The following education tip provides inspiration to write Chapter 'Staff Talent Development '  of the Faculty Monitor. If applicable, separate suggestions are given for the PLAN and the DO.

Plan

The faculty develops an HR policy that is in line with  the university-wide frameworks (the professorial staff  career model, career policy for other academic staff (OAP) and administrative and technical staff). The faculty has a vision on and pursues a corresponding policy on the allocation of different types of lecturers, including specifications on how the different sections of professorial and other staff members are allocated to various course units 

• professorial staff, ranging from associate professor to full professor;
• postdoc staff, whether or not as lecturer-in-charge;
• guest lecturers;
• assistant academic staff and research staff (either on internal or external resources);
• teaching assistants and tutors;
• …

That way, it creates optimal circumstances for students to acquire the programme-specific and course-specific competencies. 

Lecturers serve as an example to others, and a heterogeneous team offers students a broad range of potential role models. In terms of teaching practice, diversity also contributes to the incorporation of various perspectives and teaching methods. 

This policy also creates sabbatical opportunities for the professorial staff, including target figures (minimal, optimal and maximal number of sabbaticals per semester), and measures that ensure a continuity of all teaching assignments. In that respect, the faculty mobility fund can create further opportunities.  

The faculty/study programme pursues a policy with regard to professional development of its teaching staff, and encourages its staff to participate in activities organized by the institutional administration and/or by the faculty/study programme, or by third parties.

Ghent University considers staff welfare a matter of paramount importance and has made tackling any instance of unwanted and/or inappropriate behaviour (bullying, violence, sexual harassment) at work a priority. Specialized staff has been recruited in the form of a team of confidential advisors and prevention officers. They are equipped to professionally support staff members to deal with any of the instances described above. On the level of the faculties, HR policy ought to promote staff welfare in general, and with marked attention to the detection of stress or burnout symptoms in particular. In so doing, HR policy takes into account all the different personnel categories. The faculty pursues appropriate communication and sets up initiatives in order to improve staff welfare. 

Do

Examples: 

• professional development policy: the Department of Educational Policy (DOWA) has an offer of professionalization initiatives. The basis teacher training course is taken by all recently appointed  professorial staff members (ZAP). In addition to the basic teacher training course, the offer consists of a wide range of thematic courses like e.g.  feedback training, lecturing to large groups, the use of online voting systems, how to teach practicals, how to make multiple choice exams, peer assessment, English for lecturers, smartboard-smartpodium, presentation techniques, dealing with diversity and gender, leadership training, etc; More information on https://www.onderwijstips.ugent.be/nl/
• faculty-level professional development initiatives: faculties and study programmes are at liberty to organize their own specific professional development initiatives, possibly in cooperation with DOWA staff members. Some examples:  annual education days for lecturers, conclaves, seminars;
• Onderwijstips.UGent.be is an institutionally managed repository that brings together all education-related information and tips. Faculties and study programmes can encourage their teaching staff to visit this website regularly;
• course feedback by students yields information that is used by the lecturers and the institutional bodies to assess and remedy educational practices. As such, these surveys are part and parcel of the faculties’/study programmes’ internal quality care. On the one hand, it is important that faculties/study programme endorse and motivate lecturers who systematically receive positive feedback. On the other hand, it is just as crucial that sufficient attention is paid, and support is given to lecturers who receive negative feedback and that remedial action is taken. In such cases, the first step is taken by the programme committee chair and/or the Director of Studies, who invite the lecturer for a personal interview. Should this interview reveal that an optimization of educational practice is necessary, an action plan is drawn up containing concrete remedial actions. Lecturers are responsible for their own remedial action plan that is based on the surveys’ most critical points. It is important that lecturers are backed by the faculty services, e.g. by means of in-service training, peer tutoring, peer discussions, an individualized learning path offered by DOWA, … . Yearly follow-up surveys are carried out for all lecturers who receive negative course evaluations;
• faculty policy on educational innovation: on faculty as well as on institutional level there exist initiatives to stimulate and facilitate educational innovation, e.g.  the introduction of active learning, blended learning, peer teaching, problem-based education, group works, projects, peer evaluation, the use of voting keypads/smartphones during class, etc.). Since 2008, all faculties receive a yearly sum to spend on educational innovation. To this end, faculties have to present to the Educational Council a faculty board approved plan with innovation projects that dovetails with faculty-wide educational innovation policy.  The funds are allocated to the Director of Studies. Each year, the Educational Council also finances a number of central educational innovation projects.