Education and Research
The University of Exeter wants to support academics at each stage of their career, helping people to reach their potential and become distinguished in their chosen fields. As an academic in the Education and Research job family, there are opportunities to progress over time from Lecturer to Senior Lecturer, then to Associate Professor and Professor. The criteria the University has set for Lecturer probation and progression to other levels are organised around three pillars of performance: your ability to educate in a way that’s inspiring and effective and informed by research; your ability to advance knowledge through research and to ensure the research has an impact (where appropriate commercially); and to be an active academic citizen, taking a collegiate and collaborative approach in your work.
The sections below hold information regarding the process, the criteria and the relevant forms.
For queries regarding promotion to Associate Professor and Professor please contact acad-promotions@exeter.ac.uk or your Faculty Executive team; for promotions up to Grade G please contact your Faculty Executive team.
Please note the following summary of changes to the documentation for promotions below for the 2023/24 academic year:
- The requirement in the Education and Scholarship job family to submit a business case alongside applications has been removed with all documentation changed to reflect this,
- A single application form has been created for all promotion stages and job families (no changes to forms for probation),
- Outside of the changes outlined above, all wording on the probation, promotion and progression documentation has remained the same, but the documents have been updated to reflect the new University branding.
Application to academic staff who have come into higher education from established professional careers outside of higher education
The University welcomes the contribution which colleagues who have developed their professional experience outside the higher education sector (for example in business or industry or in the health, public sector or voluntary sectors) bring to the University. We recognise that their professional experience makes an important contribution to our mission and objectives, for example in the areas of education, engaged research and impact, and knowledge exchange.
Academics who have established their professional career outside of higher education will be nominally assigned to one of the University’s academic job families (“Education and Research”, “Education and Scholarship” or “Research”), but the expectations agreed with them will be focussed around their areas of expertise rather than the range of activities expected of other academic staff. The University is committed to developing the careers of all our academic staff so that they fulfil their potential. This means that the University will apply the Exeter Academic career progression criteria flexibly: in assessing the achievements of these colleagues against the career progression criteria, the University will take account of the specific contribution they make, with expectations in some activities being replaced by expectations in others which are relevant to their role. For example, expectations for research outputs may be “balanced off” by expectations of engagement with business, industry or the health, public sector or voluntary sectors, as appropriate. Academics who have established their professional career outside of higher education and their academic managers should take this into account during the performance and development review so that these balances are understood and recorded.
We recognise that during the Covid-19 pandemic, it was necessary for colleagues to work in new ways and shift priorities as we worked as a community to tackle the challenges brought by the pandemic. We recognise that the pandemic has had an impact on us all, with differential effects, so we want to continue to support colleagues to succeed in their careers and apply for promotion. We will give credit for academic colleagues’ contribution to the University’s response to meeting student needs (and those of the wider community such as the NHS) during the pandemic - in particular for the development and implementation of Project Enhance and Project Restart.
We will take personal circumstances into account and empower academic managers to use their judgement, as people who know their teams. Application forms now provide opportunity for colleagues to state how their plans and achievements changed as a consequence of Covid-19. Applications will continue to be considered against the relevant criteria in terms of the quality of work of applicants but allowances are made with regards to the quantity or outputs. We’ve allowed more time in each stage of the promotions process for meaningful discussion and extra training sessions.
The probationary period is an important time for you to develop the skills and competencies you need to be effective and successful. We expect the Exeter Academic to demonstrate that they meet the expectations of a Lecturer within 3 years, which is the standard length of probation for new Lecturers, but it may be possible to confirm your appointment earlier if all the expectations have been achieved.
Academics pursuing a career in Education and Research are expected to achieve professional accreditation by completing the Academic Professional Programme or Aspire.
To enable us to properly assess your contribution at the University of Exeter, the earliest we would assess your suitability for confirmation of appointment would be after one year.
Process
Criteria
Forms
Development through ASPIRE Framework
The development of your career as an Exeter Academic will continue beyond confirmation of your appointment as a Lecturer. We expect Lecturers to progress to Senior Lecturer within 2 to 3 years, following satisfactory completion of probation (ie 4 to 6 years after appointment). During this period, your academic manager will continue to work with you to support your achievements.
The next stage in your development will see you build on the strong basis you have built during your probation period and allow you to further develop the skills and competencies you need to be an effective and successful Exeter Academic, achieving progression to Senior Lecturer in a reasonable timescale.
Process
Criteria
Forms
Development through ASPIRE Framework
The development of your career as an Exeter Academic will continue beyond your appointment as/progression to the role of Senior Lecturer. We are committed to continuing to develop your academic career and will ensure that you are supported in the next stage of your career at the University of Exeter so that you can flourish as a Senior Lecturer and aspire to progress to Associate Professor in due course.
The next stage in your development will see you build on the strong basis you have built during your academic career at Exeter and allow you to further develop the skills and competencies you need to be an effective and successful Exeter Academic so that you achieve progression to Associate Professor.
Process
Criteria
Forms
Development through ASPIRE Framework
The development of your career as an Exeter Academic will continue beyond your appointment as/progression to the role of Associate Professor. We are committed to continuing to develop your academic career and will ensure that you are supported in the next stage of your career at the University of Exeter so that you can flourish as an Associate Professor and aspire to progress to a full Professorial position in due course.
The next stage in your development will see you build on the strong basis you have built during your academic career at Exeter and allow you to further develop the skills and competencies you need to be an effective and successful Exeter Academic so that you achieve progression to Professor.
Process
Criteria
Forms
Development through ASPIRE Framework
Further Information
Additional information about Professorial Pay can be found in the Pay section of the HR website.
Proleptic appointments at the University of Exeter are appointments to an open-ended lectureship where the holder brings a research funded fellowship. Research fellowships are prestigious and an indication of the quality of the researcher.
You will begin the Professional Development Programme (PDP) at the start of your appointment and it is imperative that modifications to the PDP requirements are made as you may not be able to be allocated a large amount or indeed any teaching during the period of the fellowship. The Exeter Academic framework provides for Pro-Vice-Chancellors to apply it flexibly to suit specific individual circumstances. Ensure that the Exeter Academic probation process is followed and that these targets are agreed within the framework. You must also discuss the APP with your academic lead, including timings, part time vs full time, etc. It may not be possible for you to complete the APP during your fellowship, but this would then be set as a performance target for progression to Senior Lecturer (SL) or within a timeframe after progression to SL.