Unprecedented expansion of the public higher education sector in Ethiopia has brought about masses of early career academics (ECAs) to take up teaching and research in the sector. In recognition of a multitude of responsibilities and challenges these ECAs would face, a higher diploma program (HDP) was introduced in 2004 both for ECAs and senior academics alike. This paper analyzes this program on the basis of data collected through interviews with ECAs and secondary sources. The author also draws on his personal and professional experiences in the Ethiopian higher education sector over the last three decades. The study revealed that the HDP was initiated externally and tenuously grounded locally. It was also found out that ECAs' teaching practice still largely draws from their previous teachers, suggesting that the HDP program has not been fully effective.