Operationalising academic performance: implementing teaching performance expectations

Universities across the higher education sector are under increasing pressure from external and internal demands to demonstrate accountability and transparency in academic performance. In July 2012, the University of Tasmania approved Opening UTAS to Talent: The UTAS Academic, which outlines minimum performance expectations in research and learning and teaching. This paper presents an overview of the development and implementation of the University's Teaching Performance Expectations from 2012-2014. Development of these was strongly informed by the work of Gunn and Fisk, the key findings and outcomes from an international benchmarking project on promotion policies and processes and feedback from institution-wide workshops. It highlights the importance of effective cross-institutional benchmarking as an enabling process in response to the need for some institutions to improve their engagement with teaching enhancement, internal benchmarking to ensure reward and recognition processes are fair and robust across the institution and comparative mechanisms to explore and improve teaching excellence in a rapidly changing environment. The framework that has been developed provides clear statements of expectations for all academic staff with a learning and teaching role and ensures individual accountability for managing one's performance, individual development, promotion and career opportunities in learning and teaching.