No. 725/2023
APPROVED BY THE UNIVERSITY COUNCIL 22.06.2023
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These regulations apply to the academic advancement of academic staff at the University of Akureyri, cf. paragraph 3 in Article 17 of the Act on Public Higher Education Institutions no. 85/2008, cf. also Article 36 in the Regulations for the University of Akureyri no. 694/2022. The objective of the University of Akureyri system of academic advancement is to encourage high productivity and performance from academic staff in their work, and thereby improve the quality of teaching and research at the University of Akureyri. Academic advancement is based on a comprehensive evaluation of performance and success in research, teaching, administration and service in the interests of the University of Akureyri and of the community.
These regulations stipulate requirements for applications for academic advancement to be considered and minimum requirements in connection with academic advancement.
The Rector of the University of Akureyri shall confer academic advancement in accordance with these regulations.
An Assistant Professor or an Associate Professor may request academic advancement. The Rector may, without advertising the position, promote an Assistant Professor to the position of Associate Professor or an Associate Professor to Professor, on the condition that the person qualifies for the position according to an assessment of qualification conducted by the Evaluation Committee of the University of Akureyri pursuant to the provisions of these regulations.
The Rector is allowed to grant academic advancement when a new employee is hired if the applicant meets the requirements stated in Article 6 of these regulations, confirmed by an Evaluation Committee Report in accordance with these regulations.
A Dean of School can request accelerated academic advancement when recruiting an academic employee, so that the applicant be recruited with a more advanced professional title than advertised. Such a request must be made in consultation with the prospective member of staff. The request must be supported by a special substantiation. The request must be sent to the Research Administration, which oversees the case on behalf of the Rector.
In the case of accelerated academic advancement, there must be an Evaluation Committee Report that is no older than five years old and confirms that the person in question meets the conditions needed to be promoted in the professional title in question.
If an Evaluation Committee Report is not available, the application is referred to the University’s Evaluation Committee, cf. Article 7 of these regulations.
The Evaluation Committee shall submit its report and a proposal to the Rector on whether academic advancement is recommended to the professional title in question.
Applications for academic advancement shall be submitted to the Research Administration of the University of Akureyri by 1 November of each year; however, accelerated promotion is applied for immediately following the recruitment of a new member of staff, cf. Article 3. Academic advancement granted according to these regulations comes into effect at the beginning of a new academic year on July 1, while accelerated academic advancement comes into effect at the same time as the recruitment of a new member of staff.
For an application for academic advancement to be processed, it must be accompanied by confirmation that the member of staff in question meets the minimum requirements regarding the number of years in the job and the number of points earned by the applicant through the annual return of work according to the Evaluation System for Public Higher Education Institutions, cf. Table 1 in Article 6. Requests for the information stated above must be received by the Research Administration before 1 October of each year.
The Dean of School may request information from the Research Administration regarding whether a member of staff which they wish to encourage to apply for academic advancement meets the requirements of Article 6 of these regulations. Upon confirmation of the requirements being met, the member of staff in question decides whether to apply for academic advancement.
An application for academic advancement must be made electronically. The applicant shall name at least two individuals who have agreed to provide a reference on the applicant’s work. They must be recognised academics in the applicant’s field, and at least one of them must be working outside of the University of Akureyri. The application shall be in either Icelandic or English, as applicable.
The University of Akureyri operates a three-person standing Evaluation Committee, cf. Article 37 in the Regulations for the University of Akureyri no. 694/2022, which evaluates all applications for academic positions, whether they involve the recruitment of a new member of staff, academic advancement or tenure. Members of the Evaluation Committee must have completed a doctorate or an equivalent degree from a university and have extensive experience in research, teaching and administrative work. Each permanent member of the Evaluation Committee must be qualified as an Associate Professor at least, except for the chairperson of the Evaluation Committee, who must be qualified for the position of Professor. When the Evaluation Committee evaluates applications for academic advancement to the position of Professor, it must be ensured that the committee members involved in the case are all qualified for the position of Professor.
For each academic advancement evaluation, the Dean of School shall appoint an expert in the relevant academic field to work with the Evaluation Committee.
Regarding particular qualifications of members of the Evaluation Committee, provisions of Chapter II of the Administrative Procedures Act no. 37/1993 apply.
The role of the Evaluation Committee in matters of academic advancement is as follows:
The Evaluation Committee gathers reviews from a minimum of two experts in the applicant’s discipline, and at least one of these reviewers must work outside the University of Akureyri. The Evaluation Committee is authorized to look beyond the group of external experts that the applicant specifies in his application, cf. Article 4 of these regulations.
The Evaluation Committee must meet at least once to discuss each case.
At the beginning of its report, the Evaluation Committee must explain the criteria and data on which it bases its evaluation of the applicant. The Evaluation Committee Report must state what data the jury has obtained from the applicant. The Evaluation Committee must submit a reasoned opinion on whether the applicant is considered, on the basis of the considerations set out in these regulations, to meet the requirements for the position to which the applicant wishes to receive academic advancement.
The opinion of the Evaluation Committee or its majority shall be unequivocal as to whether the applicant meets the requirements. If there is disagreement within the Evaluation Committee, each member of the Evaluation Committee must state their view on the matter. The minority is allowed to state their view with a reasoned dissenting report. If the votes in the committee are equal, the chairman’s vote decides the result. If the Evaluation Committee’s view is unanimous, it shall submit one report. When the Evaluation Committee Report has been submitted, the Evaluation Committee gives the applicant 14 days to raise objections, if academic advancement is not recommended. The Evaluation Committee responds to objections and evaluates whether they warrant changes in the Evaluation Committee Report.
If the Evaluation Committee recommends academic advancement, it submits its report to the Rector no later than April 30. If the Evaluation Committee does not recommend academic advancement, the case is referred to the Rector for final processing.
For an application for academic advancement to the position of Associate Professor to be considered by the Evaluation Committee, Research Administration must have confirmed that the applicant:
For an application for academic advancement to the position of Professor to be considered by the Evaluation Committee, Research Administration must have confirmed that the applicant:
| Research | Teaching | Administration, service, other |
Difference | Total | |
| Associate Professor | 130 | 20 | - | 50 | 200 |
| Professor | 270 | 50 | - | 80 | 400 |
| Peer-reviewed books (over 25 points) ISI articles Other peer-reviewed articles Articles in international conference proceedings Book chapters, international academic publications Patent |
|
| Associate Professor | 80/90 |
| Professor | 180/200 |
Applications for advancement are assessed by the University of Akureyri Evaluation Committee based on these regulations. A comprehensive evaluation is made as to whether the applicant’s knowledge, experience and contribution are in accordance with international standards in the field of study for the job title to which academic advancement is applied for. The evaluation takes into account the applicant’s scientific contribution and other achievements during their career.
The requested supporting documents with the application are a teacher CV, a curriculum vitae and a bibliography, four to eight selected scientific works of the applicant and information about the applicant’s contribution to the works in the case of multi-author works. Fewer works may be submitted in the case of unusually extensive research works. The scientific works should reflect the applicant’s career.
The application must indicate past research, teaching, administration and services, as well as future plans in these areas. The Evaluation Committee considers the following factors and evaluates them as appropriate. The applicant is not required to fulfil all the requirements. They are intended for reference and without prioritization to make it easier for applicants to explain their work and for Evaluation Committees to evaluate the diverse contribution of staff.
An evaluation is made of the applicant’s ability to conduct the research part of the job title applied for. This is done by considering the applicant’s research history along with selected scientific works and the applicant’s contribution to them in the case of multi-author works.
When evaluating an application for academic advancement to the title of Associate Professor, the following factors are taken into account as appropriate:
When evaluating an application for academic advancement to the title of Professor, greater requirements are made regarding contributions to research than apply to academic advancement to the title of Associate Professor. When evaluating an application for academic advancement to the title of Professor, the following factors are taken into account as appropriate:
An evaluation is made of the applicant’s ability to conduct the teaching part of the job title to which academic advancement is applied for.
When evaluating an application for academic advancement to the title of Associate Professor, the following factors are taken into account as appropriate:
When evaluating an application for academic advancement to the title of Professor, it is considered whether progress has taken place since the applicant was promoted to the position of Associate Professor. The following factors are considered as appropriate:
An evaluation is made of the applicant’s ability to conduct the administrative part of the job title to which academic advancement is applied for.
During the overall evaluation of the application, participation in committees, workgroups and other administrative functions strengthen the application.
When evaluating an application for academic advancement to the title of Associate Professor, experience in academic administration is required in accordance with the job duties of an Assistant Professor. The following factors are considered as appropriate:
When evaluating an application for academic advancement to the title of Professor, experience in academic administration is required in accordance with the job duties of an Associate Professor. The following factors are considered as appropriate:
An evaluation is made of the applicant’s ability to serve the community and the business sector based on their expertise. How this service fits the policy of the University of Akureyri is considered. During the overall evaluation of the application, participation in committees, workgroups and other administrative functions strengthen the application.
When evaluating an application for academic advancement to the title of Associate Professor, the following factors are taken into account as appropriate:
When evaluating applications for academic advancement to the title of Professor, the following factors are taken into account as appropriate:
These regulations are set according to authorization in Paragraph 3 in Article 17 of the Act on Public Higher Education Institutions no. 85/2008. These regulations enter into force on August 1, 2023, with the exception that the conditions of the regulations regarding the minimum period of time in a job title do not apply to staff hired before these regulations come into force. At the same time, Regulations no. 1010/2016 on the promotion and permanent appointment of academic staff at the University of Akureyri, become void.
The University of Akureyri, 22 June 2023.
Eyjólfur Guðmundsson, Rector.
