Notice: 2022/2023 Annual Performance Appraisal for All Staff Begins

All members of staff of the University of Lagos are hereby notified that the Annual Performance Appraisal Exercise for the 2022/2023 academic session has commenced.

In view of the above, staff are enjoined to download, fill and submit their APER forms on or before Wednesday, May 31, 2023. To download the forms, visit the related link under the Staff portal on the University website or simply click the appropriate link below:

Kindly note that APER forms submitted after Wednesday, May 31, 2023 will not be considered.

The forms are to be completed by the Academic and Non-teaching staff (Senior Administrative, Technical Staff) and all Junior Staff, whether recommended for promotion/confirmation/annual increment or not.  Departmental Heads are urged to kindly ensure proper completion of the Appraisal Forms.

Heads of Department are advised to be consistent in their evaluation and their comments should reflect the relative contribution of each member of staff to overall objectives of the respective departments. The detailed report must cover punctuality, job performance, character of the staff being reported, etc.

Heads of Department are reminded to constitute a DEPARTMENTAL PROMOTIONS COMMITTEE.  It is expected that minutes of the Departmental Promotions Committee meeting should be attached. The forms of all staff in the department should be scrutinized before the final recommendations are forwarded to the Human Resource Management Directorate.  This procedure will help minimize cases of oversight, inadequate information on salary, qualification, etc. (Please note that any appraisal form where the Head of Department/Unit fails to make specific and clear comments to support his or her recommendation in respect of any member of staff will be rejected. Also, note that this End of Year Appraisal Form for Junior Staff Assessment carries 60% of the Total Marks in addition to the Mid-Year Appraisal Form Assessment of 40%.

Kindly bring to the notice of staff in your department that there will be a penalty for misinformation and distortion of facts presented to the Human Resource Management Directorate.  Degrees and certificates IN VIEW should NOT be included.

The Human Resource Management Directorate will thereafter collate the recommendations as forwarded by the Departmental Appointment and Promotions Committees and supported by the Dean or Head of Department/Unit or Chairman of the Management Board, for the consideration of the appropriate Board and Committees.

Recommendations for promotion must be justified based on one or more of the following reasons:

1. Reward for outstanding staff who have made substantial contribution towards achievement of the objectives of their respective departments or the University as a whole;
2. Increased responsibility arising from either growth of the department, unforeseen circumstances or both;
3. Expanded schedule of duties;
4. Acquisition of a higher qualification where this affects grading.

The following guidelines should be observed when recommendations for promotions and confirmation of appointment are made:

• Recommendations for promotions should be based on the assessment of staff’s overall performance within the last three consecutive reporting years and should reflect contribution of staff to the objectives of the Faculty, Department/Units and University of Lagos.
• Staff on permanent appointment, whose appointment have NOT been confirmed are NOT eligible for promotion.
• A member of staff on temporary appointment should NOT be recommended for promotion until such appointment is regularized.
• Where appropriate, the qualifications and experience stipulated in the Career Structure, should be considered in recommendations for appropriate posts.
• The baseline for confirmation of appointment is two (2) calendar years.
• The baseline for promotion (without the skipping of salary scale) is Three (3) years i.e., 1^st October, 2020/2021. Where promotion involves the skipping of salary scales, the baseline is four (4) years i.e., 1^st October, 2019/2020.

The given baseline is the guideline for eligibility of staff only and not an indication that recommendation for promotion/confirmation MUST be made.

• APER FORM of any member of staff who has not worked for more than six months in a Unit should be referred to the staff’s previous place of work for proper assessment (where applicable).

After completion, the form should be returned to the Deputy Registrar, Human Resource Management Directorate as the case may be in separate batches as follows:

• Those recommended for annual increment only.
• Those recommended for promotion (a set of originals and a set of photocopies of APER Form & Promotion Format), see attached.
• Those recommended for confirmation (a set of original and a set of copies of APER Form & confirmation Format) see attached.

The Appraisal Forms with a copy of each of the three years’ assessment format of recommendations (see attached) should be processed and forwarded together with photocopies of their credentials and last letter of promotion or appointment as applicable.

Completed Appraisal Forms (copy in Excel format soft and hard copies) should reach the Human Resource Management Directorate, 2^nd Floor, Senate House, no later than May 31, 2023. The soft copy should be on CD or forwarded to hrmd@unilag.edu.ng, or Drasu@unilag.edu.ng .

Any claim(s) with regards to possession of qualifications and experience should be scrutinized and attested to by each Head of Department.

Please note:

• It is important to emphasize again that all completed Appraisal Forms in respect of all staff in each department must be forwarded en-block with photocopies of relevant documents and credentials as soon as possible but not later than May 31, 2023.
• Each staff should correctly and properly complete his/her own sections of the Appraisal Form.
• Each Dean/Head of Department should peruse carefully the Appraisal Forms duly filled by his/her staff, and ensure that the staff’s sections are properly and correctly completed.

ALL ACADEMIC STAFF ARE REQUESTED TO COMPLETE THE ANNUAL PERFORMANCE EVALUATION REVIEW (APER) FORM ONLINE by logging on to www.unilag.edu.ng and click on ‘Staff Login.’  No hand-written form will be accepted and do not just edit old copy.

The Promotion Regulations are as follows:

i.              Rules guiding completion of APER FORM

a.            The session in which the recommendation is being made should be clearly stated.

b.            Surname should either be capitalized or differentiated by a comma along with proper status i.e. (Dr/Mr/Mrs/Miss).  All dates should be clearly presented.

c.             Heads of Department/Unit and Deans should write their recommendations and append their signatures appropriately. Appraisal Form completed without adhering strictly to the above guidelines would be rejected.

ii.            Recommendation for Promotion

The Appointments and Promotions Board will consider the recommendations put forward and supported by the Provost, Dean, Head of Department and if there is no Provost, Dean or Head of Department, then the Vice-Chancellor.  There shall be no advertisement or interview for promotion, except in marginal cases of promotion to Professorial posts where interviews will be arranged.

Promotion exercise should begin with an annual review of every member of staff to be done in the first instance at the level of College and Faculties.

The procedure to be followed is as follows:

The College/Faculty Promotions Committee will carry out a general evaluation of every member of the academic staff in the College/Faculty on the separate Assessment Sheet to be provided.  Grades A to E shall be awarded to the candidates as appropriate.  Any item with a grade below C must be accompanied by comments explaining the low grade, for the benefit of the staff concerned.

In making recommendations for promotion, each College or Faculty must forward to the Appointments and Promotions Board through the Deputy Registrar (Human Resource Management Directorate) the original and five (5) copies of the completed form of every candidate recommended along with detailed justification of the proposed promotion in the light of the candidate’s teaching, research publications and other responsibilities.  

Where, however, a member of staff not recommended for promotion up to Professorial level put himself forward for promotion, external assessment of his publication should be sought in reviewing his case.

For the avoidance of doubt, attention of staff should be drawn to the criteria for promotion as contained in Chapter II Section 14 & Subsection (h) of the Regulations Governing the Conditions of Service of Senior Staff which stipulates thus:

Eligibility for Promotion:

Members of staff other than those on temporary appointment can be considered for promotion.  The Board shall not consider any recommendation until three (3) years have elapsed from the date of appointment or last promotion.

Similarly, Chapter IX, Section 1 of the Conditions of Services also stipulates thus:

… an increment shall be granted annually on 1^st October to every employee provided he/she has served six months or more on a salary point and has not reached the maximum point/step in the salary scale.

In addition, concerning the issue of effective date of promotion; only in peculiar circumstances, promotion shall not take effect earlier than 1^st October.  Also, no annual increment would be granted in a promotion year (Chapter IX, Section 7).

iii.           Promotion to Professorial Grade

Promotion to Professorial post shall be subject to availability of vacancy in the Department.  All Heads of Department are therefore requested to ensure that provisions are made for staff movement.

Only Senior Lecturers will be eligible for consideration for Promotion to Associate Professorship while Associate Professors will be eligible for consideration for promotion to Professorship provided appropriate criteria are met.  Annual review of members of staff at Faculty level should therefore include Senior Lecturers and Associate Professors.  The review of Senior Lecturers and Associate Professors should be done by a Faculty/College, Sub-Committee.  In a Faculty with less than three Professors, a Professor from a related discipline in another Faculty should be co-opted.  The Head of Department shall be a ‘member’ provided he/she is a full Professor, when cases involving his department are being considered.  When a member of staff is considered suitable for promotion to either Associate Professor or Professor, a recommendation to that effect will be made to the Appointments and Promotions Board.  If the Board considers that a prima-facie case has been made, it will cause the candidate’s publications to be sent for external assessment.

Any member of staff to be advanced to Professorial cadre by promotion would be made to face an interview panel after the ‘External Assessors’ Reports on his/her publications have been received as in the case of filling a post through advertisement.

A member of staff being considered for promotion to Professorial post should be informed accordingly by the Provost/Dean of his College/Faculty and his/her prior consent sought.

Please note that no candidate shall be considered for the same post by Appointments and Promotions Board at the same time.

PROMOTION:   Lectureship II or I and Senior Lectureship

Promotion up to Senior Lectureship are permissible without inviting outside opinion except where there are no suitable experts within the University to guide the Committee.

Promotion during Study Leave

(a)          A member of staff who is away on study leave will be entitled to his/her annual increment as long as the work he/she is doing is relevant to the work in his/her Faculty/Department.

(b)         Being away on study leave does not prevent a member of staff from being considered for promotion if he/she merits it.

iv.           Effective Date of Promotion

                Promotion shall not take effect earlier than 1^st October, 2023.

v.            Publications in Support of Promotion

When publications are cited in support of promotion, the Committee making the recommendations shall include in its recommendation assessment of those publications and, if possible, the opinion of some competent persons outside the Committee who have read them.  When a publication is the result of a joint effort between the person recommended for promotion and others, there shall be a clear statement from either the Committee or someone in a position to know of the contribution of the person being recommended for promotion.

vi.           Right of Individual to Appeal

An individual who feels that his/her claims to promotion have been overlooked shall have right of appeal to the Vice Chancellor, he/she shall send a copy of his appeal to the Provost of his/her College or Dean of Faculty or Head of Department who shall comment on his/her appeal to the Vice-Chancellor.

The Appointments and Promotions Board shall meet at the earliest opportunity to review such appeals presented by the Vice Chancellor to the Board together with all relevant comments.

The forms downloaded are to be completed by all members of staff whether or not they are being recommended for promotion. (Printed in Portrait Size and not Landscape).  Please note that the reporting system demands that every candidate should be given the opportunity to read the contents of his/her ASSESSMENT (p.5 of form), comments on them if he/she wishes and appends his/her signature in the space provided.  After completion, the forms should be returned to the Deputy Registrar (Human Resource Management Directorate) in two (2) batches as follows:

• those not recommended for promotion but for increment only; and
• those recommended for promotion in which case the original and five (5) copies of the completed form of each person should be forwarded.  The format presented in the form must be strictly adhered to.  No alteration in the form will be entertained by the Appointments and Promotions Board.

vii.          Confirmation of Appointments

Recommendations for Confirmation of Appointment should be strictly in accordance with Chapter II, Section 15 (i) to (viii) of the University of Lagos Regulations Governing Conditions of Service of Senior Staff 2016 which deals with confirmation of appointments.  Any enquiry on this should be directed to the Deputy Registrar (Human Resource Management Directorate) Room 244, Second Floor, Senate House.

viii.        Recommendations for Confirmation and Promotion

The Appointments and Promotions Board at its meeting held from Monday, 3rd to Wednesday, 5^th March, 2009 decided that recommendations for Promotions and Confirmation of Appointment of all academic staff who are due for both can now be made in ONE Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (APER) form.

All Deans and Heads of Department are hereby reminded to make adequate provisions in their staff establishment before recommending staff for promotion.

It will be appreciated if completed forms are forwarded to the Deputy Registrar (Human Resource Management Directorate) NOT LATER THAN WEDNESDAY, May 31, 2023, forms received after this date will not be considered.  The Board requests Faculties/College, etc. to ensure that Evaluation forms are properly completed, signed and dated by the candidates and respective Heads of Department/Deans, etc.