Academic (Teaching & Scholarship) Career Pathway: Guidance notes for institutions

1.1 Existing staff in teaching-focused roles are being invited to move to T&S contracts with effect from 25 March 2022.

1.2 New staff appointed to teaching-focused roles, including Teaching Associate roles, will also be employed on T&S contracts by no earlier than 25 March 2022.

1.3 Eligible staff moving to the new T&S contract and job titles will:

•  retain their existing status, i.e. established/unestablished, current grade and pay rate, working hours and contract end date (where relevant)
•  not have a new probationary period, and if an individual is on probation, the period will remain unchanged (see section 8 below). 
• retain the same post, duties and responsibilities.

1.4 Any subsequent change in grade will be subject to a successful application for promotion under the accompanying Academic (Teaching and Scholarship) Career Pathway (#9). 

1.5 For staff currently on an established Academic Related contract who will move to an established T&S contract, their leave entitlement will change to a minimum of 28 days annual leave in any leave year, for full-time officers. This entitlement is inclusive of public holidays that fall outside full term, and pro-rated for part-time and part-year appointments.

Special arrangements will apply to staff in clinical roles, and these will be discussed with the relevant School on a case-by-case basis.

2.1 New posts will be assessed to determine if the appropriate staff category should be T&S, using the eligibility criteria. 

2.2 “Justification must be provided to create a new T&S post, assuring the Head of School that the creation of the new post will not move teaching duties away from R&T staff." (#12)

2.3 “Most recruitment into the new career pathway is expected to be at Grade 9 or below, including where a vacancy arises from the resignation or retirement of an individual who has been promoted above their underlying grade”. (ibid)

2.4 In respect of ‘established’ / ‘unestablished’ status, “it may be appropriate for some staff at Grade 9 and above to hold offices to provide parity with academic (research and teaching) posts, and particularly where the individual’s current post is already established. Other staff will be employed on an ‘unestablished’ basis where there are justifiable operational reasons to do so.” (#11)

2.5 T. New generic role profiles for T&S staff have been created which should be used as the basis for creating and recruiting to any T&S post.  These role profiles are not applicable to clinical staff.

2.6 Recruitment advertising using the new T&S contract and titles can begin from 25 March 2022.  In the meantime, departments should  continue to use current contracts and titles.

2.7 Departments may wish to include reference to the new titles and contract in the further particulars.  The following is suggested: “With effect from 25 March 2022, the University is introducing new titles and contracts for Academic (Teaching & Scholarship) staff. This post is in scope of those changes and the new title will be [details to be inserted].  Further information will be available in due course”.

2.8 Systems changes are underway (including CHRIS, RAS and Web Recruitment) to accommodate the new career pathway. Further recruitment guidance will be issued upon completion of these changes.

3.1 The Report specified the following titles for roles at Grade 9 and above and for unestablished posts (Grades 6 to 12). These do not apply to clinical roles.

*Fixed-term academic offices and comparable unestablished posts will be retitled on successful completion of probation, but after the minimum period of service in each case. This means that in cases where the probationary period is less than the minimum period, role holders will retain the existing title and adopt the new title only once they have served that minimum period in that role (which might be following an extension to the period of the original appointment).

4.1 T&S staff will normally have a higher teaching load than R&T staff with stint models determined at Institutional level, as is the case for R&T staff, aligned to School-level principles. Heads of Institution should ensure stint models include time for scholarship and other forms of contribution. (#13) (See section 6 below).

5.1 T&S staff are not automatically research-returnable for REF purposes, unless their job descriptions include significant responsibility for independent research. However, if any are producing scholarly outputs under the definition of the REF, they may be considered on a case-by-case basis by Unit of Assessment Committees as to their eligibility to be returned. (#18)

5.2 T&S staff are expected to deliver research-informed teaching and thus to engage in scholarship that may include research within the discipline and/or applied research, which may be pedagogic in nature or related to relevant professional practice. (#19)

6.1 T&S staff will not be granted an automatic right to sabbatical leave to conduct research and scholarship, but they may be eligible – in exceptional circumstances and for very specific purposes – to apply for relief from teaching to undertake a significant body of work, in line with principles agreed at School level (#14).  

6.2 It is anticipated that most scholarship will take place in non-teaching weeks or time not allocated to teaching in term time (refer to Institution stint model).

6.3 School Councils will agree principles across their institutions and cognate disciplines in relation to the granting of teaching relief, expectations of the use of time available outside of teaching commitments for scholarship, and teaching load and stint models. (#13)

6.4 It is anticipated that any agreement to a period of relief from teaching to undertake a specific project should be in the interests of the institution, as well as the individual.

7.1  T&S staff will be expected to contribute to academic administration in the same way as R&T staff of equal seniority. This service to the institution or the University is recognised through the career pathway for promotion / progression purposes and may alleviate some of the administrative load on existing R&T staff in the process. (#15)

7.2 T&S staff should be treated with parity with R&T staff in relation to eligibility to take on leadership roles within their Institutions, serve on, or chair relevant committees or bodies and/or to take on other academic duties (see section 9).

7.3 More senior T&S staff will be eligible to apply for project grants and to be appointed as Principal Investigators if successful in such an application, and to co-supervise doctoral students. (ibid)

7.4 Colleges will be invited to recognise the academic status of T&S staff when considering elections to Fellowships and appointments of Directors of Studies and supervisors. (ibid)

8.1 The probationary periods for T&S staff are shorter than for R&T staff as clarified in paragraph 4.2 of the Probation Policy.

8.2 The criteria for successful completion of probation and confirmation in post are also different, being grouped under the two headings of Teaching and Scholarship and Service to the Academic Community, as outlined in paragraph 3.8 of the procedures in the University Probation Policy.

8.3 For staff members in probation at the time the new arrangements are introduced, the probationary period as set out in their terms and conditions of employment will continue to apply, but they should be managed under the relevant procedural arrangements.

9.1 As is the case for R&T staff, Heads of Institution have a responsibility to provide career development support and advice, including through the regular Staff Review and Development (SRD) process, to enable staff to build their professional profile.

9.2 Advice and support should be given, as appropriate to the individual’s role and qualifications, to take on specific responsibilities, e.g.:

• serving on relevant committees;
• convening specific courses;
• supervising MPhil dissertations;
• co-supervising doctoral students;
• developing and / or reviewing curricula; and
• etc.

9.3. Career development could be provided directly or via an appropriate mentor able to advise on, for example:

• scholarly, professional or disciplinary networks the staff member might engage with;
• accessing and/or contributing to relevant educational development activities via Cambridge Centre for Teaching and Learning (CCTL) or professional development activities via Personal and Professional Development (PPD) in the University;
• taking a relevant qualification, e.g. Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching & Learning in Higher Education (e.g. CCTL), Master’s in Education or Professional Doctorate (e.g. Faculty of Education); and
• developing a profile in scholarship, within the discipline, of relevance to their teaching portfolio and/or including undertaking scholarly evaluations of practice / pedagogical research projects / authoring open teaching materials or textbooks / publishing contributions within the University, within disciplinary, national, or international publications.

9.4.  In addition to the career development support outlined above and discipline-specific guidance, the Cambridge Centre for Teaching and Learning (CCTL) will provide support in the form of workshops for those applying for promotion.

9.5  These processes will aim to support staff in developing their contributions and preparing for application for promotion and reward. Career development guidance will be supportive while also being realistic in respect of opportunity or eligibility to transfer between academic pathways.

9.6. Institutions should consider what support can be given to T&S staff to attend relevant conferences and/or professional networks, to present papers and to publish the outcomes of their scholarship, whether in relevant journals, or as textbooks or as online learning resources etc. 

9.7 . Further guidance on career support will be detailed in the ACP (T&S) promotions guidance which will be provided in due course. This topic will also be highlighted in the induction programme for all new Heads of Institution.

10.1 Any change in grade will be subject to a successful application for promotion according to the accompanying Academic (Teaching and Scholarship) Career Pathway (#9).  This does not apply to individuals in clinical roles where the change is in title only.

10.2 As is the case for R&T staff, Heads of Institution have a responsibility to support T&S staff in applying for promotion and/or for CRS awards. They are also responsible for:

• identifying those who might not put themselves forward and encouraging them to apply;
• helping and mentoring staff from groups that are underrepresented at senior levels who are potentially ready for promotion / progression to encourage them to apply; and  
• providing career development support and advice, including through regular SRDs to enable staff to build their professional profile.

10.3 The ACP (Teaching & Scholarship) Career Pathway is modelled on the ACP (Research & Teaching) Career Pathway, but consists of two Schemes:

• Scheme A for T&S staff on Grade 9 and above, with promotion opportunities up to Grade 12, and a contribution reward scheme at Grade 10; and
• Scheme B for T&S staff on Grades 6 to 8, including promotion to Grade 9, and contribution reward schemes at all 3 grades.

10.4 The promotion criteria and indicators of excellence, as outlined in the ACP (Teaching & Scholarship) Career Pathway documentation, which will be published at a later date, are grouped under two headings:

• Teaching & scholarship
• Service to the academic community

10.5 Staff will normally only be entitled to apply for promotion to the next grade. However, as this will be the first opportunity provided to long-serving members of staff, who have remained on the same grade for some time, exceptionally for the first round of applications in 22/23 staff may be able to apply for promotion to advance by two grades, should the evidence of their contribution justify doing so. (#24)

10.6 Given the relatively small number of T&S staff, there will only be one level of Promotions Committee, instead of the two provided for in the ACP (Research & Teaching) Career Pathway, with two Promotions Committees in total:

• ACP (Teaching & Scholarship) Promotions Committee for the Schools of Arts & Humanities and the Humanities and Social Sciences
• ACP (Teaching & Scholarship) Promotions Committee for the Schools of the Physical Sciences, the Biological Sciences, Technology and Clinical Medicine.

10.7 A committee, chaired by the Vice‑Chancellor / a Pro-Vice‑Chancellor, will moderate between the two Promotions Committees to ensure that a consistent standard has been achieved. That committee will then make recommendations to the General Board for approval of recommended cases for promotion. (#25)

10.8 Membership of the Academic Career Pathway (Teaching and Scholarship) Promotions Committees will include senior individuals who have previously served on Research and Teaching Promotions Committees, to ensure parity of rigor. (#26)

10.9 Membership will also include senior members of the University with specific expertise in teaching and teaching excellence, including Grade 12 Academic (Teaching and Scholarship) staff and, where relevant, Academic-Related staff. The pool of such staff to select from will be likely to increase in future as the Career Pathway develops. (#26)

10.10 An external member, with seniority and expertise in teaching excellence, will be appointed to each committee. Each committee will be invited to co-opt an additional external member for the first few years of operation of the schemes to assist the University in embedding institutional experience.  (#27)

10.11There should be some cross-representation between the two Promotions Committees to ensure parity of approach to the assessment of applications. The Promotions Committees will meet annually from the academic year 2022–23 onwards. (#28)

10.12 The ACP (Teaching & Scholarship) Career Pathway will be launched in Michaelmas Term 2022 with the first promotions and CRS awards implemented from 1 October 2023.  Guidelines will be issued in due course which will include details of the Committee Membership nomination process. There will not be an  online application process in the first round.

11.1 The creation of the T&S contract and career pathway is not intended to pave the way for staff to switch back and forth between pathways. (#20)

11.2 it is anticipated that it will be extremely rare for academic staff to transfer between pathways.

11.3 No member of staff may be compelled to change pathways against their will or against the best interests of their career development. The possibility of transfer between pathways should not be utilised as a substitute for supporting and managing staff in their existing roles. (ibid)

Should any Academic staff wish to do so, they should follow the process as follows:

11.4 T&S staff who wish to make a case to move to the R&T contract and career path will need to be able to demonstrate that their qualifications, skills, contribution and achievements are of a level which would make them competitive for appointment to an equivalent grade of Academic (Research and Teaching) post. (ibid)

11.5 A small number of R&T staff who believe their career has developed away from being active in research may wish to make a case that the T&S path is more appropriate for them.

11.6 Consideration of any such cases will be a matter for Institutions and Schools as appropriate, and will need to take into account the strategic and operational needs of the Institution, including resource considerations, as well as the individual’s career development and suitability for appointment to a R&T or T&S role as appropriate. (ibid)

11.7 Such cases will be subject to further scrutiny and approval or rejection by a sub-committee of the HR Committee, augmented by representation from the relevant School and chaired by a Pro-Vice-Chancellor. (ibid)

Should you have any questions on any of the above please contact hrteachingandscholarship@admin.cam.ac.uk.