Key information

The Exeter Academic Review was commissioned in July 2022 by the Wellbeing, Inclusion & Culture Committee (WICC). The aim was to review the probation, promotion and progression processes and procedures to ensure University of Exeter continue to provide an attractive career structure which reflects and rewards institutional priorities in line with the University Values and Strategy 2030. The agreed outcomes of the review have been implemented in phases, beginning with the introduction of revised promotion criteria which will be applied in the 2024/25 promotion cycle.

One of the recommendations to be introduced in the second phase of implementation was to clearly define the processes for the movement of academic colleagues between job families to ensure greater clarity and consistency. Following consideration by the Exeter Academic Steering Group, the Wellbeing, Inclusion & Culture Committee (WICC) and the University Executive Board (UEB) have approved the following:

General Principles

• Academic colleagues are appointed to a specific job family, and each job family has different contractual duties.
• Colleagues will only be able to move between job families where there is an identified business need.
• Movement between job families is a contractual change which will normally be by mutual agreement and be confirmed in writing by Human Resources, except where a colleague in the Research job family is promoted to Associate Professor and Professor.
• Separate processes apply to “proleptic” appointments.

Movement to the Education and Research Job Family

Movement into the Education and Research (E&R) job family from the Education and Scholarship (E&S) and Research job family will only take place through open competitive recruitment which is expected to involve external competition (unless the Redeployment Procedure applies). Decisions on whether to advertise internally or externally will be made by the Deputy Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Head of Department following discussion with the Faculty’s Senior HR Partner.

For colleagues in the Research job family who are promoted to Associate Professor or Professor, the default expectation will be that at the point of promotion they will move into the E&R job family. This recognises that many staff in the Research job family are already undertaking some teaching and sets an expectation that teaching may be assigned in the future. Deputy Pro-Vice-Chancellors and Head of Departments will have discretion to retain the colleague in the Research job family where appropriate. (This will be confirmed through the academic promotion process.)

Movement to the Education and Scholarship Job Family

Where it is in the business interest of the Department/Faculty, a colleague in the Education and Research (E&R) job family may (by mutual agreement) move sideways into the Education and Scholarship (E&S) job family – ie at the same grade – to enable them to focus on their strengths in education.

Such movements must be agreed by the Deputy Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Head of Department (following discussion with the departmental DoR and DoSE) and the Faculty’s Senior HR Partner following an assessment that the academic is meeting the criteria for an E&S role at that level.