Using the framework

Universities may use the framework as a tool to clarify their expectations and set indicative standards for performance review and promotion. The framework is intended to be used as a flexible, practical guide and should be customized to suit the values, criteria and context of individual institutions. Institutions using the framework may find it helpful to consider the following:

The Higher Education Professional Standards for the United Kingdom is referenced, along with the majority of Australian and New Zealand universities’ indicator and evidence requirements. The framework is representative of these.
The criteria and indicators under each level of the framework are indicative and therefore can be contested and discussed within each university.
Some indicators are highlighted in bold; these are indicatively set as minimum standards for each criterion. These serve as signal of minimum expectations for subsequent levels. Institutions should consider their standards and expectations and make these explicit.
We are suggesting that a minimum standard is set for all staff who teach regardless of appointment type (research and teaching, teaching focused and research focused) e.g. Level B. A university may wish to set Level C as the minimum standard.
The indicators made bold have been highlighted for illustrative purposes to show that a university or faculty may set a particular standard, or require a particular source of evidence be provided. Some universities may not set any single standard. To identify standards or evidence in a particular university context would require a process of consultation within each university and perhaps within disciplines to determine the expectations relevant to that university/discipline. The university might set some standards as requirements across the university, and allow disciplines to set some additional ones to reflect their specific context.
The layout is flexible and may be tailored to the requirements of individual institutions. The framework can be assembled in any desirable format. Please note that the framework has been presented in two formats; 1) by criteria, to demonstrate the progression of expectations of the various levels and 2) by academic level, to demonstrate the expectations for all criteria at each academic level. Both formats can be viewed or downloaded by clicking links above.