For more than 70 years academic institutions in Norway have acknowledged two parallel pathways in career development for teachers in HE. The conventional way was to apply for a position with equal obligations to teach and carry out research. The less taken was to seek a position for teaching and with very little time for research. In 2006 the teaching path was extended to a similar position to the professor: the entry-level is "lektor" (lecturer), "førstelektor" (senior lecturer) and finally "Dosent", which translates to "teaching professor" (Bjørke & Habib, (2011). The rules and regulations that guide ambitious teachers to seek status as "førstelektor" are generally conceived of as vague and open for interpretations. Further, the descriptions offered are not garnished with any academic literature nor philosophies of any rigour or foundation (Eriksen & Nordkvelle, 2021, Nicolini, 2013, Polanyi, 1966). Institutional support for applicants and assessment committees is scarce. Very small efforts are invested into identifying causes and effects in the assessment of applications. The varieties of mindsets that guide the assessment of applications are vast and reflect conventions and interpretations that are often tacit and rooted in assumptions of what academic work is in the discipline or professional area (Blichfeldt, 2010, Smith, Hakel & Skjeldestad, 2021)). This paper investigates how a number of applications from "lecturers" have been designed and how they use the rules and guides to argue for their desired career move. These applications have been assigned to a committee consisting of one internal and two external examiners. Second, we have compared the assessment reports written by the committees, and how they express the interpretations of the rules and regulations that they have applied to their assessment.

The method used for the study is document analysis of public and official statements from the Ministry of Higher Education, The Universities Norway as well as policy papers issued at the institutions, of 20 applications and 20 assessment reports. We have selected applications that are accepted and rejected as equally important sources. In addition, interviews of applicants and committee members of three cases have been transcribed and analyzed as qualitative texts.

The results are that significant efforts have been made by the applicants to relate to guides and regulations offered by the authorities in proper ways. The assessment reports refer to similar sets of documents but do apply them according to more or less hidden assumptions that are laid down as traditions that differ between professional studies, like teacher education and nursing, and disciplinary studies like history or psychology. The study could identify which interpretations were consistent and widely shared, and some peculiar and typical of local academic cultures. The study proposes solutions to the urgent need for making the regulations less ambiguous and clarifies what may be reasonable liberty of committees to make.

Bjørke, G. & Habib. L. (2011). From A Career Development Programme to Professional Doctorate or Practice-oriented PhD: A Norwegian Case Study. Work Based Learning eJournal, 2(1), http://wblearning-ejournal.com Blichfeldt, J.F. (2010). On knowledge bases and maps of knowledge: Some quiddities on getting to know in contemporary higher education. Nordic Studies in Education, 30(4), 252-265. Eriksen, S., & Nordkvelle, Y. (2021) The Norwegian 1.Lecturer – Shunned or Lost and Found? Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice, 21(7), 171-180 Nicolini, David (2013) Practice theory, Work and Organization: An Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Polanyi, M. (1966). The Tacit Dimension. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Smith, K., Hakel, K., & Skjeldestad, K. (2020). Universitetslektorer - en neglisjert profesjonsgruppe? Uniped (4), 280-297.