/Institutions/University-of-Dubai/json/2024-2025/Policy-and-Procedure-Manual-local.json

/Institutions/University-of-Dubai/json/2024-2025/Policy-and-Procedure-Manual.json

Policy and Procedure Manual 2024-25 > Faculty and Professional Staff > Faculty Promotion Policy

Faculty Promotion Policy

Policy

1. Promotion Provision 

The promotion policy at the University of Dubai (UD) is based on the achievements and evaluation of the faculty member in the following three areas: 

1. Academic research and publications. 

2. Teaching and academic advising.

3. Community Services: University and professional services. 
   
   

2. Academic Research and Publications 

Academic research and publication admissible for purposes of promotion must be in the applicant's discipline and it includes the following: 

1. All publications in journals must be SCOPUS-indexed and for DBS faculty also be indexed and ABDC or ABS.

2. All  publications should be in the area of the candidate’s terminal degree specialization and relevant to their teaching area. Interdisciplinary research must have contribution from the applicant within his/her area  of specialization.

3. Only publications within the last 5 years  before the application date will be considered for promotion purposes.

4. Publications should not be published in predatory journals, refer to policy R 4.7 Predatory Journals.
   
   

3. Journal Classification and Evaluation Points 

For promotion purposes, Journals are classified into two categories as follows (see Table 1): 

1. Category I includes all journals that are classified Q1 and *minimum ABDC A or ABS 3. Each publication is given ten (10) points when evaluating the applicant’s research publication on the form P2 (Appendix I). 

2. Category II includes all journals that are classified Q2 by SCOPUS and *minimum ABDC B or ABS 2. Each of these journals is given eight (8) points when evaluating the applicant’s research publication on the form P2 (Appendix I). 

3. SCOPUS, *ABDC or ABS classification shall be judged based on the information available at the time of publication of the article. 

   Table 1: Points Allocation for Journal Ranking

   Category	Points allocated per publication	Scopus & *ABDC or ABS (DBS only)
   I	10	Q1 & A or 3*
   II	8	Q2 & B or 2*

   *Applicable to DBS faculty only 

4. New faculty members can be hired only at their current rank at most, regardless what that rank may be, but not at a higher rank. The rank hired at must satisfy all of UD’s requirements for promotion to that rank, similar to other UD faculty members. 

 

4. Promotion to the Rank of Assistant Professor 

A lecturer shall be eligible to apply for promotion to the rank of Assistant Professor upon obtaining an MOE-attested doctorate degree from an accredited university in an area of specialization that UD is in need of. 

 

5. Promotion to the Rank of Associate Professor 

An Assistant Professor shall be eligible to apply for promotion to the rank of Associate Professor after serving UD for a minimum of two years in his/her current contract, and meets the following requirements: 

1. The applicant should have been an Assistant Professor for at least five years. This period can be reduced by a minimum of one year if the applicant is an excellent researcher (See Section 10). 

2. For all colleges, the applicant should have a minimum 5 Scopus  indexed papers within the last 5 years in at least category (II) journals. For DBS, a minimum of 5 papers  must be Scopus indexed and appear in ABDC or ABS within the last 5 years in at least category (II) journals.

3. All publications must be within the area of the terminal degree and field of teaching.

4.  A minimum of one publication must be region specific. 

5. These papers can be single or joint-authored. 

6. At least one paper must be published while working at UD. 

7. Teaching and community service should be fulfilled as part of the faculty promotion requirements (See Table 2). 

8. The applicant must score a minimum of 40 points with a minimum of 5 publications within the last 5 years  on the internal evaluation of research. He/she must also score a minimum weighted average of 70% on the combined evaluation of external research, teaching and community services (See Table 2).

 

6. Promotion to the Rank of Full Professor 

An Associate Professor shall be eligible to apply for promotion to the rank of Full Professor after serving UD for a minimum of two years in his/her current contract, and meets the following requirements: 

1. The applicant should have been an Associate Professor for at least five years. This period can be reduced by a minimum of one year if the applicant is an excellent researcher (See Section 11). 

2. The applicant should have a minimum of 7 publications within the last 5 years in category (I) and category (II) journals. The majority of the publications considered for promotion must be in  category (I) journal and at least one publication must be region specific. These papers can be single or joint-authored.  For DBS, a minimum of 5 papers  must be Scopus indexed and appear in ABDC or ABS within the last 5 years in at least category (II) journals.

3. All publications must be within the area of the terminal degree and field of teaching.

4. The applicant may provide evidence that apart from the seven publications he will use for his/her application he/she should have at least 12 publications during his/her academic career. 

5. At least one paper should have been published while working at UD. 

6. None of the 7 papers should have been submitted previously for promotion to the rank of Associate Professor and/or accepted for publication before applying for the rank of Associate Professor. 

7. Teaching and community service should be fulfilled as part of the faculty promotion requirements (See Table 2). 

8. The applicant must score a minimum of 64 points on the internal evaluation for research (See Table 2). He/she also must score a minimum weighted average of 75% on the combined evaluation of external research, teaching and community services (See Table 2).
   
   

Table 2: Minimum Requirements for Promotion

*: Level 1: The weights for external research, teaching and service evaluations are 0.45, 0.35 & 0.2, respectively.

Level 2: The weights for external research, teaching and service evaluations are 0.50, 0.30 & 0.2, respectively.

 

7. Promotion Procedures 

1. The President shall constitute the UD Promotion Committee by September of each academic year. The President may include in the membership of the Promotion Committee experts from outside UD. 

2. The applicant shall submit an application for promotion (Appendix I) to his/her Dean/Director during November of each academic year (see Table 3, Timeline for Promotion Review) along with three (3) copies of his/her promotion file (faculty portfolio including hard copy evidence of the journal ranking at the time of publication) encompassing the three areas of teaching, research and publication, and university and community services. Candidates for promotion are responsible for ensuring that all required materials are available and complete and that the promotion file has been prepared properly. Candidates should provide at least seven (7) referral contacts with full contact details from international universities for consideration by the UD Promotion Committee. 

3. The Dean/Program Director shall review the teaching and service aspects of the applicant’s portfolio; prepare the required forms for evaluating teaching and service (P1 & P3 -Appendix I), and pass them along with the applicant’s file within four weeks from receiving the file to the VPAA who will review the file and forward it to the UD Promotion Committee after consultation with the President within one month of the date of the application. 

4. If the results on teaching and service are unsatisfactory, then the applicant will be advised to resubmit in the next academic year. 

5. If the file is satisfactory then the UD Promotion Committee shall review the applications for promotion and related files according to the criteria established in this UD policy within one month from the date of receiving an applicant’s file. 

6. The Chair of the UD Promotion Committee, after consultation with the VPAA and the President, shall send copies of the CV and research portfolio of the applicant who meets the requirements to three (for Associate Professor rank) or four (for Full Professor rank) external evaluators for evaluation. 

7. The external evaluators are chosen by the University Promotion Committee and must be in the area of specialization of the candidate. They should be full professors in the top 200 universities according to the QS ranking. They should not have published or worked with the candidate before to avoid conflict of interest. An honorarium of $200 per paper is paid for the external referee. External evaluators are expected to respond within two months from sending the files to them. 

8. Upon receiving the reports from the external evaluators, the UD Promotion Committee will convene to review the reports. The score from each of the external evaluators should be at least 65% for promotion to Associate Professor, and at least 70% for promotion to Full Professor and the reviewer should not state any reservations. It is up to the committee to make a final recommendation to the VPAA and President if any reviewer has negative remarks.  Candidates for promotion must also meet the minimum weighted score outlined in Table 2. 

9. The UD Promotion Committee shall submit its recommendations to the VPAA as per the timeline specified in Table 3. After the VPAA's review, the president will approve the recommendations. The president's approval is the final step in the promotion process, and the decisions made are considered binding and conclusive.

10. In case the application of promotion is not successful, resubmission is permitted after 1 year from the date of rejection. If the maximum period for applying for promotion has been exceeded, the period can be extended based on the recommendation of the Dean and the approval of the President. 

11. An Assistant Professor has a maximum of seven (7) years to qualify and apply for promotion to the Associate Professor rank from the date of joining UD as an Assistant Professor or from the date of earning the Assistant Professor rank, whichever comes second. This period can be extended at the discretion of the President. 

12. An Associate Professor has a maximum of ten (10) years to qualify and apply for promotion to the Full Professor rank from the date of joining UD as an Associate Professor or the date of earning the Associate Professor rank, whichever comes second. This period can be extended at the discretion of the President. 

13. The period spent by faculty members engaged in senior administrative duties does not count as part of the maximum period mentioned in points (K) and (L) above. The maximum period to apply for promotion for such faculty members can be extended at the discretion of the President. 

 

8. Timeline for the Promotion Process 

Table 3 shows the timeline for faculty members applying for promotion.

    Table 3: Promotion Process Timeline

 

9. Assessment and Evaluation Forms 

The rubrics for assessing teaching, research, and service are contained in the Forms P1, P2 and P3, respectively in Appendix I. 

 

10. Promotion of Excellent Researchers 

Excellent researchers are eligible to apply for early promotion once they serve in their current ranks for four years. An excellent researcher is a faculty member whose publications exceed the minimum required number and quality of publications by 50% in a period shorter than five years. 

 

11. Remuneration / Compensation for Promotion 

The salary of a faculty member who has successfully been promoted to the following rank is adjusted to the beginning salary of the following rank. If the salary has already exceeded this level, then a flat salary increase of AED 1,000 and AED 1,500 shall apply for promotion to Associate Professor and Full Professor, respectively. The same increment shall apply if the difference between the current salary and the beginning salary of the following rank is less than AED 1,000  and AED 1,500 for promotion to an Associate Professor and a Full Professor, respectively. 

 

12. Appeals 

The UD Promotion Committee is responsible for ensuring that all applicants receive fair and impartial treatment. An applicant who was denied promotion and believes that a substantive or procedural violation has occurred may appeal his case to the President. Examples that trigger an appeal include: 

1. Evaluation of teaching or research or service was inconsistent with the evidence in the applicant’s records. 

2. A section of the application submitted by the candidate was omitted. 

3. Any of the established procedures was not followed. 

Upon the President’s review of the stated reasons for the appeal, he may deny the appeal or reverse the original decision after consulting with the promotion committee. 

 

13. General Provisions 

Effective Date: This statement of promotion policy shall be applicable to all faculty members for applications submitted after October 2024