FAQ & Glossary

After advertising the position and receiving applications by the deadline, the appointment committee reviews all documents in several stages. It draws up a shortlist and, if necessary, a longlist beforehand. If applicable, the committee requests publications from the candidates on the longlist for review. The candidates on the shortlist are invited to a research tal in St. Gallen.

A lecture with Q&A in front of the university public, a non-public discussion with the appointment committee, possibly joint meals with potential colleagues and a meeting with students are planned. If possible, there will also be an opportunity to explore the campus and the city in the company of someone from the university. Following the personal meeting on site, you will receive prompt feedback. If the decision is positive, the appointment interview and a welcome meeting with Faculty Affairs will take place.

Further information on the appointment process can be found here.

The Faculty Affairs team will guide you through the process in advance and support you with any questions you may have. You will meet the appointment committee, a group of students and members of the university during the presentation. As a rule, you will meet members of the appointment committee or other colleagues from the department over a meal. If the outcome is positive, you will be invited to an appointment interview with the Dean (assistant professorships), or with the President and the Administrative Director (associate or full professorships). There is also a welcome meeting with Faculty Affairs to discuss the needs surrounding your arrival in St. Gallen.

The composition of appointment committees is described here.

The Faculty Affairs team will be at your side throughout the entire process. We will be happy to guide you through the steps involved, inform you automatically about the current status, organize everything you need to know about your stay in the context of a presentation, and find answers to any questions you may have during the process.

If you are invited to give an research talk, the invitation will contain precise instructions for the talk. If not explicitly stated, a presentation on a current research project is required. In the case of assistant professorships, a presentation on a current paper may also be requested. In principle, the lecture should be aimed at a specialist audience, even if not all members of the audience come from your own specialist field. We recommend the following literature: Black Box Berufung by C. Färber, U. Riedler (Campus)

It makes sense to meet the audience at the beginning, then go into depth - also in a challenging way - and then gather everyone back at the end.

In the context of a teaching sample, the audience takes on the role of Master's or Bachelor's students. The committee usually wants to see an overview of a hypothetical course including learning objectives. You will also be asked to give a teaching sample, i.e. 10-15 minutes of a teaching unit. The teaching rehearsal can either take place via video in advance or in person. The details of the respective organization will be communicated with the invitation to the lecture.

As part of the appointment lecture, we usually organize travel the day before. On the evening before the lecture or on the evening of the lecture, dinners can be planned with faculty from the department or with the appointment committee. Approximately two hours are planned for the public lecture and the closed interview. In addition, a meeting with students can be scheduled for about half an hour. If possible, a member of our university will accompany you throughout the two days, pick you up from the train station and show you around the city. You are flexible in terms of time.

It usually takes four to six months between submitting the application and the appointment interview. Overall, our procedures take around one to one and a half years from the opening of the procedure to taking up the post.

After the application deadline, the appointment committee reviews all applications. You will then receive feedback on the current status and the next step. You will be informed immediately at each stage of the process.

Do

• Find out more about the committee members and the School
• Explore the range of courses on offer and expand your knowledge of HSG in general
• Plan enough of a buffer to be able to finish the presentation on time

Don't

• Do not present your CV as part of the research talk
• Do not exceed the allotted time
• Do not prepare a concept for negotiations, this is not necessary
• Do not communicate any salary expectations in advance; the salary is based on the cantonal salary scale

A welcome interview takes place close to the appointment interview. This will address other needs that may be of interest when you take up the position, such as relocation, finding accommodation, official registration and residence permits, childcare and dual career issues. The Welcome Center will support you in all these matters to the best extent possible.

As part of the lecture, we would like to offer opportunities to get to know the faculty and thus potential future colleagues. This will take the form of a lunch or dinner attended by several members of the faculty. It is informal in the sense that there is no predetermined schedule and the meeting is intended to facilitate an informal exchange.

Following positive feedback from the chairperson of the committee, several steps are taken. These include the appointment interview and the votes in the committees. First, the departmental assembly votes on the committee's proposal. The Senate and University Council then vote on the proposal.

External subject representatives, usually from another university, are represented on each appointment committee. These are equal committee members who select the future post holder together with the internal university committee members. References can be attached to the application as is customary. No external expert opinions are obtained.

The assistant professorship is regarded as a training and profiling position. Assistant professors have excellent academic achievements, such as the distinct ability to develop and carry out research projects. They are committed to teaching, supervise theses and are responsible for making a significant contribution to the development of teaching at the university. Their teaching load comprises 4 semester hours per week for a 100% position or around 72 hours per year (four 45-minute lessons per week for 12 weeks in each semester).

Assistant professors are generally appointed for a maximum of six years (three plus three years). Before the end of the first three years, an interim evaluation of academic performance in the schools is carried out based on the tenure criteria (mid-term evaluation). An extension of the term of appointment by a maximum of two years may be granted by the President on the basis of proven family or social commitments.

An appointment ("receiving a call") refers to an offer for an academic position. At HSG,

This applies to an assistant, associate or full professorship, but also to a permanent lectureship. As a rule, this is done through a competitive procedure, which is characterized by different components.
The position is first included in the strategic teaching requirements and faculty planning and approved by the University Council. An appointment committee is then set up and an international, open call for applications is issued. The appointments committee forms a shortlist from the advertisements. Candidates on the shortlist are invited to a presentation and an interview with the committee. This ultimately results in the committee's proposal for filling the position.

The appointment interview is a meeting between the candidate, President and Administrative Director during which the university's offer is made. The transitional rules for the start at the university are also negotiated, the equipment of the professorship is discussed, the salary is determined according to the habilitation or habilitation-equivalent qualification as well as other academic achievements and a period for consideration of the offer is set.

The appointment committee is an academic committee that prepares the election of a person to a lectureship or professorship by formulating the election proposal for the departmental meeting. Members are appointed by the department (School) and the President.

You can find out more about the exact composition of appointment committees here.

An appointment procedure is a competitive application procedure for the purpose of filling a vacant professorship or a vacant lectureship. You can find out more about appointment procedures here.

Elements of the competitive appointment procedure are the appointment of an appointment committee, the open call for applications, the creation of a shortlist and the presentation of the candidates followed by an interview with the committee.

The extent of a lecturer's teaching commitment. The teaching commitment is measured in semester hours per week (SWS) and includes the attendance time in the courses without preparatory or follow-up activities.

Academics who hold a full professorship, an associate or assistant professorship or a permanent lectureship at another university and who have a teaching or research assignment at  HSG for one or more semesters.

Professor title awarded to qualified persons under special circumstances. This group of people includes

- Full professors who leave the university before retirement

• Full professors who leave the university before retirement
• Individuals who can demonstrate many years of successful achievement outside the university in business, politics, justice, administration or culture
• Persons who have taught at HSG for more than 8 years
• Connections to science in their non-university activities
• Persons with a particularly responsible position in practice, in combination with a university-wide task at the HSG

Honorary professorships lose their title if the activity at HSG is interrupted for more than two years.

Evaluation of assistant professorships halfway through their period of employment. It usually takes place after three years and begins the semester before.
As part of the multi-stage promotion process, a first interim evaluation takes place after three years, the so-called mid-term evaluation within the School. At this point, the degree to which the tenure criteria have been met is assessed and the performance still required for promotion after the overall term is determined. A two-stage final evaluation takes place at the end of the election period. In the first instance, an internal school review committee checks whether the tenure criteria have been met. The School then submits its decision to the School-wide Tenure and Promotion Committee. This committee makes the final quality-assuring decision on the candidate's qualification on the basis of his or her expertise in the relevant discipline (by obtaining external expert opinions) and the fulfillment of the criteria.

One of the governing bodies of the University of St.Gallen, comprising all academic staff other than full or associate professors. This includes

- Assistant professors, permanent lecturers and lecturers, as well as

- assistants and research associates of the university and the institutes who hold a Master's degree or an academic diploma. If you are enrolled at the same time, you can voluntarily relinquish your affiliation to the mid-level faculty. This means that doctoral students, for example, are initially part of both the student body and the junior faculty.

Period of time after the doctorate in which young researchers (postdocs) gain further qualifications for a limited period of time or orient themselves with regard to further professional development.

The academic degree of Privatdozentur is established by the acquisition of the teaching license (Venia Legendi) after completion of the habilitation procedure. The Privatdozentur at HSG includes a small teaching load in order to retain the title. After every five years, proof of continued academic activity and teaching at universities in the country and abroad must be provided.

The Senate is our highest academic body. It is made up of full professors as members and associate professors as guests, members of the non-tenured faculty and the student body, as well as advisory members.

Permanent lecturers are involved in teaching and research. They are employed on a permanent basis and have long-term responsibility in specialist and management roles, for example as program directors or (senior) institute members. They train Bachelor's and Master's students and supervise doctorates, provided they are habilitated.

Persons who have completed their academic education with a doctorate and who will mainly be involved in teaching can be appointed as permanent lecturers. Permanent lecturers qualify either through a competitive appointment procedure or through a strategic decision made within the School. Their teaching load comprises 10 semester hours per week per year, including full responsibility for examinations.

Election to an assistant professorship with tenure track is associated with the promise of subsequent promotion to an associate professorship, provided that the promotion procedure is successfully completed.

Election to a non-tenure track assistant professorship is associated with the possibility of promotion to a permanent associate professorship, provided that the position is included in the department's staffing plan, the department decides to initiate a promotion procedure and the promotion procedure is successfully completed. There is no entitlement to final evaluation and promotion.

The Tenure and Promotion Committee (TP Committee) is a cross-university committee that evaluates promotions from assistant professorships to associate professorships and, in future, most likely also from associate professorships to full professorships. The committee is appointed by the University Senate to carry out the cross-departmental evaluation of these candidates. The administrative matters of the TP Commission are handled by its office, which is administratively affiliated to the Vice President's Board Research and Faculty. The technical management is the responsibility of the President of the TP Committee.

The Commission is elected by the Senate for a term of office of two years and is composed of
a) the President or a Vice-President appointed by him or her;
b) the Chairperson, who is a member of the group of full professors;
c) representatives from the departments who are full professors or associate professors as follows:
- SoM: four members (2 substitutes)
- SEPS: two members (1 substitute)
- Other Schools: one member each (each 1 substitute);
d) two members of the junior faculty (including at least one representative of the assistant professors; 1 substitute);
e) two students who, if possible, belong to the doctoral level (1 substitute)

Title awarded to persons who have distinguished themselves as lecturers (Privatdozent) through several years of successful teaching at the university and academic achievements. The right to use the title expires after five years without a teaching assignment.

A discussion between the candidates and the Faculty Affairs team to clarify their needs with regard to family, housing and dual careers.

The University Council is the supreme body of the University. It fulfills the tasks assigned to it by law, statutes or decrees based on these. These include

- determining the strategic direction of the university, as well as approving the budget and university accounts
- issuing basic regulations for teaching, research and university operations
- issuing personnel regulations, which are approved by the government, and making decisions on personnel matters assigned to it
- the generally binding or case-specific regulation of selected issues
- issuing regulations on the evaluation of teaching and research

The University Council consists of the Head of the Cantonal Department of Education of St.Gallen as President, and ten other members. Members of other university bodies are not eligible for election.