Investigation of Performance Based Academic Incentive Practice in Higher Education

Abstract

The purpose of academicians' performances based on academicians' scientific research and production are to improve academicians' income and increase their motivation to do more research and publication. However, since this application is a new for the evaluation of academicians in higher education, the commissions of academicians' performance evaluation have some difficulties in the process of decision making. The aim of this research is to examine the academic incentive practice on the basis of the experience of academicians working in the academic incentive sub-upper commissions at the universities in the Black Sea region. The research was carried out in the case study model and in qualitative research design. Criteria sampling method was used in the research. In order to carry out the research, each institution was selected from the universities on the top, in middle and lower ranking among the Black Sea Region Universities according to the determined criteria. In the research, data were collected conducting semi-structured interviews. The members of these institutions working in the sub-upper academic incentive commissions were determined as the participants of the research. The results of the research reveal that there are conflicts in incentive commissions due to the criteria that are not clear in the regulation on incentive, academicians who apply for incentives act unethical behaviors towards the commission members, and there are different problems in the evaluation of the types of academic activities. For this reason, the research is important in terms of reflecting the issues to be considered in updating the incentive practice by revealing the problems arising from the incentive practice and faced by commissions.