wl-7419-Elevating Non-academic Roles - Professionalising Key Functions in Indian Higher Education

The non-academic staff in an academic institution contribute significantly to diverse functional areas in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), including the departments overseeing administration, establishment and personnel, Information Technology (IT) support, library services, student affairs, engineering and estate management, finance and budgeting, and laboratory operations. This strong workforce supports the entire HEI community, including both faculty and students. They are critical for professionalising, and internationalising HEIs, and implementing the recommendations of the National Education Policy (2020). The study included a comprehensive review of Indian and international literature on the role of non-teaching staff in HEIs, using thematic analysis. Recognising the importance of the non-teaching staff, this comprehensive review identifies the key themes for professionalising the non-academic workforce, recommending ways of realising these themes. The research also highlights the importance of imparting technical skills and digital technologies to the non-teaching staff. The study outlines measures for recruiting and retaining professionals and devising focused training programmes for the existing staff. It also suggests a new nomenclature for non-academic staff to appropriately reflect their professional contributions. Thus, this article demonstrates the vital role played by the non-academic staff, identifies potential areas to enhance their roles and performance, and recommends that HEIs professionalise the non-teaching functions.