CONTENT · Philological School of Higher Education in Wrocław (WSF) is a non-public institution, operating under Higher Education Act of 27 July 2005 (Dziennik Ustaw 2012 Item 572,

CONTENT

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE INSTITUTION ........................................................................................2

WSF ACADEMIC POTENTIAL ........................................................................................................ 3

ORGANIZING CONFERENCES ....................................................................................................... 6

INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION AND MOBILITY ........................................................................ 9

METHODOLOGY .......................................................................................................................... 11

INTERNAL DOCUMENTS ANALYSIS ............................................................................................13

THE SURVEY ...............................................................................................................................13

GENERAL INTERNAL ANALYSIS RESULTS ....................................................................................16

DETAILED INTERNAL ANALYSIS RELATED TO THE CHARTER AND THE CODE ............................... 19

ACTION PLAN .............................................................................................................................. 68

THE SCOPE AND SCHEDULE FOR WSF HRS4R IMPLEMENTATION ACTIVITIES ..........................68

MONITORING OF THE EFFECTS..................................................................................................70

FINAL CONCLUSION ...................................................................................................................71

ACCEPTANCE ..............................................................................................................................72

The European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers

Human Resources Strategy for Researchers (HRS4R)

Philological School of Higher Education in Wrocław, Poland

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CHARACTERISTICS OF THE INSTITUTION

Philological School of Higher Education in Wrocław (WSF) is a non-public institution, operating under

Higher Education Act of 27 July 2005 (Dziennik Ustaw 2012 Item 572, as amended) and the WSF

Statute. WSF was established under the Notary Act of 4 March 2002 following the approval of the

Minister of National Education No. DSW-3-0145/989/EKo/2001 of 18 October 2001 and his decision

of 14 March 20012, nr DSW-3-4001-z-459/JG/02, it was included in the Ministry of Science and

Higher Education registrar of non-public universities under the number 94. In 2011, due to the

introduction of a new electronic version of the register, the number has been changed into 234.

WSF constitutes one faculty – Neo-philology (Modern Language Studies), which is its major

organizational unit, the head of which is Prof. Norbert Morciniec. Within the faculty there are 1st

cycle and 2nd cycle programmes in departments of English, German, Spanish, Italian and American

language and literature studies. WSF got the official approval to start MA programmes by the

decision of the Minister of Science and Higher Education nr DSW-2-02-4003-7/07 form 11 May 2007.

Since then the second cycle studies have been offered in the field of English, German and Spanish

language and literature studies. Moreover, in 2013 the Faculty of Neo-philology was entitled to grant

doctor degrees in humanities in the discipline of linguistics.

As a result of the audit of the State Accreditation Committee, by the resolution of the State

Accreditation Committee Presidency from 2 June 2011 nr 394/2011 on the evaluation of the

education quality on the first and the second cycle of philological studies conducted by Neo-philology

(at present – Faculty of Neo-philology), Philological School of Higher Education in Wrocław received

positive opinion. It referred to the education provided in the area of English language studies (1st and

2nd cycles), American language studies (1st cycle), German language studies (1st and 2nd cycles),

Spanish language studies (1st and 2nd cycles) and Italian language studies (1st cycle). Besides, by the

resolution nr 1002/2011 of 14 November 2011, State Accreditation Committee Presidency awarded

WSF department of English language studies (1st and 2nd cycles) with the grade “outstanding”.

Philological School of Higher Education is internationally recognized. It has been granted three

prestigious European distinctions by European Commission:

1) Philological School of Higher Education in Wroclaw (WSF) , by the European Commission's

decision of 19 December 2012, was awarded with ECTS Label – an honorary European higher

education distinction, an internationally recognized certificate of quality in education. This way it

joined the prestigious circle of 40 other European Label Holders. The award is granted to higher

education institutions for excellence in implementation of ECTS (The European Credit Transfer

System), internationalization, transfer of credits, transparency of study programmes and

student-oriented study process.

2) WSF is the holder of Diploma Supplement Label granted by the European Commission on 18

December 2013. In the framework of the Lifelong Learning Programme, the European Commission

awards Labels to higher education institutions that demonstrate the correct implementation of ECTS

principles and/or the requirements of the Diploma Supplement. The Diploma Supplement is

a document accompanying a higher education diploma, providing a standardised description




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of the studies completed by its holder. It is routinely issued to all WSF graduates in Polish and

English versions free of charge.

3) European Language Label, awarded to WSF by European Commission on 13 June 2014,

in appreciation of innovative initiatives in the field of teaching and learning languages, developing

new techniques in language teaching; dissemination and promoting good practice in this field.

WSF's Faculty of Modern Languages and Literature carries out research within six departments:

1) Department of Linguistic Semiotics and Communicology headed by Professor Zdzisław Wąsik;

2) Department of Lexicography and Translation Studies headed by Professor Tadeusz Piotrowski;

3) Department of Axiological Linguistics headed by Professor Michał Post;

4) Department of German Literary Studies headed by Professor Anna Stroka;

5) Department of Ibero-Romanic Cultures and Literatures headed by Professor Piotr Sawicki;

6) Department of Contact Linguistics and Discourse Anthropology headed by Professor Piotr

P. Chruszczewski.

ACADEMIC POTENTIAL OF THE INSTITUTION

Highly qualified academic staff contributes to the academic potential of WSF.

The academic staff consists of:

1) 17 persons with the title of professor, 11 of which are employed in WSF as a primary workplace,

according to the Article 2, Item 2, Tiret 33 of the Act of 27 July 2005, Higher Education Law

(i.e. Dziennik Ustaw 2012, Item 572, as amended);

2) 14 doctors with habilitation;

3) 55 doctors;

4) 59 MAs;

Main research departments

Research departments within the Faculty of Neophilology

Department/head Research area

Department of Linguistic

Semiotics and Communicology

Professor Zdzisław Wąsik

Reasearch on the meaning of words and communication

extended by interdisciplinary communicological aspects.

Professor Zdzisław Wąsik – a distinguished specialist in general

and comparative linguistics, methodology of linguistics and

semiotics.

Department of Lexicography

and Translation Studies

Professor Tadeusz Piotrowski

Research on methodology of creating dictionaries and

encyclopedias and translation studies.

Professor Tadeusz Piotrowski – a distinguished specialist in

corpus linguistics, translation, lexicography and application of

computers in humanities.




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Department of Axiological

Linguistics

Professor Michał Post

Research focused on the language of values, emotions; different

forms of speech, the issue of grading and evaluation in language.

Professor Michał Post – a distinguished specialist dealing with

extensive analysis of relationships among syntax and semantics,

lexical semantics, kinds of speech as well as linguistic and

cognitive pragmatics.

Department of German Literary

Studies

Professor Anna Stroka

Research focused on literary works of German speaking

countries, theory and literary criticism in the field of German

literature studies.

Professor Anna Stroka - a distinguished specialist in German

literature, in particular, German literary works of Silesia as well

as Austrian literature from the turn of 19th and 20th centuries.

Department of Ibero-Romanic

Cultures and Literatures

Professor Piotr Sawicki

Research focused on culture and literature of Spanish speaking

countries.

Professor Piotr Sawicki – the founder of Spanish philology in

Wrocław; his main interests are Spanish history, civilization and

literature.

Department of Contact Linguistics

and Discourse Anthropology

Professor Piotr P. Chruszczewski.

Research focused on relationships between world languages and

cultures, writing systems and social diversity of discourse.

Professor Piotr P. Chruszczewski – a distinguished specialist

dealing with anthropological linguistics, contact linguistics and

studies on discourse.

Doctoral (post-graduate) Programme of WSF

By a decision of The Central Committee for Degrees and Titles of 25 February 2013, WSF was

accredited to grant a “doctor” degree in the discipline of linguistics (humanities). The thematic scope

of WSF PhD theses is both theoretical and applied linguistics or interdisciplinary linguistic studies.

The participants of the PhD programme are supervised by the recognized academics specialized

in various, respective fields of linguistics.

Doctor theses are presently realized at Philological School of Higher Education on seminars dedicated

to a particular linguistic area and they are supervised by the following WSF academics:

1) Professor Piotr P. Chruszczewski – seminar focused on anthropological linguistics;

2) Professor Zdzisław Wąsik – seminar focused on general linguistics and linguistic semiotics;

3) Professor Norbert Morciniec – seminar on general and applied linguistics;

4) Professor Tadeusz Piotrowski – seminar on corpus linguistics, lexicology and lexicography;

5) Professor Michał Post – seminar on axiological linguistics;

6) Professor Adam Wojtaszek – seminar focused on research on varieties of specialist language

in specific social and professional contexts as well as different ways of expressing and recognizing

meanings using verbal and non-verbal language-related techniques and psychological

mechanisms.




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Philological School of Higher Education in Wrocław provides financial support for academic

research and development acivities in the areas as follows:

1) employment in academic research positions;

2) organizing international conferences;

3) supporting research from WSF own budget and EU funds;

4) reimbursement of subsistence and travel costs – participation of academic staff members in local

and international conferences, seminars etc.;

5) activities aiming at dissemination of academic information, e.g. by publishing;

6) reimbursement of subsistence and travel costs – guest lectures;

7) the activity of student academic circles;

8) participation of WSF students in academic events (conferences, workshops, seminars etc.)

All WSF academics are involved in academic research concentrating on academic development

of staff and specializations, improvement of didactic methods and enhancement of fields of

education at WSF. According to the policy of Faculty of Neophilology and its all departments, the

emphasis is placed on financial and organizational support for both collective and individual projects

and academic undertakings which ensure:

1) presentation and dissemination of the WSF and each member of the academic staff’s output

in communication with other staff members in a similar or different research fields, in local and

international university circles or in contacts with employers;

2) exploring research field topics by the WSF employees on diploma seminars (Bachelor and Master

studies), thematically related to courses’ contents defined by study programmes: general

linguistics (structural analysis of a text or social communication pragmatics), applied linguistics

(methodology of teaching and theory of translation), literary studies (philological and cultural

analysis of selected literary or feature texts with historical, cultural background);

3) improving integration of teaching process with the profile of the conducted research;

4) stimulating the dynamics of students’ initiatives; popularizing science among students, making

them engaged in academic research of a respective department, extending activities of student

academic circles and encouraging students to publish their research output;

5) strengthening the position of WSF as a well-functioning Polish institution of higher education,

which is also internationally recognized as a significant academic and intellectual centre;

intensifying the level of knowledge transfer, research output, good academic practice and

adapting European higher education standards;

6) providing students with models and patterns of academic research writing techniques, which

would help them develop such skills as criticism, reflectiveness or gift for observation. This way

they are stimulated to initiate and carry out their own research;

7) providing top teaching standards in terms of quality of teaching, constant update and

development of educational offer as well as modernized updated teaching facilities;

8) out of all WSF disciplines, linguistics has the strongest representation reflected in a biggest

number of research workers. Other major fields of humanities under systematic research are:

culture, literary studies and history.




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ORGANIZING CONFERENCES

WSF gets involved in intensive research in the field of humanities widely promoting its significance

and various research results. Frequently, annually organized by WSF international conferences give

academics from different countries an opportunity to gather and share their academic knowledge

and output.

The most important international conferences organized by WSF in the past five years (2010–2015)

in the area of linguistics, literary and cultural studies:

1) Active in Languages – inter-Active in Teaching (2015) – the purpose of the conference was

presentation of the latest developments in ICT solutions and tools to be used in education: from

kindergarten till university teaching and learning. Participation of international guests from

Norway, Sweden, Spain, Austria and Great Britain together with Polish teachers andICT

specialists gave way to the exchange of valuable experience and good practices in application of

e-methods and e-tools in foreign language teaching. During a conference there was presented

a potential of modern e-learning platforms as well as useful applications and programmes

supporting and enhancing traditional forms of teaching. The conference Active in Languages –

inter-Active in Teaching was the culmination of the WSF Norway Grants project and it, among

others, presented its results.

2) Ways to Religion (2015) – an international conference in linguistics co-organized by Department

of Contact Linguistics and Discourse Anthropology and Polish Academy of Sciences, Branch in

Wrocław and some other Polish academic centres. Interdisciplinary thematic scope of the

conference covered various aspects of language, cultural and historiacal contacts; extinguishing

languages; development of verbal and non-verbal forms of communication and religious

discourses. The intention of the conference organizers was to integrate young researchers and

postgraduate students who take their first steps in the world of science.

3) The 9th International Conference on Middle English ICOME (2015) – the conference was

dedicated to the period of the English language history from 11th to 15th century. The

participants gave presentations of different aspects of linguistic and literary studies focused on

the Middle English period. The speeches were delivered by c. 60 speakers from all over the

world, including: The United States of America, Japan, RSA, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Spain,

Germany, Norway, Russia, Switzerland, Ukraine, Great Britain, Italy and Poland.

4) Dalle Belle Lettere alla letteratura di massa (2015) – the international conference organized by

the department of Italian studies at Philological School of Higher Education in Wroclaw – about

20 participants from Poland, Italy, Germany and Czech Republic. The speakers presented

different aspect of mass culture: starting from children’s literature, through cartoons, to crime

stories and the adaptations of literature masterpieces for the use of mass public.

5) The Translator and the Computer (2014) – the conference concentrated on practical methods of

using computer and IT tools in education as well as problems resulting from that, also referring

to translator’s work. It consisted of thematically diversified sessions devoted to lexicography,

various aspects related to application of ICT or mobile bilingual dictionaries in the translator’s




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work. During the conference, the room was also made for considerations about the future

of translation in relation to currently updated and developed modern technological solutions.

6) Languages in Contact 2014 (2014) – another edition of international conference, organised

jointly by the Department of Contact Linguistic and Anthropology of Discourse at WSF, the

Philological Sciences Commission PAN, the Institute of Linguistics at the University of Malta,

International Communicology Institute, Washington, DC, USA. The conference was devoted

mainly to the contact linguistic, the anthropological, general and comparative linguistics. Also,

the speeches about sociolinguistic, pragmatic linguistic, translation and communication

ethnography were presented. The speeches were given by over 60 speakers from Poland,

Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, USA, Romania, Croatia, Lithuania, and Switzerland.

7) Ways to Protolanguage 3 (2013) – the international linguistic conference, conducted thanks to

the collaboration of the Philological School of Higher Education in Wroclaw and the Department

of English Philology and CLS at Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, the Wroclaw branch of

Polish Academy of Sciences. The interdisciplinary topics of the conference concentrated around

language evolution, from its beginnings and covers the following fields: anthropological

linguistic, general evolution theory, psychology of speech, contact linguistic, evolution of written

language, comparative psychology, neurobiology of a language, cognitive skills and animal

communication.

8) Abre los Ojos V (2013) – the 5th edition of the international conference of Spanish philology.

The purpose of the symposium was to take a closer look at the picture of woman in different

contexts: literature, media, cultural. The specialists from various academic centres in Poland,

Spain and Denmark discussed about the situation of the female gender in the world,

its connections to the man’s world, women’s literary and musical fascinations, and the women’s

influence on contemporary societies.

9) Languages in Contact 2012 (2012) – another edition of cyclical international conference, which

is a joint venture of Polish Academy of Sciences, Wroclaw Branch of PAN (the Commission of

Philological Sciences) and the Department of Linguistic Semiotics and Communicology of the

Philological School of Higher Education in Wroclaw. The conference dealt with contact

linguistics, speech communities of minority languages, endangered languages, and contact

languages, including pidgin and creole.

10) The Translator and the Computer (2012) – the conference was organized jointly by the

Philological School of Higher Education in Wroclaw and the Localisation Centre C&M.

Discussions undertaken by the participants covered the practical methods of the use of the

computer and IT tools in translator’s work. During the conference sessions guests shared their

experiences, presented innovative solutions useful in the translation work, debated about the

quality and future of translation in relation to gradually improved modern technological

solutions.

11) The Communicology Conference (2011) – the 5th Summer Symposium of International

Communicology Institute in Silesia in Poland gave the opportunity to gather leading representatives

of communicology from all over the world. The academics discussed directions of development

of this interdisciplinary research field. The topics presentations combined the issues the related




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fields: linguistics, psychology and philosophy, which are interwoven in the innovative discipline

of communicology.

12) Languages in Contact 2011 (2011) – specialists from all over the world were discussing the origin

of languages, considering the issue of endangered or vanishing languages, and the essence

of mechanisms governing the ongoing changes in languages.

13) Abre los Ojos IV (2011) – the 4th edition of the international conference of the department

of Spanish philology. The words of Ryszard Kapuscinski, who in his journalistic work took up the

task of translating one culture into the other, were the motto of this conference. The participants

from Poland, Spain and Czech Republic, were giving presentations on culture, literature, art and

media, dealing with problems of translation and culture of a Spanish linguistic area.

14) Languages in Contact 2010 (2010) – the conference was devoted to the topic of diverse languages,

which were in contact with each other in particular moments in history, and, as a result of that they

had influence on their morphology, vocabulary and grammar. The conference was a unique

opportunity to share ideas and deliberate on contemporary linguistics and familiarize with the latest

achievements in this field.

15) Alternative Constructs in Language, Literature and Culture (2010) – the purpose of the conference

was the analysis of various ways of human perception, understanding and interpretation of reality;

the study of linguistic, literary and cultural alternative constructs, which question, expand and

update the dominant ways of perception in the area of those three semiotic fields.

16) Abre los Ojos III (2010) – the 3rd national conference of Spanish studies specialists, during which

lectures and workshops focus on the term hispanismo. It includes various issues concerning

history, culture, literature and art of the Spanish-speaking countries.

17) Schlesien in der germanistischen Forschung und Lehre (2010) – the scientific conference for

German studies specialists, organized jointly with German cultural and educational association

Haus Schlesien, under the patronage of General Consulate of Federal Republic of Germany

in Wroclaw. The purpose of the symposium was the share of experiences research centres in

Lower and Upper Silesia, Zielona Góra, and Opole Silesia. Conference discussions and

presentations regarded historical, literary and linguistic research. Participants also dealt with

problems of contemporary Silesia, the role of the region, which plays a role of a bridge that brings

closer and connects Poland, Germany, and Czech Republic; the meaning of German heritage for

contemporary citizens of Silesia and possible forms and methods of including the Silesian topics

in teaching programmes and extracurricular classes.




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INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION AND MOBILITY

Internationalization and modernization are goals to be accomplished as a part of WSF development

strategy and mission. The institution contributes to European Area of Higher Education and it makes

its presence felt in the world academic circles through common international research, publications,

conferences and guest lectures.

International cooperation of Philological School of Higher Education covers the following:

1) Projects and research works carried out in collaboration with academic centres abroad;

2) Common academic initiatives (conferences, symposia, workshops etc.);

3) Individual contacts of academic Staff with higher education institutions in other countries (study

visits, guest lectures, visiting professors);

4) Academic staff mobility with partner institutions, mainly within Erasmus+ Program.

Thematic scope of research and research works conducted by WSF in cooperation with international

centres:

1) Semiotics of city discourse, language and culture; cooperation: Philological School of Higher

Education in Wroclaw, International Communicology Institute, Washington (US); International Centre

of City Studies, Technische Universität Berlin (Germany); Latvian Academy of Culture in Riga (Latvia);

2) Semiotic universals in human communication; cooperation: Philological School of Higher Education

in Wroclaw, Roman Association of Semiotics at University of Iasi, University Bacău (Romania), New

Bulgarian University, Sofia (Bulgaria), South-European Association of Semiotic studies in Bulgaria,

Hungarian Association of Semiotic studies in Hungary, International Communicology Institute,

Washington (US);

3) Anthropological discourse; cooperation: Philological School of Higher Education in Wroclaw, Stanford

University (USA); Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN), Branch in Wrocław;

4) English literature; cooperation: Philological School of Higher Education in Wroclaw, University of

Wrocław, Pennsylvania State University (USA);

5) Methodology of teaching languages, glottodidactics; cooperation: Philological School of Higher

Education in Wroclaw, University of Wrocław, Polish Association of Neophilology (PTN), Pennsylvania

State University (USA), University of Hradec Králové (Czechy);

6) Silesia in didactics and reasearch; cooperation: Philological School of Higher Education in Wroclaw,

University of Silesia, Opole University, German cultural and educational institution – Haus Schlesien,

Bonn (Germany);

7) Spanish and ibero-American Literature studies and translatology; cooperation: Philological School

of Higher Education in Wroclaw, University Miguel Hernandez in Elche, University in Alicante,

University of Murcia (Spain).

Staff mobility with partner universities within Erasmus+ program bilateral agreements.

Internationally oriented WSF aims at creating multilingual and intercultural academic environment is

an active participant of Erasmus+ Program. At present the institution has 39 European partner

universities – the most of all Polish Higher Education Institutions of philological profile:




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1) Pädagogische Hochschule Steiermark (Graz, Austria)

2) Pädagogische Hochschule Wien (Wien, Austria),

3) New Bulgarian University (Sofia, Bulgaria),

4) University of Hradec Králové (Hradec Králové, Czech Republic),

5) University of Ostrava (Ostrava, Czech Republic),

6) University of Tartu (Tartu, Estonia),

7) Université de Poitiers (Poitiers, France),

8) Universidad de Alicante (Alicante,Spain),

9) Universidad de Granada (Ceuta, Spain),

10) Universidad Castilla-la Mancha (Ciudad-Real, Spain),

11) Universidad Miguel Hernandez (Elche, Spain),

12) Universidad Complutense de Madrid (Madryt, Spain),

13) Universidad de Málaga (Malaga, Spain),

14) Universidad de Navarra (Pampeluna, Spain),

15) University of Iceland (Reykjavík, Island),

16) Latvijas Kulturas Akademija (Ryga,Latvia),

17) University of Malta (Msida, Malta),

18) Technische Universität Berlin (Berlin, Germany),

19) Universität Leipzig (Leipzig, Germany),

20) Hochschule Zittau/Görlitz (Görlitz, Germany)

21) University College of Southeast Norway (Porsgrunn, Norway)

22) Sogn og Fjordane University College (Sogndal, Norway),

23) Universidade da Beira Inferior (Covilha, Portugal)

24) Universidade de Lisboa (Lisboa, Portugal)

25) Universidade de Porto (Porto, Portugal),

26) Universitatea din Bacău (Bacău, Romania),

27) Universitea Danubius Galati (Galati, Rumania),

28) Alexandru Joan Cuza University (Iasi, Rumania),

29) Matej Bel University (Banská Bystrica, Slovakia)

30) Mittuniversitetet Härnösand (Härnösand, Sweden),

31) Ege University (Izmir, Turkey),

32) Yeni Yuzyil University (Stambuł, Turkey),

33) Károli Gáspár University (Budapest, Hungary),

34) University of Miskolc (Miskolc, Hungary),

35) Havering College of Further and Higher Education (London, UK),

36) Scuola Superiore per Mediatori Linguistici “Academy School” (Naples, Italy)

37) Universita Degli Studi di Pavia (Pavia, Italy),

38) Universita degli studi Roma Tre (Rome, Italy),

39) Universita Degli Studi di Torino (Rome, Italy).

Owing to internationalization in the understanding of European policy, WSF stimulates its

development, raises quality of research and enhances process of education and study programmes.




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As stated in the evaluation report by the State Accreditation Committee (2011), the level of WSF

international activity is really impressive. The main emphasis is put on involvement of WSF

employees in international research projects, high standards of WSF Publishing House as well as

remarkable research output of academic staff members.

Major WSF achievements in the international area:

1) Strengthened position of the institution as an internationally recognized academic and intellectual

centre conducting research and projects with academic institutions abroad;

2) Organization and co-organization of international conferences and symposia, incl. cyclical conferences

i.e. International Conference of Middle English ICOME, Languages in Contact or Abre los ojos.

3) Exchange of experience, knowledge and outcomes of the conducted studies with other academic

centres abroad;

4) A remarkable number of international staff employed at WSF;

5) High international standards of WSF publishing activities;

6) Permanently increasing number of WSF student and staff mobility; from the year 2011 till 2016 the

number of mobility participants in Erasmus/Erasmus+ Program has grown by 52%, and the amount of

the granted funding for Erasmus/Erasmus+ Program student/staff mobility has increased by 38%.

METHODOLOGY

According to the Policy and the development strategy of Wyższa Szkoła Filologiczna in Wroclaw

by 2025 and in accordance with its mission and vision, the School aims at maintaining the highest

possible research standards, among other things by providing its researchers with the best and most

friendly conditions for conducting research, including international cooperation, as well as publishing

and distributing research results.

Due to the above, Wyższa Szkoła Filologiczna in Wroclaw expressed its support to the European

Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers (hereinafter: the

Charter and the Code) and the WSF Rector, prof. dr hab. Norbert Morciniec signed the Charter and

Code Support Declaration in May 2015.

At the same time a decision was made to carry out an internal analysis at WSF, which would enable

the evaluation of the degree in which the functioning of the School is consistent with the Charter and

the Code. Subsequently, according to the requirements of the European Union and in relation to the

results of the analysis, some areas for improvement were indicated, the persons responsible for the

particular improvement tasks were appointed and the deadlines for the tasks were established.

To this end, a EUROPEAN CHARTER FOR RESEARCHERS AND CODE IMPLEMENTATION TEAM

(hereinafter: CCIT) was created, which includes:

1) Dr. Marek Adamski, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Modern Languages and Literature

2) Prof. Irena Światłowska-Prędota, representative of WSF researchers and teachers

3) Dr. Anna Pol, representative of WSF researchers and teachers, Head of WSF Foreign Language

Teacher Training Center




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4) Beata Opala, General Director, Head of the Teaching Office at WSF

5) Anna Zasłona, Head of the International Office at WSF

6) Magdalena Opala, Specialist at the Teaching Office at WSF

7) Magdalena Nowak, Specialist at the International Cooperation Office at WSF

8) Monika Kucharska, Human Resources Officer at WSF.

The key tasks for the CCIT were defined as follows:

1) performing preparatory tasks and creating a schedule of works on the implementation of the Charter

and the Code at WSF;

2) internal analysis of the School’s documents related to the requirements of the Charter and the Code;

3) preparing and performing the survey among the researchers and teachers of WSF and analyzing the

survey results;

4) defining the areas that require action, appointing the responsible persons and the deadlines for the

corrective actions;

5) monitoring of the performing and the results of the corrective actions;

6) informing the employees on the already functioning and the currently implemented employment

regulations and on the working conditions of the WSF researchers as related to the requirements and

standards of the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment

of Researchers.

CCIT’s work schedule:

1) May 2016, presentation of the implementation concept prepared by CCIT, allocation of the

responsibilities during the implementation process, including the responsibilities related

to the internal documents analysis; discussion of good practices related to the implementation

process of the Chart’s and Code’s rules in other centers/institutions/schools in Poland and abroad;

2) July 2016, presentation and discussion of the conclusions from the analysis of internal documents;

discussion of the concept for the survey at WSF (schedule, form, methods for carrying out the survey

and analyzing the results); plan of the information activities about the survey among WSF employees;

approval of the contents and form of the survey; carrying out the information campaign among the

employees;

3) August 2016, carrying out the survey among WSF employees (3-21.08.2016); analysis of the survey

results;

4) August/September 2016, preparation of the results of internal documents analysis and of the survey;

preparation of conclusions and of gap analysis as well as of the action plan for full implementation

of the Charter/Code rules at WSF;

5) September 2016, approval of the application by the Rector of WSF, submission of the application for

the HR Excellence in Research award and logo to EU.




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INTERNAL DOCUMENTS ANALYSIS

Between May and June 2016, members of the CCIT team, in accordance with the allocated

responsibilities, performed internal analysis of the School’s documents from the perspective of its

compliance with the provisions of the Charter and the Code, at the same time verifying the documents’

correlation with the provisions of Polish and European legislation on the recruitment and employment

of researchers and on the evaluation of their work.

The analysis was performed for the provisions of internal WSF documents, in particular for:

1) WSF Statute;

2) WSF Employment Regulations;

3) Remuneration Regulations for the Employees of WSF;

4) Employment Regulations for Researchers and Teachers at WSF;

5) WSF Organizational Regulations;

6) Document Flow and Storage Instruction at WSF;

7) The policy for personal data processing security at WSF together with the Instruction on the

management and protection methods for the IT systems used in personal data processing at WSF;

8) Regulations on the management of copyrights and related rights and on the commercialization

of research results and development works performed by WSF employees;

9) Regulations on using the research infrastructure at WSF;

10) Ethical Code of WSF Academic Staff;

11) Policy and the strategy of development of WSF till 2025;

12) Documents, procedures, regulations of the WSF Internal Quality Assurance System, including inter

alia Regulation of the WSF Rector on the rules for performing interim evaluation of academic

teachers and of the professionals who teach at Wyższa Szkoła Filologiczna in Wroclaw.

THE SURVEY

Between August 3 and 21, an anonymous survey was carried out among the researchers and teachers

of WSF, preceded by an information campaign on the implementation of the Charter and Code rules at

WSF. The survey was prepared and carried out using on-line tools – the invitation along with the link to

the survey was sent to the employees via e-mail; due to the holiday period, to ensure high completion

rate of the survey a reminder was sent the staff along with a request to pass on the invitation to those

employees who did not yet take part in the survey. The respondents were asked to fill out an on-line

survey, which contained statements related to the 40 criteria that must be satisfied when applying for the

HR Excellence in Research. The statements related to the criteria are given below, along with the survey

results related to each of the criteria. The employees who took part in the survey evaluated the degree in

which WSF meets each of the criteria by giving points on a numerical scale. The scale was as follows:

5 – “definitely yes”; 4 – “rather yes”; 3 – “rather not”, 2 – “definitely not”, 1 – “don’t know”. Although the

“don’t know” option de facto is not related to the evaluation of the implementation level of a given

criterion, it was included in the survey purposefully, as one of the important objectives of the study was

to acquire information on the employees’ knowledge and awareness about the already existent and

currently implemented procedures of recruitment, employment and research conditions at WSF.




Page 14 of 72

The link to the survey together with the invitation to complete it was sent to 142 WSF researchers and

teachers employed on the basis of employment contracts, civil law contracts and self-employment,

including 17 professors, 14 habilitated doctors, 55 doctors and 56 master’s degree holders.

When preparing the concept for the implementation of the Charter and Code rules at WSF, an obvious

fact was frequently raised that persons holding master’s degree are not strictly speaking researchers,

whose needs and working conditions are the special object of interest in the Charter and the Code.

An important fact must be stressed at this point, however, that a significant percentage of the master’s

degree holders are young people, between 31 and 45 years old, who engage themselves in the research

works and projects, thus gaining valuable experience which in the future will allow them to make

a decision about pursuing academic career and preparing a doctoral dissertation.

It must be clearly stressed that persons holding master’s degree are a considerable group of the School’s

employees and not taking their remarks into consideration in the evaluation of the working conditions of

WSF researchers might distort the survey results. Therefore a decision was made to include master’s

degree holders into the surveyed group and consider their opinions in the general results of the survey

and of the internal analysis.

In response to the invitation, 80 persons completed the survey, which translates into a 56%

representation of the researchers and teachers employed at WSF.

Respondents by academic title or professional/academic degree

The data show that researchers with doctoral degree were the largest group that took part in the survey

(50%), followed by master’s degree holders (27.5%) and professors (15%). Habilitated doctors were the

least represented group in the survey (7.5%).

0,00%

5,00%

10,00%

15,00%

20,00%

25,00%

30,00%

35,00%

40,00%

45,00%

50,00%

MA PhD PhD withhabilitation

Professor None




Page 15 of 72

Respondents by research and didactic position

Assistant professors (18.4%) and associate professors (13.2%) were the two large groups that took part

in the survey, followed by teaching assistants (7.9%). Professors were the least represented group in the

survey (6.6%). The greatest part of the respondents indicated to be employed in “other” position, which

may be explained by the above mentioned fact, i.e. the participation in the survey of 56 master’s degree

holders, who generally occupy teaching only positions and as they did not find any non-research

positions, they indicated the “other” option.

Respondents by age and sex

The vast majority of the respondents are people between 31 and 45 years of age. Groups of people aged

46–55 and 56–65 were smaller in number but had equal distribution of 16.7%. People aged 65 plus were

the smallest group in the survey (14.1%). Sexes were evenly distributed among the respondents – the

survey was completed by 60.3% of women and 39.7% of men.

0,00%

10,00%

20,00%

30,00%

40,00%

50,00%

60,00%

Assistant Assistantprofessor

Visitingprofessor

Associateprofessor

Fullprofessor

Other

0,00%

10,00%

20,00%

30,00%

40,00%

50,00%

60,00%

Under30

31-45 46-55 56-65 Over 65 0,00%

10,00%

20,00%

30,00%

40,00%

50,00%

60,00%

70,00%

Male Female




Page 16 of 72

GENERAL INTERNAL ANALYSIS RESULTS

Compliance analysis of the WSF internal documents, in particular of the regulations indicated in point 2.2,

showed that hte internal rules and regulations are compliant with the recommendations of the Charter

and the Code. According to the commentary issued by the CCIT, the particularly desired actions include:

1) providing the researchers and teachers with information about the regulations and procedures on the

recruitment, employment and evaluation of WSF employees;

and

2) systematically placing internal documents in the School’s repository of rules and regulations, made

available on-line for WSF researchers and teachers;

3) systematically updating and completing the School’s documents related to new and changed Polish

and European regulations regarding the recruitment and employment of employees, including those

applicable to the Charter and the Code.

Results of the survey

As indicated above, the completion of the survey by WSF researchers and teachers consisted in the

evaluation of the degree to which the School implemented the procedures resulting from the 40 criteria

of the Charter and the Code. WSF employees evaluated statements related to each of the 40 criteria

by choosing grades on the scale of 5-1, with grade 1 indicating no knowledge in the area.

The general results of the survey indicate that the researchers and teachers gave the School a very high

grade. Expressed as percentage, none of the 40 criteria was evaluated negatively, i.e. in the case of each

criterion, positive options (“definitely yes” and “rather yes” combined) exceeded 50%. Moreover,

negative results (“definitely not” and “rather not” combined) did not exceed 20% in relation to any of the

criteria.

Criteria with the highest score – strongest points of WSF as regards HRS4R:

(the parentheses show the number of positive grades as a percentage)

1) Freedom of scientific research (96.2%)

2) Ethical principles (96.3%)

3) Professional responsibility (93.7%)

4) Contractual and legal obligations (96.2%)

5) Good practice in research (93.7%)

6) Non-discrimination (97.5%)

7) Seniority (91.2%)

8) Recognition of the profession (93.6%)

9) Working conditions (92.4%)

10) Gender balance (92.5%)

11) Intellectual property rights (92.4%)




Page 17 of 72

Criteria with the lowest score – weakest points of WSF as regards HRS4R:

Caution! The criteria with the lowest score are those with the greatest share of negative answers from the

respondents. A provision should be made at this point that the criterion with the lowest score received

16.4% of negative answers (the parentheses show the number of negative grades as a percentage).

1) Professional attitude (11.6%)

2) Stability and permanence of employment (11.7%)

3) Funding and salaries (13.0%)

4) Career development (16.4%)

5) Access to career advice (11.4%)

6) Teaching (13.4%)

7) Complaints/appeals (10.4%)

8) Continuing professional development (10.2%)

9) Access to research training and continuous development (10.3%)

In the case of the criteria with the lowest score, a “thematic group” should be distinguished, which

includes: Career development, Access to career advice, Continuing professional development, Access

to research training and continuous development. The above group allows a conclusion that one of the

necessary steps would involve improving and extending the consequent application of the already

functioning procedures as well as developing, implementing and promoting new solutions in the area.

Adequate recommendations have been provided in the Action Plan presented below.

A high percentage of the “don’t know” answers should also raise concern, however, as it an indication

that WSF employees have little knowledge and/or awareness on the School’s recruitment/employment

rules and procedures (this applies also to the criteria with the highest share of negative answers).

Changing this situation will be one of the priorities in the process of implementing the Charter and Code

rules at WSF, after the completion of internal analysis.

The table below presents, in the numerical form, the data obtained from the survey. Red color indicates

the criterion, which received more than 25% of the “don’t know” answers.

The format for the table has been taken from a document titled HR STRATEGY FOR RESEARCHERS (HRS4R) Implementation of the rules of the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers at Wroclaw University of Science and Technology.




Page 18 of 72

includes a total of “definitely yes” and “rather yes”; includes a total of “rather not” and “definitely not”;

GENERAL RESULT OF THE SURVEY, AS A PERCENTAGE

Scale: 5 – “definitely yes”; 4 – “rather yes”; 3 – “rather not”; 2 – “definitely not”; 1 – “don’t know”;

Area Question 5 4 3 2 1 Positive Result Negative

Neutral

Eth

ical

an

d p

rofe

ssio

na

l asp

ect

s

1. 82.30% 13.90% 0.00% 0.00% 3.80% 96.20% > 0.00% 3.80%

2. 72.20% 24.10% 2.50% 0.00% 1.30% 96.30% > 2.50% 1.30%

3. 86.10% 7.60% 0.00% 0.00% 6.30% 93.70% > 0.00% 6.30%

4. 42.30% 41.00% 10.30% 1.30% 5.10% 83.30% > 11.60% 5.10%

5. 74.70% 21.50% 2.50% 0.00% 1.30% 96.20% > 2.50% 1.30%

6. 55.80% 26.00% 2.60% 1.30% 14.30% 81.80% > 3.90% 14.30%

7. 78.50% 15.20% 2.50% 1.30% 2.50% 93.70% > 3.80% 2.50%

8. 68.40% 20.30% 5.10% 1.30% 5.10% 88.70% > 6.40% 5.10%

9. 48.10% 38.00% 2.50% 0.00% 11.40% 86.10% > 2.50% 11.40%

10. 87.20% 10.30% 0.00% 1.30% 1.30% 97.50% > 1.30% 1.30%

11. 66.70% 16.70% 9.00% 0.00% 7.70% 83.40% > 9.00% 7.70%

Re

cru

itm

en

t

12. 47.40% 30.80% 6.40% 2.60% 12.80% 78.20% > 9.00% 12.80%

13. 43.60% 37.20% 3.80% 3.80% 11.50% 80.80% > 7.60% 11.50%

14. 48.70% 26.90% 3.80% 0.00% 20.50% 75.60% > 3.80% 20.50%

15. 46.20% 26.90% 2.60% 2.60% 21.80% 73.10% > 5.20% 21.80%

16. 60.30% 21.80% 3.80% 2.60% 11.50% 82.10% > 6.40% 11.50%

17. 58.40% 20.80% 3.90% 0.00% 16.90% 79.20% > 3.90% 16.90%

18. 62.80% 23.10% 5.10% 0.00% 9.00% 85.90% > 5.10% 9.00%

19. 62.30% 24.70% 2.60% 0.00% 10.40% 87.00% > 2.60% 10.40%

20. 67.10% 24.10% 3.80% 0.00% 5.10% 91.20% > 3.80% 5.10%

21. 49.40% 21.50% 2.50% 6.30% 20.30% 70.90% > 8.80% 20.30%

Wo

rkin

g co

nd

itio

ns

and

so

cial

se

curi

ty

22. 79.50% 14.10% 3.80% 0.00% 2.60% 93.60% > 3.80% 2.60%

23. 68.40% 21.50% 5.10% 1.30% 3.80% 89.90% > 6.40% 3.80%

24. 78.50% 13.90% 1.30% 0.00% 6.30% 92.40% > 1.30% 6.30%

25. 50.60% 27.30% 9.10% 2.60% 10.40% 77.90% > 11.70% 10.40%

26. 44.20% 39.00% 7.80% 5.20% 3.90% 83.20% > 13.00% 3.90%

27. 72.20% 20.30% 1.30% 1.30% 5.10% 92.50% > 2.60% 5.10%

28. 38.00% 32.90% 10.10% 6.30% 12.70% 70.90% > 16.40% 12.70%

29. 64.90% 20.80% 2.60% 1.30% 10.40% 85.70% > 3.90% 10.40%

30. 53.20% 31.60% 10.10% 1.30% 3.80% 84.80% > 11.40% 3.80%

31. 77.20% 15.20% 2.50% 0.00% 5.10% 92.40% > 2.50% 5.10%

32. 61.50% 25.60% 0.00% 0.00% 12.80% 87.10% > 0.00% 12.80%

33. 46.70% 36.00% 10.70% 2.70% 4.00% 82.70% > 13.40% 4.00%

34. 39.00% 22.10% 5.20% 5.20% 28.60% 61.10% > 10.40% 28.60%

35. 51.30% 24.40% 6.40% 1.30% 16.70% 75.70% > 7.70% 16.70%

Pro

fess

ion

al

trai

nin

g

36. 53.20% 19.50% 6.50% 0.00% 20.80% 72.70% > 6.50% 20.80%

37. 61.00% 23.40% 2.60% 2.60% 10.40% 84.40% > 5.20% 10.40%

38. 64.60% 24.10% 8.90% 1.30% 1.30% 88.70% > 10.20% 1.30%

39. 57.70% 29.50% 9.00% 1.30% 2.60% 87.20% > 10.30% 2.60%

40. 53.80% 24.40% 5.10% 2.60% 14.10% 78.20% > 7.70% 14.10%




Page 19 of 72

DETAILED INTERNAL ANALYSIS RELATED TO THE CRITERIA STATED IN THE CHARTER AND IN THE CODE

The table below covers in detail each of the Charter’s and the Code’s 40 criteria that are related to

the conditions of the recruitment and employment of WSF researchers and teachers. The description

for each criterion covers: the original form of the criterion taken from the Charter or from the Code;

a paraphrase/statement based on the criterion and included in the survey for WSF employees; the

result – presented as percentage – of the answers, as related to each criterion; CCIT commentary to

the survey results in the context of the analysis of WSF internal documents and procedures; in some

cases the description also includes recommendations for corrective actions to be implemented.

The analogies among some of the criteria, similar percentage representations of the answers, as well

as correlated solutions and procedures followed at the School allowed some of the criteria to be

given joint commentary from CCIT. This applies to the following criteria: Recognition of mobility

experience / Value of mobility; Career development / Access to career advice; Supervision and

managerial duties / Supervision; Continuing professional development / Access to research training

and continuous development.

Ethical and professional aspects

1) Research freedom, average of the answers given=4.17

The definition of the category in the Charter:

Researchers should focus their research for the good of mankind and for expanding the frontiers

of scientific knowledge, while enjoying the freedom of thought and expression, and the freedom to

identify methods by which problems are solved, according to recognised ethical principles and practices.

Researchers should, however, recognise the limitations to this freedom that could arise as a result

of particular research circumstances (including supervision/guidance/management) or operational

constraints, e.g. for budgetary or infrastructural reasons or, especially in the industrial sector, for reasons

of intellectual property protection. Such limitations should not, however, contravene recognised ethical

principles and practices, to which researchers have to adhere.

The category defined on the basis of the Charter in the WSF survey:

Conducting research at Philological School of Higher Education in Wroclaw, the researchers may be

led by the freedom of thought and expression, and define methods of solving problems according

to respected principles and ethical practices.




Page 20 of 72

Graphic representation of the answers provided by researchers and teachers of WSF:

Giving answers to the question, the vast majority of respondents ticked the “definitely yes” option

(82.3%), every seventh person chose “rather yes” option (13.9%). 3.8% of persons declared the lack of

knowledge in this area. The negative assessments, i. e. “definitely not” and “rather not” were not chosen

by any respondents.

Commentary:

According to the higher education law, The Higher Education Act of 27 July 2005 (Dziennik Ustaw 2005

No. 164 Item 1365, as amended), Polish higher education institutions are autonomous in all areas of their

activity under principles defined by the law, including, inter alia, freedom of research. At Philological

School of Higher Education in Wroclaw this criterion is fully respected, which is confirmed by the

academic staff’s assessment proved by results of the survey. All the researchers employed at WSF are

guaranteed freedom of thought and expression as well as the freedom to identify methods by which

problems are solved, on condition they adhere to recognised ethical principles and practices, and any

other defined research standards.

Actions required: Maintaining and developing/broadening the current solutions.

2) Ethical principles, average of the answers given=4.65


Researchers should adhere to the recognised ethical practices and fundamental ethical principles

appropriate to their discipline(s) as well as to ethical standards as documented in the different

national, sectorial or institutional Codes of Ethics.


At WSF all fundamental ethical norms, principles and practices are fully respected.

0,00%

10,00%

20,00%

30,00%

40,00%

50,00%

60,00%

70,00%

80,00%

90,00%

Definitely yes Rather yes Rather not Definitely not Don`t know




Page 21 of 72


In reply to the given question 72.2% of respondents chose the “definitely yes” option, and 24.10% chose

“rather yes” option. The “rather not” option was marked by 2.5% of respondents, the “definitely not”

option was not chosen by any respondent. 1.3% of the survey subjects replied “don’t know”.

Commentary:

At Philological School of Higher Education in Wroclaw fundamental ethical norms and practices are

adhered in accordance with the indication of the preamble of the Kodeks Etyki Pracownika

Naukowego/ Ethical Code of Academic Staff (Komisja ds. etyki w nauce PAN, MNiSW,2012): “ethical

values, standards of science reliability, and good practices in science define social and ethical

responsibility of researches.” Due to that fact, WSF academics must apply to the law of Ethical Code

of WSF Academic Staff, accepted by the WSF Senate on Kodeks, respecting recommendations

of MNiSW, was prepared on the basis of Kodeks Etyki Pracownika Naukowego Komisji ds. etyki

w nauce (2012) and the European document, i. e. The European Code of Conduct for Research

Integrity, which was announced collectively by European Science Foundation (ESF) and All European

Academies (2010). Ethical Code of WSF Academic Staff mainly presents universal principles

and ethical values to be applied in academic work, good practices in research, as well as the

proceedings to identify unreliability in research.


3) Professional responsibility, average of the answers given=4.67


Researchers should make every effort to ensure that their research is relevant to society and does not

duplicate research previously carried out elsewhere. They must avoid plagiarism of any kind and abide by

the principle of intellectual property and joint data ownership in the case of research carried out in

collaboration with a supervisor(s) and/or other researchers. The need to validate new observations by

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10,00%

20,00%

30,00%

40,00%

50,00%

60,00%

70,00%

80,00%





Page 22 of 72

showing that experiments are reproducible should not be interpreted as plagiarism, provided that the

data to be confirmed are explicitly quoted. Researchers should ensure, if any aspect of their work is

delegated, that the person to whom it is delegated has the competence to carry it out.


WSF is strongly against plagiarism and it clamps down on it, and in case of collaborative research the

rules of respecting the intellectual property and communal data ownership have are obeyed.


In reply to the question 86.10% of respondents chose “definitely yes” option, 7.60% of people chose

“rather yes” option. The negative assessment, i. e. “definitely not” and “rather not” were not chosen by

any respondent. 6.3% of the subjects chose “don’t know” option.

Commentary:

Under both WSF internal regulations and the state law, academics have a duty to take professional

obligation, understood as making efforts in order to make the research significant for the society and not

duplicate the one previously conducted elsewhere. The respective WSF documents: The WSF Statute,

Ethical Code of WSF Academic Staff, Regulations on the management of copyrights and related rights and

on the commercialization of research results and development works performed by WSF employees. The

above principles is also governed by state regulations, primarily: The Copyrights and Connected Laws Act,

The Higher Education Law Act, as well as the document entitled: The reliability of research and respect of

intellectual property, formulated by The Good Academic Practices Panel at the Ministry of Science and

Higher Education, 2012. All job contracts prepared by the School and signed by academic staff contain a

section describing employee’s duty to follow the aforementioned regulations and, in particular, respect

intellectual property law. The answers given by the respondents illustrate and prove that in WSF

demonstrates high standards in terms of researchers’ responsibility and respect of intellectual property.


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10,00%

20,00%

30,00%

40,00%

50,00%

60,00%

70,00%

80,00%

90,00%





Page 23 of 72

4) Professional attitude, average of the answers given=4.14


Researchers should be familiar with the strategic goals governing their research environment and

funding mechanisms, and should seek all necessary approvals before starting their research or

accessing the resources provided. They should inform their employers, funders or supervisor when

their research project is delayed, redefined or completed, or give notice if it is to be terminated

earlier or suspended for whatever reason.


The WSF academic workers are familiar with the strategic goals of the research environment and

funding mechanisms.


Giving answers to this question, more than 80% of respondents chose the positive answer (42.3% chose

the “definitely yes” option, 41.0% chose the “rather yes” option). The negative assessment, i.e. the

“rather not” and “definitely not” options chose 11.6% of respondents in total (10.3% and 1.3% of subjects

accordingly). The “don’t know” option chose 5.10% of employees.

Commentary:

According to The Policy and the strategy of development of WSF till 2025, the development and

improvement of quality of research and enhancing the activity of the school as an academic center is

one of the main goals of school development. The information about strategic goals connected with

conducting research in the school is formulated and currently transferred to WSF workers in the form

of easily accessible documents and email correspondence managed by representatives of the

authority. This Issue, if necessary, is individually discussed with members of the academic during

their annual appointments with the Chancellor and the Rector, which concern, i.a., research progress.

0,00%

5,00%

10,00%

15,00%

20,00%

25,00%

30,00%

35,00%

40,00%

45,00%





Page 24 of 72

Additionally, to motivate and support academic staff and improve the quality of the research, WSF

undertakes actions and provides financial resources. The information and support in the area of learning

about the strategic goals governing the research environment, planning, executing and financing of the

research projects are given to the academic workers complementary and in many different ways. On the

scientific level, with regard to planning projects in the context of specific strategic goals of the research

environment and scientific value, and the value of planned research, consultations and support are

offered by heads of departments and scientific project coordinators; the organizational support, i.a., the

possibility to apply for scientific grants and consistency with the assumptions of national and European

legislation are provided by the Teaching Department, whereas, the major administrative support in

preparation of projects, including planning budgets and schedule, is provided by the project team,

consisting of experienced Teaching Department and WSF International Office.


5) Contractual and legal obligations, average of the answers given=4.69


Researchers at all levels must be familiar with the national, sectoral or institutional regulations

governing training and/or working conditions. This includes Intellectual Property Rights regulations,

and the requirements and conditions of any sponsor or funders, independently of the nature of

their contract. Researchers should adhere to such regulations by delivering the required results (e.g.

thesis, publications, patents, reports, new products development, etc) as set out in the terms and

conditions of the contract or equivalent document.


The regulations concerning the conditions of training schemes and work incl. copyright, intellectual

property right and the employer’s demands specified in the contract of work or another similar

document.


0,00%

10,00%

20,00%

30,00%

40,00%

50,00%

60,00%

70,00%

80,00%





Page 25 of 72

With reference to the above criterion, the employees highly estimated applied in the institution’s

standards and principles. In reply to this questions 96% respondents gave a positive reply i.e. 74.4%

marked the option “definitely yes”, 21.5% decided on “rather yes”. A negative opinion – “rather not” was

given by 2.5% of the subjects. 1.3% declared lack of knowledge in this concern.

Commentary:

WSF academics are given access to national, sectoral or institutional regulations governing training and/or

working conditions. The documents are placed in dedicated sections of the WSF intranet (e-Dziekanat).

Moreover, Teaching Department, International Office and project team offer current support informing

about specific up-to-date regulations, incl. any modifications, updates and legal interpretations.

In accordance with internal rules, all agreements are prepared in a transparent and explicit way precisely

defining conditions of work and covering the issues of intellectual property rights. This aspect of WSF

activity is highly evaluated by its employees, which is reflected in the survey’s results.


6) Accountability, average of the answers given=4.08


Researchers need to be aware that they are accountable towards their employers, funders or other

related public or private bodies as well as, on more ethical grounds, towards society as a whole. In

particular, researchers funded by public funds are also accountable for the efficient use of

taxpayers' money. Consequently, they should adhere to the principles of sound, transparent and

efficient financial management and cooperate with any authorised audits of their research, whether

undertaken by their employers/funders or by ethics committees. Methods of collection and analysis,

the outputs and, where applicable, details of the data should be open to internal and external

scrutiny, whenever necessary and as requested by the appropriate authorities.


In WSF all members of academic community must adhere to the principles of clear, transparent and

efficient financial management as regards research funding.




Page 26 of 72


With reference to the above criterion, the employees also highly assessed the institution procedures.

More than 80% of respondents gave a positive answer, including 55.8% who chose a “definitely yes”

option, 26.0% of respondents chose a “rather yes” option. A slightly negative assessment in the form

of “rather not” option was chosen by 2.60% of the subjects, and in the form of “definitely not” option –

only by 1.30% of the subjects. A big number of “don’t know” option was noted, i. e. 14.30%.

Commentary:

The principles of carrying out research projects are governed by the relevant Rector’s regulation providing

detailed guidelines as regards preparation of projects in WSF. Moreover, the academics conducting

research are offered considerable administrative and financial support. The intention of the WSF policy

is to minimize researchers’ technical and administrative work connected with the project preparation.

Owning to this solution, WSF academics have a possibility to concentrate on research and, eventually,

obtain more satisfactory results. Moreover, great importance is attached to efficient utilization of the

funds granted for doing research. The regular internal monitoring and verification of the grants’

management is conducted by the Project Team in close collaboration with the academic workers. Besides,

in WSF there are external audits to assess accuracy and effectiveness of managing national subsidies

or other provided funds organized by grant donor institutions (e.g. The National Center for Research and

Development), inspection institutions (e.g. The Tax Control Office), or external audit companies. The

workers are obliged, with the administrative support of the Project Team, to archive and store the project

documentation complying with current guidelines and, if necessary, make it available for inspection

of audit authorities.


0,00%

10,00%

20,00%

30,00%

40,00%

50,00%

60,00%





Page 27 of 72

7) Good practice in research. The average of the answers given=4.66


Researchers should at all times adopt safe working practices, in line with national legislation,

including taking the necessary precautions for health and safety and for recovery from information

technology disasters, e.g. by preparing proper back up strategies. They should also be familiar with

the current national legal requirements regarding data protection and confidentiality protection

requirements, and undertake the necessary steps to fulfil them at all times.


Safety rules at work are adopted in WSF and fully respected. They refer to health and safety at work,

data protection, confidentiality protection and recovery of the data that had been lost due to IT

failure.


Giving answers to the above question, the respondents replied in the following way: 93.7% of them chose

the positive answers, i. e. 78.5% of the respondents chose the “definitely yes” option, and 15.2% – the

“rather yes” option. The negative answer was given by 3.8% of workers, including 2.5% of workers chose

the “rather not” option, and 1.3% of them chose the “definitely not” option. The “don’t know” option was

chosen by 2.5% of the subjects.

Commentary:

WSF complies with the requirements imposed on employers by national legislation, in particular the

Labour Code, relating to health and safety rules at work. Each new employee undergoes the Health

and Safety training, and later on like other the other employees, he or she attends regular brief

instruction courses. Moreover, the health and safety interactive training material is published on the

WSF e-learning platform. It is systematically updated and supplemented with reference to changing

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regulations. A competent and experienced health and safety specialist cooperates with the

institution and plays a role of an advisor and an expert. The issue of protection and proceedings with

the personal data is regulated by The policy for personal data processing security at WSF together

with the Instruction on the management and protection methods for the IT systems used in personal

data processing at WSF. Moreover, national regulations on the protection of personal data are

published on an ongoing basis and provide researchers a permanent access to the documentation,

which regulates training and/or work conditions, which is included in relevant sections of the WSF

extranet “e-dziekanat”, and all lecturers are obliged to adhere to those rules in their work.


8) Dissemination, exploitation of the results, average of the answers given=4.46


All researchers should ensure, in compliance with their contractual arrangements, that the results

of their research are disseminated and exploited, e.g. communicated, transferred into other research

settings or, if appropriate, commercialised. Senior researchers, in particular, are expected to take a lead

in ensuring that research is fruitful and that results are either exploited commercially or made accessible

to the public (or both) whenever the opportunity arises.


In WSF researches are expected to disseminate and the widely exploit the results of conducted research.


The workers gave the following answers: 68.4% of them chose the “definitely yes” option, 20.3% - the

“rather yes” option, the negative answer was given by 6.4% of workers in total, including 5.1% of workers,

who chose the “rather not” option, and 1.3% – the “definitely not” option; the “don’t know” option chose

5.1% of the subjects.

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Commentary:

According to the Mission and WSF strategic goals, promoting education, disseminating its role in the

functioning of the society based on knowledge, and improving standards of conducted research is one

of the school priorities as regards the academic research. As a consequence, the school takes actions

in order to disseminate research works, and motivate its workers to exploit and disseminate the results

of their research to the greatest extent. The school supports its workers in the dissemination of the

results of their research, fulfilling this goal in full by its own publishing activity. WSF Publishing House

publishes articles, post-conference materials, monographs, and collective works from the area

of philological sciences and associated social sciences.

The works are published in the following publication series and magazines:

a) Philologica Wratislaviensia: From Grammar to Discourse. Peter Lang. Internationaler Verlag

der Wissenschaften, series editor: Zdzisław Wąsik;

b) Philologica Wratislaviensia: Acta et Studia. WSF Publishing, series editor: Zdzisław Wąsik;

c) Philologica Wratislaviensia: Studia Iberica et Latinoamericana. WSF Publishing, series editors:

Zdzisław Wąsik, Piotr Sawicki;

d) Philologica Wratislaviensia: Series Didactica. WSF Publishing, series editor: Zdzisław Wąsik;

e) Languages in Contact. WSF Publishing, The Commision of Philological Sciences PAN, Wroclaw

branch, International Communicology Institute, series editor: Piotr P. Chruszczewski;

f) Dissertationes Philologicae Wratislavienses: Seminar works of WSF students. WSF Publishing,

series editor: Zdzisław Wąsik;

g) Ibero-American Library. WSF Publishing, series editor: Piotr Sawicki;

h) „Academic Journal of Modern Philology”. WSF Publishing, The Commision of Philological Sciences

PAN, Wroclaw branch, editor-in-chief: Piotr P. Chruszczewski.

New series and magazines are currently being launched (with the collected contributions):

a) Acta Communicologica. An International Series on Human Discourse in Language and Culture.

Peter Lang. Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften, series editors: Richard L. La-nigan

(International Communicology Institute, Washington, D.C.), Zdzisław Wąsik;

b) Cuadernos Iberorrománicos. WSF publishing, editors: Piotr Sawicki, Małgorzata Kolankowska,

Teresa Jaromin;

c) Philologica Wratislaviensia: Studia Italica et Mediterranea. WSF Publishing, series editors:

Zdzisław Wąsik, Mirosław Loba;

d) Philologica Wratislaviensia: Studia Teutonica et Scandinavica. WSF Publishing, series editors:

Zdzisław Wąsik, Krzysztof Janikowski.

The series which deserves special attention is: Dissertationes Philologicae Wratislavienses: Seminar works

of WSF students, which was created in response to the need for broad presentation of research

programs, which students of the first and second degree of studies are dealing with in seminars.

The school builds and enhances the awareness of the research policy adopted by the school, the

uniformity of its research and its alignment with the strategic goals governing the research environment

in both seminarians and their academic supervisors. This series is not only a part of promoting




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the research conducted in WSF, in which students are involved, but also a highly motivating form

of presenting the first attempts of conducting research by the talented WSF seminarians.

Moreover, numerous and cyclic scientific conferences organised by WSF promote the results

of conducted research. The participants are WSF lecturers and students presenting the WSF reaserch

outcomes; representatives of other local and international universities as well as experts from

professional socio-economic environment related to the field of study.

The school presents the research projects, which are conducted and popularizes their results by the

information placed on the website: www.wsf.edu.pl, which is constantly updated. The WSF academic

workers are ready to share their knowledge and experience as the experts in projects implemented in

collaboration with other scientific and cultural institutions, and in the employers’ sector.

Actions required: On the basis of the mission and WSF strategic goals, the activity, which popularises and

disseminates the results of the research conducted by WSF, will be constantly developed, incl.

collaboration with the subjects of the institution socio-economic environment, with the extensive use

of ICT tools.

9) Public engagement, use of the results, average of the answers given=4.11


Researchers should ensure that their research activities are made known to society at large in such a way

that they can be understood by non specialists, thereby improving the public's understanding of science.

Direct engagement with the public will help researchers to better understand public interest in priorities

for science and technology and also the public's concerns.


The research activities conducted in WSF and their results are popularised and made known to the

general public.

The answers given by the WSF academics are shown in the diagram below:

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Giving answers to the above question, the respondents were choosing answers in the following way: the

“definitely yes” option was chosen by 48.1% of the subjects, the “rather yes” option – by 38.0%,

the “rather not” option chose 2.5% of the subjects, the “definitely not” option was not chosen by any

respondent, the “Don’t know” option was declared by 11.4% of the subjects.

Commentary:

WSF participates in popularising science among non-scientific communities very actively, with the

use of the scientific and didactic potential and the educational training profile. The school builds

relationships and cooperation with the society very efficiently, actively participating in numerous

cultural and educational initiatives dedicated to learning foreign languages, interculturalism, and

communication, including multilingual communication.

The most important WSF projects, which contribute to dissemination and better understanding

of science among non-scientific communities are:

a) The most popular in a region of Lower Silesia language competitions (English, German and

French), organized in cooperation with Education Board of Lower Silesia and Lower Silesian

Teacher Training Centre, for primary schools and gimnazjum students known as: zDolny

Ślązaczek and zDolny Ślązak Gimnazjalista. The purpose of those language competitions is not

only to popularise the cultural and language knowledge, but also motivate students to improve

foreign languages skills and broaden their horizons, thanks to effective communication in the

international environment. The WSF researchers substantially support the organisation

of competitions acting, in particular, as professional experts and reviewers od the competition

tests.

b) Organization of language and cultural workshops for gimnazjum and high school students from

all around the country, in Lower Silesian Voivodeship in particular. The Lower Silesian region is

one of the most culturally and historically varied areas in Poland, in which cultural and language

influences continuously merge. Understanding and analysing the intercultural communication

issues, thanks to the practical and interesting workshops in collaboration with WSF researchers,

exploring the meaning of the communication in culturally diverse environment constitute an

interesting academic event, for both students, who take part in the workshops, and their

teachers. The content of workshops accessible and comprehensible and it is meant to inspire

young people to further exploration and reflection.

c) Open lectures and workshop for anybody interested in language and cultural issues. As a part of

cyclic meetings (usually 2 meeting in a month), the WSF academic workers invite highly-regarded

local and international specialists to share their knowledge and experience with all the interested

guests. To introduce research and its results in an accessible and comprehensible form for

non-specialists, to workshops there are also invited non-scientists, who use the research results

in practice such as: translators, journalists, literary critics, etc.

Actions required: Like in point 8, WSF popularizing activity - introducing the subject of the research

conducted at WSF and its results to non-specialists will be consistently continued and extended by other

projects, especially in collaboration with the subjects of cultural, educational and academic sectors.




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10) Non discrimination, average of the answers given=4.81


Employers and/or funders of researchers will not discriminate against researchers in any way on the

basis of gender, age, ethnic, national or social origin, religion or belief, sexual orientation, language,

disability, political opinion, social or economic condition.


WSF academic workers are not discriminated in any way on the basis of gender, age, ethnic, national

or social origin, religion or belief, sexual orientation, language, disability, political opinion, social or

economic condition.

The answers given by the WSF academics are shown in the diagram below:

Giving answers to the question, the respondents highly assessed the institution on the basis of the above

criterion. 97.5% of the workers gave the positive answers: 87.2% chose the “definitely yes” option, and

10.3% – the “rather yes” option. Only 1,3% of the subjects chose the “rather not” option, and 1.3% – the

“don’t know” option. The “definitely not” option was nots elected.

Commentary:

The non discrimination principle is fully respected, which is clearly and explicitly confirmed by the

researchers’ assessment in the WSF survey. The non discrimination principle is based on the external

regulations, on the Labour Code and the Higher Education Act in particular, and also on the WSF

internal work regulations.


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11) Evaluation/ appraisal systems, average of the answers given=4.35


Employers and/or funders should introduce for all researchers, including senior researchers,

evaluation/appraisal systems for assessing their professional performance on a regular basis and in

a transparent manner by an independent (and, in the case of senior researchers, preferably

international) committee.


The regular assessment of researchers and the results of their research is executed in a transparent

way.


The subjects provided answers in the following way: 66.7% of the subject chose the “definitely yes”

option, 16.7% – the “rather yes” option. The negative answer in the form of the “rather not” option

was chosen by 9% of the respondents, none of whom chose the “definitely not” option. 7.7% of the

employees chose the “don’t know” option.

Commentary:

The periodic assessment of the academic staff is regulated by the WSF Internal Quality Assurance System

and the respective Rector’s order on principles of conducting periodic assessments of academic

researchers, lecturers and other WSF staff members. According to this document assessments

of academic workers in WSF are obligatory and they are carried out biannually, each time by the decision

of Rector or Dean of the Department of Neophilology. However, the evaluation of academics with the

title of professor, who are employed on the basis of appointment, are made approx. every four years.

Rector or Dean establishes the detailed evaluation procedures of the staff in each academic year, on the

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basis of a separate order. It specifies resposibilities, dates and a manner of conducting a periodic

evaluation. The assessment of academic workers is comprehensive and it is made with the use of the

Electronic Card of Academic Worker Evaluation (EKON), which enables the assessment of a worker within

scientific, didactic and organizational tasks.

The coordination and preparation of documents regarding periodic assessment of academic researchers

and lecturers, who represent professional environment, fall within the competence of the Academic

Workers Evaluation Committee, appointed by Rector, which cooperates with the The WSF Team for the

Quality Assurance in Education.


12) Recruitment, average of the answers given=3.97


Employers and/or funders should ensure that the entry and admission standards for researchers,

particularly at the beginning at their careers, are clearly specified and should also facilitate access for

disadvantaged groups or for researchers returning to a research career, including teachers (of any level)

returning to a research career. Employers and/or funders of researchers should adhere to the principles

set out in the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers when appointing or recruiting

researchers.


The clearly specified entry and admission standards for researchers are applied in WSF.


The respondents were providing answers in the following way: 47.4% of them chose the “definitely yes”

option, the “rather yes” option was chosen by 30.8% of the respondents, the “rather not” option was

chosen by 6.4%, the “definitely not” option chose 2.6% of the respondents. The “don’t know” option

was chosen by 12.8% of the subjects.

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Commentary:

The recruitment, employment and appointment of academic staff at WSF is conducted in compliance

with national legal regulations, i. e. the Labour Code, the Higher Education Act, the MPiPS Regulation

on terms and conditions of issuing work permits for foreigners, and according to WSF Statute, the

Policy and Strategy of Development of Philological School of Higher Education in Wroclaw, which will

be valid by the year 2025, and the Employment Regulations for Researchers and Teachers at WSF.

The procedures applied in WSF ensure careful selection of academic workers with respect to their

scientific background, experience, and achievements in academic teaching.

Actions required: In terms of fulfilling the criterion, the required procedures are applied at WSF,

which was also reflected in a high assessment in this criterion by the employees in the survey (78.2%

of them positively assessed this aspect of school activity). Particular attention was paid to the high

proportion of the respondents, who chose the “don’t know” option. It means, that it is necessary to

introduce informative actions, in order to present the legal documents, rules and procedures to the

researchers, on the basis of which the recruitment and admission is conducted at WSF. The deadline

for execution – currently, starting with the year 2016.


13) Recruitment (Code). The average of the answers given= 3.97

The definition of the category in the Code:

Employers and/or funders should establish recruitment procedures which are open, efficient,

transparent, supportive and internationally comparable, as well as tailored to the type of positions

advertised. Advertisements should give a broad description of knowledge and competencies

required, and should not be so specialised as to discourage suitable applicants. Employers should

include a description of the working conditions and entitlements, including career development

prospects. Moreover, the time allowed between the advertisement of the vacancy or the call for

applications and the deadline for reply should be realistic.

The category defined on the basis of the Code in the WSF survey:

The recruitment procedures applied in WSF are open, transparent, and tailored to the type of

positions advertised, and also internationally comparable.




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The respondents replied in the following way: 43.6% – the “definitely yes” option, 37.2% – the “rather

yes” option; the negative answer in the form of the “rather not” option was provided by 3.8% of the

respondents, the “definitely not” option was chosen by the same number of respondents. 11.5% of the

workers chose the “don’t know” option.

Commentary:

According to the WSF Statute and WSF Employment Regulations for Researchers and Teachers,

the recruitment is conducted by the selection board, appointed by the Senate or Rector to the

request of the Dean. The selection board ensures that presented employment offers are transparent

and that time span between publishing job advertisement and an expected deadline for submission

of applications is realistic. The description of the job includes: the name of the position, place of

work, requirements (expected qualifications, experience and skills), necessary documents,

the deadline for submitting applications. The school uses different announcement distribution

channels, which, among others, are based, on: the Internet network, WSF website, accordingly

dedicated national and European websites, and the network of national and international contacts

between schools, related to the fields and disciplines of WSF research projects.

Actions required: The same as in case of point 12.

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14) Selection (Code), average of the answers given=3.83


Selection committees should bring together diverse expertise and competences and should have an

adequate gender balance and, where appropriate and feasible, include members from different

sectors (public and private) and disciplines, including from other countries and with relevant

experience to assess the candidate. Whenever possible, a wide range of selection practices should

be used, such as external expert assessment and face to face interviews. Members of selection

panels should be adequately trained should be realistic.


Selection committees are competent and diverse, i. e. they represent diverse expertise,

competences and relevant experience to assess the candidate.


Giving answers to the question, the respondents replied in the following way: 48.7% of the

respondents chose the “definitely yes” option, the “rather yes” option was chosen by 26.9%, the

“rather not” option chose 3.8% of the respondents, the “definitely not” option was not chosen.

The “don’t know” option was chosen by 20.5% of the subjects.

Commentary:

According to the WSF Statute (Chapter 5, Paragraph 32) in order to prepare an opinion on the candidate

for an academic teacher position, the selection committee is appointed by WSF Senate or Rector.

The selection committee sets specific conditions, which candidates for a particular position should fulfil,

and then, verifies the degree of the compliance in terms of their qualifications and competences to the

specific requirements. The committee is each time composed of at least 3 persons, who are academic or

didactic workers, including at least one independent academic worker, who is the chairman of the

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committee. The Committee makes decisions by voting, in case of the equal number of votes, the decision

is made by the chairman’s vote. The school is trying, if feasible, to appoint for members of the committee

persons who represent experiences and qualifications, which allow to evaluate the competences and

qualifications of the candidate objectively and professionally. While appointing the members of the

committee, the concern for appointing the team and adequate gender balance is maintained. In terms

of the committee’s work, its members are obliged to maintain confidentiality. According to the WSF

human recourses policy, academic workers appointed to the committee, are given support in

organizing recruitment (internal and external training and financial support).

Actions required: Similarly to the points 12 and 13, the fulfilment of this criterion received top

assessment, the positive assessment of this aspect was given by 75,6% of the subjects in total. Particular

attention was drawn to the high percentage of persons, who chose the “I don’t know” option. It means,

that it is necessary to implement informational actions to make all the principles and procedures easily

accessible to the WSF employees. The deadline for execution – currently, starting with the year 2016.

15) Transparency (Code), average of the answers given=3.73


Candidates should be informed, prior to the selection, about the recruitment process and the

selection criteria, the number of available positions and the career development prospects. They

should also be informed after the selection process about the strengths and weaknesses of their

applications.


WSF informs the candidates about the recruitment process, the selection criteria, the career

development prospects, and the strengths and weaknesses of their applications.


The worker’s answers: the “definitely yes” option – 46.2%, the “rather yes” option – 26.9%, the “rather

not” option – 2.6%, the “definitely not” option – 2.6%, the “don’t know” option – 21.8%.

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Commentary:

According to the WSF Statute and the regulations concerning employing persons at research and didactic

positions at WSF, the candidates are informed about available positions and opportunities

of career development during the recruitment process. Each job offer states clearly the recruitment

rules. When the documentation of the recruitment process is not comprehensive enough, candidates are

given clarification by the Teaching Department or the selection board, indicated by the Senate

or WSF Rector. After the completion of the selection process, candidates are receive feedback

information on the recruitment results. They usually cover both strengths and weaknesses of the

applications, and, if that is the case, the possibility of employment at WSF.

Actions required: The same as in case of point 12, 13, 14.

16) Judging merit (Code), average of the answers given=4.17


The selection process should take into consideration the whole range of experience of the candidates.

While focusing on their overall potential as researchers, their creativity and level of independence

should also be considered. This means that merit should be judged qualitatively as well as quantitatively,

focusing on outstanding results within a diversified career path and not only on the number of

publications. Consequently, the importance of bibliometric indices should be properly balanced within a

wider range of evaluation criteria, such as teaching, supervision, teamwork, knowledge transfer,

management of research and innovation and public awareness activities. For candidates from an

industrial background, particular attention should be paid to any contributions to patents, development

or inventions.


In the selection process, WSF performs a complementary evaluation of merits, both quantitatively

and qualitatively, taking into consideration the whole range of experience the candidates gained

during their diversified academic career.


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Referring to the above criterion, the employees evaluated the procedures followed at WSF as very good.

Above 80% of the respondents gave a positive answer: 60.3% selected the “definitely yes” option and

21.8% selected the “rather yes” option. Negative opinion in the form of “rather not” option was given

by 3.8% of the respondents, and only 2.60% of them selected the “definitely not” option. The “don’t

know” option was selected by 11.5% respondents.

Commentary:

According to the Employment Regulations for Researchers and Teachers at WSF, the candidate’s scientific

background and experience are subjected to both historic and complementary evaluation. The evaluation

covers academic, didactic and organizational achievements, with special attention paid to the catalog

of actions covered by each of the mentioned criteria and the weight of each of the criteria. When

considering a candidate for employment, the balanced evaluation covers his/her academic merits (the

bibliometric indicator) as well as achievements and experience in other areas of activity, e.g. didactic,

including supervision of dissertations, organization of events, communication of science etc.)

Holistic evaluation of the candidates is one of the priorities during the recruitment procedures at WSF and

that fact is reflected in high rating given by the respondents.

Actions required: As part of an attempt to ensure the highest possible transparency and at the same time

complementary evaluation of candidates, the Employment Regulations (...) will be verified to broaden

and particularize the catalog of competences and qualifications as related to academic, organizational and

didactic activities which should not be overlooked and may influence the general evaluation

of a candidate.

Deadline: December 2016.

17) Variations in the chronological order of researcher CVs (Code), average of the answers given=4.04


Career breaks or variations in the chronological order of CVs should not be penalized, but regarded

as an evolution of a career, and consequently, as a potentially valuable contribution to the

professional development of researchers towards a multidimensional career track. Candidates

should therefore be allowed to submit evidence-based CVs, reflecting a representative array of

achievements and qualifications appropriate to the post for which application is being made.


During the recruitment process, WSF enables the candidates to present evidence reflecting their

accomplishments and qualifications that are of importance at the position offered, regardless of

career breaks and variations in the chronological order of the CV.




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Answers of the respondents: 58.4% “definitely yes,” 20.8% “rather yes,” 3.9% “rather not,” nobody

selected the “definitely not” option, 16.9% selected the “don’t know” option.

Commentary:

Breaks in academic career due to other activity, especially due to activity related to research works and

projects, are interpreted as broadening the researcher’s professional horizons and making efforts to use

theoretical knowledge in practice, including in cooperation with stakeholders or in the communication

of science. Thus, a multidimensional career path is not only accepted, but also considered an advantage in

the recruitment process and is highly valued, especially in relation to the complementary evaluation

of experience and professional achievements. The School also accepts career breaks due to maternity

leaves, parental leaves, leaves for caring duties, or sick leaves.

Actions required: Maintaining and developing/broadening the current solutions

18) Recognition of mobility experience (Code), average of the answers given=4.31


Any mobility experience, e.g. a stay in another country/region or in another research setting (public

or private) or a change from one discipline or sector to another, whether as part of the initial

research training or at a later stage of the research career, or virtual mobility experience, should be

considered as a valuable contribution to the professional development of a researcher.


Any experience related to mobility – geographical, interdisciplinary (change of academic discipline)

or virtual (distance cooperation over electronic networks) – is considered at WSF to be an important

contribution to the researcher’s professional development.

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Answers of the respondents: 62.8% “definitely yes,” 23.1% “rather yes,” 5.1% “rather not,” nobody

selected the “definitely not” option, 9% selected the “don’t know” option.

Value of mobility, average of the answers given=4.26


Employers and/or funders must recognize the value of geographical, intersectoral, inter- and trans-

disciplinary and virtual mobility as well as mobility between the public and private sector as an

important means of enhancing scientific knowledge and professional development at any stage of a

researcher’s career. Consequently, they should build such options into the specific career

development strategy and fully value and acknowledge any mobility experience within their career

progression/appraisal system. This also requires that the necessary administrative instruments be

put in place to allow the portability of both grants and social security provisions, in accordance with

national legislation.


WSF recognizes the value of mobility as an important method for gaining knowledge and supporting

researchers’ professional development; the School also fully recognizes the mobility-related

experiences in the evaluation of employees’ careers.

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Answers of the respondents: 64.9% – “definitely yes,” 20.8% – “rather yes,” 2.6% – “rather not,”

1.3% – “definitely not,” 10.4% selected the “don’t know” option.

Commentary:

The development of mobility constitutes one of the most important goals in WSF development strategy.

This goal is accomplished inter alia by multidimensional motivating and supporting the efforts of WSF

researchers and academic teachers in geographic, interdisciplinary and virtual mobility. Mobility

experience is considered a crucial contribution to the researcher’s career development. According to the

Human resource policies implemented at WSF, researchers are granted full and complementary support

in the organization and, if applicable, refunding of mobility, especially via the Teaching Office,

International Cooperation Office and the School’s project team, also including external sources – EU,

Norway Grants, Erasmus+ program, national and local funds. The fact that mobility is given priority by the

School is reflected in the survey, in which over 85% of the employees admitted that mobility experience is

treated as an important contribution to the development of the researcher’s professional career.

Compare also part INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION AND MOBILITY.


19) Recognition of qualifications (Code), average of the answers given=4.29


Employers and/or funders should provide for appropriate assessment and evaluation of the

academic and professional qualifications, including non-formal qualifications, of all researchers, in

particular within the context of international and professional mobility. They should inform

themselves and gain a full understanding of rules, procedures and standards governing the

recognition of such qualifications and, consequently, explore existing national law, conventions and

specific rules on the recognition of these qualifications through all available channels.

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WSF provides appropriate assessment and evaluation of the academic and professional

qualifications, including non-formal qualifications, in particular as related to international and

professional mobility.


62.3% of the respondents selected the “definitely yes” option and 24.7% selected the “rather yes”

option. The “rather not” option was selected by 2.6% of the respondents, and the “definitely not”

option was not selected. 10.4% of the respondents selected the “don’t know” option.

Commentary:

Qualifications are recognized at the School according to European and national law, inter alia:

Act on Higher Education, Act on Academic Degrees and the Academic Title, and Degrees and Title in the

Field of Art, MNiSW Regulation on the criteria for the evaluation of the scientific background of

a candidate for the academic title of doctor habilitatus, MNiSW Regulation on the on the conditions and

modalities for the procedures in doctor, doctor habilitatus and professor degree, documents of the

International Exchange Department at MNiSW – http://www.nauka.gov.pl/uznawanie-wyksztalcenia/dla-

uczelni.html; http://www.nauka.gov.pl/uznawanie-kwalifikacji-zawodowych/ as well as WSF internal

regulations, among others: the School’s Statute, Employment Regulations for Researchers and Teachers

at WSF. Diligent analysis of qualifications, including geographical, interdisciplinary, professional and virtual

mobility, is performed by an appointed competition committee. Moreover, as far as the legal aspects

of qualification recognition are concerned, the committee is supported by appointed employees from the

Teaching Office, International Office and the School’s development project team.


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20) Seniority (Code), average of the answers given=4.48


The levels of qualifications required should be in line with the needs of the position and not be set

as a barrier to entry. Recognition and evaluation of qualifications should focus on judging the

achievements of the person rather than his/her circumstances or the reputation of the institution

where the qualifications were gained. As professional qualifications may be gained at an early stage

of a long career, the pattern of lifelong professional development should also be recognized.


WSF describes the level of basic qualifications that satisfy the requirements for a given position and

evaluates the candidate’s qualifications based on his\her full career path.





Commentary:

The competition committee, which is responsible for the recruitment process and the evaluation

of the candidate’s competences, qualifications and experience, provides a complementary evaluation of

the candidate’s academic background, giving consideration to each stage in the researcher’s career path

and to the precisely stated qualifications required for a particular position (compare points 16, 17, 18).

The implementation of these procedures is confirmed by a very high result in the survey, in which a total

of 91.2% respondents pointed to the fact that the School meets this criterion of the Code.


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21) Postdoctoral appointments (Code), average of the answers given=3.73


Clear rules and explicit guidelines for the recruitment and appointment of postdoctoral researchers,

including the maximum duration and the objectives of such appointments, should be established by

the institutions appointing postdoctoral researchers. Such guidelines should take into account time

spent in prior postdoctoral appointments at other institutions and take into consideration that the

postdoctoral status should be transitional, with the primary purpose of providing additional

professional development opportunities for a research career in the context of long-term career

prospects.


WSF has clear rules regarding the recruitment and appointment of postdoctoral researchers,

including the responsibilities and the maximum duration.





Commentary:

At WSF, the rules regarding the recruitment and appointment of postdoctoral researchers are

provided in the School’s Statute. The transparent regulations are related inter alia to the

responsibilities and the maximum duration. In accordance with the national and internal regulations,

the School appoints postdoctoral researchers to the positions of:

a) Assistant Professor;

b) Associate professor or visiting professor, if the candidate has significant and creative achievements

in academic, professional or artistic career, proven by publications, and has a positive opinion issued

by the Senate;

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c) Associate professor or visiting professor, if the candidate has a doctoral degree awarded in Poland

or abroad and has independently supervised a research team abroad for at least five years and have

a significant academic background.

The Act on Higher Education and the Statute of WSF define a maximum duration for an Assistant

Professor, for a person that does not have a doctor habilitatus degree, to be up to 8 years. During the

term of the contract the School offers, motivates and supports postdoctoral employees to undertake

activities aimed at professional development of the researcher and obtaining the doctor habilitatus

degree.

Actions required: Despite a very high percentage of respondents who selected positive options (a total of

“definitely yes” and “rather yes” = 70.90%), attention must be paid to the high percentage of those who

declared “don’t know”). This fact means a challenge for the School and the need to inform postdoctoral

researchers more effectively about employment opportunities at WSF and about the professional

development opportunities for a research career in the context of long-term career prospects.

Deadline – ongoing, starting year 2016.

22) Recognition of the profession, average of the answers given=4.68


All researchers engaged in a research career should be recognised as professionals and be treated

accordingly. This should commence at the beginning of their careers, namely at postgraduate level,

and should include all levels, regardless of their classification at national level (e.g. employee,

postgraduate student, doctoral candidate, postdoctoral fellow, civil servants).


All researchers employed at WSF are recognized as professionals at each stage of their academic

careers and are treated accordingly since the beginning of their careers.


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Referring to the above criterion, the employees evaluated the procedures followed at WSF as very good.

Above 90% of the respondents gave a positive answer: 79.5% selected the “definitely yes” option and

14.1% selected the “rather yes” option. Negative opinion in the form of the “rather not” option was given

by 3.8%, and nobody selected the “definitely not” option. The “don’t know” option was selected only

by 2.6% respondents.

Commentary:

By implementing consistent employment policies, and by implementing a support system for the research

and teaching staff, the School motivates and supports all employees at all stages of their professional

careers, starting with the participants of the doctoral program at WSF. Researchers employed at WSF are

considered professionals and outstanding specialists in the academic disciplines they represent, and

as contributors to the European and global academic community. The researchers are given extensive

administrative and organizational support in planning, implementation and, if applicable, funding of the

grants, research projects etc. In the cases when research works are carried out in cooperation with

centers from abroad, administrative and legal support is granted by the International Office.


23) Research environment, average of the answers given=4.49


Employers and/or funders of researchers should ensure that the most stimulating research or research

training environment is created which offers appropriate equipment, facilities and opportunities,

including for remote collaboration over research networks, and that the national or sectoral regulations

concerning health and safety in research are observed. Funders should ensure that adequate resources

are provided in support of the agreed work program.


WSF creates a stimulating research and research training environment, ensures appropriate

equipment, facilities and opportunities, including for maintaining contacts and remote collaboration

over research networks.


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Answers from respondents: 68.4% – “definitely yes,” 21.5% – “rather yes,” 5.1% – “rather not,” 1.3%

– “definitely not,” 3.8% selected the “don’t know” option.

Commentary:

WSF is consequent about pursuing the goal of constant raising the standards and the quality of the

projects and of the research carried out at the School. Researchers are given extensive support by being

offered supervision from higher rank researchers on the one hand and complementary administrative

and organizational help on the other hand.

Creating optimal research conditions and a stimulating research environment is carried out inter alia by:

a) developing the research infrastructure, especially by extending the library collection and access

options to specialized online databases, libraries, journals etc;

b) providing professional and extensive support related to research training and the management

of research and development projects;

c) providing support related to starting cooperation, also international cooperation, partnerships,

research teams and research consortiums;

d) acquiring funds from external sources and carrying out of development and investment projects,

including projects co-financed from UE funds, which support the development of research

infrastructure;

e) aiding the organization of meetings, working visits by research teams, workshops etc. by offering

organizational support and the premises;

f) supporting continuous professional development of researchers and stimulating them to develop

their research potential, also under the supervision of experienced researchers – employees

of the School.


24) Working conditions, average of the answers given=4.58


Employers and/or funders should ensure that the working conditions for researchers, including for

disabled researchers, provide where appropriate the flexibility deemed essential for successful research

performance in accordance with existing national legislation and with national or sectoral collective-

bargaining agreements. They should aim to provide working conditions which allow both women and

men researchers to combine family and work, children and career. Particular attention should be paid,

inter alia, to flexible working hours, part-time working, tele-working and sabbatical leave, as well as to

the necessary financial and administrative provisions governing such arrangements.


WSF provides flexible working conditions for researchers including for disabled researchers in order

to support their professional careers, in accordance with the binding rules and regulations.




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Answers from respondents: 78.5% – “definitely yes,” 13.9% – “rather yes,” 1.3% – “rather not,”

nobody selected the “definitely not” option, 6.3% selected the “don’t know” option.

Commentary:

Concerned about obtaining best research and teaching results, as well as about motivating researchers

to undertake such research and teaching efforts, WSF provides its employees with comfortable working

and employment conditions. Research and teaching staff carry out their duties as part of the agreed

workload, regulated by the provisions in the Statute of the School and in employment contracts. Due to

the research carried out at the School, WSF follows flexible working time, inter alia by lowering the

teaching workload. Moreover, as the School is rather small-scale and hence offers the researchers

a possibility to frequently consult their problems and discuss the needs regarding their duties, the

School adopts flexible and individually agreed solutions, e.g. planning timetables, absence dates,

conferences, trainings, or assigning additional research duties in the light of their actual workload,

etc. The highly efficient and effective internal communication electronic system and other ICT solutions

used to organize the School’s functioning greatly enhance the organization and communication

between WSF employees, inter alia by allowing remote work as part of official duties. Knowing its

employees and their needs, the School cares for such organization of work, which does not collide with

the employees’ private and family life.


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25) Stability and permanence of employment, average of the answers given=4.10


Employers and/or funders should ensure that the performance of researchers is not undermined by

instability of employment contracts, and should therefore commit themselves as far as possible to

improving the stability of employment conditions for researchers, thus implementing and abiding

by the principles and terms laid down in Council Directive on permanent employment.


WSF ensures the stability of employment conditions for researchers, including researchers on fixed-

term contracts, assuring the same development conditions and access to resources and possibilities

related thereto, as in the case of employees on permanent contracts.


Answers from respondents: 50,6% – “definitely yes,” 27,3% – “rather yes,” 9,1% – “rather not,” 2,6%

– “definitely not”, 6.3% selected the “don’t know” option.

Commentary:

Providing researchers with the best, stable employment conditions is the School’s concern and best

interest. According to Polish law and internal regulations, the School employs teachers and researchers on

the basis of both fixed time and permanent employment contracts. As a rule, contracts are permanent.

Fixed-term contracts can be usually accounted for by conducting research within some fixed time-frame,

or by fixed-term participation in working groups etc. At the same time WSF ensures that both fixed-term

and permanent contract employees are offered the same development conditions and access

to resources and possibilities related thereto. The above fact is one of the most fundamental and strictly

obeyed employment policies at the School. Moreover, when the employee’s a fixed-term contract is

about to expire, the School supports the researcher in planning, undertaking and carrying out of new

research works and projects, using contacts and researcher networks within the discipline, thus creating

a basis for prolonging the contract with the researcher.

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26) Funding and salaries, average of the answers given=4.14


Employers and/or funders of researchers should ensure that researchers enjoy fair and attractive

conditions of funding and/or salaries with adequate and equitable social security provisions

(including sickness and parental benefits, pension rights and unemployment benefits) in accordance

with existing national legislation and with national or sectoral collective bargaining agreements.

This must include researchers at all career stages including early-stage researchers, commensurate

with their legal status, performance and level of qualifications and/or responsibilities.


WSF ensures that researchers receive attractive funding and/or salaries according to clear rules, and

also that they receive adequate social security provisions in accordance with existing legislation.


Answers from respondents: 44,2% – “definitely yes,” 39,0% – “rather yes,” 7,8% – “rather not,” 5,2%

– “definitely not”, 3,9% selected the “don’t know” option.

Commentary:

WSF employs and provides funding and/or salaries to researchers and teachers on the basis of currently

binding UE directives, national legislation and internal documents, especially on the basis of Employment

Regulations and Remuneration Regulations for the employees of Wyższa Szkoła Filologiczna in Wrocław.

The School ensures that remuneration is paid and that all social charges, inter alia social security, parental

leaves, social benefits etc., are regulated properly. Remuneration is adequate and proportional to the

researcher’s legal status, scope of duties, engagement and work results. These conditions are satisfied by

the researchers at each stage of their careers. Moreover, the School motivates and supports its

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researchers in acquiring research grants and thus obtaining additional remuneration funded from

external sources.

It must be stressed that according to the School’s employment policy, WSF cares to pay the highest

possible salaries to its employees. The survey results confirm these efforts: as much as 83.2% of the

respondents have high opinion of remuneration policy at WSF.


27) Gender balance, average of the answers given=4.53


Employers and/or funders should aim for a representative gender balance at all levels of staff,

including at supervisory and managerial level. This should be achieved on the basis of an equal

opportunity policy at recruitment and at the subsequent career stages without, however, taking

precedence over quality and competence criteria. To ensure equal treatment, selection and

evaluation committees should have an adequate gender balance.


WSF implements the equal opportunities policy, including gender balance, at the recruitment stage

and at subsequent career stages, aiming at a representative gender balance at each career stage.


72.2% of the respondents answered by selecting the “definitely yes” option and 20.3% selected the

“rather yes” option. The negative options – “rather not” and “definitely not” were selected by a total

of 2.6%of the respondents (1.3% and 1.3%, respectively). 5.1% of the respondents selected the

“don’t know” option.

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Commentary:

WSF ensures that employees are treated equally and with respect to the gender balance policy at the

stage of both the recruitment process and all subsequent professional career stages, as well as in

respect of the access to perform organizational and administrative functions. Each time during those

processes, the employees are evaluated on the basis of their competences, qualifications, experience

and academic background, which are the key criteria, regardless of gender. 92.5% of the respondents

indicated that the School follows the gender balance policy.


28) Career development, average of the answers given=3.77


Employers and/or funders of researchers should draw up, preferably within the framework of their

human resources management, a specific career development strategy for researchers at all stages

of their career, regardless of their contractual situation, including for researchers on fixed-term

contracts. It should include the availability of mentors involved in providing support and guidance

for the personal and professional development of researchers, thus motivating them and

contributing to reducing any insecurity in their professional future. All researchers should be made

familiar with such provisions and arrangements.


A specific career development strategy exists for WSF researchers at all stages of their careers and

at all positions.


Answers from respondents: 38% – “definitely yes,” 32.9% – “rather yes,” 10.10% – “rather not,” 6.3%


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Access to career advice, average of the answers given=4.29


Employers and/or funders should ensure that all researchers at any stage of their career, regardless

of their contractual situation, are given the opportunity for professional development and for

improving their employability through access to measures for the continuing development of skills

and competencies. Such measures should be regularly assessed for their accessibility, take-up and

effectiveness in improving competencies, skills and employability.


WSF provides its researchers at all stages of their careers and regardless of the type of employment

contract with support in the development of their careers.


Answers from respondents: 53.2% – “definitely yes,” 31.6% – “rather yes,” 10.10% – “rather not,”


Commentary:

Career development for academic researchers, teacher-researchers and teachers is precisely defined

in Polish legal regulations: Labor Code, Act on Higher Education, Act on Academic Degrees and the

Academic Title, and Degrees and Title in the Field of Art and in the Statute of WSF. The above regulations

apply in particular to the researcher’s career path and to obtaining academic titles and degrees, to the

possibilities for the employment of researchers, teacher-researchers and teachers at WSF, and to the

maximum employment contract lengths at particular positions. The regulations are equal for both fixed-

term and permanent employment contracts. As part of the human resources policy at WSF, experienced

academic staff (especially heads of research departments and heads to younger researchers) are regularly

supervising young researchers, supporting their planning processes and career development, while

observing legal regulations.

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Actions required: According to the UE recommendation included in the European Charter for

Researchers, the School will develop a human resources model strategy of career development for

researchers at each stage of their careers. The document will include a collected and systematized set of

the related legal regulations, the available means for academic support / mentoring in preparing career

plans, the forms of administrative and organizational help in professional career development and the

available forms of career guidance for academic researchers and teachers at WSF. The planned contents

of the document will be moreover supplemented by the results of consultations with the School’s

academic researchers and teachers that represent both young researchers and employees with long and

successful careers.

Implementation period: Preparing and carrying out the consultations: October–December 2016;

preparation of the strategy January–June 2017.

29) Intellectual property rights, average of the answers given=4.59


Employers and/or funders should ensure that researchers at all career stages reap the benefits of the

exploitation (if any) of their R&D results through legal protection and, in particular, through appropriate

protection of intellectual property rights, including copyrights. Policies and practices should specify what

rights belong to researchers and/or, where applicable, to their employers or other parties, including

external commercial or industrial organizations, as possibly provided for under specific collaboration

agreements or other types of agreement.


WSF ensures that intellectual property rights, including copyrights, are properly protected, and

provides regulations for potential reaping by researchers the benefits of the exploitation of their

research results.


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“rather yes” option. The negative options – “rather not” and “definitely not” were selected by a total

of 2.5% of the respondents (nobody selected the “definitely not” option), 5.1% selected the “don’t

know” option).

Commentary:

The WSF Team for the Quality Assurance in Education is the body responsible for the policy of respecting

copyrights, preventing plagiarism and commercialization of research results. The main internal document

that regulates this issue is the Internal Regulation of the Chancellor of WSF in Wrocław on the

introduction of Rules and Regulations for the management of copyrights and the related rights and

industrial property rights as well as the on introduction of the rules for commercialization at WSF, which

have been prepared in accordance with international and national laws, especially with Act on Higher

Education, Act on Industrial Property Rights, Act on Copyrights and Related Rights and with the MNiSW

document titled Reliability in Research and Respecting Intellectual Property (MNiSW, 2012). The School

respects intellectual property rights and expects these rights to be fully respected; the School

considers/evaluates this aspect in relation to both academic research and teaching processes carried

out at WSF.

Actions to be implemented: none.

30) Co-authorship, average of the answers given=4.23


Co-authorship should be viewed positively by institutions when evaluating staff, as evidence of a

constructive approach to the conduct of research. Employers and/or funders should therefore

develop strategies, practices and procedures to provide researchers, including those at the

beginning of their research careers, with the necessary framework conditions so that they can enjoy

the right to be recognized and listed and/or quoted, in the context of their actual contributions, as

co-authors of papers, patents, etc., or to publish their own research results independently from their

supervisor(s).


WSF follows practices that ensure that researchers, including young researchers have the right to be

recognized as co-authors of academic works and to publish the results of their research

independently from their supervisors.




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The respondents selected only positive options, a total of 87.1%; (61.5% selected the “definitely yes”

option and 25.6% selected the “rather yes” option). The negative options, i.e. “definitely not” and “rather

not” were not selected. 12.8% of the respondents selected the “don’t know” option.

Commentary:

Researchers employed at WSF are encouraged to get involved in research teams and groups, which aids

building relations and researcher networks, exchanging experiences and multilateral evaluation

of progress in research. In this context, reliable co-authorship is considered especially precious and helpful

in multilateral development of competences, both in regard to the researcher’s knowledge and ethical

attitudes. Due to the above, according to the regulations on respect for intellectual property and human

resources policies binding at WSF, researchers undertaking and carrying out works as co-authors are fully

informed about the rules for recognizing and remunerating their contribution, which is given particular

care in the case of cooperation between young researchers and experienced leaders of research

teams/groups. The above presented survey results confirm that the School boasts a high level of respect

for work and intellectual property in the context of co-authorship.


31) Teaching, average of the answers given=4.19


Teaching is an essential means for the structuring and dissemination of knowledge and should

therefore be considered a valuable option within the researchers’ career paths. However, teaching

responsibilities should not be excessive and should not prevent researchers, particularly at the

beginning of their careers, from carrying out their research activities. Employers and/or funders

should ensure that teaching duties are adequately remunerated and taken into account in the

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evaluation/appraisal systems, and that time devoted by senior members of staff to the training of

early stage researchers should be counted as part of their teaching commitment. Suitable training

should be provided for teaching and coaching activities as part of the professional development of

researchers.


Teaching duties are adequately remunerated and taken into account in the evaluation/appraisal

systems, and that time devoted by senior members of staff to the training of early stage researchers

is counted as part of their teaching commitment.


Answers from respondents: 46.7% – “definitely yes,” 36% – “rather yes,” 10.7% – “rather not,”


Commentary:

Teaching activities at WSF are carried out on the basis of Polish legal regulations and internal documents,

especially on the basis of the Act on Higher Education, the Act on Academic Degrees and the Academic

Title, and Degrees and Title in the Field of Art and of the Statute of WSF and the Employment Regulations

at WSF. Planning of the teaching process, including the assignment of classes and preparation

of timetables is performed with consideration to the workload of employees who currently perform

research and/or participate in research teams. The planning process is carried out in a way to ensure that

the employees may best organize their work and maximize their research and teaching effectiveness. The

maximum number of teaching hours (the teaching workload) is defined in the School’s Statute, while the

rules of remuneration for teaching are included in the Remuneration Regulations for the employees

of Wyższa Szkoła Filologiczna in Wrocław.

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Teaching quality at the School is regularly evaluated, and the primary elements of the evaluation are class

inspections and student surveys. The results are annually presented to and discussed in detail with each

of the teachers by WSF Chancellor or by a representative of the WSF Team for the Quality Assurance in

Education appointed by the Chancellor. The evaluation of researchers and teachers includes the criterion

of engagement and supervision over early stage researchers who just begin their professional

development and careers. All teachers, and especially, although not only younger teachers with limited

professional experience , are offered assistance related to improving their teaching techniques and

methodological preparation, inter alia from experienced experts from the WSF Foreign Language Teacher

Training Center.

Actions required: Apart from maintaining and perfecting the current solutions, it is recommended to

appoint seminar working groups from among the experienced researchers; the goal for the groups

would be to: standardize postgraduate and doctoral seminars, establish a uniform standard for

conducting, documenting and preparing the results of first research works created as part of the

seminars, enable regular and effective consultations between the researchers and as a result to

prepare two catalogs of good practices regarding research and organizational issues related to

teaching seminars, academic tutoring, and promoting first research dissertations written by the

participants of the diploma (1) and doctoral (2) seminars.

32) Complaints/appeals, average of the answers given=3.38


Employers and/or funders of researchers should establish, in compliance with national rules and

regulations, appropriate procedures, possibly in the form of an impartial (ombudsman-type) person

to deal with complaints/appeals of researchers, including those concerning conflicts between

supervisor(s) and early-stage researchers. Such procedures should provide all research staff with

confidential and informal assistance in resolving work-related conflicts, disputes and grievances,

with the aim of promoting fair and equitable treatment within the institution and improving the

overall quality of the working environment.


WSF established the rules and regulations for dealing with complaints of researchers, including also

conflicts between supervisors and early-stage researchers. The goal of these regulations is to

promote fair and equitable treatment within the institution and improving the overall quality of the

working environment.




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Commentary:

The School’s authorities and academic community undertake efforts at fair and equitable treatment

of the employees within the institution and at the highest quality of the working environment. Wyższa

Szkoła Filologiczna, as a small-scale school with only one faculty, aims at providing the best possible

communication between its employees, offers open approach to settling conflicts and ensures that each

of the employees is granted the possibility to present his/her postulates and arguments, if disputes occur.

Actions required: The survey showed clearly that the solution based on open communication in the case

of conflicts/disputes/complaints is not positively viewed by the employees; moreover, 28.6% of the

“don’t know” option seems to suggest that the employees have insufficient knowledge of the matter or

that at the same time they are not confident about how to present their arguments/attitudes/ demands

in the case of complaints/appeals/conflicts. Therefore, the Rector of WSF will appoint an ombudsman,

who will be selected from among the candidates presented by the Senate and who will be

a reliable and impartial source of help in conflict situations. In the case when the situation reveals general

irregularities in the functioning of the School’s procedures, the ombudsman will address his/her remarks

to the applicable bodies of the School.

Deadline: Starting with academic year 2016/17;

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33) Participation in decision-making bodies, average of the answers given=3.92


Employers and/or funders of researchers should recognise it as wholly legitimate, and indeed

desirable, that researchers be represented in the relevant information, consultation and decision-

making bodies of the institutions for which they work, so as to protect and promote their individual

and collective interests as professionals and to actively contribute to the workings of the institution.


WSF recognizes that researchers are entitled to be represented in the relevant bodies of the School

to promote and protect their individual and collective interests as professionals and to actively

contribute to the workings of the School.



“rather yes” option; “rather not” – 6.4%, “definitely not” – 1.3%. 16.7% of the respondents selected

the “don’t know” option.

Commentary:

The representation of WSF employees in the decision-making bodies of the School is based on Polish legal

regulations – Act on Higher Education – and on the School’s internal regulations. According to WSF

Statute, the collegial bodies of the School include representatives of researchers and teachers, whose

tasks in those bodies is of advisory, consultation, opinion-forming character and who diligently

and independently represent the interests of the researchers and teachers.

Actions required: As in the case of points 12–15.

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34) Relation with supervisors, average of the answers given=3.84


Researchers in their training phase should establish a structured and regular relationship with their

supervisor(s) and faculty/departmental representative(s) so as to take full advantage of their

relationship with them. This includes keeping records of all work progress and research findings,

obtaining feedback by means of reports and seminars, applying such feedback and working in

accordance with agreed schedules, milestones, deliverables and/or research outputs.


WSF follows the established rules and forms of the relationship between early stage researchers or

participants of the doctoral program and their supervisors and faculty representatives.


Answers given: 53.2% of the respondents answered by selecting the “definitely yes” option and 19.5%

selected the “rather yes” option; “rather not” – 6.5%, “definitely not” – 0%. 20.8% of the respondents

selected the “don’t know” option.

Commentary:

Regular consultations, as well as the rules, forms of contact and cooperation between early stage

researchers and experienced supervisors are arranged and respected at the School. Consultation

schedules and timetables for the doctoral program are arranged for each current semester of the

academic year. Aware of the importance of the relationship with the supervisor, WSF motivates their

experienced researchers to commit to and diligently perform supervision functions, and at the same time

encourages early stage researchers to take advantage of these relationships and academic contacts.

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Actions required: As part of human resources policies at WSF and in relation to the above criterion,

the planned model strategy of career development for WSF researchers (compare point 28) will include

the aspect of the relationship with research supervisors and suggestions about the preferred forms

of organizing and maintaining contacts with supervisors and/or representatives of the faculty, as well as

the rules of the cooperation between researchers in the student-master and master-student relationship.

35) Supervision and managerial duties, average of the answers given =4.22

The definition of the categories in the Charter:

Senior researchers should devote particular attention to their multi-faceted role as supervisors,

mentors, career advisors, leaders, project coordinators, managers or science communicators. They

should perform these tasks to the highest professional standards. With regard to their role as

supervisors or mentors of researchers, senior researchers should build up a constructive and

positive relationship with the early-stage researchers, in order to set the conditions for efficient

transfer of knowledge and for the further successful development of the researchers’ careers.


Experienced WSF researchers perform various functions as supervisors, mentors, leaders, project

coordinators, or science communicators and handle these tasks to the highest professional

standards, creating constructive and positive relationships with early stage researchers.


Answers of the respondents: 61.0% of the respondents answered by selecting the “definitely yes” option

and 23.4% selected the “rather yes” option; “rather not” – 2.6%, “definitely not” – 2.6%. 10.4% of the

respondents selected the “don’t know” option.

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Supervision, average of the answers given=4.01

The definition of the categories in the Charter:

Employers and/or funders should ensure that a person is clearly identified to whom early-stage

researchers can refer for the performance of their professional duties, and should inform the

researchers accordingly. Such arrangements should clearly define that the proposed supervisors are

sufficiently expert in supervising research, have the time, knowledge, experience, expertise and

commitment to be able to offer the research trainee appropriate support and provide for the

necessary progress and review procedures, as well as the necessary feedback mechanisms.


Supervisors appointed at WSF have expertise and commitment and support research trainees in

areas related to performing their professional duties.


Answers of the respondents: 53.8% of the respondents answered by selecting the “definitely yes”

option and 24.4% selected the “rather yes” option; “rather not” – 5.1%, “definitely not” – 2.6%.

14.1% of the respondents selected the “don’t know” option.

Commentary:

The expertise and competences of the experienced researchers and teachers at WSF are highly valued

and effectively used in the research and didactic activities undertaken by the School. WSF researchers

with successful careers perform various research-related functions at the School, e.g. as supervisors,

mentors, leaders and project coordinators or science communicators, as well organizational functions,

e.g. heads of the faculty’s research departments. The representatives of the experienced staff also

participate in collegial decision-making bodies of the School, offering their experience to the benefit

of the whole academic community of WSF. In cases when an experienced researcher is engaged

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Page 66 of 72

in organizational activities or performs the above mentioned research-related functions – as a supervisor/

mentor, his/her teaching workload is lowered adequately to his/her commitment, so that on the one

hand best possible work conditions and on the other hand the best quality work results can be ensured.


36) Continuing professional development, average of the answers given=4.50

The definitions of the categories in the Charter:

Researchers at all career stages should seek to continually improve themselves by regularly updating

and expanding their skills and competences. This may be achieved by a variety of means including,

but not restricted to, formal training, workshops, conferences and e-learning.


WSF supports researchers at any stage of their career in continuous development of skills and

professional competences, inter alia by enabling them to participate in conferences, trainings and

other forms of education, including ICT-based forms.




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20,00%

30,00%

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60,00%

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Access to research training and continuous development, average of the answers given=4.38

The definition of the categories in the European Charter for Researchers:

Employers and/or funders should ensure that all researchers at any stage of their career, regardless

of their contractual situation, are given the opportunity for professional development and for

improving their employability through access to measures for the continuing development of skills

and competences. Such measures should be regularly assessed for their accessibility, take-up and

effectiveness in improving competences, skills and employability.


WSF supports its researchers at any stage of their career, regardless of their contractual situation,

by offering advice and access to measures for the continuing development of skills and

competences.




Commentary:

WSF provides its researchers at all stages of their careers and regardless of the type of employment

contract with support in the development of their careers. WSF offers access to and participation

in trainings, seminars and workshops, either those devoted to practical aspects of planning and managing

research projects and the exchange of their experience in this area, or those dedicated

to academic/research/didactic aspects of the discipline/area of their research. The task of the

administration of the School, especially of Teaching Office, International Office and the School’s project

team is to regularly/continuously evaluate and update the available offers of training for employees,

especially to assess the relevance and attractiveness of trainings dedicated to researchers and teachers.

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Each year, the School dedicates financial resources to subsidy the participation of its employees in various

forms of development, and supports research and professional development inter alia by granting

financial support to the participation in conferences, to the preparation of publications, to preparatory

works, e.g. visits and working meetings aimed at establishing contacts and winning research grants,

also in international cooperation.


ACTION PLAN

THE SCOPE AND SCHEDULE FOR WSF HRS4R IMPLEMENTATION ACTIVITIES

According to the planned schedule of CCIT activities, the results of internal documents analysis and of the

survey were prepared in the period between the appointment of the Team and filing the application

to the European Union, i.e. August/September 2016. These results served to prepare gap analysis and

to formulate an action plan that serves full implementation and maintenance of the Charter/Code rules

at WSF starting September 2016. It should be stated that the indicated completion time refers to the

moment of reaching a certain goal (short-term goals, i.e. within 12 months, mid-term goals, i.e. 6-12

months, in the long-term, i.e. above 12 months) and at the same time to the moment when the School

starts functioning – within a certain scope – in accordance with the new procedures in the long-term

perspective.

Action plan

Area Planned action Deadline Person(s)

responsible

Eth

ical

an

d p

rofe

ssio

nal

asp

ects

Dissemination Intensifying the communication and

popularization of the research carried out at the

School, including in cooperation with the

businesses/institutions representing in the

broad sense the socio-economic environment of

the School, with the entities representing the

sector of culture, education and science, and

using a variety of tools offered by information-

communication technologies.

Ongoing, beginning

on 3.10.2016

(short term)

Director-General,

Dean of the Faculty of

Modern Languages

and Literature,

Heads of the

Academic Research

Departments,

Specialist for the

cooperation with

WSF’s socio-

economic

environment

Public engagement

Rec

ruit

men

t

Recruitment (Charter) Implementation of informative activities aimed

at the popularization of the legal documents as

well as the rules and procedures that serve as

the basis for the recruitment and employment

at WSF; systemization of the documents and

issuing guidance on the availability of the

repository of internal documents, inter alia

regarding the regulations on the recruitment

and employment of researchers and teachers at

WSF.

Ongoing, beginning

on 3.10.2016

(short term)

Director-General,

Chancellor, Human

Resources Officer

reporting to the

Chancellor

Recruitment (Code)

Selection (Code)

Transparency (Code)




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Judging merit

Verification of the Employment Regulations for

WSF researchers and teachers with a view to

broaden and particularize the catalog of

competences and qualifications as related to

academic, organizational and didactic activities

which should not be overlooked in the

recruitment process and may influence the

general evaluation of a candidate.

31.12.2016

(short term)

Director-General,

Chancellor, Human

Resources Officer

reporting to the

Chancellor, Dean of

the Faculty of

Modern Languages

and Literature

Postdoctoral

appointments

Implementation of informative activities aimed

at the popularization of the legal documents as

well as the rules and procedures that serve as

the basis for the recruitment and employment

at WSF and that define the long-time

perspectives for academic career development

of employees with doctoral degree;

systemization of the documents and issuing

guidance on the availability of the repository of

internal documents regarding this area.

Ongoing, beginning

on 3.10. 2016

(short term)

Director-General,

Chancellor, Human

Resources Officer

reporting to the

Chancellor

Wo

rkin

g co

nd

itio

ns

and

so

cial

sec

uri

ty

Career development

Developing a model strategy of professional

career development for WSF researchers at any

stage of their career, with consideration to the

results of consultations carried out in this area

with the representatives of WSF researchers and

teachers; dissemination of the document among

the employees.

Consultations

3.10–31.12.2016

Preparation of the

document

until 30.06.2017

(middle term)

Rector, Chancellor,

Director-General,


Modern Languages

and Literature, Heads

of the

Academic Research

Departments

Access to career advice

Teaching

Appointing working groups on postgraduate

seminars; preparing a catalog of good practices

regarding research and organizational issues

related to teaching seminar groups, academic

tutoring and promoting the seminar

participants’ dissertations.

Consultations

3.10–31.12.2016

Preparation of the

documents

until 30.09.2017

(middle term)

Implementation of

the rules until

2.10.2017

(long term)


Modern Languages

and Literature,

Deputy Dean of the

Faculty of Modern

Languages and

Literature,

Heads of the

Academic Research

Departments,

Researchers teaching

master’s and doctoral

degree seminars,

recommended by the


Modern Languages

and Literature

Appointing working groups on doctoral

seminars; preparing a catalog of good practices

regarding research and organizational issues

related to teaching seminar groups, academic

tutoring and promoting the seminar

participants’ dissertations.

Complaints/appeals

Appointing a “spokesman”/”ombudsman” from

among independent candidates recommended

by the Senate, who will be a reliable and

impartial source of help in conflict situations and

whose tasks will include dealing with

researchers’ complaints and solving conflicts

between researchers.

31.12.2016

(short term)

Rector, Chancellor,

Director-General,


Modern Languages


of the Academic

Research

Departments




Page 70 of 72

MONITORING OF THE EFFECTS

In accordance with the defined scope of competences of the European Charter for Researchers and Code

Implementation Team at WSF, after completing the internal analysis, and formulating the action plan and

filing the application documents to the European Union in order to acquire the HR Excellence in Research

award, the members of CCIT and supporting persons appointed by the Rector’s approval will have the

duty to coordinate works and supervise the implementation of the corrective actions recommended

in the plan, according to the schedule presented in the table.

As was indicated above, the moment indicated in the table as the time of obtaining the goal, i.e.

developing a solution, should be interpreted as “starting point” for the consistent implementation of the

HRS4R procedures. Therefore, after obtaining the results according to dates established in the action

plan, it is still within CCIT’s competences to:

1) monitor the consistent implementation and following of the solutions;

2) constant verification of the procedures and solutions already functioning at the School, in relation to

all criteria of the Charter and the Code, from the perspective of their validity and adequacy

to changing legal and organizational regulations both in Polish and European areas of higher

education and academic environment;

3) defining the desired current improvement actions and submitting related recommendations to the

appropriate organs of the School.

The reports – covering the data on the progress of both corrective and improvement actions described in

the action plan, as well as on the results of the monitoring and evaluation of the implemented actions and

of the recommended new actions – will be prepared in six-month cycles and presented to the WSF Rector

for approval.

Participation in

decision-making bodies

Implementation of informative activities aimed

at the popularization of the rights and

possibilities for representing the interests of

researchers and teachers in the decision-making

bodies of the School; systemization of the

documents and issuing guidance on the

availability of the repository of internal

documents regarding this area.

Ongoing, beginning

on 3.10. 2016

(short term)

Director-General,

Chancellor, Human

Resources Officer

reporting to the

Chancellor, Dean of

the Faculty of

Modern Languages

and Literature

Relation with

supervisors

Preparing, as part of the model strategy of

career development for researchers at any stage

of their careers, information on the possibilities

and the preferred forms of using and organizing

contacts with supervisors and/or

representatives of the faculty, as well as the

rules of the cooperation between researchers in

the student-master and master-student

relationship.

30.06.2017

(short term)

Rector, Chancellor,

Director-General,


Modern Languages


of the Academic

Research

Departments




Page 71 of 72

FINAL CONCLUSIONS

Philological School of Higher Education in Wrocław consequently follows Policy and the strategy

of development of WSF till 2025, and aims at creating a stimulating and open academic environment

for its researchers and teachers to work in, among other things by employing an increasing number

of foreign researchers. The School also has as its goal creating and maintaining the highest standards

of research in humanities, especially in linguistics, literature studies and cultural studies. Many awards for

the quality of teaching, the degree of internationalization and research results confirm the effectiveness

of the actions undertaken, procedures followed and solutions implemented in the areas of both

organization of didactic activities and carrying out of research projects and works.

High scores in the survey conducted as part of the preparation of HR Excellence in Research application

confirm that WSF is indeed a good place to work in, and provides its researchers with comfortable

conditions and with perfect base – in terms of human capital and infrastructure – for the development

of their academic careers.

The fact that the School is small-scale and very specialized remains certainly of huge importance here.

Being a one-faculty school, WSF currently employs almost 150 researchers and teachers, who perform

research in six departments. This fact allows very good communication between the employees,

exchange of experience, and support in planning and performing research, including among other things

obtaining research grants. Very high level of internationalization, close contacts with many research

centers in Europe and worldwide as well as joint research undertakings result not only in significant

research achievements but also in the possibilities to learn about the best practices related to the

conditions of research in foreign partner institutions of higher education and to use these practices

at WSF.

The survey results also indicate, however, that despite the small-scale of the School as well as good

communication and direct contact between the School’s authorities and employees and between the

researchers, the area requiring the most active intervention remains the dissemination of information

about WSF regulations, rules and procedures, especially the rules of recruitment for and employment at

research and teaching positions and the information about the possibilities for academic career

development at the School and the researchers’ rights, e.g. those related to the representation of the

employees’ interests in the decision-making bodies of the School. Therefore, the actions aimed at the

popularization of and facilitating the access to the systematized set of documents and regulations

constitute the greatest challenge and at the same time one of the key actions within the intended action

plan.

It is an action that requires systematic and diligent approach, one can assume, however, that performing

it properly as well as consequently implementing the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of

Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers will result not only in further receiving high grades from the

WSF researchers (as concluded on the basis of the internal analysis), but also in extended knowledge of

the working conditions at WSF and hence will allow the researchers to consciously consider the School an

attractive and reliable employer in both Polish and European academic environment.




Page 72 of 72

ACCEPTANCE

Rector of Philological School of Higher Education in Wrocław, prof. Norbert Morciniec, accepts

the prepared WSF Human Resources Strategy for Researchers (HRS4R) with the Action plan for the

implementation of the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment

of Researchers at WSF in Wrocław, Poland.

Prof. Norbert Morciniec

Rector of Philological School of Higher Education

in Wrocław, Poland

Wrocław, 15.09.2016