FAQs Junior Academic Progressions Call 2017

Policy, Procedures and General Information

Do I have to inform Human Resources if I am applying?

Yes please notify us by 12th September 2017 of your intent to apply for this call. You should email us at junpromo@tcd.ie. This is important as it will allow us to progress the confirmation of external assessors where applicable with your Dean.

In what period is the call open - when can I submit my application?

The call is open from 25th July 2017. It is important to note the closing date for the Call when applying, as no late applications will be accepted. Applications must be submitted through e-recruitment. Applications cannot be accepted before or after the closing date and time. Please see the attached link for the closing date and time at: https://www.tcd.ie/hr/news/local_articles/2017/junior-promotions/index.php.

What is the closing date for the Junior Academic Progressions Call 2017?

Call closes on 12 noon on Tuesday 26th September 2017.

Where can I find further information?

Further information on the Junior Academic Progressions Call 2017 is available at:https://www.tcd.ie/hr/news/local_articles/2017/junior-promotions/index.php.

What is the Special (Additional) Circumstances form?

Special (Additional) circumstances (personal or professional) are considerations which the relevant Review Panels take into account at time of promotions. The process assesses an applicant’s merit relative to their opportunity to accrue that merit. If you have Special Additional Circumstances please click on the relevant box on the MyRSS CV’ or send a separate email to junpromo@tcd.ie to request a copy of the Special (Additional) Circumstances form. More information available at: https://www.tcd.ie/hr/news/local_articles/2017/junior-promotions/special-circumstances.php.

What is the New Online Junior Progressions Application Process?

In preparation for this call, an online promotions application has been developed in conjunction with HRIS and IT Services. The aim of the online application is to reduce the duplication and time spent by applicants inputting information that is already held in other College systems. Further information on the New Online Promotions Application Process is available at: https://www.tcd.ie/hr/news/local_articles/2017/junior-promotions/index.php

There are 3 steps in the new online application process:

How do I access the MyRSS Promotions Wizard?

If you have not already done so, you must register with the RSS here before accessing MyRSS: https://www.tcd.ie/rssregister

The Promotions Wizard is accessible to all active RSS users here: https://tcdlocalportal.tcd.ie/pls/EnterApex/f?p=115:110

If you have any questions or queries with how to use the Promotions Wizard please contact Marta at junior.promotion@tcd.ie or telephone Marta on ext. 3937.

What documents need to be uploaded to the e-recruitment system?

Three documents are required to be uploaded and in the following order:

  1. Application Document (This is your document from the RSS Promotions CV Wizard i.e. MyRSS CV)
  2. Head of Discipline/School Report.

Eligibility

Where is the policy, and how can I find out whether I am eligible?

For the policy, please refer to: https://www.tcd.ie/hr/assets/pdf/procedure46a_review-procedure-asst-prof-beyond-merit-bar.pdf

How do I know what my Merit Bar is?

Your current merit bar point, generally either point 11 or point 12, is shown on your original contract of employment. A small number of contracts may not contain this information, if this is the case, please contact HR junpromo@tcd.ie and we will be able to assist you.

I am at the top of my scale, can I apply under this call?

No. This call is only for candidates who have the scope within the scale to progress through the merit bar or for accelerated advancement on the scale.  

Can I apply if I have not completed my probation period?

Categories 1, 3 or 4 - Yes, you can apply for the call as long as you meet the other eligibility criteria.

Category 2 - No, you cannot apply for the call if you have not completed your probation period.

Is there a benefit applying if I am already over the merit bar? Is there a further advancement possible?

Yes, the further advancement to a higher point on the scale may be possible, dependent on the number of scale points on your scale, and what your next scale point is, subject to you meeting the criteria (please review the policy and criteria, which are available on our webpage. For more detailed information about pay scales and the number of points on the scale please follow the link to: https://www.tcd.ie/hr/assets/pdf/monthly_academic.pdf.

Where is the policy, and how can I find out whether I am eligible?

For the policy, please refer to: https://www.tcd.ie/hr/assets/pdf/procedure46a_review-procedure-asst-prof-beyond-merit-bar.pdf

Do I need to include a report from the Head of Discipline/School to submit an application?

Yes. The required Head of Discipline/Head of School Report  should be included in the documents uploaded with your Application Document onto e-recruitment.

I was reviewed this year (or in a previous year) by the Junior Academic Progressions Committee. Can I apply again under this call?

Yes, you can apply for this call this academic year 2017. 

My Head of School or Head of Discipline is on the Committee. Can they sign my form? What is conflict of interest, and how does it apply to me?

No Junior Academic Progression Committee nor Senior Academic Promotions Sub-Committee members assessing an application can advocate for candidates or sign off on an application form. Please check in advance of seeking your Head of Discipline /Head of School report that they are not committee members. Alternative signatories must be sought. Conflicts should be brought to the attention of the Secretary of the Committee at junior.promotion@tcd.ie. New signatories can be agreed by Head of School/Dean as appropriate. The Dean and Vice-Provost will ensure that these rules are upheld. For details on the list of membership of the Junior Academic Progressions Promotions Committee and the Senior Academic Promotions Sub-Sommittee, please refer to https://www.tcd.ie/hr/news/local_articles/2017/junior-promotions/committee-members.php.

Evaluation and Assessment of Applications

How is the assessment carried out?

Please refer to: https://www.tcd.ie/hr/assets/pdf/procedure46a_review-procedure-asst-prof-beyond-merit-bar.pdf.

What are the evaluation criteria?

Please refer to: https://www.tcd.ie/hr/assets/pdf/procedure46a_review-procedure-asst-prof-beyond-merit-bar.pdf.

Who is carrying out the reviews of applications for promotion?

The Junior Academic Progression Committee reviews recommendations for accelerated advancement made by the Faculty Final Review Panel on completion of probation; conducts the review for Assistant Professors at the Merit Bar, and assesses applications for accelerated advancement at the Assistant Professor grade.

The Senior Academic Promotions Sub-Committee reviews applications for accelerated advancement in respect of Assistant Professors who have 2 years’ service irrespective of their position on the Assistant Professor scale. Candidates for movement through the merit bar will be interviewed by the Junior Academic Progression Committee.

Further information can be obtained at: https://www.tcd.ie/hr/assets/pdf/procedure46a_review-procedure-asst-prof-beyond-merit-bar.pdf.

When will I hear the outcome of my application?

All candidates will be notified electronically with the outcome of their application following the conclusion of ALL interviews for candidates.

Heads of Schools will be notified of unsuccessful candidates for merit bar review or candidates held for merit bar review for another year.

Feedback will be available to all unsuccessful candidates.

Please note that unforeseen circumstances may impact on this schedule.

If I am applying for accelerated advancement under categories three or four do I have to source the External Assessor?

No. As per the policy and where relevant one external assessor per eligible candidate will be proposed by the respective Faculty Dean and agreed by the Vice Provost. In order for an external assessor to be nominated and approved in time for the evaluation stage, it is a requirement that candidates notify HR of their intent to apply for the call. Notification of intent should be emailed to junpromo@tcd.ie by 12th September 2017.

When will the pay be implemented?

Please note that it is expected that recommendations arising from this current progressions round will have an effective date of 1st October 2017 or thereafter as required by the Haddington Road Agreement. It is intended that awards will have effect in the coming Academic year 2017-18. The awards cannot be implemented until Council have approved the recommendations. The pay will be effective from 1st October 2017 (or next increment due date in line with public sector pay provisions). Effectively with the current Haddington Road/Lansdowne Road provisions, there are 4 possible dates for implementation dependent on how many deferred increments you have had previously and your current rate of pay (which determines the length of the deferral). As it is most likely that the full assessment phase will not be completed until after 1st October 2017 any staff whose date is 1st October 2017 will be paid arrears at the time of approval retrospective to that date.

    The dates are:
    • 1st October 2017,
    • 1st January 2018,
    • 1st April 2018,
    • 1st July 2018.

Where can I find all the relevant links that I need?

Key Links

HR Web pages:  https://www.tcd.ie/hr/
All General Information: https://www.tcd.ie/hr/news/local_articles/2017/junior-promotions/index.php
Frequently Asked Questions: https://www.tcd.ie/hr/faq/junior-progressions.php
The policy: https://www.tcd.ie/hr/assets/pdf/procedure46a-junior_academic_promotions.pdf
The criteria:  https://www.tcd.ie/hr/assets/pdf/accelerated-advancement-2017-guidance-criteria.pdf
Salary Scales: https://www.tcd.ie/hr/assets/pdf/monthly_academic.pdf
Register with the RSS:  https://www.tcd.ie/rssregister
Access the RSS: http://rss.tcd.ie
E-recruitment:  https://jobs.tcd.ie

RSS

What is the Research Support System (RSS)?

The Research Support System is a web-based information system, which incorporates an expertise database. The development of the Research Support System is directed by the Dean of Research. The System has been built in-house by M.I.S. (I.S. Services), and allows members of academic staff to input and update information on their academic interests and research expertise and publications. The Research Support System is managed and administered by the Library. Further information is available on the TCD RSS website: https://www.tcd.ie/research/dean/rss/.

I have some questions on RSS – where can I go for help?

The RSS Team hold workshops and demonstrations of the Research Support System which can be arranged on an individual or group basis – please contact rssadmin@tcd.ie with any queries you may have, or if you wish to attend a RSS workshop or demonstration.

How do I find the user guide on how to navigate the MyRSS Promotions Wizard?

We have developed a user guide and a video guide for the MyRSS Promotions Wizard which may be of assistance. (Note: use Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox to view videos) Click on the link:

My RSS User Guide (pdf 2.5 mb)
My RSS Video Guides:

tutorial 1-register-login-locate (mp4; 1.59minutes) ; tutorial 2-the-myrss-promotions-wizard (mp4; 2.11minutes); tutorial 3-general-info-adding-editing-text (mp4; 3.52minutes)

I'm encountering problems with RSS Data Sources for Publication Metadata

Pubmed – IT Services are currently working on problems with importing data from Pubmed.
ORCID – ORCID is the preferred method of importing data into the RSS. Scopus Pubmed and CrossRef are possible data sources, among others.
RIS File Import – A manual import using RIS files. There are several methods of generating RIS files.Scopus and Google Scholar are 2 possibilities:

Scopus to RSS

  1. Do an Author Search in Scopus to find your profile. Do a reasonably general search as you may have more than one profile.
  2. Once you have found your publication click on Select all at the top of the page
  3. Click on export and choose export to RIS file
  4. In the RSS, click on add a publication and choose "Select a different other import option".
  5. Select RIS, you will need to login again
  6. Browse for your RIS file and upload it
  7. Once it has been uploaded select the publications you wish to add to your profile and click on Import to RSS.

Google Scholar

In google scholar you must first change the settings to allow the export of publications. Instructions below:

  1. Go to Google Scholar
  2. Click on the little cog to the top right of the screen to access Google's preferences menu and then select Scholar Preferences.
  3. Under Bibliography Manager select the option Show links to import citations into and choose Refman in the drop down box.
  4. Click on the Save Preferences button.

    5. Follow these steps to import search results into the RSS:

  5. After performing a search on Google Scholar click on the Import into REfman link for the reference you want to import.

  6. If you are presented with a window asking if you want to Open or Save the file, choose to save the file. The file will then be automatically saved in RIS format. Unfortunately Google scholar only allows you to export references individually.

Please contact rssadmin@tcd.ie with any queries.

RSS Data Sources for Citation Values

Scopus – This is currently the most reliable source of citation data. The RSS does a nightly refresh of Scopus citations for all publications that have a Digital Object Identifer (DOI). To add a missing DOI, edit your publication in the RSS and click on "Identifiers". DOIs can be found in several places including your Scopus Author profile.

Web of Science – Data exchanges with the Web of Science database have become infrequent of late so these citation counts are likely to be out of date.

Google Scholar – Google Scholar citation counts cannot be refreshed automatically so these are based on the values manually entered via the Top 10 Works page of the Promotions Wizard.

The Overview page of the Promotions Wizard gives estimates of citation counts overall and for the last 5 years for the 3 sources above.  You can override these estimates by entering values in the “Actual Citation Counts” fields.

Please contact rssadmin@tcd.ie with any queries.

RPAMS – Research Proposal and Awards Management System

The TCD Research Proposal and Awards Management Solution (RPAMS) opened on 01 October 2012. It provides an end-to-end service process for TCD grant applications / contracts / research account set-up.

The RSS receives a quarterly refresh from RPAMS which is used to deliver the Grants Awarded data on the Grants page of the Promotions Wizard.  The next RPAMS refresh is expected in July 2017.  You should only enter grants in the non-RPAMS section if they have not been and will not be entered in RPAMS.

Please contact rssadmin@tcd.ie with any queries.

Senior Author

Senior Author is either one who contributed (intellectually or otherwise) the most to the work, including writing of the manuscript, and/or one directed/supervised the work.

The RSS now supports multiple Senior Authors per research work. You can review the Senior Author flag of all your works by editing the publication in the RSS or via the Senior Author page accessible via the Top 5 Works page of the promotions Wizard. The default value for Senior Author is NO. Please contact rssadmin@tcd.ie with any queries.

E-Recruitment Queries

I‘ve forgotten my password, what can I do?

In the login section on jobs.tcd.ie click on "Forgotten Password". When you receive the (forgotten password) e-mail to your TCD e-mail account with the new password – type the new password into the password box (don’t copy and paste!).

I can't find the Junior Academic Progressions Competition on e–recruitment.

  1. You need to log in to jobs.tcd.ie with your original TCD email address (this tends to be a short form e.g. jbloggs@tcd.ie, rather than joseph.bloggs@tcd.ie).
  2. Once in e–recruitment, under Menu, Click Search Vacancies, and then
  3. Click Search by Competition type and promotions will come up; this covers both promotions and progressions
  4. Click on the promotion title you are applying for
  5. The user guide for using the e-recruitment system is available at e-recruitment guide (mp4; 11.02minutes); text (pdf 2.7kb)

I need help with e-recruitment – can you help me?

Please note:  HR cannot access or input your application or e-recruitment account. We are running a number of "end to end" roadshows across College which may be of assistance.  If you wish to attend one of our 1-hour IT Clinics: (RSVP to junior.promotion@tcd.ie.)

  • Friday, 28th July, 12:00 – 13:00, Staff Development Room
  • Wednesday, 2nd August 12:00 – 13:00, Room B1.04 B/R 20, TBSI
  • Thursday, 3rd August 14:00 – 15:00, Room 2026, The Arts Building
  • Friday, 4th August, 12:00 – 13:00, Staff Development Room

To book yourself in for one of these tutorials please email us at junior.promotion@tcd.ie or telephone Marta on 3937.

I think I've applied to the wrong competition – how can I change that the application will be inserted into the correct competition?

Unfortunately, HR cannot insert your application into the competition you should have applied for.  Before final submission, please ensure you have submitted to the correct competition. It is your responsibility to ensure that all the documents are submitted in your application, and submitted in the correct format, to the correct competition, by the competition closing time.

Please e-mail:  junior.promotion@tcd.ie.

It is now 12.01 of the closing date for my competition – I'm in e–recruitment and the system won't accept my application?

The e–recruitment system automatically closes the competition on the specified date and time, and no late applications will be accepted. The e–recruitment system will not be opened for any candidate. It is your responsibility to ensure that all required documents are submitted in your application and submitted in the correct format as outlined, by the competition closing date and time.

How much time should I allow to upload my documents to e–recruitment?

It depends on each individual, but normally 30–45 minutes should be allocated to load same – please note that if you are in the middle of submitting your documents at the specified closing time, the e-recruitment system automatically closes the competition at midday. If you have not submitted your complete suite of required documents, and clicked "Submit" by the specified time, your application will not be accepted.

My documents won't upload onto e–recruitment?

  • Some of the problems may happen due to the document name to ensure it is only words or numbers (i.e. ensure the document or file name does not contain such as !–" *: / \? < > |.)
  • Ensure the document name is not too long (i.e. name can't be more than 256 characters)

How can I view my application after it was submitted?

When logged into your e–recruitment account, click on Application History in the Menu section on the left hand side of the screen.

How do I amend my application after submission?

There is no option to amend your application once submitted. If you wish to withdraw your application, please contact Human Resources at Please e-mail:  junior.promotion@tcd.ie.

Can somebody from HR input my application onto the e-recruitment system?

No member of HR can input your application. It is your responsibility to ensure that all documents are submitted in your application and submitted in the correct format as outlined. No member of HR can access your e-recruitment record.

I'm sure I submitted my application but have not received any acknowledgement from the e–recruitment system – What's happened?

Once your application has been submitted, you should automatically receive an "Application Acknowledgement" e-mail. If the e-mail is not received into your Inbox, check also your "Junk e-mail" box. If the e-mail is not there, call extn 3937 or 4821

OR
Ensuring that you are still within the time process (as e-recruitment automatically closes the competition on the date and time outlined). Did you press the "Save for Later" button to return your application at a later date? If so,

  • did you go back into your e-recruitment account;
  • did you go to the Application History under the Menu section on the left side of the screen and go through each step with pressing Save and Next at the end of each page till you reached Step 5  – Tick the box with agreeing  to the terms and conditions and press submit

OR

You may have run out of time - Please note that on the closing day the e-recruitment system automatically closes the competition at midday.  If you have not clicked Submit and submitted your complete suite of required documents by the relevant time, your application will not be accepted.

How do I find the user guide on how to upload my promotions documents to e-recruitment?

We have developed a user guide and a video guide for the uploading of documents to e-recruitment which may be of assistance. Click on the link:

Step 3, You should then upload your application and Head of Discipline/School Report via https://jobs.tcd.ie . You will receive a confirmation email from e-recruitment. Please contact junior.promotion@tcd.ie if you do not receive a confirmation email as your application has not been submitted and you should contact Human Resources at extension 3333 urgently.
Confused about the new process go to:

E-Recruitment User Guide (pdf 2.7 kb)
E-Recruitment Video Guide (please note that the video guides work best in Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome).

How do I withdraw my application after submission?

If you wish to withdraw your application, please contact Human Resources at junior.promotion@tcd.ie.

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