Management have officially backed down and agreed to remove these unreasonable grant requirements for staff currently on probation. I am so relieved for my colleagues who can finally focus on their research without this constant threat hanging over them. Thank you for pushing back against these unfair standards with me.
April 10, 2016
Final supporters
Staff petition to Queen’s University senior management and Senate about probation
I strongly object to the way in which academic staff on probation are being managed in relation to new unagreed Academic Standards. I feel that the new requirements are unjust, punitive and unrealisable, especially for early career researchers. I note that the requirement for probationary staff to successfully gain a research grant as Principal Investigator (PI)is not adhered to by our comparator universities. I object to two points in particular:
1. The expectation that academic staff on probation must be awarded a research grant as a PI or Co-Investigator (Co-I). Part of the point of probation is to give new staff the time to build their networks, learn from their mentors and develop their research skills and experience: To punish them for not being awarded a research grant at this stage – something that is increasingly difficult at any stage of career – is unrealistic, demotivating and unfair.
2. The retrospective application of this new aspect of Academic Standards to staff currently on probation. This is doubly unjust as those currently in post were not told about this requirement at the time they accepted their positions.
As such I would ask you, in the strongest possible terms, to revisit these unfair requirements and to reinstate the original terms of the probationary contract.
Updates
January 17, 2016
Seeing 500 signatures on this petition is overwhelming because it proves that so many of you understand how damaging these new requirements are for our early career colleagues. My own time as a junior researcher was difficult enough without the constant threat of these impossible targets hanging over me. Your support shows management that we will not stay silent while they move the goalposts for our peers.
Reached 500 supporters
January 16, 2016
January 16, 2016
Watching the count climb reminds me of the colleagues currently trapped under these impossible expectations. We need to reach five hundred signatures to prove to management that this is not just a handful of disgruntled people but a campus-wide refusal to accept these punitive standards. Please send this link to your department group chats right now.
Reached 100 supporters
December 4, 2015
145 Comments
As an early career researcher, I feel that this proposal embodies everything which is wrong with the university sector. It puts the cart before the horse, insisting on output for the sake of output, punishing the most vulnerable staff to uphold a factory system of research production.
Prof John Whyte (QUB) wrote two books that defined their respective fields. He wouldn't have got past probation in today's conditions. What future academic leaders are being lost through the subordination of scholarly pursuit to 'income generation'?
Probationers, who are selected on the basis of their outstanding academic abilities, potentially represent the future of the University. It should be in the University’s interest to support and develop their talents, not to impose unjust targets that will potentially drive away the best.
Retrospective changes to employment conditions are unfair and unlikely to achieve management objectives with respect to research income and reputation. Establishing a supportive rather than a punitive academic environment is much more likely to be successful in both respects.
There is a random element in research grant applications, so there is no guarantee that even the best researchers in the humanities and social sciences will get a grant within a specified time frame. This is especially true of younger researchers.
Mad
These are unreasonable expectations.
Share this petition
Share this petition to help it reach more people.
Your share link
Management have officially backed down and agreed to remove these unreasonable grant requirements for staff currently on probation. I am so relieved for my colleagues who can finally focus on their research without this constant threat hanging over them. Thank you for pushing back against these unfair standards with me.
April 10, 2016
Final supporters
Staff petition to Queen’s University senior management and Senate about probation
I strongly object to the way in which academic staff on probation are being managed in relation to new unagreed Academic Standards. I feel that the new requirements are unjust, punitive and unrealisable, especially for early career researchers. I note that the requirement for probationary staff to successfully gain a research grant as Principal Investigator (PI)is not adhered to by our comparator universities. I object to two points in particular:
1. The expectation that academic staff on probation must be awarded a research grant as a PI or Co-Investigator (Co-I). Part of the point of probation is to give new staff the time to build their networks, learn from their mentors and develop their research skills and experience: To punish them for not being awarded a research grant at this stage – something that is increasingly difficult at any stage of career – is unrealistic, demotivating and unfair.
2. The retrospective application of this new aspect of Academic Standards to staff currently on probation. This is doubly unjust as those currently in post were not told about this requirement at the time they accepted their positions.
As such I would ask you, in the strongest possible terms, to revisit these unfair requirements and to reinstate the original terms of the probationary contract.
Updates
January 17, 2016
Seeing 500 signatures on this petition is overwhelming because it proves that so many of you understand how damaging these new requirements are for our early career colleagues. My own time as a junior researcher was difficult enough without the constant threat of these impossible targets hanging over me. Your support shows management that we will not stay silent while they move the goalposts for our peers.
Reached 500 supporters
January 16, 2016
January 16, 2016
Watching the count climb reminds me of the colleagues currently trapped under these impossible expectations. We need to reach five hundred signatures to prove to management that this is not just a handful of disgruntled people but a campus-wide refusal to accept these punitive standards. Please send this link to your department group chats right now.
Reached 100 supporters
December 4, 2015
145 Comments
This clearly has not been thought through. There are serious barriers to early researchers obtaining research grants and I have even come accross eligiblity issues with some funders for the award of grants for staff who are probationary .
As an early career researcher, I feel that this proposal embodies everything which is wrong with the university sector. It puts the cart before the horse, insisting on output for the sake of output, punishing the most vulnerable staff to uphold a factory system of research production.
Prof John Whyte (QUB) wrote two books that defined their respective fields. He wouldn't have got past probation in today's conditions. What future academic leaders are being lost through the subordination of scholarly pursuit to 'income generation'?
Probationers, who are selected on the basis of their outstanding academic abilities, potentially represent the future of the University. It should be in the University’s interest to support and develop their talents, not to impose unjust targets that will potentially drive away the best.
Retrospective changes to employment conditions are unfair and unlikely to achieve management objectives with respect to research income and reputation. Establishing a supportive rather than a punitive academic environment is much more likely to be successful in both respects.
There is a random element in research grant applications, so there is no guarantee that even the best researchers in the humanities and social sciences will get a grant within a specified time frame. This is especially true of younger researchers.
Mad
These are unreasonable expectations.
Share this petition
Share this petition to help it reach more people.
Your share link
Petitions like this
Other petitions you might want to support
Scan to share
Anyone who scans this can sign the petition.
This clearly has not been thought through. There are serious barriers to early researchers obtaining research grants and I have even come accross eligiblity issues with some funders for the award of grants for staff who are probationary .