Academic Capability Framework

Academic Level Alignment with excellence benchmarks
A
[Associate Lecturer, Research Associate]		 Oriented towards the excellence benchmarks. Developing academic skills and expertise, with the support and guidance of more senior academic staff.
B
[Lecturer, Research Fellow]		 Progressing towards the excellence benchmarks Growing profile of academic achievement
C
[Senior Lecturer, Senior Research Fellow]		 Approaching and, in some areas, meeting the excellence benchmarks Established record of independent academic achievement with emerging leadership capability.
D
[Associate Professor, Principal Research Fellow]		 Meeting the excellence benchmarks Continuous record of leadership and excellence in academic achievements that is recognised nationally and internationally.
E
[Professor, Senior Principal Research Fellow, Australian Laureate Fellow]		 Meeting and, in some areas, exceeding the excellence benchmarks Sustained exceptional performance and leadership with an international reputation as an outstanding scholar.

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Lead in educational innovation and prepare graduates for the future Teaching is engaging and innovative, is grounded in educational best practice, scholarship and research, and contributes to outstanding graduate outcome.

Components Excellence Benchmarks Examples of Evidence for Achievement
1. Build teaching capability

Teaching excellence is achieved through a continued focus on skill development, and building capacity for continuous improvement in educational practice, leadership and innovation.Staff involved in teaching will regularly engage in professional learning to improve their own educational practice (which includes clinical professional practice where appropriate).Experienced teachers will look for opportunities to facilitate knowledge transfer and skill development in their colleagues, such as through the provision of professional learning programs to other academic staff, and the mentoring and career-enhancing sponsorship of peers and junior staff.Team building, cross- discipline collaboration and cross-campus collaboration in education are also important aspects of contributing to the enhancement of teaching capabilities.
  • Completion of teaching-related professional learning programs, workshops or training programs such as Peer Review of Educational Practice (PREP) training. To achieve a minimum of 40 hours CPD per year.
  • Impact of mentoring, sponsorship or building capability in scholarly practice, in early career academics or colleagues, such as the mentee’s success through improvements in student feedback, teaching awards, promotion. E.g. conversion of student on conditional status to good standing.
  • Obtain fellowship from Higher Education Academy UK as per academic level.
  • Influential leadership to build teams, inter faculty, cross-disciplinary collaborations and cross- campus collaborations.
  • Effective delivery of teaching-related professional learning programs to other academic staff, assessed through outcomes such as improvements in student feedback and Peer Review of Educational Practice reports
2. Develop high quality curricula and assessment

Excellence in teaching occurs through the design, development and renewal of high quality teaching content and materials, including the curriculum for units, courses, executive education programs, modules or credentials, and the design of learning outcomes, learning activities and assessment tasks that are aligned with course learning outcomes and the Curtin Graduate Capabilities.

Not all staff will be involved in the autonomous development of content, so design and development also includes contributions to the modification of teaching materials to suit different international locations or delivery modes.

The development of curriculum and associated resources should follow the principles of universal design, have a global outlook, and be appropriate for the relevant mode of delivery, such as face-to- face, online, distributed and work-integrated learning.

Interdisciplinary approaches are encouraged, as is the co-creation and renewal of curricula with international campuses and with stakeholders such as students, government, industry and community.
  • Positive student evaluation with evidence of improvement over time, related to specific items on content and assessment
  • Examples of effective design and development across a range of delivery modes such as face-to-face, online and distributed learning, across global campuses and across disciplines
  • Development or renewal of units, short courses, modules or credentials through collaboration with stakeholders such as students, industry, community, global partners or other tertiary institutions
  • Peer Review of Educational Practice report expressing effective design and development of curriculum material, including evidence of reflective practice and plan for improvement
  • Examples of innovation in curriculum, learning activities and/or assessment based on sound learning and teaching design principles
  • Development of technology-based learning, teaching and assessment programs and resources
  • Teaching award or citation in curriculum design and development at an institutional, national or international level
  • Commendation from external reviewers undertaking formal Course Review
3. Provide excellent teaching and student support

Excellent teaching will be high quality and student-centred and necessitates creating an engaging and innovative learning environment for students with the provision of effective support and guidance.

Student support incorporates assistance with transition, the delivery of appropriate and timely feedback, and the development of learning communities and strategies that account for and encourage diversity, equity and inclusion.

It is expected that teaching staff will be involved in a range of delivery modes, from face-to-face to online and distributed learning, and across different campus locations; they will also use digital technologies to support student learning, and adopt leadership roles in learning and teaching, such as unit and course coordination.
  • Improved student success outcomes that indicate effective teaching e.g. retention, completion, engagement, pathways to higher degrees by research
  • Successful delivery across a range of teaching modes such as face-to-face, online and distributed learning, and across global campuses
  • Positive student evaluation with evidence of improvement over time, for relevant items on teaching, feedback and approaches to student support
  • Peer Review of Educational Practice report expressing effective teaching and approaches to student support, including evidence of reflective practice and plan for improvement
  • Effective leadership through unit and course coordination, assessed by outcomes such as student evaluation and student success measures (retention, completion, engagement etc.)
  • Effective strategies to address the needs of diverse groups of students such as new-to-Curtin, international, rural, low SES or indigenous students
  • Impact of teaching innovation within the University or wider, such as adoption by others, or external requests to deliver learning and teaching workshops or keynote lectures
  • Recognition of teaching excellence by the University, industry or professional bodies, through Curtin Academy membership, awards, prizes, citations or fellowships such as HEA or HERDSA
4. Engage in scholarship and innovation

Continuous improvement in educational outcomes is driven by scholarly, evidence-based approaches to educational practice and innovation.
All teaching staff will incorporate the results of sound educational research, as well as professional, industry and work- based practice and experiences, into teaching and the curriculum.

All Teaching Academic staff are required to undertake Innovation and Scholarship of Learning and Teaching (iSoLT), through the development and implementation of innovative approaches to learning and teaching and through the practice of evidence-based scholarly research into learning and teaching.
  • Examples of development and implementation of innovative approaches to learning and teaching based on systematic evidence-based scholarly enquiry
  • Introduction of professional, industry or work-based practices and experiences into the curriculum
  • Successful University, national or international learning and teaching grants including dissemination of outcomes
  • Peer-reviewed learning and teaching-related publications, or authorship of published university textbooks and innovative learning resources

Deliver excellence and impact in research and innovation Research leading to major advances within field of research and with significant economic, societal, environment and/or cultural impact, delivered, where most effective, through collaboration and partnerships.

Components Excellence Benchmarks Examples of Evidence for Achievement
1. Build research capability

Excellence and impact in research are achieved through the efforts of researchers who stay at the cutting edge of research approaches, techniques, skills and knowledge.
It is expected that staff involved in research will continue to develop their own research capabilities throughout their career, as well as high quality contributions to the development of students and colleagues.

This includes supervision of Higher Degree by Research students, mentoring and career sponsorship, particularly of early- career and mid-career academics, indigenous people and staff on global campuses, and delivery or organisation of professional development research programs, workshops, seminar series.

Establishing, leading or participating in successful research teams and cross-campus collaborations also help to grow research capability.
  • Completion of research-related professional learning programs or workshops, or Masters/PhD program.
  • Effective student research training and supervision, including undergraduate and postgraduate.
  • Higher Degree by Research student completions, candidate publications and achievements.
  • Nurturing research culture, for example by organising research workshops or seminar series, or chairing research seminars.
  • Influential leadership or active participation in the building of research teams/groups. Creation of research clusters.
  • Effective development of collaborative networks nationally and internationally.
  • Delivery of research-related professional learning programs to other academic staff.
  • Awards for Higher Degree by Research supervision.
  • Mentoring and career sponsorship of colleagues, especially early- and mid-career academics and indigenous peoples, leading to improved research performance. E.g. through co-authorship or as grant recipients.
2. Initiate and sustain programs of ‘researcher- driven’ and/or ‘demand-driven’ research

Successful research involves converting good ideas into viable resourced projects to carry out research or research translation. This includes facilitating and coordinating research and translation activities, and multidisciplinary and industry collaboration; teamwork across global campuses is encouraged.

Success is enabled by the attainment of competitive research grant funding and fellowships, as well as contracts from industry, government and community.

This includes the identification and securing of opportunities for large-scale research where industry need is aligned with Curtin capability and/or aspiration, including strategic use of co-investment (e.g. a Cooperative Research Centre), and building large programs of researcher-driven work that lead to competitive bids for funding (e.g. a Centre of Research Excellence).

Stewardship of external relationships is fundamental to securing long term stability in demand- driven research.
  • Researcher-driven funding with emphasis on competitive, national/international and peer-reviewed grants
  • Grants and contracts from industry, government or community partners
  • Development of research programs that extend across global campuses
  • Identification and development of competitive bids for large- scale strategic co-investment with industry (e.g. for a Cooperative Research Centre)
  • Development of large programs of researcher-driven work leading to competitive bids for funding (e.g. for a Centre of Research Excellence) in the areas of Biotechnology, Digital innovation and Rural entrepreneurship, to fit into LRGS, PRGS 1 and 2 and TRGS.
  • Research Fellowships
3. Generate value and impact through research outputs

Research outputs will be created at a rate and quality commensurate with standards of excellence within the staff member’s discipline or disciplines.

These outputs may include contributions to the research literature (e.g. research books, book chapters, peer-reviewed journal articles, refereed conference publications, commissioned reports), original creative works, live performance of creative works, and curated or produced public exhibitions or events.

Particular emphasis is placed on output quality.
  • Publications, including peer-reviewed journal articles, invited reviews, book chapters, books, refereed conference publications and commissioned reports, with emphasis on quality
  • Creative outputs, including original creative works, live performance of creative works, and curated or produced public exhibitions or events
  • Development of new software, methodologies, products, processes or frameworks
  • Bibliometrics (e.g. citations, H-index) and altmetrics (e.g. article downloads online), at a rate and quality commensurate with the discipline or disciplines and with the academic level or stage of career. WOS researcher IS, ORKID ID, SCOPUS profile and google scholar.
  • Invited keynote lectures, symposium presentations and other invited talks and seminars
  • Research prizes and awards (external awards, does not include journal review award, best paper award for conference or any predatory award committee
  • Testimonials from appropriate stakeholders who can attest to the impact, quality, effectiveness and importance of research achievements. E.g. positive feedback received from industries.
4. Enhance the accessibility and impact of research to external stakeholders

Particular emphasis is placed on the impact of research outputs in and beyond the University.

Successful partnering with external stakeholders to produce excellent research outcomes requires ease of access to Curtin’s researchers, research capabilities and outputs, so that people and organisations outside the University can derive value from them.

This includes translation and commercialisation of research outcomes into tangible benefits to external stakeholders, for example through the delivery of new products and technologies, creation of patents or designs, and processes or frameworks that are taken up by industry, government or the community.

Demonstrable changes to government or corporate policies are important contributions. It also includes effective communication and marketing of Curtin’s research and capabilities.
  • Effective use of media for marketing and communication of research
  • Provision of expert advice to industry, government or the profession
  • Lodging of patents, commercialisation of patents
  • Adoption of new technologies, methodologies, patents, designs or products by industry, government or communities
  • Change in government policy or practice resulting from research
  • Translation and commercialisation of research, for example through the establishment of a start-up company

Make a difference globally through engagement and partnerships. Strong values-based leadership, service and engagement that fosters collaboration, strengthens communities and creates for engagement with the University.

Components Excellence Benchmarks Examples of Evidence for Achievement
1. Foster a positive and inclusive workplace environment

For Curtin to succeed in its mission, it must develop and continually strengthen a workplace culture that reflects its values of respect, integrity, courage, excellence and impact, and fosters engagement and empowerment.

It is expected that academic staff will demonstrate collegiality, active engagement and leadership within the Curtin community at the level of the University, Faculty, School, Centre, Institute and/or program.

This may involve participation in the development and implementation of University-wide policies, procedures and projects.

It can be demonstrated in terms of governance and collegial contributions across learning and teaching, research, management and administrative environments, and the inclusion and empowerment of others.
  • Active participation in School, Faculty (or equivalent) or University Committees and Boards such as Faculty Research Committee, Academic Board, School Learning and Teaching Committee. E.g. actively involved in R&D and L&T related activities, facilitation, professional committees etc.
  • Participation in professional development programs to develop leadership potential and foster Curtin values-led behaviour.
  • Demonstrable and sustained contribution to a collegial and supportive working environment such as project management and development of collaborative networks. E.g. inviting guest speakers, government linkages, SME chapters, CPA Australia, act as an advisor for student clubs, leading events etc.
  • Sustained contribution to leadership and governance within the School, Faculty (or equivalent) or University through formal leadership roles, such as Associate Deans Learning and Teaching, Faculty Dean, Chair or Lead of Working / Steering / Reference Group.
  • Significant contribution to development and implementation of University- wide policies, procedures and/or projects and driving a culture of innovation.
  • Active community engagement, pastoral care and mentoring support by indigenous staff.
2. Advance the profession and discipline

Academic staff are expected to actively and constructively engage with their discipline and/or profession at a local, national or international level and to demonstrate service and leadership within academic communities and professional associations.

This may include active participation in a professional body or learned academy, membership of registration, accreditation or journal editorial boards, or regular reviewing activities for journals or granting bodies.

It would also encompass leadership and significant contributions to local, national or international conferences, symposia or workshops, and invitations to teach or provide services to other universities, such as lecturing, workshop presentations, review of Higher Degree by Research (e.g. PhD) theses, or external reviews of programs or Schools.
  • Effective use of media for marketing and communication of research and learning and teaching. E.g. posters, workshops and webinars.
  • Provision of expert advice to industry, government or the profession. E.g. as an invited panel or speaker.
  • Lodging of patents, trademark, copyrights commercialisation of patents
  • Adoption of new technologies, methodologies, patents, designs or products by industry, government or communities, policy adoption by government and professional bodies.
  • Change in government policy or practice resulting from research e.g. through media commentaries.
  • Translation and commercialisation of research, for example through Curtin Biovalley Sdn Bhd.
3. Collaborate with external stakeholders

It is important that staff are able to establish and maintain effective collaborative and reciprocal relationships with local, national or international activities in industry, community, cultural organisations, not-for-profit organisations or government in ways that support the University’s ambition to be industry-embedded and forward- looking.

This may include active representation on advisory boards, committees or reference groups for external stakeholders, media coverage and commentary of engagement activities, or the provision of consultancy advice.

Interaction with external stakeholders will be focused on the pursuit of opportunities that lead to positive and meaningful outcomes, such as student placements, tenders, agreements, philanthropic funding or policy development.
  • Active representation on external boards, advisory committees or reference groups
  • Advisor or consultant for government, industry or community
  • Media coverage of industry, government or community engagement activities
  • Sustained commitment to a community or not-for-profit group with discernible outcomes aligned to the University’s strategic goals such as community education (e.g. public lectures); expert witness work; Schools liaison; curatorship for exhibitions, museums and collections. E.g. acting as a court translator and curator of discipline.
  • Co-creation, renewal and/or delivery of units, courses, executive education programs, modules or credentials with external stakeholders such as government, industry, community or other tertiary institutions including course development and assessment.
  • Invitation and evidence of participation in reviews, particularly as Chair.
  • Active participation in the development of submissions, for example to a government enquiry or an industry tender.
  • Public recognition and awards from community, government or industry bodies
  • Successful fund raising from philanthropic sources or external sponsors.
  • Joint appointments with government, industry or community organisations with work carried out outside the 40 hours work week.
4. Strengthen connections with global partners and campuses

Curtin’s goal of a ‘One Curtin’ approach to international education requires strong engagement and collaboration across global partners and campuses to strengthen international staff capabilities and broaden the range of activities undertaken at international locations.

Examples of these activities include increasing the global demand for Curtin courses and credentials through a range of delivery modes (including online), growing transnational research collaborations, creating opportunities for Curtin students and staff to have international learning experiences, and supporting a global network of alumni.

This will also involve engagement in activities that seek to develop new strategic global partnerships and alliances.
  • Creation of opportunities for students and staff to have international learning experiences through mobility programs and research.
  • Units, courses, modules or credentials developed through co-creation with global partners and international campuses.
  • Leadership or engagement with advancement programs and projects that develop alumni relations and fundraising. E.g. invited as a speaker at alumni events.
  • Delivery of professional development learning programs to strengthen international staff capabilities, and broaden the range of teaching and research activities at international locations
  • Effective involvement in the expansion or strengthening of strategic partnerships and alliances