Academic Staff Council
Career models at WU regarding ao. Profs and Associate Professors "old-style QA"
In the last issue of BR Info 3/2023 we gave an overview of the various career models at WU. The available career models were evaluated according to their quality characteristics of continuity, plannability, and transparency. With regard to continuity, the wissBR considers it very important that academics who perform adequately in research, teaching and self-administration can also advance to the highest salary group, or that they are treated completely equally. In terms of salary levels, this would be A1 according to the Collective Agreement for University Staff (KV) and university professors according to the staff groups in the University Act (UG).
A large group of key players at WU are the ao. Profs and the Associate Professors through an “old-style qualification agreement” (i.e. those who signed their qualification agreements before 1 October 2016). This group is made up of highly qualified WU employees who take on many important responsibilities in the management of institutes, research and study programmes, as well as in teaching, self-administration and coordination tasks. As such, this group contributes significantly to the success and continuity of WU's operations.
The group of ao. Profs and Associate Professors through “old-style qualification agreement” currently include 92 academics in all eleven departments and in one competence centre (as of April 2023; see table at the bottom). By comparison, WU employed 117 university professors and 19 scientists (assistant professors) on a "new-syle qualification agreement" track. In addition, the group of Associate Professors through “new-style QA" consisted of only one person at that time. The group of ao. Profs and Associate Professors via “old-style QA" is therefore significant, not only in terms of its contributions to WU’s operations, but also in terms of its size.
1 Source: wissBR (as of April 2023)
In addition, the expected remaining years of service of the group members is also relevant. A look at unidata.gv.at(1) shows that 22 members of this group have 20 or more years of service left (max.: 29 years), 37 persons have ten or more years, 54 persons have five or more years of service at WU. This underscores the fact that this group must be taken into account in a comprehensive plan for personnel and organisational development.
In spite of the importance and size of this group, no career model has been implemented at WU that meets our criteria mentioned at the beginning - in contrast to Assoz. Prof "new-style QA" (i.e. the "full professor rank").
Since the UG amendment of 2015, however, the legislator has provided a legal instrument for the implementation of such a career model: § 99 para 4 UG 2002. This legal instrument has not yet been systematically discussed at WU, nor has its implementation been considered for this group. The situation is different at most other Austrian universities. Only five of the 22 Austrian universities have not yet filled any positions according to §99 para 4 UG (as of December 2022). The five universities are WU, the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz, the University of Continuing Education Krems and the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna.(2)
Last year, a first networking meeting of this group took place together with representatives of the wissBR. We are happy to support further networking in order to promote the need for an attractive career model for ao. Profs and Associate Professors through "old-style QA" and to spread it throughout WU.
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(1) source: unidata.gv.at, „Altersverteilung nach Verwendung“, as at 31.12.2022, URL: https://unidata.gv.at/Pages/auswertungen.aspx, last accessed on 28.6.2023
(2) The University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna anchored a corresponding career model in its statutes in 2016, but to date no corresponding appointments have been made. The other three universities, like WU, have not yet provided for any regulations.
03.07.2023