Guidelines on evaluating the qualification criteria for professorships and on the activities of appointment committees for professorial positions

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1 Philosophical Faculty Guidelines 1 (5) Guidelines on evaluating the qualification criteria for professorships and on the activities of appointment committees for professorial positions In this document, the Philosophical Faculty seeks to provide guidelines for appointment committees evaluating the academic qualifications and other merits required of applicants for professorships. The guidelines will ensure the quality and consistency of the processes based on which such posts are filled within the Philosophical Faculty. When evaluating such qualifications, account will be taken, within the scope permitted by the applicable legislation and regulations, of the special features of research and research careers in the disciplines represented within the faculty. The aim is to enhance assessment and draw attention to key merits. The membership of appointment committees must take account of equality and equal opportunities legislation and the university's equality and equal opportunities policy. Members of the appointment committee must confirm any proposals made to the faculty council with their signatures. 1. Appointing an appointment committee For the duration of his or her term of office, the Dean shall appoint two appointment committees; the Dean shall chair one of the committees and the Vice-Dean shall chair the other. The division of duties between the Dean and Vice-Dean shall be defined in the decision on the establishment of the appointment committee. Should either chairperson be disqualified from chairing a particular appointment committee, the chairperson of the other of the faculty's appointment committees shall act as the chairperson. In addition to the chairperson, each appointment committee shall include the following members determined in the decision to appoint the committee: the heads of schools (permanent members) and 1 2 professors representing the discipline in which a position is to be filled (or a closely related discipline), or two other expert members with professorial qualifications and regarded as suitable (non-permanent members). The Executive Head of Administration shall act as secretary to the appointment committee. 2. Tasks of the appointment committee With regard to professorial posts, the tasks of the appointment committee are to a) evaluate the top applicants (up to 5) on the basis of the criteria and legal basis for evaluation as described in Appendix 1, b) provide the faculty council with a proposal by the experts evaluating the academic qualifications of the top candidates, c) provide the Dean with a proposal for the subject of the teaching demonstration, d) act as the teaching skills assessment and interview panel for the post in question and e) make a proposal to the faculty council based on the specialist statements about, and the appointment committee's own evaluation of, the candidates. If, in its evaluation, the appointment committee determines that none of the candidates meets the qualification criteria or there are few candidates, the Dean may decide to re-open the position for applications. 3. Process description of appointment committee's evaluation task with respect to professorial posts 3a. Selection of top candidates The appointment committee assesses the application documents required by the post announcement and provided by the candidates and, based thereon, the documented academic qualifications, teaching merits and,

2 Philosophical Faculty Guidelines 2 (5) where necessary, practical expertise and any other merits required by the post description (see Appendix 1), as well as any summaries drawn up by the Administration Service Centre of the candidates' main achievements. The appointment committee is not required to examine the individual publications submitted by the candidate for assessment, or any other work based on which the candidate seeks to demonstrate his or her academic qualifications. Within one month, the committee must present the Dean with a proposal for the top candidates and those to be eliminated from further consideration, with grounds for the recommendations made. The Dean will make the decision on the candidates to be selected for the expert procedure. The faculty council will select experts to give an opinion on the candidates applying for the professorship (UEF Administrative Regulations, section 11). The appointment committee will present the faculty council with its proposal on the experts to be consulted. The Administration Service Centre will provide the appointed experts with the application documents and publications submitted for evaluation by the top candidates. 3b. Assessment of teaching skills and interview Upon receiving the specialist statements, the Dean will decide on which candidates to invite to give a teaching demonstration and determine the related topic on the basis of the proposal by the appointment committee. The appointment committee will act as a teaching skills assessment board. The chairperson of the committee will invite a student member and one additional academic member to sit on the assessment board. The appointment committee will interview all of the top candidates. The purpose of such an interview is to assess the candidates' suitability for the post and for the working environment. When assessing teaching skills, attention will be paid to the teaching demonstration, the applicant's pedagogical training and other accomplishments listed in the teaching merits portfolio. The appointment committee will draw up a proposal for the faculty council on the teaching skills of the assessed candidates. 3c. Drawing up of proposal to the faculty council The appointment committee will draw up a reasoned proposal for the faculty council, based on the specialist statements on the candidates and the appointment committee's own evaluation. The proposal must be primarily based on the specialist statements, while taking account of the suitability and potential of suitably qualified candidates from the perspective of the faculty and department's research strategies, and the operating environment. When comparing candidates, a sufficiently detailed account must be given of how the final proposal was arrived at. In the proposal for the appointment, it may also be necessary to examine the issue from the perspective of equal opportunities legislation and the University's equality and equal opportunities policy (positive discrimination based on gender). The Executive Head of Administration will be in charge of preparing and presenting this issue to the faculty council.

3 Philosophical Faculty Guidelines 3 (5) Appendix 1. Sub-areas in assessment of qualifications for a professorship 1. Norms on which qualification assessment is based The duties and selection of professors are governed by the Universities Act (section 33). The law requires that "statements concerning the qualifications and merits of persons applying for and invited to fill such a post must be requested from a minimum of two experts, whenever a person is appointed to a position in effect until further notice or for a fixed period of at least two years." However, the qualification requirements related to filling such a post are not covered by legislative provisions. According to the Universities Act (section 33.1), a professor must "carry out and supervise scientific or artistic work, give education based on it and follow developments in science or art and participate in societal interaction and international cooperation in his/her field". The specific qualification requirements for professors are defined in the university regulations as a basis for ensuring that the appointed professor will succeed in the post. Pertaining to qualification requirements, the following has been laid down in section 30 of the Administrative Regulations of the University of Eastern Finland A professor selected for an employment relationship until further notice or for a period of over two-years must have the required academic or artistic qualifications and have good teaching skills and, insofar as it is important to the performance of his or her duties, practical expertise in the field in question. The candidate's qualification for the post will be assessed on the basis of an overall evaluation and account can be taken of various merits within the context of more than one qualification requirement review. Based on the qualification requirements and the related merits, qualification for the post is either confirmed or shown to be lacking. One missing qualification sub-area (for example, teaching skills) cannot be replaced by another (for example, experience in the leadership of academic research). Professors must have higher academic qualifications and other merits of a higher level than adjunct professors (docents). Professors are also required to have merits that are not required for other university job titles. Academic qualifications have traditionally been regarded as the most important basis for filling a professorship. The various eligibility requirement sub-areas are not set out in order of importance in the legislation and are given no relative weighting. The importance of teaching skills is highlighted alongside academic qualifications. In any case, each qualification sub-area must be given some weight in the overall evaluation. The language proficiency requirements applying to teaching and research staff have been set down in the University of Eastern Finland's Administrative Regulations (section 32) as follows: "A person who has received his or her formal education or completed a university degree in the language in question shall be considered to have the language proficiency required in teaching and research posts referred to in the Universities Decree. The language proficiency may also be demonstrated with a certificate issued by a Finnish higher education institute. If the language proficiency of an applicant does not become apparent in his or her application, it is possible to use an interview, a trial lecture or some other appropriate means to establish whether the applicant has the required language proficiency. For the purposes of this kind of evaluation, the Rector shall appoint a committee whose task shall be to establish whether the language skills of an applicant are sufficient for the post in question.

4 Philosophical Faculty Guidelines 4 (5) Any post-specific language proficiency requirements shall be defined in the call for applications. When filling a post of professor, the Rector may grant an exemption from the language proficiency requirements laid down in the Government Decree on Universities. When filling other teaching or research posts, the Dean of the faculty may grant an exemption from the language proficiency requirements laid down in the Government Decree on Universities." 2. Review of qualification requirements 2.1. Doctoral degree and high-level academic qualification The candidate's possession of a completed doctoral degree must be verifiable from the application documents. The candidate can demonstrate that he or she has the required high-level academic qualification by referring to academic publications and other research results of significant/substantial scholarly value. A specialist statement must provide an individual assessment of each of the candidate's key publications. The candidate may also refer to unpublished manuscripts. Such work can, to some extent, be determined as being of less merit than published work. Account should be taken of the quality and scope of research and the candidate's research profile. Some significance may also be given to the timing of publications. The overall rating of academic merits is the key issue. The candidate must be qualified in the field covered by the post, as more precisely defined in the advertisement of the position and the description of the operating environment. Evaluation of qualification for the post does not include the assessment of the candidate as a potential researcher, but of the merits addressed. However, importance can still be attached to issues such as merits being acquired over a short period, which can be considered to demonstrate the effectiveness of research activities Experience in leading academic research Experience in leading academic activity is typically indicated by successful leadership of a research group. Being granted funding forms the basis of successful leadership of a research group. However, even if a candidate is very successful in acquiring research funding, only the achievement of results by his or her research group can be treated as a demonstration of experience and skill in research leadership. When evaluating teaching skills, account must be taken of thesis supervision. A particularly high value will be set on the acquisition of external research funding used to finance the research activities of the group led by the applicant. However, there is no obstacle to taking account of personal research funding such as post-doctoral researcher and Academy Research Fellow funding from the Academy of Finland. Experience in research leadership will be evaluated on the basis of the application documents and, if necessary, an interview Participation in international cooperation in one's own field of research Participation in international cooperation in the candidate's research field can be demonstrated by achievements such as presentations at international academic congresses, research visits to foreign universities or research institutes (excluding short visits of a few days), international joint publications or editorial tasks, or activities in international research projects or international academic organisations within one's own field. The candidate's merits will be assessed based on the application documents and an interview.

5 Philosophical Faculty Guidelines 5 (5) 2.4. Ability to engage in high-level research-based teaching and supervise theses Candidates must be able to provide high-quality teaching and supervise theses, as well as participating in postgraduate education. Ability to supervise postgraduate theses is demonstrated by the successful completion of licentiate or doctoral degrees by students under the candidate's supervision. Success in the supervision of completed doctoral theses will be emphasised during evaluation. Teaching merits will be evaluated on the basis of the teaching merits portfolio and teaching demonstration Academic leadership skills Academic leadership refers to the leadership and management tasks typically included in the post of professor. Professors can lead faculties, research groups, academic subjects, or act as the chairpersons of committees. The candidate's academic leadership abilities will be evaluated on the basis of the leadership and management experience he or she presents (gained within universities and other organisations) and any completed management training, depending on how the candidate perceives the professorship. Interactive skills will also be considered relevant when assessing academic leadership skills. Merits listed in the application documents and revealed during an interview will form the basis of such an evaluation.