Translation

Ministerial Order no. 284 of 25 April 2008 on the Appointment of

Academic Staff at Universities

(the Appointment Order)

Pursuant to section 29, subsection (3) of Act no. 1368 of 7 December 2007 on Universities (the

University Act ) it is stipulated that:

Purpose

1. (1) The purpose of this order is to set the overall frameworks for the appointment of academic staff and to allow universities to develop and amend their administrative rules governing appointments in a manner that matches the needs of individual subject areas and appointments.

Scope

2. (1) This order applies to the appointment of members of staff in posts covered by the job structure for academic staff at universities.

(2) The order also applies to appointments to clinical professorships and clinical associate professorships but may in those cases be modified by special agreements.

(3) The university lays down any supplementary rules to this order.

Advertisement

3. (1) Professorships and associate professorships must be advertised internationally, except under special circumstances of an academic nature, cf., however, sections 8-10.

Assessment

4. (1) When appointing positions at professor- and associate professor-level, and when appointing senior advisors and when assessing employees at assistant professor-level on long-term contracts in connection with the transition to a position at lector-level, the Rector appoints an assessment committee consisting of a chairperson and two or four members, cf., however, sections 9 and 10. (2) The Rector appoints the chairperson and the members of the committee and stipulates a deadline

by which the committee must submit its assessment. The majority of the members must be external members the universities could for instance. invite external members from abroad. The Rector

may grant an exemption from this provision in the event of special circumstances of an academic

nature. (3) For appointments to other posts, the Rector sets up an assessment committee or nominates one or more experts to conduct an academic assessment of the applicants.

(4) Members of assessment committees and other experts must possess expertise in the relevant academic discipline at a level corresponding to that required for the post but not below associate professor level.

5. (1) The assessment committee or the experts decide whether the applicants possess the academic qualifications in research, teaching, communication, etc. stipulated in the job structure and fulfil the other academic and professional requirements stipulated in the advertisement. A non-prioritised, reasoned and written assessment of the applicants' academic qualifications is submitted to the Rector. In the event of differences of opinion between the members of the committee, this must be stipulated in the assessment.

(2) Only the chairperson and committee members may participate in the work of the committee but the institution may appoint a secretary to the committee if necessary.

6. (1) The university is empowered to lay down general rules for documentation of the applicants' qualifications and for the scope of the material that applicants are allowed to submit for assessment.

Appointment

7. (1) The Rector's decision about the appointment should normally be made no more than 6 months after the deadline for applications expires.

Appointment without advertisement

8. (1) The Rector is entitled to set up a committee with a remit to explore the market for candidates for a position at professor- or associate professor-level. If this search identifies a particularly well qualified candidate for the professorship or the associate professorship, and if an assessment committee set up in accordance with the rules stipulated in section 4, subsection (1), finds that the candidate is clearly better qualified than any others who might be considered for the post if it was advertised under the normal procedure, the Rector is empowered to offer the candidate the post without advertising it.

Externally funded appointments

9. (1) If foundations or councils under the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation or a non-governmental fund have made at least half the funding available for the appointment of a person nominated by the funders in question, the Rector is entitled to appoint this person without advertising the post but only after a positive academic assessment, cf. section 4, subsection (3).

Appointment and reappointment for less than a year

10. (1) Fixed-term appointment for a period of up to one year - or up to two years for foreign employees at professor- or associate professor-level - and reappointment for up to one year are allowed without advertising, provided that the member of staff in question is assessed as academically qualified for the job, cf. section 4, subsection (3). If the total duration of employment, including reappointment, exceeds two years - or three years for foreign employees at professor- or associate professor-level - the post must be advertised and an academic assessment conducted, cf. section 4, subsection (1).

Effective date and interim provisions

11. (1) This Ministerial Order comes into force on 30 April 2008 and applies to posts advertised

After that date. Appointments currently being processed will be completed in accordance with the previous rules. (2) This Ministerial Order revokes Ministerial Order no. 92 of 15 February 2008 regarding the Appointment of Lecturers and Acasdemic Staff at Universities (the Appointment Order).