Higher education institutions (HEIs), across the globe, have been increasingly applying staff performance appraisals (PA) to ensure good quality educational outcomes, and to meet the requirements of national and international quality assurance and academic accreditation organizations. Staff at the forefront of PA since they are affected either…

The creation of the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) represents a significant development concerning the teaching mission of the university in the UK. This paper considers the background to, and the development of, the TEF. It explains the context from which the TEF emerged and unpacks a series of rationales which illustrate the need for, and…

This article examines the similarities and differences in the systems for faculty career advancement in higher education institutions in the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran. The analysis focuses on two specific cases: the University of Tehran and Portland State University. Through this paired comparison, we draw out the similarities…

Over the past thirty years, higher education for adult students has emerged to help prepare the labor force for the 21st century in a world of globalization. At the same time, there have been massive advances in computing and the internet that provide many tools useful in higher education. Most universities now offer some form of electronic…

This article explores what an uneven embrace of community engagement means for faculty as they apply for tenure and promotion. It closely examines how three faculty members (including the author) from different departments framed and discussed their engaged scholarly contributions in the presence or absence of departmental guidelines on engaged…

Disparities in health outcomes between U.S. population subgroups, related to factors like race/ethnicity, income, and geographic location, are alarming. By integrating health disparities awareness content into the curriculum, academic institutions can play an important role in developing conscious health practitioners to help close gaps in health…

With the deepening of university reform in China, the traditional teaching faculty management mode has been exposed more and more defects. To make innovation of the university teaching faculty management mode becomes the voice of the times. Universities should conduct careful research on this issue in the development. Starting from the…

Tenure-track/tenured faculty at higher education institutions are expected to teach, conduct research and provide service as part of their promotion and tenure process, the relative importance of each component varying with the position and/or the university. However, based on the author's personal experience, feedback received from several…

In the context of increased demands for excellence in all areas, academic promotion and tenure is now directly linked to achievement of measurable outputs in all areas of performance. In a work environment characterised by high workloads, competing expectations and reduced resources, academics must increasingly demonstrate active engagement with…

This article addresses how academics navigate different kinds of prestige and different systems of value around what 'counts' in academic writing, focusing particularly on the impact of the genre regime associated with research evaluation in the UK Research Excellence Framework (REF). It draws on data from an Economic and Social Research Council…

Digital media and work with technology has become a critical, integral part of teaching, scholarship, and service in the academy, transforming the ways faculty engage with students, conduct research, and serve their campus, local, and national communities. These guidelines--originally written in 1998 and updated in 2015--are designed to advise…

In Malaysia, criteria and processes for promotion or even confirmation vary greatly between public universities. However, the use of one remuneration scheme with a common grade and salary system across all public universities may be considered unfair by some academics because it is not commensurate with their effort. The objectives of this paper…

The purpose of this study was to assess faculty unionization's impact on academic human resource decision making for department chairs. The academic human resource decisions included in the study were: academic hiring; re-employment, promotion and tenure; other faculty evaluation decisions; and discipline and discharge. The first purpose of this…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to determine the most fair, authentic, and reliable elements to include in a portfolio of faculty work, specifically at teaching-centered institutions. Design/methodology/approach: This paper examines and evaluates relevant literature pertaining to faculty portfolios of work and recommends portfolio formats…

Academia is an ever-evolving institution. Where once it was viewed as a body primarily charged with educating students, many instances universities now consider research to be their primary raison d'être. This research surveyed library and information science (LIS) faculty members employed at institutions accredited by the American Libraries…