Guidelines for Pathway Redesign and Implementation

Abstract

The pace of change of academic career frameworks varies within and across national higher education systems. Trailblazing institutions have introduced frameworks that speak to their core ethos and mission, and support academics to use a broad range of expertise for the benefit of students and wider communities. Other institutions are at different stages of framework development and maturity and may be grappling with design and / or implementation decisions. This chapter puts forward 12 principles, abstracted from theoretical, conceptual, and empirical literature in various national contexts, to guide the framework redesign process flexibly and lead to context-specific solutions that draw critically and constructively on good practice in the sector. The chapter then looks in turn at three aspects that have particular relevance to the way in which frameworks bed into a specific institutional context. The role of senior sponsors in the pathway redesign process; promotion criteria and decision-making panels; and HR input into pathway design and implementation. It is premised on the view that successful frameworks are the result of collaborative efforts and benefit from policies and processes which support alignment between individual aspirations and institutional ambitions. It is also premised on the view that academic career frameworks evolve in time.