised and peer reviewed by the Unit Coordinator for the first semester of teaching;

• annual auditing will be undertaken to capture currency and equivalence of all the qualifications, scholarship, and industry-based activities of academic staff.

  
  

PROCEDURES

The following table will be adhered to for academic equivalence. Annual auditing will be undertaken to capture currency and equivalence of all academic staff qualifications. The professional experience will be at least three years in duration and will include evidence within the last five years.

Academic Staff Qualifications to Teach at AQF Level 8 and 9

Types of evidence

In determining experience relative to qualifications, regard is had to:

• Teaching experience;

• Experience in research;

• Experience outside tertiary education;

• Creative achievement;

• Professional contributions and/or technical achievement.

Evidence may include skills and experience including, but not limited to, the following within the last 10 years:

• Previous teaching experience in the field of expertise at a recognised Australian higher education institute or international higher education institute of equivalent standard;

• Research and/or creative works and/or projects at an advanced level;

• Peer reviewed research publications, books or reports and conference/seminar presentations in the discipline area;

• Relevant industry experience in a role that requires higher order judgement and the provision of expert advice, or a role at a senior level;

• Leadership or management of research acknowledged by peers;

• Relevant workplace or practice-based experiences;

• Recognised professional standing of independent or professional/creative work;

• Peer reviews of teaching or teaching materials relevant to the AQF level of the program to be taught and/or student evaluations of teaching; and/or supervisor evaluation;

• Supervision of Higher Degree Research students to award;

• Testimonials, awards or other recognition for leadership or expertise in the field;

• Contributions to the discipline through participation in advisory boards;

• Managing significant projects relevant to the discipline area;

• Leadership roles in local, state, and national advisory and governing bodies and community and professional organisations.

Record keeping

LI will maintain suitable records that include details of how each individual staff member meets ‘equivalence’ and satisfied the minimum requirements set out by these procedures; and will be maintained.

Professional equivalence process

Staff seeking equivalence must complete the application form. Completed applications are to be submitted to the relevant Program Director/ Academic Dean. The Academic Dean will review the application and either ‘recommend’ or ‘not recommend’ the application and forward it onto Academic Board.  The committee will review on timely basis and consider applications. The application and accompanying documentation will be forwarded to the Human Resources Manager and retained on staff files. Equivalence, where approved, will be electronically recorded for regulatory, reporting and work planning purposes.

Professional equivalence supervision

The appointed supervisor will oversee one semester of teaching and assessment grading to ensure teaching and assessment practices are at the expected academic standard. The supervisor will also conduct a peer review of teaching at least once during that semester. In the case where academic staff approved through professional equivalence are engaged on a continuing basis to teach specialised components of a unit, they will remain under the supervised by staff who do meet the requirements (see Standard 3.2.4). Reports on academic staff employed based on professional equivalence will be tabled to the Academic Board for review.

Academic staff approved through professional equivalence are required to complete and report on specific scholarship activities as part of the Annual Performance Appraisal process.