University of Copenhagen , August 1999

Guidelines for the composition of assessments regarding the appointment of teaching and research staff at the University of Copenhagen

Index

I.                  Preface

II.               Assessment committee work

1.                                      The chairperson's responsibilities

2.                                      The purpose of the assessment/ terms of the Committee's work

3.                                      Formulation of the assessment

a.                                      The Introduction

b.                                      Assessment of the individual applicant(s)

1.      Presentation

2.      Assessment of Academic/research qualifications

3.      Assessment of teaching qualifications

4.      Assessment of other qualification requirements (as stated in the specific advertisement for appointment)

5.      Assessment of trial lecture(s), whenever applicable

6.      The final overall assessment of the applicant

c.                                      Guiding order of preference

III.            Conclusion

I. Preface

The present guidelines relate to Ministerial Order no.820 of 31 August 2000 Regarding the Appointment of Lecturers and Academic Staff at Universities, etc., under the Ministry of Research and Information Technology.

The purpose of the guidelines is to ensure an optimal basis for decision and a certain level of uniformity in the formulation of assessments and pronouncements. If instructions or guidelines have not been drawn up by the faculty in question, these guidelines should be applied every time teaching and research staff is appointed at the University of Copenhagen, although relevant alterations may be acceptable dependent on the category of the actual appointment.

For further reference to procedure of appointment, powers of decision-making and so on, see Order on Appointment and the supplementary rules stipulated for the faculty in question.

For further reference to questions regarding disqualification due to conflicts of interests, see Guidelines for Procedures in Questions regarding Disqualification due to Conflicts of Interests at the University of Copenhagen, The University of Copenhagen Rules and Regulations no. 22.06 or Administration Papers, no. 18.

It should be noted that anyone taking part in a case of appointment, including any member of an assessment committee, is obliged to inform the management of circumstances (special financial or personal interests, family relationship with the applicant or the like) which may cause disqualification due to conflicts of interests, or may cause doubts as to the impartiality of the person in question, in accordance with The Public administration Act, Sections 3-6.

When setting the deadline for the Committee's submission of the assessment report, particular attention must be accorded to the job category, the number of applicants and the residence of the committee members. The management determines the deadline for submission.

II. Assessment Committee Work

1.      The chairperson’s responsibilities

The chairperson is appointed by the management.

The chairperson ensures that an assessment is made which fulfils the function in accordance with point 2 below and the requirements of formulation implied by these guidelines (the Order on Appointment, the Public Administration Act and other present rules pertaining to cases of appointment).

The Chairperson is obliged to instruct the other members of the Committee and to ensure that the determined deadline for submission of the assessment is met. The latter is presupposed, however, under very special circumstances an extension of deadline may be granted.

The chairperson must clarify any uncertainty about the Committee's work at the earliest possible opportunity.

The chairperson and/or any other member of the Committee is/are not allowed to engage in direct communication with the applicants. If the Committee requires further information, e.g. co-author declarations, detailed publication lists etc., the inquiry must be made through the management/the managerial secretariat.

2.      The purpose of the assessment/ terms of the Committee's work  

The purpose of entrusting an assessment committee with the consideration and evaluation of applications is first and foremost to ensure an impartial and qualified assessment of all applicants.

However, it is also the duty of the assessment committee to ensure that the optimal basis for decision on appointment is available and to ensure that the presently most highly qualified applicant is appointed.

The Committee jointly prepares an introduction (in accordance with point 3a, below), an assessment of each applicant (in accordance with point 3b, below), and if required by the management, also a guiding order of priority (in accordance with point 3c, below) in conclusion of the overall assessment.

All applicants must be assessed by all members of the Committee. Thus all members are obliged to acquaint themselves with all the cited works.  

It should be noted that in the supplementary rules of the individual faculties, regulations may stipulate limitations in the extent of material involved in the assessment, in accordance with Order on Appointment, Section 5.

The assessment of individual applicants must be jointly prepared by the members, however, drafts may be prepared by individual members according to an agreed division of labour and based on   initial, provisional discussions of the Committee.

However, at the conclusive drafting of the overall assessment the Committee shall present the assessment so that in formulation and content it appears a uniform document.

The assessment qualified/unqualified of the individual applicant may either be unanimous or based on a majority and one or more minority decisions. Differences of opinion among the members of the Committee must be clearly stated in the assessment along with a clear indication of which members form the majority and minority respectively, in accordance with Order on Appointment, Section 6(3).

The overall assessment is to be drafted as a separate document, which does not presuppose any knowledge of the application on the part of the reader nor of the applicant's written works, and it must be sufficiently detailed, unambiguous and exhaustive, so as to enable the decision-maker/the reader to follow the line of thought from supposition to conclusion.

As each applicant will receive only the part of the report relating to him/herself, the assessment relating to the individual applicants must be drafted on separate sheets as part of the complete document, so that the assessment may be forwarded to the applicant without further administrative arrangements.

Furthermore, it is required that the assessment is drafted applying a balanced and sober phrasing, so as not to raise any doubts as to the impartiality of the assessment, in accordance with the Ombudsman's Statement of 16 April 1973.

It is a requirement that the overall assessment be composed so as to form an adequate basis on which to base a decision - even for a non-specialist staff member empowered to make the final decision. If this is not the case, the management is empowered to require that the assessment committee revise the assessment.

Only the chairperson and the members of the Committee may participate in the assessment work, however, the management may, if required, appoint a secretary to the Committee.

Members of the assessment committee - and anyone else involved in the assessment - must maintain strict confidentiality throughout. Any breach of professional secrecy may subject internal and external members of the Committee as well as consultants etc. to penalty or imprisonment, in accordance with the rules stated in The Public Administration Act, Section 27 and Sections 152 and 152c-152f of the Penal Code. For employees at the University of Copenhagen a breach of professional secrecy may also have consequences for their employment.

It should be noted that that the assessment committee may recommend to the management, that one or several applicants give (a) trial lecture(s), in accordance with Order, Section 6(2).

3.      Formulation of the Assessment  

The assessment must consist of  an/a  a) Introduction, b) Assessment of each individual applicant and if applicable c) Guiding order of preference.

The introduction, which contains general information, is to be forwarded to all applicants and must therefore not include the name of or other personal information relating to the individual applicant.

a)      The introduction should include the following information:

¨      the setting up and composition of the assessment committee

¨      the advertisement for the vacancy, deadline for applications and any set deadline for forwarding supplementary material.

¨      the number of applicants and whether any applicant has withdrawn his/her application

¨      details of, and justification for, any extensions to deadlines, including extensions to deadlines for forwarding supplementary material granted as a result of a hearing of or recommendation from the Committee, in accordance with Order on Appointment, Section 5(3).

After the deadline for applications (and any extension thereof or extension of the deadline for forwarding of supplementary material ) any further material received after this date must not be considered in the process of assessment.

¨      details of the extent to which the Committee has invited applicants to hold trial lectures, in accordance with Order on Appointment, Section 6(2); more explicit justification, the outcome of the lecture etc. must be included in "Assessment of each individual applicant" in accordance with the guidelines below.

¨      details of the extent to which extraordinary assessment procedures have been applied due to advertisements stating a primary and secondary job category e.g. "Associate Professor/alternatively Assistant Professor". Generally such advertisements do not give rise to the assessment of applicants applying only for the secondary job category, if qualified applicants for the primary job category are available. In that case the position should be filled with one of those applicants.

In the Introduction the Committee may present its general deliberations about e.g. the treatment of the material submitted for assessment, definition of the assessment criteria based on the advertisement and the like. The academic qualification requirements are already evident from the general descriptions contained in the Circular on Job Structure and the advertisement. As it is the duty of the Committee to uphold these criteria any interpretation of these would normally be superfluous.

b) The assessment of each applicant includes:

1.      Presentation with relevant extracts from the curriculum vitae

2.      Assessment of academic/research qualifications

3.      Assessment of teaching qualifications

4.      Assessment of trial lecture(s), whenever applicable

5.      Assessment of other qualification requirements (stated in the advertisement)

6.      Final overall assessment of the applicant

Please note the following with reference to the component parts in the assessment of each applicant:

Ref. 1) The presentation must include the applicant's name, date of birth, nationality. Academic exams and degrees, stating subject(s), date(s) and institution(s) must always be included.

Relevant post-graduate appointments and/or scholarships stating kind, institution(s) and period(s). Similarly any undergraduate work experience relevant to the vacant position.

Finally, any other relevant further education, sojourns for the purpose of study and similar study related activities may be stated.

Ref. 2) The assessment of academic/research qualifications shall be based on the material cited by the applicant (the individual faculty may adopt general rules on limitations in the extent of the material to be considered in accordance with Order on Appointment, Section 5(1).

The Committee cannot immediately include non-cited material in the assessment, but the Committee may recommend to the management, or the management may after hearing the Committee in special cases decide that the applicant be granted the opportunity to include further material in the assessment. If so, a deadline will be set and all applicants will be informed hereof.

Should the Committee find it impossible to make an adequately exhaustive assessment of one or more applicants, the Committee may recommend to the management, that this/these applicant(s) submit further material for the assessment.

Should any material obtained in the course of assessment consist of work(s) with one or more co-authors, or works which otherwise is the result of a joint effort (group work), and if the applicant has not already enclosed a co-author (-colleague) declaration stating the extent and nature of each individual's contribution to the work(s), the chairperson may ask the management to

request the applicant to obtain such (a) declaration(s) by a specific date. The work will be weighted in the assessment according to the contribution and the nature of the work(s). This weighting must be acknowledged in the assessment.

Consequently, it must be stated and justified which works have been excluded from further consideration.

Works which are subject to assessment must be identified, characterised and evaluated:

If not already apparent from the list of publications, each work must be identified according to normal bibliographic reference/practise stating title, any co-author(s), extent, place and date of publication. If the work has not been published, its form must be described.

In many instances works will have to be classified according to partly formal characteristics and partly to characteristics based on the content or genre (typical classifications might be "essay", "dissertation", Ph.D.- or Doctoral thesis, "popular exposition", "conference submission", "review", "teaching material" etc.)

Works will normally be divided up into categories and/or academic disciplines (particularly if they are large in number). Any academic links between individual works must be noted. Any work(s), which are translations, lecture notes or other adaptations of original material, may be used to aid in the characterisation of the original material.

The evaluation of the works is the exclusive responsibility of the Committee. The Committee must assess each work independently. The qualifications, which are relevant to the vacant position as demonstrated by the applicant's submitted work(s) must be emphasised, so as to ensure that the committee is making an actual assessment and not just a more or less detailed description of the works.

Ref. 3) In accordance with Order on Appointment, Section 6(1) assessment of teaching qualifications must be based on the applicant's submitted documentation/certified information and on trial lecture(s) whenever applicable.

The information should be characterised as "basic teaching", "teaching at an advanced level", "tutorials", "development of new educational programmes", "preparation and assessment of examinations and courses", "lectures/presentation of papers", "participation in exams" etc.

The relevant qualifications demonstrated by the applicant on the basis of the documentation submitted must be emphasised in the evaluation.

Ref. 4) Assessment of trial lecture(s) held, whenever applicable.

The committee may recommend to the management that trial lecture(s) be held with one or more applicants. In accordance with Order on Appointment, Section 6(2), the management decides whether to follow the recommendation and if so, who can attend these lectures.

The Committee must state its reason for arranging trial lecture(s), if applicable, by recommendation to the management.

A short summary, including the chosen/determined subject, of the course of the lecture and of the Committee's evaluation of the trial lecture must be enclosed with the assessment.

Ref. 5) Assessment of other relevant qualification requirements stated in the advertisement is made on the basis of the applicant's submitted documentation/certified information in accordance with Order on Appointment, Section 6(1).

Ref. 6) The final overall evaluation of the applicant must contain a summing up of the various evaluations made of the applicant's qualifications in relation to the vacant position. In the overall evaluation the Committee must justify and explain its pronouncement on the applicant's suitability or non-suitability for the position.

The qualification requirements stated in the advertisement and the Circular on Job structure's regulations concerning relevant qualifications for specific job categories, including the weighting of teaching qualifications in relation to academic qualifications must be observed in the overall evaluation. The overall evaluation must not conclude that the applicant is qualified for a specific job category in general, but must exclusively evaluate the applicant's competence in relation to the position in question.

The Committee's pronouncement on an applicant's suitability must be unequivocal and unconditional. The assessment of qualifications should not differentiate in its pronouncement, however, expressions such as "not yet qualified" or "not qualified on the basis of present material" are acceptable.

As the formulation of the advertisement is expected to clarify the "profile" of the academic staff member sought, the Committee may not add to the assessment criteria or presume any additional wishes on the part of the Institute/Department.

The only applicable criteria are documented qualifications and their prominence in the relevant academic field, their academic value, professional range, and as the case may be, how long it has taken the applicant to produce the submitted/included works etc. Similar criteria are applicable to teaching and other professional qualifications stated in the advertisement.

In the event that the Committee is unable to reach an agreement, the assessment must clearly state which members consider the applicant to be qualified and which do not, and each member must vindicate his opinion separately.

If the Committee agrees that one or more applicants are non-qualified for the position it may confine itself to stating - and justifying - briefly which qualifications the applicant(s) do(es)

not possess in accordance with Order on Appointment, Section 6(1).

c) The Committee is not assigned with making an order of preference among the qualified applicants, nor with recommending one particular applicant for appointment.

A guiding order of preference among the qualified applicants, or a top field among several qualified applicants is made in conclusion to individual assessments, and on the basis of a final overall evaluation only at the specific request of the management. The management may request the Committee to make a guiding order of preference at the commencement of the assessment committee work or subsequently.

Any trial lecture(s) held will be included in the final overall assessment.

The Circular on Job Structure's regulations concerning the qualification requirements for specific job categories, including the weighting of teaching qualifications in relation to academic/research qualifications are of considerable importance also to the formulation of the guiding order of preference.

If differences of opinion exist among the members of the Committee concerning the order of preference among the applicants, a majority or one or more minorities may decide on a guiding order of preference. In such cases, the nature of the dissent in the evaluation and in the order of preference must be clearly stated. Likewise it must be clearly stated which members of the Committee form a majority and minority respectively.

If the applicant's previous career does not include teaching experience, obtained as an assistant professor within the ordinary job structure, or similar teaching experience, the Committee must, when deciding on a guiding order of preference, be attentive to the fact that appointment to an associate professorship is probationary for up to 1½ years.

III. Conclusion

The Committee submits the assessment to the management.

If the assessment does not constitute a satisfactory basis for making a decision and/or does not meet the formal requirements established by the Order on Appointment, by any existing supplementary rules stipulated by the faculty in question, by The Public Administration Act and any other present regulations governing cases of appointment, it will be returned to the Committee to be enlarged upon or revised.

When the management finds the assessment satisfactory and formally correct, each applicant will receive the part of the report relating to him/herself. If a guiding order of preference is made, it will not be forwarded to the applicants. Drafts of the assessment, which have been found unsatisfactory or formally incorrect by the management are considered internal documents and therefore exempt from the right of access to documents in accordance with The Public Administration Act, Section 12.

Any observations an applicant may have to an assessment is forwarded to the Committee for consideration. The applicant concerned is informed of any comments the Committee may have.

These guidelines come into force at the time of issue and at which time they repeal "Guidelines for the Composition of Assessment Committee Recommendations regarding academic staff appointments at the University of Copenhagen" of January 1994. However, the guidelines of 1994 still apply to ongoing cases treated in accordance with the Order on Appointment of 9 September 1993.

Copenhagen/August 1999  

KJELD MØLLGÅRD

Rector

Margit Laurberg

Executive adviser