DEBRECEN REFORMED THEOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY REGULATIONS OF HABILITATION 1
CONTENTS 1 GENERAL PROVISIONS... 2 2 REQUEST FOR HABILITATION... 3 3 DISSERTATION STANDARDS ON CONTENT AND FORM... 4 REQUIREMENTS ON CONTENT AND FORM OF THE PUBLIC LECTURES... 5 APPLICATION AND THE EVALUATION OF THE DISSERTATION... 6 HABILITATION PROCEDURES... 7 INDEPENDENT UNIVERSITY PROFESSORSHIP... 8 MISCELLANEOUS AND CLOSING PROVISIONS... ANNEXES... ANNEX 1: TEMPLATE FOR THE CERTIFICATE OF HABILITATION ANNEX 2: TEMPLATE FOR THE CERTIFICATE OF PROFESSORSHIP ANNEX 3: FEES AND CHARGES OF THE HABILITATION PROCEDURES 2
1 General Provisions (1) Habilitation is the evaluation of teaching and lecturing skills and the academic performance of holders of a scientific degree. (2) The Debrecen Reformed Theological University (hereafter DRHE, the Hungarian acronym used for the university) is entitled to carry out a habilitation procedure and issue a certificate of habilitation in the discipline of theology. (3) A habilitation procedure is carried out by a Habilitation Examination Board delegated by the DRHE Doctoral and Habilitation Council. (4) A Habilitation Examination Board is generally comprized of seven members who agree on the presiding member. University professors shall hold a majority in the committee. There shall be another two members, who hold a habilitated doctoral degree and are not employed by the university. The Committee shall form a quorum if five members, three of whom are the professors of the university, are present. 2 Request for habilitation (1) A request for Habilitation is to be submitted to the DRHE Doctoral and Habilitation Council. (2) Habilitation at DRHE can be requested by and granted to a person who holds a PhD degree in Theology. A waiver for this is the case when the applicant has exerted significant scientific performance in the discipline of theology, documented in publications. Requests for habilitation procedure by those not holding a PhD degree in Theology are authorized by the DRHE Doctoral and Habilitation Council. (3) Those who have already been refused twice in the discipline of Theology or whose habilitation is in progress at other institutions cannot hand in their requests for habilitation at DRHE. (4) The applicant shall attach his/her a) birth certificate, b) degree in Theology or specialized university degree, c) PhD degree in Theology, obtained at least three years prior to submittal, d) certificate of service from the main church authority, e) scientific professional curriculum vitae, f) full list of scientific publications, g) books published, and a copy of each of his/her 10 most important scientific publications (chosen by the applicant), h) titles of two university lectures, i) titles of two foreign language scientific presentations in a modern foreign language, j) habilitation dissertation and theses in 10 copies each, k) certificate of payment of the first instalment of the habilitation procedure fee. (5) Non-Hungarian citizens applications shall be considered individually by the Doctoral and Habilitation Council. 3
(6) If the applicant is a lecturer at another institution of higher education, a university professor of the relevant branch of discipline from that institution shall be invited to the Examination Board. This member of the Board will not substitute other external members. If the applicant does not belong to an institute of higher education, the institutional context shall not be applied by the Doctoral and Habilitation Council. 3 Dissertation standards on content and form (1) A habilitation dissertation can only be submitted if it is a scientific work based on individual effort, and which clearly presents the candidate s professional achievements, performance as author and researcher. (2) The dissertation shall include a) the candidate s name and the title of the dissertation, b) the name of the branch of discipline, c) the table of contents, d) a short foreign language summary (preferably in English or in German), e) a bibliography. (3) A scientific work, published less than five years ago, the acceptance of which is proposed in writing by a university professor of DRHE, can be submitted as a dissertation. (4) A thesis summary is to be prepared, which in Hungarian and in another foreign language (preferably in English or in German) sums up the main areas and results of the dissertation, and lists the candidate s main publications in the field. With regard to the choice of the foreign language the Doctoral and Habilitation Council may propose or permit other languages as well. 4 Requirements on form and content of the public lectures (1) The candidate is to hold two public habilitation lectures, one in a foreign language. Of the two lectures one is a classroom lecture in Hungarian, the other is a foreign language scientific presentation. (2) The Habilitation Examination Board shall choose the titles of the lectures of the 2-2 titles previously submitted by the candidate. (3) 14 days prior to the event, the lectures are advertised for the whole of the university community by the Chairman of the Habilitation Examination Board. The Registrar s Department, with the guidance of the Secretary of the Habilitation Examination Board, is to organize the lectures. The head of department of the pertinent academic field and the members of the Board are to be invited as well. 5 Application and evaluation of the dissertation (1) If the Doctoral and Habilitation Council accepts the documents handed in on application and the conditions defined in 2 and 3 are fulfilled, they, based on the submission of the Chairman of the Doctoral and Habilitation Council, shall appoint the Habilitation Examination Board, and commission the dissertation for evaluation to a specialist professor of the academic field and to an external assessor (opponent), who shall prepare their written 4
report of evaluation within two months. With the appointment of the Habilitation Examination Board the habilitation procedure is initiated. (2) At the statutory meeting the specialist professor at times involving an external expert shall submit a proposal to tell if the candidate since being rewarded his/her doctoral degree has achieved the required level of becoming habilitated regarding his/her scientific oeuvre, publications, practical and creative activities as lecturer and researcher. If, based on the specialist professor s evaluation, the Habilitation Examination Board secretly votes a negative decision, the procedure is not to be conducted. (3) Within four months following the application, the Habilitation Examination Board, based on the evaluation report on the candidate s oeuvre (as described in 2) and dissertation, shall decide if the candidate is to be accepted for the acts of habilitation. The approval of the language of the habilitation lectures and plans, together with the date of the habilitation shall also be decided on. (4) The Habilitation Examination Board shall decide about the acceptance of the habilitation dissertation by a simple majority vote, on Yes and No ballots. An equal number of Yes and No votes means that the dissertation is refused. 6 Acts of the habilitation procedure (1) The colloquium is a non-public part of the procedure happening in front of the Habilitation Examination Board. The colloquium is public for the members of the Habilitation Examination Board, also, habilitated doctors of the university can be invited. The topic of the colloquium is the field of the candidate s dissertation. The colloquium shall take a minimum of 50, a maximum of 60 minutes. The main opponent and the external opponent shall have a maximum of 40 minutes for the questions. The examination is presided by the Chairman or a representative of the Habilitation Examination Board. (2) After the habilitation colloquium the Habilitation Examination Board shall retreat and decide, by secret majority vote, on accepting the colloquium. The result of the decision is to be communicated to the candidate immediately. In case of an equal number of yes and no votes the examination is considered to have failed. (3) After a successful examination the candidate shall prove his/her skills as lecturer in public lectures, both in Hungarian and in a foreign language. A possibility to ask the candidate questions should be granted for those present in 10 minutes. (4) The purpose of the lectures is to present teaching skills and researcher competences in the presence of the Habilitation Examination Board. The Board shall evaluate the candidate s competences in science, pedagogical skills in transmitting knowledge, his/her ways in thinking logically, foreign language skills, skills in delivering a public speech, and his/her general attitudes as a teacher. (5) After the lectures the Habilitation Examination Board shall retreat and decide, by secret majority vote, on accepting the lectures. In case of an equal number of yes and no votes 5
the examination is considered to be a failure. The result of the decision is to be communicated to the candidate immediately. The vote following the public lectures is the final act in the habilitation procedure. (6) In case the Habilitation Examination Board has a positive decision about both the public and the non-public part of the examination the candidate is considered to be a habilitated member of the university and is awarded a charter of habilitation (decretum habilitation) which is to be handed over in a formal setting. A template of a Habilitation Charter is to be found in Annex 1. (7) The Habilitation Charter is not graded. However, the minutes of the procedure should contain the details of the three votes expressed in percentages of Yes and No votes. The percentages of votes shall be communicated to the candidate by the Chairman in the presence of the Habilitation Examination Board. (8) In case of an unsuccessful habilitation procedure the candidate has one more chance to apply for habilitation no sooner than two years from the first try. The Habilitation Examination Board shall decide on the conditions of the retry. 7 Independent University Professorship (1) Independent university professorship can be awarded to a person who has a habilitated degree in theology or pedagogy, and who is not a full-time member of the faculty of the university, however, he/she has been participating in teaching at the DRHE for at least two years. (2) The details of the duties and the rights of an independent university professor, as well as the conditions of awarding are regulated in the Provisions of Awarding Rewards and Titles, which is Annex no. 20 of the Organizational and Operational Rules of Debrecen Reformed Theological University. 8 Miscellaneous and closing provisions (1) A successful habilitation procedure shall be reported to the Presidency of the Synod, to the Hungarian Accreditation Committee and to all Hungarian Protestant universities and colleges by the Chairman of the Doctoral and Habilitation Council within a month s time. (2) After a successful habilitation procedure the candidate is entitled to use the title habilitated doctor (Dr. habil. in short). (3) The habilitation certificate and title may be withdrawn if it is undoubtedly proved, post factum, that the habilitated doctor did not prepare his/her thesis by him/herself, his/her substantive, original scientific results are taken from others without references to the sources, or the candidate used inadmissible resources to meet the requirements of the habilitation colloquia. The withdrawal is declared by the Doctoral and Habilitation Council based on a 6
two-third-majority vote of its members. The withdrawal is recorded in the minutes and is published in the official newspaper of the Hungarian Reformed Church. An individual evaluation shall be carried out in each case of naturalizing habilitation certificates awarded abroad, by taking into consideration the requirements of the university habilitation procedures in effect. (4) Habilitation procedure is subject to a fee, which is determined by the Senate of DRHE, based on the submitting of the Doctoral and Habilitation Committee. The Doctoral and Habilitation Committee may modify the fee of the procedure case by case. The fees and charges for the habilitation procedure are included in Annex 3. Clause The present Regulations of Habilitation were approved by the 1/2010-1 resolution of the Doctoral and Habilitation Council of the Debrecen Reformed Theological University on 20th April 2010. They were approved and put into force by the 68/2009-10 resolution of the Senate of the Debrecen Reformed Theological University on 4th May 2010. Date: 4th May 2010 Dr Sándor Fazakas Rector Debrecen Reformed Theological University Dr Botond Gaál Chairman Doctoral and Habilitation Council 7
Annex No. 1 Template of the Certificate of Habilitation WE, THE RECTOR OF THE DEBRECEN REFORMED THEOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY AND THE DOCTORAL AND HABILITATION COMMITTEE SALUTE THE READER AND OFFICIALLY LET THE READER KNOW THAT WE, IN OUR LEGAL MANDATE CLAIM MR/MRS/MS WHO WAS BORN ON..IN THE YEAR., HAVING PROVED LECTURING AND TEACHING SKILLS UNDOUBTEDLY, TO BE HABILITATED DOCTOR OF THEOLOGY AND ENTITLE HIM/HER TO USE THE TITLE DR. HABIL. IN ORDER TO CERTIFY THIS WE HEREWITH SIGN AND SEAL THE PRESENT DOCUMENT. Rector Debrecen Reformed Theological University Chairman Doctoral and Habilitation Council Date:. 8
Annex No. 3 Fees and charges of the Habilitation Procedures Excerpts from the Provisions of Student Scholarships and Allowances Charges of Habilitation Procedures Requesting for Habilitation Issuing a Certificate of Habilitation Issuing a Certificate of Habilitation in a Foreign Language 2 x A1 0,1 x A1 0,2 x A1 Note: A1 stands for the first (1) category of payment for public servants (HUF 73,500 as of January 2010). In case of foreign language procedures charges and fees are to be doubled. 9