Academic Promotions

Academic Promotions Committee Membership

Human Resources

Imperial has developed a proposal to update Academic Titles to globally recognized equivalents in consultation with relevant stakeholders and members of staff through workstreams and representation (see  Working Group for Academic Titles).  Imperial is currently in consultation with the UCU and further information on the proposed titles will be available on the Working Group webpages. If the proposal proceeds, current staff (including those promoted during the academic year 2024/25) will be contacted and given the option to use the new titles or retain their existing ones until their role changes, e.g. through future promotion or a job family transfer. There are no changes affecting the Business School.

The General Role Descriptions can be found in Appendix 1 and the current document outlines the procedure for the conferment of titles of, or promotion to, the positions listed below.

See the listed Appendices for the applied criteria and more information on the above titles.

Senior Research Fellow / Senior Researcher applicants use the same procedure as Reader applicants. Principal Research Fellow / Principal Researcher applicants use the same procedure as Professorial applicants. See Appendix 4 for the required criteria and more information on the below titles.

Important Employment Considerations

1.    Probation and Disciplinary Issues

Applications for promotion cannot be considered in isolation from matters connected with an employee's probation or general employment. If a member of staff, or employee from the Research Councils or the NHS, are at the informal oral, or any other stage of the appropriate organisation’s disciplinary/capability procedure, the application will be put on hold until the matter has been resolved, or any warning issued is spent, to the satisfaction of Angela Kehoe, Head of HR (Natural Sciences & Progression) a.kehoe@imperial.ac.uk.

Every effort will then be made to deal with the application as quickly as is practicable. The above also applies to those whose probation has been extended, or where an individual's employment has not been confirmed for performance/disciplinary-related reasons.

Staff who are on probation may be considered for promotion, but only where there are no current disciplinary/capability issues. If applicants are successful, and the promotion will take effect during the last year of probation, (or, exceptionally, prior to the last year), their appointment will also be confirmed (subject to the individual fulfilling any compulsory criteria that are in place e.g. attendance at compulsory development programmes, such as completing and passing teaching quality requirements).

2.    Transferring to the Academic, or Research, or Learning & Teaching Job Families

It is a condition of promotion that staff, who are still on the old job grading system at the time of their application for promotion, will be moved to the relevant level of either the Academic, or the Research, or the Learning & Teaching job family, with associated terms and conditions when promoted.

3.     Requirements for EEA and non-EEA nationals sponsored under the Skilled Worker Route (SWR) / Tiers 2 and 5 under the Temporary Worker Route (TWR) / Tier 5 (Government Authorised Exchange)

As part of Imperial’s sponsorship duties, the Staff Compliance Team is required to report any significant changes to sponsored workers’ employment, including any promotions, changes in job title or core duties, to UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) within 10 working days.

Additionally, should the promotion mean that the worker would need to be sponsored in a different occupation code, for example, a researcher promoted into an academic role, a ‘change of employment’ application would need to be made. This would require:

• The Staff Compliance Team to issue a new Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS); and
• The worker to make a new application for permission to stay; and
• The Staff Compliance Team to complete a follow-up Right to Work check of the worker’s new Biometric Residence Permit/digital status, once granted by UKVI.

The above must be completed before the effective start date of the promotion is confirmed and the worker starts work in their new role.

Where the worker would need to be sponsored in a different occupation code and they have an application already in process for a non-sponsored immigration category (e.g. Indefinite Leave to Remain, Global Talent Visa, etc), they would need to await the outcome of their application and the Staff Compliance Team would need to complete a follow-up Right to Work check before the effective start date of the promotion is confirmed and they start work in their new role.

The Academic Progression team will share the outcomes of the Academic Promotions exercise for sponsored workers with the Staff Compliance Team to ensure that the relevant reporting requirements are undertaken, or new permission obtained (where required), before promotions for sponsored workers take effect.

Roles Not Eligible for the Academic Promotion Route

1.    Lecturer

Imperial and the Academic Promotions Procedure do not make provision for promotion to Lecturer; rather, appointments are made on the recommendation of a selection committee - see the relevant guidance notes for the appointment of Lecturers.

2.    Research Fellow / Researcher

These are graded in the Research Job Family, and the promotion route will normally be to Senior Research Fellow / Senior Researcher, unless an appointment is made to an academic post, or it is an exceptional case based on recently acquired experience that meets the criteria for an academic staff grade.

3.    Learning & Teaching Job Family (Levels 3 to 7)

Application for promotion to these grades is through the Learning & Teaching Promotions process with Consuls present for Levels 6 and 7 promotions.

4.    Professors of Practice

Existing members of the Academic, Research and Learning & Teaching job families cannot be promoted to Professor of Practice. 

Honorary Professors of Practice are not members of a particular job family and can accordingly be promoted or appointed for a fixed term. (In the Faculty of Medicine all such applications (e.g., from NHS members) are handled through Academic Promotions). For any applications from NHS staff from partner organisations of Imperial College Academic Health Science Centre (AHSC), applicants must have a single contract of employment, e.g., with the NHS partner. The Associate Provost (Academic Promotions) should be on the promotions Committee for Professors of Practice, although the Dean of the relevant Faculty may be better placed to chair. 

Professors of Practice can be appointed to a specified fixed term position. The applied criteria and the interview panel composition should be consistent with the Academic Promotions process. The quality of an appointment must be confirmed at interview. The Dean of the Faculty, the Senior Consul and the Associate Provost (Academic Promotions) should be consulted prior to any appointment and Consul presence at interview is required. As for Academic Promotions, it is expected that suitably qualified external experts will serve on panels for applicants where an appointment may impact other Faculties.

For clarity, Professors of Practice can be appointed into the Learning & Teaching Job Family, their contract of employment must not include research amongst their contractual duties, and they must not be assigned to an employment function including ‘research’ in HR systems or the HESA staff return.

Upon a successful award of the title of Professor of Practice (Field) it is a University requirement that the title is used in full as shown below,

“Dr Xxxx, Professor of Practice (Neurosurgery)”

with no abbreviation on letterheads, web pages or elsewhere. The title may not be abbreviated to “Professor” as this would indicate that the person holds the full academic title of Professor (which requires additional criteria not required of the Professor of Practice title). The specialty should be included in brackets, as the example above shows.

[1] Members of the Learning and Teaching job family can apply for promotion to Reader in Education and Professor of Education. If successful, the applicant will transfer to the Academic job family.

[2] For information: For Imperial’s current research job family titles, it is proposed to remove ‘Fellow’ from the job titles due to the confusion caused by this term external to Imperial. Researchers who hold externally funded fellowships will still be able to use the associated title, e.g., ‘Royal Society University Research Fellow.’ 

Heads of Department Review

• Heads of Departments should arrange an annual review of all academic staff below the level of Professor to determine whether any proposals should be made for promotion to Senior Lecturer or the conferment of the title of Reader or Professor.
• The Head of Department should request all Heads of Sections or Groups in the Department to review academic staff below Professor in their Section/Group. Heads of Sections/Groups should prepare a report that highlights the achievements and promotion potential of each of their staff and the report should be presented to the Departmental Review Panel, together with any proposals for promotion or conferment of title.
• The Head of Department should publish, within the Department, the timetable for the review, indicating that self-applications may be made for promotion or conferment of title.
• Heads should also arrange a review of senior staff in the Research job family at the Researcher / Research Fellow level, and senior staff in the Learning & Teaching job family, to determine whether any should be put forward for promotion that may lead to conferment of title if accompanied by a transfer to the academic job family.
• Heads of Department should also consider whether any staff not in the Learning & Teaching job family should be considered for transfer into this job family. Staff may be promoted via either the practitioner or the educational research pathway. This measure should be considered for staff who are making a significant contribution to teaching, educational leadership, education research or educational transformation, beyond that normally expected within their current job family. 
• Heads of Department are strongly encouraged to provide each member of staff below the level of Professor with the names of two professors who would be available to provide informal guidance and advice to candidates regarding promotion.
• Heads of Department should be wary of putting forward candidates prematurely because of the potential negative impact on a member of staff if unsuccessful (but more likely to succeed the following year). See advice on Previous Applications.
• Following a successful trial in the Faculty of Medicine, Proconsuls are providing a voluntary service to all Faculties and Departments that wish to seek advice on promotion issues. Proconsuls are not conflicted as part of the overall promotions process and will hence be able to answer any questions or discuss any points that may arise from a candidate’s paperwork.

N.B. Deans of Faculties and Consuls do not take part in the Departmental process by which candidates are brought forward. Faculty-level panels are advisory only.

NHS Consultants and Community Physicians

• Heads of Department may wish for Consultants, Community Physicians in the NHS, and Research Council employees, to be considered for the conferment of the title of Reader, Professor or Professor of Practice (Honorary).
• Honorary titles are given for between one and five years, and are renewable, subject to the individual meeting the criteria and standards. The decision to renew will be taken by the Head of Department in conjunction with the Dean of the Faculty (See Appendices for full academic titles criteria). For Professor of Practice, the Associate Provost (Academic Promotions) will review renewal cases following a recommendation by the Dean of the Faculty.

Memorandum

A suggested letter to staff appears in Appendix 7. The Application Form and Standard Request for References, as well as the relevant Appendices should accompany the letter to inform staff of the format of the documents required.

Previous Applications

A promotions cycle is counted as starting at the beginning of each academic year. An unsuccessful application for promotion, or conferment of title, should not be submitted as part of the promotions cycle the following year.

Staff that have been promoted in the preceding promotions cycle will not be considered the following academic year unless measurable, clear and very significant progress can be shown. Permission to advance such applications should be sought from, and granted by, the Associate Provost (Academic Promotions). Furthermore, such applications must be flagged when submitted to the Academic Promotions team. The same applies to staff that have been appointed to a post during an ongoing promotions cycle.

Departmental Review Panel Composition

The Panel should be as diverse as possible, with sufficient academic range for broad representation of the Department’s education and research.

(a)  Faculties of Engineering, Medicine, Natural Sciences and the Education Office

The Panels must have the following composition, according to the level of promotion being sought. Heads of Department must ensure that Panels have sufficient and comparable information to review all eligible staff.

Senior Lecturer

• Head of Department (Chair)
• At least five other members of the Department to include a professor, a reader, and a senior lecturer, one of whom shall be elected to represent the Department’s academic staff.

Reader

• Head of Department (Chair)
• At least five other members of the Department, in addition to the Head of Department and Section Head (where applicable), to include a Professor, a Reader and a Senior Lecturer, one of whom shall be elected to represent the Department’s academic staff.
• For Reader in Education, a senior member of the Department with educational responsibilities (for example the Director of Undergraduate Studies, Director of Postgraduate Studies, Director of Education or other similarly titled member of staff) should substitute for one of the Departmental Panel members.

Professor / Professor of Education / Professor of Practice

• Head of Department (Chair)
• Five professors, in addition to the Head of Department and Section Head (where applicable). In units where there is only one professor, the Head of the unit must invite appropriate professors from elsewhere in Imperial to form a Review Panel of at least five members.
• For Professor of Education, a senior member of the Department with educational responsibilities (for example the Director of Undergraduate Studies, Director of Postgraduate Studies, Director of Education or other similarly titled member of staff) should substitute for one of the Departmental Panel members. 

(b) The Business School

Associate Professor

• Associate Dean (Chair)
• At least five other members of the Department to include a Professor, an Associate Professor or a Senior Lecturer, one of whom shall be elected to represent the Department’s academic staff.
• For Associate Professor of Education, a senior member of the Department with educational responsibilities (for example the Director of Undergraduate Studies, Director of Postgraduate Studies, Director of Education or other similarly titled member of staff) should substitute for one of the Departmental Panel members. 

Professor, Professor of Education, Professor of Practice

• Associate Dean (Chair)
• Five Professors, in addition to the Associate Dean. The Panel should be as diverse as possible, with sufficient academic range for broad representation of education and research at the School.
• For Professor of Education, a senior member of the Department with educational responsibilities (for example the Director of Undergraduate Studies, Director of Postgraduate studies, Director of Education or other similarly titled member of staff) should substitute for one of the Departmental Panel members. 

If an application is not supported by the Departmental Review Panel, the Head of Department must inform the candidate of the reasons so that the candidate has the opportunity to make a personal application.

If a personal, unsupported application is made, the Head of Department should provide a brief statement explaining the Departmental Review Panel’s reasons. The statement should accompany the References for Promotion form when the application is submitted.

Personal applicants submit their application paperwork through the normal Departmental channels. Applications cannot be made in isolation from the Department. Regardless of whether a candidate is supported by the Department, the application is evaluated at the University level in the same way as supported applications.

Applicants from the NHS or Research Councils who wish to apply for a conferred title, or for the Professor of Practice title, must have Departmental support and cannot make personal applications.

Business School, Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Natural Sciences and the Education Office

                                           6 December 2024, by noon

Departments submit for each candidate by e-mail to the Academic Progression Coordinator at the HR alias ac.pro@imperial.ac.uk the following:

• Departmental Form
• The Departmental Panel's comments on unsupported applications.
• Citation from the Head of Department. Where a candidate has a joint appointment in two Departments, the Heads of both Departments should each write a citation for the candidate. Unsigned citations attached in an e-mail cannot be accepted.
• A statement of financial support (if not from Departmental funds).

Candidates submit by e-mail to the HR alias ac.pro@imperial.ac.uk :

• The Application Form. 

                                          17 January 2025, by noon

Departments submit for each candidate by e-mail to the Academic Progression Coordinator at the HR alias ac.pro@imperial.ac.uk the following:

• A report on teaching activity and impact by the DUGS (Director of Undergraduate Studies) or the DPGS (Director of Postgraduate Studies). This report should also provide information on teaching observation, and data on student supervision (MD, MSc, PhD). Departments may optionally provide additional attributable feedback (e.g. via their own surveys supplementing the centrally run MEQ) but this is not required. All available evidence will be considered by panels.

Candidates submit to the HR e-mail alias: ac.pro@imperial.ac.uk the electronic:

• MEQ teaching evaluation reports relating to the last two years. Individual candidates may optionally provide additional attributable feedback (e.g. via peer observation or older SOLE data to supplement the centrally run MEQ) but this is not required. All available evidence will be considered by panels.
• Four publications – These will be recent publications which have had the greatest impact since the previous promotion or since appointment at Imperial, and that show what has been achieved in the interim. Publications prior to appointment at Imperial or used to support a previous application for successful promotion will not be
• A summary of the importance and originality of the selected publications. 

Faculty of Medicine

                                          17 January 2025, by noon

Departments submit for each candidate by e-mail to the Academic Progression Coordinator at the HR alias ac.pro@imperial.ac.uk the following:

• Departmental Form
• The Departmental Panel's comments on unsupported applications. 
• Citation from the Head of Department. Where a candidate has a joint appointment in two Departments, the Heads of both Departments should each write a citation for the candidate. Unsigned citations attached in an e-mail cannot be accepted.
• For clinical academics, or clinicians applying for an academic title: a statement (signed and dated) of support from a senior NHS representative, who comments on the applicant’s role and the effectiveness and impact of contributions to clinical work, medical education and training. 
• For Honorary candidates (NHS, MRC or similar employees), the Faculty of Medicine submits a citation on candidates’ contributions to Imperial.
• A statement of financial support (if not from Departmental funds).

Candidates submit by e-mail to the HR alias ac.pro@imperial.ac.uk :

• The Application Form

                                         14 February 2025, by noon

Departments submit for each candidate by e-mail to the Academic Progression Coordinator at the HR alias ac.pro@imperial.ac.uk the following:

• A report on teaching activity and impact by the Director of Education or similar role with educational responsibilities, if relevant. This report should also provide information on teaching observation, and data on student supervision (MD, MSc, PhD). Departments may optionally provide additional attributable feedback (e.g. via their own surveys supplementing the centrally run MEQ) but this is not required. All available evidence will be considered by panels.

Candidates submit to the HR e-mail alias: ac.pro@imperial.ac.uk the electronic:

• MEQ teaching evaluation reports relating to the last two years. Individual candidates may optionally provide additional attributable feedback (e.g. via peer observation or older SOLE data to supplement the centrally run MEQ) but this is not required. All available evidence will be considered by panels.
• Four publications – These will be recent publications which have had the greatest impact since the previous promotion or since appointment at Imperial, and that show what has been achieved in the interim. Publications prior to appointment at Imperial or used to support a previous application for successful promotion will not be considered.
• A summary of the importance and originality of the selected publications. 

1. References

Candidates:

• Candidates recommend one referee (two if the application is personal), who has agreed to provide a reference as indicated on the Application Form.
• Applicants should consult about suitable choices for referees (see criteria below).

Departments:

• Departments recommend five referees on the Departmental Form (see criteria below).
• If in doubt concerning the suitability of a referee, please seek advice from (Pro-) Consuls prior to submission as seeking replacements can cause delays. It is expected that the recommended referees have been approached by the Department using the standard form of words given at the beginning of Appendix 10 and that referees have agreed to be nominated. The subsequent formal requests by the University will be issued using standard letters exemplified in Appendix 11.

Criteria for choice of referees

• Referees should be of appropriate seniority, relevant to the type of promotion sought, familiar with the criteria for promotion to Senior Lecturer, Associate Professor, Reader or Professor at research-based universities in the UK, and leaders/experts in their field. 
• In the case of Reader or Associate Professor (Business School), Professor and Professor of Practice applicants, at least one referee should be a FRS, FREng, FMedSci or equivalent where possible.
• For Professor of Education or Reader in Education at least one referee should be an internationally recognised authority in the field of education.
• All referees should be professorial academics (i.e., not from industry unless particularly relevant).
• Referees should not have worked at Imperial within the last five years.
• Referees must be independent, should not work closely with the candidate, nor have published work with the candidate within the last five years.
• Referees should be as knowledgeable as possible about the candidate’s subject area, particularly if the research is on the border of various disciplines.
• At least one referee should be from the UK. 
• At least one referee, (preferably more than one), should be from overseas (except for Senior Lecturer applicants, whose referees may all be from the UK).

The Academic Promotions Committee meets in December and January to review and approve referees for candidates, and to seek alternative referees if warranted.

The taking up of references is handled centrally by the HR Academic Promotions administrators. References will be copied to Heads of Department only, one to two days prior to interviews; references must not be copied further to ensure compliance with data protection legislation. This applies in the case of both supported and personal candidates. Referees’ names and references are strictly confidential, and Heads of Department are responsible for ensuring confidentiality is maintained at all times.

2. Application Form

Candidates should include a full list of publications within the body of the Application Form, and not as a separate document.

3. Values and Behaviours

A section on the candidate’s form gives the opportunity to highlight achievements with regard to Imperial’s Values and Behaviours Framework. The purpose is to guide the behaviour of all staff, demonstrating the ways in which staff respect and support each other in achieving personal goals and Imperial’s strategic objectives. Please see Values - Behaviour Framework (imperial.ac.uk)

Line Managers must confirm that during the Annual Review Conversation (ARC) process, Imperial’s Values are discussed with, and understood by the applicant, and that Values are visibly and consistently demonstrated through the behaviour of the candidate.

The Values and Behaviours Framework replaced Imperial Expectations from November 2021 and that the current academic year forms part of a transition period. The following link relates Values to the replaced Imperial Expectations and may be helpful when providing information. https://www.imperial.ac.uk/media/imperial-college/administration-and-support-services/hr/public/values/Values_Values_Link-to-Imperial-Expectations.pdf.

4. Citations

    a) Citation by the Head of Department

The citation (see Appendix 8 for a model) outlines the principal grounds for promotion and focuses on:

• Key contributions: including educational achievement, "good citizenship" and leadership qualities.
• Teaching ability, contributions and achievements. It is important to provide an evaluation of teaching quality as this is a key criterion for promotion. 
• Student support: contributions to providing pastoral care and a supportive and stimulating learning environment. 
• Research ability: a statement to identify the most influential and significant contributions and details of current research plans. 
• How University Values are demonstrated and Provide an indication on the associated workload.
• Profession and Practice contributions. 
• Include an assessment of the impact of COVID-19 on the work of the Candidate.

Where a candidate has a joint appointment in two Departments, the Heads of both Departments should each write a citation for the candidate.

Unsigned citations will not be considered. Citations must be signed and dated (i.e., not an unsigned, undated Word document e-mailed to HR). 

     b) Citation by the Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUGS), Director of Postgraduate Studies (DPGS) or Director of Education (DOE, Faculty of Medicine)

Citations from the DUGS, the DPGS or the DOE should highlight, and give detailed information on, contributions to teaching and on teaching ability.

• Evidence of achievement in undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, g. student success and progression, qualitative student feedback, peer observation, external examiners (It is important to provide a detailed evaluation of teaching quality as this is a key criterion for promotion).
• Types of teaching experience, number of contact hours and size of classes
• Management, development and delivery of education, e.g. design of new modules, roles within Department, innovation in teaching assessment and feedback
• Activities promoting collaboration and sharing best practice
• Student support: contributions to providing pastoral care and a supportive and stimulating learning environment. 
• Teaching Awards and Learning & Teaching Qualifications
• Educational scholarship
• Membership of national/international educational/accreditation committees
• External examining. 
• Contribution to industry or the NHS through teaching/training.
• Number of PhD students currently supervised, as well as those who have completed their studies under the guidance of the candidate. Please include information on the quality of supervision provided. 
• Information on Master degree students who are being supervised, and the quality of the guidance being offered. 

Unsigned citations will not be considered. Citations must be signed and dated (i.e., not an unsigned, undated attachment e-mailed to HR).

  c) For clinical academics, or clinicians applying for a ful academic title – a statement of support from a senior NHS representative, who comments on the applicant’s role, and the effectiveness and impact of the candidates’ contribution to clinical work, including medical education and training. 

  5. Review Procedure

The Academic Promotions Committee will consider all applications. It may seek additional advice on applications as appropriate.

6. Interviews - When and Where

The Academic Promotions Committee will invite candidates for interviews. These take place between March and May at the South Kensington Campus. The HR Division will make the arrangements and inform Departments of dates, usually before the end of February. The Departments inform candidates of interview dates, times and venues.

• Faculty of Engineering and Business School candidates will be interviewed in March, although there may be exceptions.
• Faculty of Natural Sciences and Cross-College Centre candidates will be interviewed in April, although there may be exceptions. 
• Faculty of Medicine candidates will be interviewed in May, although there may be exceptions.

Candidates are strongly advised to inform HR, in the relevant section of the Application Form, of dates when they will not be available for interview due to important prior commitments (such as pre-booked annual leave, pre-booked overseas conferences). Teaching commitments cannot be accommodated. If advised in advance, HR will try to accommodate candidates but cannot guarantee this will be possible.

If requesting an accommodation, please state purpose, reason and date in the relevant section of the Application Form.

Important note: Interview dates and times are based on the availability of the Academic Promotions Committee members. Candidates from the same Department are grouped together where possible, as are those seeking the same level of promotion. Due to the large number of interviews scheduled, the Committee expects candidates to attend interviews on the dates and times requested.

Departments should inform Daljeet Birdy (d.birdy@imperial.ac.uk) of anticipated difficulties.

7. Attendance at Interviews by Heads of Departments

Supported Candidates

The Head of Department is expected to attend the interview as observer or to send an appropriate representative. At the end of the interview, the Head of Department is asked whether the candidate’s interview was an accurate reflection of the candidates capabilities. In the case of an unsupported candidate, the Head of Department may only be present with the candidate’s permission.

Unsupported, Personal Candidates

Personal candidates may choose an alternative representative to the Head of Department if they wish. Personal candidates should inform their Head of Department and the Promotions Coordinator in Human Resources, who their representative will be (if anyone), as soon as possible after they receive an invitation to interview. The representative must be an employee of Imperial.

8. Interview Panels

The Associate Provost (Promotions) normally acts as the Chair of the Academic Promotions Committee (APC).

• Panel members are drawn from different Departments, and normally different from that of the candidate. Every effort is made to have a diverse panel membership. 
• To enhance the interview process, the Academic Promotions Committee may decide that other senior members of Imperial should join, or act as substitutes on panels. 
• As agreed by the Dean of a Faculty, Heads of Departments from a different Department to that of the candidate or Vice Deans (Education or Research) may also participate on panels and may act as substitutes as and when necessary.
• At the time invitations to interview are sent to the Departments, panel composition is included and candidates are normally informed as a courtesy. 
• The panel composition is not prescriptive, may be changed as needed, at the Academic Promotions Committee’s discretion, without further notification to the candidate if this is not practicable. 
• Additional members may be drafted onto interview panels when specific expertise is required.
• Notes of the interview are taken. 

Reader and Associate Professor (Business School)

The panel includes at least three members from the Academic Promotions Committee:

• The Dean of the candidate’s Faculty or the Associate Provost (Academic Promotions) as Chair. 
• A Consul from the candidate’s Faculty. 
• A further Consul or other member of the Academic Promotions Committee.

Professor and Professor of Practice

The panel includes at least four members from the Academic Promotions Committee:

• The Associate Provost (Academic Promotions) or the Dean of the candidate’s Faculty as Chair. 
• The Dean (when not acting as Chair) of the candidate's Faculty.
• A Consul from the candidate's Faculty. 
• The Vice-Provost (Education and Student Experience) or a further Consul.
• Another member of the Academic Promotions Committee will make up the fourth member when necessary. 

Reader in Education

The panel includes at least three members from the Academic Promotions Committee:

• The Dean of the candidate's Faculty or the Associate Provost (Academic Promotions) as Chair.
• A Consul from the candidate's
• The Vice-Provost (Education and Student Experience).
• A Professor of Education or a further Consul.

Professor of Education

The panel includes at least four members from the Academic Promotions Committee:

• The Associate Provost (Academic Promotions) or the Dean of the candidate's Faculty or as Chair.
• The Dean (when not acting as Chair) of the candidate's Faculty.
• A Consul from the candidate's Faculty. 
• The Vice-Provost (Education and Student Experience).
• A Professor of Education or a further Consul.
• Another member of the Academic Promotions Committee will make up the fourth member when necessary. 

9. Procedure for Promotion to Senior Lecturer

Please see Section D above for deadlines and details of documentation needed.

• The timetable for receipt of documentation for promotion to Senior Lecturer is the same as for promotion to all other grades. Cases for promotion to Senior Lecturer can be dealt with outside of this timetable in special circumstances. 
• The process for promotion to Senior Lecturer is administered centrally, but promotion decisions are a Faculty-level responsibility and will be undertaken by the Faculty Dean and Faculty Consuls. Interviews will be held only at the applicant’s request or if the Faculty Dean and the Faculty Consuls decide that an interview would be helpful. 

Review Procedure for Senior Lecturer Candidates

• The Faculty Dean and the Faculty Consuls will meet to consider applications, may seek additional advice on any application as appropriate, and make the decision on promotion. The meeting will be minuted by a representative from HR. 
• The Faculty Dean and the Faculty Consuls will interview candidates who have requested an interview and candidates whom they have decided to interview. The Head of Department, or a nominated representative, will be present as an observer and the interview will be minuted by a representative from HR. 
• Interviews of personal applicants will be carried out by a Vice-Provost or Dean of another Faculty, and the Faculty Consuls. The Head of Department, or a nominated representative, may be present at the interview only with the candidate’s permission. 
• Personal applicants may choose an alternative representative. The Head of Department and the Promotions Coordinator in Human Resources should be informed. 
• The candidate’s representative must be internal and an employee of Imperial.

Notification to Candidates

1. In consultation with the Faculty Deans and Heads of Department, applicants will be informed as soon as possible after a final decision has been made. 
2. The Academic Promotions Committee will meet in June or, if not possible, July to make decisions on any outstanding cases. 
3. Letters will be as informative as possible, and may be subject to review, so that Heads of Department can provide feedback to candidates, initially face-to-face and, subsequently, in writing. Candidates who have been unsuccessful will, of course, need to be dealt with sensitively and Heads of Department should ensure that they provide the candidate with the reasons for the decision. 
4. Personal applicants not supported by the Department will be written to directly to inform them of the decision on their The Department will also be informed of the decision.
5. Unsuccessful candidates are encouraged to approach their Faculty Dean for further information on the reasons for the decision. 
6. Candidates have the right to appeal. Please see the Appeals Procedure below. 
7. Once Heads of Department have been consulted on salaries, formal notification of promotion or conferment of title will be sent to successful candidates as soon as is practicable via the Heads of Departments’ offices. Promotions take effect on 1 September of the year of the promotions cycle. 

Monitoring

HR will compile a record of all applications and the decisions that were agreed. Applications will be monitored in relation to gender, ethnic origin, age, disability and level of pay awarded. The results will be analysed and monitored by HR and anonymised data will be provided to the Associate Provost (Promotions) and the relevant University committees.

1. The General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), which came into effect in 2018, sets out a number of principles with which organisations have to Full details are available under Imperial’s Data Protection Policy (College's Data Protection Policy) and Staff Privacy Notice (Staff Privacy Notice). Your information will be retained in line with Imperial’s Retention Schedule (College’s Retention Schedule).
2. With respect to Academic Promotions, Imperial sends information containing personal information about candidates to referees, some of whom may be located in overseas countries, not all of which will have adequate levels of data protection. The information is sent to assist referees in their assessments of candidates and includes the application form. The information will be sent to referees by e-mail, fax or post. 
3. At present, the following EEA countries can be regarded as having appropriate levels of data protection:

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom.

Countries outside the EEA which have been approved as offering adequate data protection are:

Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Canada (commercial organisations), Switzerland, Faeroe Islands, Guernsey, Israel, Isle of Man, Jersey, and in the US, signatories to the US Department of Commerce’s Safe Harbour Privacy Principles. Other countries may be added at a later date.

4. References are received via mail, fax and e-mail from various overseas countries.
5. Candidates are asked to give consent for the transfer of their data to referees on the understanding that some referees may be located in countries which do not meet the criteria defined as adequate by the GDPR. The information received is used as part of the assessment for academic promotion and is held on file in the HR Division. 

1. Unsuccessful candidates are entitled to appeal, but only on the grounds of a defect in the Departmental and/or University procedures.
2. In the event of an appeal, the candidate should, within 30 days of receipt of the written decision, inform the relevant Head of Department of the grounds of the complaint, and the Head of Department should forward this information to Angela Kehoe, Head of HR (Natural Sciences & Progression) kehoe@imperial.ac.uk.
3. In the case of a candidate whose application was not supported by the Department, the candidate may write directly to the Deputy Director of Human Resources. 
4. The Deputy Director of Human Resources (Operations), or a nominee, shall conduct an investigation of the complaint and will report to relevant members of the Academic Promotions Committee within 30 days of receipt of the appeal on whether there has been a defect in procedure which would materially affect its decision. The Academic Promotions Committee will then arrange for the appellant to be informed whether it has agreed to reconsider the appellant's case on the grounds of a defect in procedure. If the appeal is upheld, the Academic Promotions Committee will reconsider the case and may seek further information as appropriate and/or require the candidate to attend a meeting/interview.
5. If the appellant is dissatisfied because the Academic Promotions Committee has decided not to reconsider the case, or remains dissatisfied following the review of the case, the candidate should inform Daljeet Birdy (birdy@imperial.ac.uk), Progression Manager, Human Resources, within 14 days of receipt of the Academic Promotions Committee's decision, stating in writing the grounds for the complaint. The time limit may be extended for good cause e.g. illness. The Promotions Coordinator will arrange for the Provost to appoint an Investigation Committee which will consist of three members of Imperial, one of whom will be appointed as Chair by the Provost and none of whom will previously have been involved in the case at Departmental/Divisional or University level. A member of the Human Resources Division will normally be Secretary to the Investigation Committee.
6. Within 14 days of the date of the hearing, the Chair of the Investigation Committee, on behalf of the Committee, will submit a report to the Provost, with the Committee's judgement on whether a defect in procedure has occurred which would materially affect the decision of the Academic Promotions Committee. 
7. The Provost will consider the Committee's report and decide on whether or not the case for promotion should be reconsidered. The decision will be conveyed to the appellant in writing within 28 days after the date of the hearing. 
8. Every effort will be made to adhere to the timetables given above, with the proviso that more time may be necessary on occasion because cases are considered by senior staff and over the summer period.