Performance Management for Colleges: Faculty KRAs

Faculty performance in a college rests on three legs: teaching, research and service to the institution. A review that looks only at results misses research, and one that counts only publications misses the professor who carries the department's teaching load. Good practice agrees weighted KRAs across all three at the start of the academic year, checks progress at the end of each semester, and keeps separate KRAs for HoDs, lab staff, the exam cell and the placement office.

Teaching, research and service KRAs

Weight the three areas to suit the post. An assistant professor in the first years might carry 60 on teaching, 20 on research and 20 on service, while a professor guiding PhD scholars might split 40, 40 and 20. Teaching covers course completion, results, student feedback and course files kept current. Research covers papers in peer-reviewed journals, funded project proposals submitted and scholars guided. Service covers committee work, admissions, accreditation work and mentoring students. Every KRA should be measurable at year end.

Teaching: courses completed and course files updated
Teaching: results and student feedback
Research: papers published and proposals submitted
Research: PhD or project students guided
Service: committee, admissions and accreditation work
Service: student mentoring and placement support

Semester check-ins and the annual review

Set goals in July with the HoD, once the odd semester's timetable is out. Check progress at the end of each semester, when results and student feedback arrive, and act early: a faculty member whose course results dropped sharply needs support in January, not a poor rating in June. The annual review in May or June feeds increments, confirmation of faculty on probation and nominations for promotion under your career advancement rules. Most colleges also collect a yearly self-appraisal from faculty in their own format, alongside this review.

KRAs for HoDs and non-teaching staff

An HoD is measured on the department: workload shared fairly, courses allotted before the semester, results across all sections, vacancies filled on time and documentation ready for accreditation. The exam cell is measured on results declared by the university's deadline and marks entry errors caught before publication. Lab staff are measured on practicals run without equipment downtime and stock registers reconciled every semester. The training and placement officer is measured on companies invited, students placed and internship tie-ups, reported each semester.

How to set it up in ZeniaHR

Set up an annual cycle in Performance that runs with the academic year, plus a probation cycle for newly appointed faculty, using your rating scale.
Add goals for each faculty member typed as KRA under teaching, research and service, with weights that suit the post and add up to 100.
Add KPI goals for HoDs, the exam cell, lab staff and the placement office that can be measured every semester.
Update progress at the end of each semester when results and student feedback arrive, so weighted progress stays current.
Use the cycle summary to compare departments before increments, and keep self-appraisal forms and HoD remarks in your own format outside ZeniaHR.

Roles this applies to

Pre-Primary Teacher Montessori Teacher Primary Teacher Trained Graduate Teacher Assistant Teacher

See performance and kras for colleges and universities in a demo

We set up your locations, shifts and rules on a video call and show it running for your team. Free for your first 50 employees.

Book a free demo See pricing

Frequently asked questions

What are the KRAs of a college professor?

A professor's KRAs usually fall under teaching, research and service: courses completed with good results and feedback, papers published and projects or scholars guided, and committee, accreditation and mentoring work. Weight them to suit the post, for example 40 for teaching, 40 for research and 20 for service for a senior professor, and review them every academic year.

How often should colleges review faculty performance?

Once a year for the formal review, at the end of the academic year, with a check-in at the end of each semester when results and student feedback come in. The semester check-in lets the HoD support a faculty member early. Faculty on probation should also get a review before their probation end date.

How do colleges measure research performance fairly?

Agree targets at the start of the year that match the post and discipline, such as papers submitted to peer-reviewed journals, proposals sent to funding agencies and scholars guided. Count work in progress as well as outcomes, since publication can take a year. Compare faculty within the same discipline, not across very different fields.