The Appointment Regulations also play a role in the University’s ability to attract, recruit, retain and develop teachers in order to conduct research and provide education of the highest quality.
“In order for the University to further develop its position as an attractive employer, employed teachers shall be offered interesting work tasks and opportunities for professional development.”
(from the Appointment Regulations)
According to the Higher Education Act, each higher education institution shall have professors and senior lecturers, but beyond this it is up to each higher education institution to decide which additional categories of teachers it should have. Uppsala University has the teacher categories of professor, visiting professor, adjunct professor, senior lecturer, assistant senior lecturer, lecturer, adjunct senior lecturer and adjunct lecturer.
Openness and transparency
The Appointment Regulations are the University’s common starting point for the recruitment and promotion of teachers, and the regulations have since been supplemented and adapted to the needs of the disciplinary domains and faculties through local guidelines.
Openness, transparency and predictability are a fundamental aspect of the hiring process. As Uppsala University is a public authority, it is subject to the principle of public access to official documents, which means that all decision-making data in a recruitment case is generally public information.
“The recruitment of teachers is an important part of internationalisation. Advertisement of teaching positions shall generally be done internationally, and recruitment committees shall consider mobility an asset.”
(from the Appointment Regulations)
The promotion process shall also be characterised by transparency and predictability.
Many different opinions
On 26 September 2019, the University Board instructed the Vice-Chancellor to revise the Appointment Regulations of Uppsala University, and the proposal was to be adopted at the December 2020 meeting. It has been an extensive process that took a few extra months to complete.
What has been the biggest point of contention within the University?
“In a knowledge-intensive organisation like ours, the conditions for employment – and thereby the Appointment Regulations – are of great importance. The regulation of recruitment and promotion involves many employees, and different opinions have been expressed in large and small ways, i.e. not regarding a specific, defined issue,” responds Magnus Ödman, who together with Christer and Patrik is part of a preparation group for implementation of the Appointment Regulations.
One of the more far-reaching proposals early on in the inquiry was the establishment of more assistant senior lectureships, intended to be the first career step in a Swedish “tenure track system”, as part of the gradual replacement of insecure researcher positions.
Is this proposal still part of the decision?
“No, there has been no change in the regulation of researcher positions, and the regulation of assistant senior lectureships is largely the same as before. However, the disciplinary domains and faculties have been instructed to report on the scope of this appointment in the operational plan, and the Disciplinary Domain of Medicine and Pharmacy has been instructed to further investigate the conditions for assistant senior lectureship in combined posts.”
The inquiry on researcher positions proposed what were termed “staff scientists”, i.e. technical administrative staff who do not carry out research independently, but who contribute important expertise to the research. This position was proposed to be divided into three categories.
What does the decision say about these categories?
“This proposal did not lead to any regulation of the Appointment Regulations, as it was linked to the proposal to gradually reduce the number of researcher positions, which was dropped early in the process.”
Looking at the Appointment Regulations, what would you highlight as particularly positive for a teacher who wants to pursue a career at Uppsala University?
“A transparent recruitment and promotion process, that is always important, not least from an equal opportunities perspective. Increased clarity and precision in the Appointment Regulations is therefore positive for all teachers. It is the big picture rather than a particular issue that is important.”
For the University, the requirement for scientific and teaching expertise is, naturally, what is most essential for a teaching position, but nowadays there are also increased requirements for language skills, the ability to collaborate and cooperate with others, and the ability to contribute to collegial responsibility and the University’s development.
Have these latter competence requirements become even more important?
“These skill sets have certainly always been important, but they have to some extent received more attention recently, for example because of internationalisation. This is also reflected in other governance documents, such as the goals and strategy document.”
In an earlier stage, the inquiry proposed certain safety valves to ensure controlled development; for example, the practice whereby researchers who have received the most prestigious research grants can be appointed as a senior lecturer/professor through a vice-chancellor decision, referred to as the “lift”.
Does this possibility still exist?
“Yes, this possibility still exists, but it is now also regulated in the Appointment Regulations. However, this possibility should be used restrictively,” says Magnus Ödman.