There is controversy at the University of Professional Studies Accra (UPSA) in connection with the promotion of a retired registrar as an associate professor.
Dr Koryoe Anim-Wright, a former senior lecturer, retired as a registrar at the university in March 2024 and subsequently applied for a promotion at the university to the rank of associate professor in Communication Studies.
Media Without Borders learned the university’s Research and Consultancy Centre (RCC) disapproved of the application during its assessment on the basis that she did not meet the criteria for promotion to that position even if she was an academic staff and not a retired registrar.
Despite the RCC’s alleged stance, the university’s governing council approved the promotion at a meeting held on Thursday, 20 June 2024.
The council’s approval was communicated seven days later to the rest of the university body via a circular signed by the current registrar, Lorraine B. Gyan.
“This circular comes to announce to the University community that at the 92nd Meeting of the UPSA Governing Council held on Thursday, June 20, 2024, the Governing Council approved the promotion of Dr Koryoe Anim-Wright from the rank of Senior Lecturer to Associate Professor in Communication Studies.
“Please, join us in congratulating Dr. Anim-Wright on her promotion to Associate Professor,” the circular said.
Requirements
Generally, a senior lecturer who applies for the title of associate professor must have a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in any of the areas of specialisation.
The applicant also should have a required number of publications in a refereed journal since his or her appointment as a senior lecturer or a total number of publications in a refereed journal since his or her appointment as a lecturer.
Besides, the applicant must have taught in a reputable university or a comparable institution for a minimum number of years as a senior lecturer.
Page 4 of the January 2021 Revised Edition of the UPSA’s Criteria for Appointments and Promotions of Senior Members (Academic) highlights what else it takes in addition to a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree before a senior lecturer or a senior research fellow can be promoted to the rank of associate professor:
An additional seven (7) referred journal articles published after promotion and/or appointment to the rank of Senior Lecturer/Senior Assistant Librarian as a requirement to be promoted to the rank of Associate Professor/Deputy Librarian. The applicant shall also be required to be the lead or corresponding author in at least four (4) of the referred journal articles published.
“An additional ten (10) referred journal articles published after promotion and/or appointment to the rank of Senior Research Fellow as a requirement to be promoted to the rank of Associate Professor. The applicant shall also be required to be the lead or corresponding author in at least six (6) of the referred journal articles published.
Comments from the university’s staff
Some of the university’s staff, who do not want their names mentioned for now, are enraged at the governing council’s approval of the application.
“It’s a total shock that somebody who retired as a registrar has been promoted to the level of associate professor without any prior active engagement in teaching, supervising student dissertations, publishing and serving the university community, which are key criteria for academic promotions.
“Usually, the rank of associate professor is reserved for those who have demonstrated sustained academic contributions, including teaching, community service and research. This incident not only casts a shadow over UPSA but also threatens to erode trust in the broader higher education sector across Ghana,” said a lecturer.
Another lecturer stated: “The sudden promotion of a retired administrator, who has not met these established criteria, seriously undermines the integrity of academic appointments and raises suspicions of procedural irregularities.”
A member of the university’s staff also questioned the condition under which the retired administrator vied for the academic rank and succeeded under the watch of the university’s authorities.
“She even retired as a registrar, an administrator. So, under what condition did she apply for an academic position? Registrars do not become professors. Registrars are administrators; professors are academics.
“Prior to her retirement, the university knew her as an administrator; so, she couldn’t have applied for an academic position. Even if she was not retired, she couldn’t have applied for the professor portfolio,” he said.
Adding her voice, another lecturer said: “Even if she has some articles published in the university’s journal, you are not allowed to have more than one paper published in the journal in a year. So, if you cannot do more than one in a year, since when has she been publishing in the university’s journal that we haven’t seen her name? And even if she had published one paper every year in the university’s journal so far, she should have had the required 7 papers by now.”
Comments from retired registrar, council chairman
In a quest to find out if she met the criteria for the promotion, Media Without Borders telephoned Dr. Anim-Wright.
“There is a process for all of this,” she replied. “And the process includes the dean of the school, not me. So, why don’t you direct your questions to the relevant offices?”
She ended the call abruptly before the author of this report could explain why it was relevant to speak to her on this matter.
When this media outfit contacted the chairman of the university’s governing council, Dr. Kofi Ohene Konadu, he insisted Dr. Anim-Wright met the criteria.
“There are professors on the council, doctors on the council; they are all associated with universities. Who would promote somebody with this? It’s not true,” he said.
To verify Dr. Anim-Wright’s credentials, Media Without Borders subsequently checked Scopus online for her profile.
Scopus is a database (or a register) that showcases both the articles written by researchers and the journals that publish those articles. Researchers, academic institutions, governments and degree-accreditation boards generally rely on Scopus to find articles, track documents and measure the impact of research in a particular field. The database benefits authors by advertising their work to a wider audience, globally.
Researchers, including PhD degree holders seeking upgrades, generally seek to have their work recorded on this database not just to enhance the visibility and credibility of their research but also to boost their academic and career advancement.
The database, considered the world’s largest and most credible resource, strictly documents only high-quality journals, and it is said to be recommended by the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) and also serves as a reference point for promotions at the UPSA.
When Media Without Borders perused the database for Dr. Anim-Wright’s details, it found only one article published in her name. The paper still was the only article she had to her credit on that database at the time of this publication.
When contacted, the university’s vice-chancellor, Prof. Abednego Feehi Okoe Amartey, declined to comment.
He said he was not the appropriate authority to speak to the matter.
Source: Edward Adeti/Media Without Borders/mwbonline.org/Ghana
