Supplementary criteria for assessing educational competence for employment and promotion to the positions of professor, associate professor, docent, first lecturer, assistant professor and university teacher/training teacher at the University of South-Eastern Norway.
These criterias were approved 24th of October 2019, and are implemented from the 1st of January 2020.
Goals and learning outcomes
Applicants are to be assessed, but not ranked, based on requirements for basic educational competence and acquired basic skills in planning, implementation, evaluation and development of teaching and supervision. At the University of South-Eastern Norway (USN), basic educational competence is defined in terms of the following competence goals/learning outcomes:
Knowledge
- Possesses knowledge about forms of teaching, learning and evaluation that are relevant to higher education.
- Possesses knowledge of purposeful types of learning activities, teaching and evaluation relative to educational objectives and the teaching programme.
- Possesses knowledge about the importance of the connection between teaching, learning and evaluation for students’ learning.
- Is aware of current governance documents related to teaching in higher education.
Skills
- Is able to apply concepts, models and theories that are relevant to or learning in higher education.
- Can plan and implement teaching, academic supervision and assessment in a way that promotes student learning — individually and in collaboration with others.
- Is able to critically analyse own teaching and academic supervision and student learning efforts and learning outcomes.
- Can use feedback from students and colleagues to develop own teaching and students’ learning.
General competence
- Is able to apply research-based knowledge in his/her own teaching.
- Is able to analyse and develop own educational competence individually and in cooperation with colleagues.
- Is able to reflect over own behaviour in the encounter with students, based on an ethical and academic foundation and is able to critically analyse the governance documents related to teaching in higher education.
Additional requirements for the position of professor and docent
In addition to requirements pertaining to basic educational competence, the following requirements apply to employment and promotion to the position of professor and docent:
- Development in the quality of own teaching over time. The minimum requirement for teaching, supervising and any experience in educational management should altogether have been met as part of a full-time position in higher education corresponding to a period of three years. Broad experience in academic supervision. In addition to experience in general guidance of students at bachelor level, the candidate is expected to have experience in academic supervision at master’s level and preferably also at PhD level.
- Active participation and leadership in the development of educational quality in the professional academic environment.
Means of qualification
For a position as associate professor, first lecturer, assistant professor and university teacher/training teacher, basic educational competence can be developed in one of the following two ways:
a) Through the candidate’s own education or courses developed to provide basic pedagogical competence to teach at university or university college level corresponding to a minimum of 200 hours as well as documentation of acquired basic skills in planning, implementing, evaluating and development of teaching and supervision.
or
b) Through the candidate’s own practice as a teacher, academic supervisor and educational supervisor in higher education, combined with relevant educational programmes, courses and seminars and documentation of acquired basic skills in planning, implementing, evaluating and developing teaching and supervision.
For applicants assessed primarily on the basis of their practice, there is an experience requirement within teaching, academic and educational supervision that corresponds to a portion of a full-time position in higher education corresponding to two years.
Candidates who do not meet the requirements upon hiring are obliged to meet them within two years after being hired for the position. The two-year rule does not apply when applying for a promotion.
For appointment to the position of professor and docent, the candidate must document educational competence equivalent to that of associate professor and in addition must document teaching experience/educational supervision as a part of a full-time position in higher education for a minimum period of three years, as well as experience in supervision of students at master’s and preferably PhD level. The candidate must also be able to document active participation and leadership in the development of education quality in the professional academic environment.
An applicant for a position as professor or docent who is unable to document having met the educational competence requirements for a position as associate professor and/or the additional requirements to educational competence for a position as professor, may be hired with the proviso that such requirements must be met within two years. The two-year rule does not apply when applying for a promotion.
Documentation requirements for the position of associate professor, first lecturer, assistant professor and university teacher/training teacher
Applicants who have completed their own university pedagogy course corresponding to a minimum of 200 hours must enclose a certificate of completed course/examination along with a curriculum plan or a description of the course and appurtenant topics/themes. Basic skills in planning, implementing, evaluating and developing of teaching and supervision must be documented in the form of a systematic and holistic overview.
Other applicants must describe, assess and document their competence as teachers, mentors and educational supervisors through a systematic and holistic overview. At USN, the pedagogical portfolio is used.
A pedagogical portfolio should encompass the following:
- Description, and documentation of, own teaching and supervision (for how long, what subjects, what institutions, the number of supervised master's and/or PhD-level students). Particular emphasis shall be placed on the forms of teaching (lecture, seminar, laboratory practices, academic supervision and evaluation) and digital technologies that have been used, and the experience the candidate has with these.
- Reflection over one’s own status as a teacher and supervisor, with focus on the students’ learning, rooted in knowledge-based and scientific approaches.
- Description of one’s own role in the planning of teaching (course, curriculum plans, projects etc.) and the aspects that have been given particular weight.
- Description, documentation and comments on one’s own pedagogical development work and experience with educational supervision, including outcomes of these in terms of both students’ learning and development of oneself and colleagues.
- Description of and reflection over one’s own development as a teacher and academic supervisor as well as the challenges or plans for development that one envisions in the future.
- Documentation of and comments on relevant educational programmes, courses and seminars that the applicant has completed.
Documentation requirements for the position of professor and docent
Applicants for professorships and docent positions, in addition to the requirements posed to associate professor, first lecturer, assistant professor and university teacher/training teacher in their pedagogical folder, shall also document that the additional criteria are met:
- Description of and reflection over work done to develop own teaching and academic supervision. This should be documented with specific examples showing development over time as well as a rationale for and reflection over the process and the outcome.
- Description of experience with academic supervision at the master’s and PhD levels. In addition to a description of the scope of academic supervision, the applicant shall also summarize his/her experience and identify potential areas of development.
- A description of and reflection over own leadership, participation in and role in the development of educational quality in the professional academic environment.
All types of specific documentation in the form of certificates, documents, evaluations, reports, etc. will add support to the application.
Exemption from teaching/pedagogical qualifications
The requirements for educational competence also apply to employment in temporary positions and in additional positions that supplement teaching. For these positions, the requirements may be exempted upon specific evaluation on and individual basis.