A bimonthly publication of AQU Catalunya

55

July 2011

The CLiC Commission, which deals with junior lecturer and collaborating teaching staff, was set up on 26 March 2003 in accordance with article 145 of Law 1/2003, 19 February, on the universities in Catalonia, with the following objectives:

• The establishing of general criteria for issuing reports for junior lecturers and collaborating teaching staff.
• The establishing of a general procedure for issuing reports and making public calls for applications.
• The setting up of special committees according to discipline/subject area in charge of drafting the specific criteria, assessing applications and issuing reports.
• It is also the responsibility of the CLiC moderator to resolve any appeals that are made in each public call for applications. 
   

The assessment criteria for junior lecturers 
Within the group of merits that are considered for a junior lecturer report to be issued, as a matter of priority an assessment is made of the merits connected with research experience, which is demonstrated by quality scientific publications (according to the criteria in each discipline/subject area), which in general will be accompanied by relevant contributions to congresses, research stays, technology transfer (where applicable), and other research-related activities. Academic background and teaching experience are the other dimensions taken into account in the assessment. Three essential elements for the post of junior lecturer are laid down by the regulations and taken into consideration by the CLiC when assessing an applicant's merits and their relative importance:

1. The start of the applicant's teaching and research career,
2. A disassociation of status for two years from the university offering a post (understood by the CLiC to be associated with research stays in other universities or research centres), and
3. The duration of a contract for a junior lecturer shall be for a maximum period of five years.

This means that, while the position of junior lecturer comprises an initial stage in a person's academic career, the applicant is required to demonstrate merits that reflect both his/her level of productivity in research and their potential to develop sufficient merits in five years to become a senior lecturer. The criteria that are applied must be adapted to a very wide variety of profiles as well as the specific characteristics of each subject area.

At what age does a junior lecturer obtain a favourable report?  
The age at which junior lecturers obtain a favourable report is being monitored by AQU Catalunya. A study entitled  University academic staff in Catalonia: figures on accreditation and recruitment policies (2003-2006), was published in 2008, in which the average age of junior lecturers was 36, although there were differences according to subject area. The youngest age (34) was in Experimental Sciences, whereas the oldest (39) was in the Humanities.

In general, 36 is considered to be relatively old for an initial position in a person's academic career. Behind these figures, however, are aspects connected with the person's academic background, the time necessary to complete the doctoral thesis, differences between the different subject areas, etc.

AQU Catalunya regularly analyses this figure to see if there are any trends. An analysis was made of the average age of applicants with a favourable report over the last five years (2005-2010). The decision was taken to not include those over 48 years old in the survey, given the bias introduced by this variable. It would seem that there is a group of teachers at affiliated institutions, private universities, etc. that request a junior lecturer's report for other purposes than those originally envisaged (e.g. to comply with certain minimum requirements as an accredited or certified teacher). In general, teaching staff at these institutions often have a longer professional career than the "typical" applicant for a junior lecturer report, which is a person who has recently obtained a doctorate degree and aspires to a contracted position as post-dissertation doctoral teaching assistant in order to carry out teaching and research work in the initial stage of his/her academic career. Applicants under 27 at the time of applying for a report were also not included, as this was a very small number that may have distorted the median.

It can be seen that there is a decreasing trend in the average age of certified junior lecturers. The average age is currently 35. By excluding those under 27 and those over 48, the average age is around 33 to 34.

It is considered that, following the initial stage during which junior lecturer reports were issued (2003-2005), in which the average age was 37, and 39 in one or two calls due to the large number of applicants with different profiles (e.g. temporary part-time lecturers), there was a more stable trend between 2006-2010 in which applicants increasingly matched the anticipated profile according to the assessment criteria.