Different roles of academics today

Academic (noun) is defined in Oxford English dictionary as a teacher or scholar in a university or other institute of higher education. The main responsibilities of an academic are:

• To plan, design, develop and deliver a range of study study programmes which comply with the academic quality standards and regulations of the University
• To undertake high quality research
• To co-ordinate or supervise the work of research assistants and students

Accountabilities or Duties of an academic can be broadly divided into following three categories:

• Teaching and Learning
• Research
• Leadership, management and engagement

Teaching and learning is the role which comes into mind of the when they think about the role of an academic. However current academics play many other roles in addition to this 'main' role which also consume a significant proportion of their time. Academic need to assist the department Head to maintain the teaching standards to comply with the expectation and standards of the University by preparation of teaching and evaluation materials applying innovative, appropriate teaching techniques and assessment procedures to cover breadth and depth of the subject area. Curriculum and course design should be developed considering the available evidence, industrial demands and international standards. An academic should always update his/her knowledge through various methods including reading, engaging in activities of professional bodies and attending seminars, conferences and workshops.

When the area of research is considered, an academic need to carry out independent research with demonstrable impact and contribute to the reputation of research in the university through national/ international collaboration and publication in peer-reviewed international academic journals and other forms of dissemination achieving peer recognition. Through research activities he/she should generate significant external funding and knowledge transfer. An academic should also contribute to peer assessment by acting as an editor for journals, seeking membership of major committees and significant research bodies. Supervision of postgraduate research students and provision of technical inputs to colleagues in their research are also expected from an academic.

Duties and responsibilities which come under leadership, management and engagement include mentoring/ counseling of students/colleagues, promotion of interdisciplinary studies, and developing collaborative arrangements to support teaching. Another role an academic is expected to play is to develop networks, both internally and externally. Internal net works included working groups and committees which have input or contribution to cross university functions. External networks include professional bodies, employers’ associations, group of universities etc where he/she can contribute in the capacity as an external examiner or an advisor. An academic need to contribute to the planning and organising of the unit, undergraduate or postgraduate programmes, and admissions. He/she should contribute to strategic planning at university and also organize staff development and welfare activities.

On average teaching and learning activities contribute to 40-50% of the work load of an academic while the remaining 50-60% is distributed between other activities. Therefore we can see that the term lecturer we use to denote an academic is questionable in the modern world.