Faculty Staffing Committee Policy and Procedures

All academic staff members of the University.

To provide the structure and process for faculty staffing committees.

1. Each faculty is to convene a faculty staffing committee (FSC) to consider academic staff appointments, continuations, promotions, research and study leave approvals.

Committee structure

1. The dean is to constitute a faculty staffing committee in accordance with the following principles:

• faculty involvement in the construction of the committee through election and appropriate nomination processes
• expertise required of the committee as a whole
• professorial and sub-professorial representation
• gender diversity, and, where practicable, ethnic or other diversity
• regular and planned turnover of its membership

2. Faculties must co-opt one or more (current or recent) experienced members from another FSC outside the faculty, in order to ensure consistency of application of staffing policies across the University.

3. Vertical integration between FSC committees and the University Academic Staffing Committee (UASC) for promotions and continuations through one member of the UASC being a member of the FSC for consideration of continuation applications and associate professor promotion applications.

4. The Director, Staff Equity is to receive agendas and may attend for monitoring and advisory purposes.

5. Unless the Vice-Chancellor approves otherwise, the dean is to chair the committee for consideration of promotion applications.

6. The dean or nominee is to chair the committee for other considerations.

7. Where a subcommittee considers evidence for a recommendation or decision, then that sub-committee must make the final recommendation or decision.

8. The FSC may co-opt members to assist it in its deliberations.

9. Members of the FSC are to be fully conversant with the relevant HR and Equity policies particularly those listed below.

Committee processes

10. The FSC and any FSC sub-committees are to operate with regard to the following principles:

• discretion and confidentiality
• the decisions and brief reasons will be minuted
• the chair will encourage openness in debate, and impartiality in decision making

11. There is to be a quorum determined by the committee.

12. A meeting of the FSC can only proceed if at least one of the external FSC members are present (this does not apply to FSC sub-committees).

13. To ensure consistency across the University, the UASC representative must be present during the consideration of promotions and continuations.

14. Conflicts of interest are to be managed as set out in the University's policies on academic promotions.

15. Any conflict of interest between a staff member or an applicant for a position and a member of an FSC must be disclosed at the beginning of a meeting and the chair will determine how the conflict is to be managed.

16. An applicant for promotion must not serve as a member of the FSC during academic promotion considerations.

17. The committee’s decisions will be provided in writing to the staff members concerned, through the dean.

18. Where the decision is not as the staff member would desire, the staff member may discuss the decision with the chair or a committee member appointed by the chair.

19. Advice should be sought from Human Resources through the HR manager/advisor who attends all meetings of the FSC.

Accountability

20. The dean is to be accountable to the Vice-Chancellor for operation of the FSC.

21. Each FSC's decisions will be reported to the Human Resources for administration and monitoring purposes.

The following definitions apply to this document:

Staff member refers to an individual employed by the University on a full or part time basis.

University means the University of Auckland and includes all subsidiaries.

Include the following:

• Academic Staff Collective Agreement
• Academic promotions policies
• Academic standards
• Conflict of Interest Policy
• Equity Policy and Procedures
• Honorary and Adjunct Appointment Policy and Procedures
• Impartial Decision Making Policy
• Merit Relative to Opportunity Policy and Procedures
• Research and Study Leave Policy
• University Academic Staffing Committee Policy and Procedures

Owner: Director, Human Resources
Content manager: Associate Director, HR Advisory
Approved by: Vice-Chancellor
Approval date: 16 February 2024
Review date: 16 February 2029