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COLLEGE OF APPLIED SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
PROMOTION, TENURE AND POST-TENURE REVIEW POLICY
1.0 Promotion and Tenure - Development and Dissemination
The standards for promotion and tenure shall be determined by the
Candidates for promotion or tenure shall be provided written copies of the most recent standards in effect at the time they apply for promotion or are due for a tenure review. Recommended changes to this policy must be approved by a two-thirds vote of the faculty and must be submitted by the dean to the APAF&T Committee of the Faculty Senate on or before March 1 prior to the academic year in which they take effect. Approval by the Faculty Senate must be given on or before June 1; approved standards must be disseminated to the faculty on or before June 1.
1.1 Promotion and Tenure - Definitions
Promotion refers to advancement in rank based upon a candidate having met the standards for that rank as defined in the standards for promotion to that rank. If a candidate is denied promotion, the standards in effect at the time of re-application shall apply.
Tenure refers to the practice of granting to ranked faculty the contractual right to continuous appointments until the faculty member resigns, retires, becomes medically unable to perform required duties, is dismissed for adequate cause, is dismissed pursuant to a reduction in force resulting from a bona fide financial exigency, or is dismissed as the result of a formal discontinuance of a degree or program area.
1.2 Promotion and Tenure - Standards
1.2.1 Basic Responsibilities of Faculty
To be promoted or tenured, faculty members shall be expected to fulfill basic responsibilities in teaching, scholarly activity, and service in accordance with principles of academic freedom and professional ethics as described in the PPM 9-1 through 9-8. Specific basic responsibilities include the following, together with other such responsibilities appropriate to and approved by mutual consent of faculty members and their department chairs and the dean.
1.2.1.1 Basic Teaching Responsibilities of Faculty
a. Curriculum Development
Although administrators and students may make proposals, the primary responsibility for the development of new courses, deletion or changes in existing courses, the initiation of new programs, the discontinuance of existing programs, or other program modifications lies with the faculty.
b. Course Offerings and Content
Faculty members are responsible for planning and presenting course material; establishing course objectives and requirements including grading policies in accordance with University policy and making them known to students; selecting and ordering texts and supplemental materials in accordance with University policy; preparing, administering, and grading assignments; and assigning grades.
c. Absence and Class-related Duties
1) Faculty members shall meet their classes punctually unless the Department Chair has approved a substitute instructor, class cancellation, reschedule, or replacement by a substitute activity. This obligation extends from the first day of classes through the end of final examination week. If for some valid reason faculty members are unable to meet classes, arrangements shall be made to offer alternate instruction or cancellation as approved by the Department Chair.
2) If suitably qualified ranked faculty members serve as teaching substitutes upon assignment by the Department Chair for a period beyond one week, they shall be paid for the total time that they serve as substitutes at the prevailing overload rate, dependent upon the availability of funds; exceptions shall be approved by the dean.
3) Faculty members shall report evaluation of student work to students within a reasonable time with appropriate comments and/or grades.
4) Faculty members shall participate in the approved college program for collecting data regarding students' perceptions of teaching and learning.
5) By the end of the first week of classes, faculty members shall submit to their department chair a syllabus or outline for each course being taught.
6) Faculty members shall establish an absence policy for students and inform students in writing of the policy during the first week of each class.
7) Faculty members shall maintain for one calendar year appropriate records of student progress in each course to support final grades. In the event of severance from the University, faculty members shall leave such records with the department chair, who shall retain them for one calendar year.
8) Faculty members shall administer final examinations at the officially scheduled times during final exam week unless, for sound pedagogical reasons, the department chair and/or dean approve alternative arrangements.
9) Faculty members shall exercise adequate supervision of students in classroom and laboratory activities and officially scheduled related activities, such as field trips.
10) Faculty members shall provide instruction in safety procedures to students who are engaged in academic activities where a known potential danger is present, such as in laboratory work where equipment or chemicals are in use.
11) Faculty members shall ensure that safe practices are followed by students under their supervision where a known potential danger is present.
12) Faculty members and department chairs shall report in writing unsafe conditions of equipment or facility to their immediate supervisors.
d. Availability and Office Hours
Full-time faculty members shall establish, post, and make students aware of at least five (5) regularly scheduled office hours each week of the semester so distributed as to be of reasonable convenience to the students. Additional office hours may be required during advising and registration periods.
e. Use of Copyrighted Material
Faculty are responsible for knowing and observing the laws concerning the use of copyrighted material. Applicable federal laws on the use of copyrighted material are available in the University Library. Faculty members who have questions regarding use of copyrighted material should consult the Director of the University Library.
f. Software Use
Faculty members are responsible for knowing and obeying the laws concerning software use. Faculty members with questions regarding the use of software should consult the campus Information Technology Division.
1.2.1.2 Basic Scholarship Responsibilities of Faculty
Faculty members have the basic responsibility to engage in scholarship in accordance with the accepted professional practices of their academic disciplines. Beyond the basic scholarship responsibilities of faculty, the basic expectations in the area of scholarship are described in Section 1.2.2.2 and the sources of evidence for such scholarship are described in Section 1.2.4.2.
Adherence to applicable law and to institutional, state, or federal policies regarding copyright, patent, uses of human or animal subjects, facility use, safety rules and regulations, or other related policies contained in the PPM is expected.
1.2.1.3 Basic Service Responsibilities of Faculty
a. Academic Advising
The college emphasizes the role of its faculty in the academic advising of students. The central element in advising is a genuine and sustained concern for students as persons and for their academic and personal growth.
The responsibilities of those faculty engaging in academic advising include, but are not necessarily limited to:
1) scheduling office hours (as specified in Section 1.2.1.1.d) to meet advising responsibilities
2) advising of the student with regard to the student's performance in classes
3) assisting the student in setting academic goals, informing the student of University curriculum requirements, and maintaining a record of the advisement.
4) providing referrals to appropriate student services. Faculty members serving as academic advisors are not authorized to make representations or commitments on behalf of the University which are contrary to or not supported by University policies, regulations, or procedures.
b. Share in Governance
Faculty members shall attend and take part in meetings of the department, the college, and the University, and shall serve if elected or appointed with their consent to University, college or departmental committees, provided that such service does not seriously interfere with scheduled classes.
c. Recruitment of Prospective Students
Faculty members may be asked to cooperate in the recruitment of prospective students.
d. Academic Community Cooperation
While members of the faculty have a primary responsibility to their own department, they are also members of the larger collegial community and should, therefore, make a demonstrable effort to work cooperatively with members of other departments, colleges, or institutional entities in matters affecting the overall welfare of the University.
e. Committee Membership
Faculty members shall not be allowed to serve on more than a total of two University committees each academic year, unless special circumstances so require and as approved by their dean.
f. Meetings and University Functions
Faculty members are strongly encouraged to attend all regularly scheduled program, department, college or University meetings which affect them and which do not conflict with scheduled classes.
g. Deadlines
Faculty members shall meet appropriate deadlines established by policies contained in the PPM or by the provost, the dean, the department chair, and the registrar.
1.2.2 Promotion and Tenure - Basic Expectations
The basic expectations in the categories of teaching, scholarship, service, administration where applicable, and as a function of rank, in order to be promoted or tenured are:
1.2.2.1 Teaching
Expectations in the category of teaching shall include, where discipline is applicable:
a. command of one's subject
b. ability to organize subject matter and to present it clearly, logically, and imaginatively
c. knowledge of current developments in one's discipline
d. ability to stimulate and broaden student interest in the subject matter
e. ability to utilize effective teaching methods and strategies
1.2.2.2 Scholarship
Expectations in scholarship shall include, where disciplinarily applicable:
a. sustained inquiry in one's discipline
b. research or the use of research in curriculum development or improvement of teaching
c. sharing of expertise within the academic community
d. sharing of expertise within the business and industrial communities
1.2.2.3 Service
Expectations in service shall include, where applicable:
a. service on departmental, college/library, or University committees or task forces
b. service to students
c. service in some extramural activity as an employee or representative of the University or as an expert in one's discipline
d. service to business and industry through the
e. service to departmental laboratories including acquisition, installation, integration and maintenance of software and hardware
1.2.2.4 Administration
Expectations in administration for Department Chairs, Program Coordinators, or Directors shall include, where applicable:
a. Proper preparation of budget requests and appropriate allocation of funds received
b. Proper and timely preparation of course schedules, committee assignments, and recommendations on appointments, promotion, tenure, leaves, and dismissals
c. Holding of department and/or program meetings as needed with properly recorded minutes
d. Completion of routine duties and assignments
1.2.2.5 As a Function of Rank
Basic expectations of faculty are also related to their rank. Advances in rank bring increased levels of expectations which shall be as follows:
a. Instructor/Instructor Specialist - A faculty member with the rank of instructor/instructor specialist demonstrates teaching effectiveness and has the technical competence and personal skills to become an excellent teacher
b. Assistant Professor - A faculty member with the rank of assistant professor demonstrates teaching effectiveness and technical competence and is in the process of developing the skills needed to meet the long range goals of his/her program, department, college and university
c. Associate Professor - A faculty member with the rank of associate professor demonstrates teaching effectiveness, technical competence, specific skills in support of his/her program area and is in the process of developing leadership skills.
d. Professor - A faculty member with the rank of professor demonstrates teaching effectiveness, technical competence, specific skills in support of his/her program area, and leadership skills and serves as a mentor in support of his/her colleagues.
1.2.3 Promotion and Tenure - Professional File
The professional file for promotion or tenure shall contain the following evidential elements in the order listed:
a. A current curriculum vitae in the approved format (see attached)
b. A self-report of activities in the three (or four) performance review categories
c. A summary report of student evaluations for the courses taught by the faculty member for at least one course per semester for tenured faculty and for every course for tenure track faculty. For a tenured faculty, the process of determining which course is to be evaluated each semester is outlined in section IV of PPM 8-11. If a tenured faculty has more than one class evaluated each semester, the selection of which of those evaluations are to go into the Professional File will be jointly determined between the faculty member and the chair. If they cannot come to an agreement, the selection shall be subject to binding arbitration by the dean, after consultation with the faculty member and the chair. The staff in the dean’s office will place copies of all evaluations into the professional file for tenure track faculty members before they are sent to the chairs for distribution to the faculty.
d. An evaluation report by the peer review committee (See PPM 8-11) summarizing the teaching materials for a sample of representative courses taught by the faculty member since the last tenure evaluation or for the last four years for a candidate for promotion (five years if being promoted from associate professor to professor). In the
1.2.4 Sources of Evidence
The above elements may consider the sources of evidence listed below. Additional forms of evidence may be used by mutual consent of the faculty member and the department chair.
1.2.4.1 Teaching
a. self-report of activities
b. evaluation of course materials such as syllabi, handouts, quizzes, and exams (as reviewed by peers/colleagues and/or department chair)
c. peer/colleague evaluations
d. student perceptions of teaching and learning
e. student outcomes such as results on certification exams
f. professional development activities such as participation in course work, seminars, conferences, or workshops which cover skills and knowledge of teaching
g. peer/colleague, department chair or supervisor observations
1.2.4.2 Scholarship
a. self-report of activities
b. assessment or statements by peers/colleagues regarding scholarly works by the faculty member
c. publication in refereed journals or in discipline related published works
d. citations of research in other's works