POLICY

This policy establishes a Zane State College Faculty Credential process that ensures students have access high-quality, college-level programs with faculty who are experts in their field of study.

Through this process, the College promotes compliance with expectations of the State of Ohio, programmatic accreditation, and the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). This process is for all Zane State instructors, including traditional faculty, adjunct faculty, and College Credit Plus (CCP) adjunct faculty. Within this process, a clear delineation of duties for those responsible to assure only appropriately credentialed faculty candidates are considered for appointment.

It is further expected that all faculty, through on-going professional development, evolve their teaching skills aligned with findings from the assessment of student learning and remain current with the expectations from their discipline standards.

POLICY GUIDELINES

Credential Criteria:

Zane State College only recognizes college degrees from regionally accredited institutions.                                                                                           Additional criteria such as tested experience and other industry recognized credentials may be used in some circumstances and the College will determine a minimum threshold, establish an evaluation process, and provide appropriate evidence in such cases. Tested experiences is defined by HLC as a breadth and depth of experience outside of the classroom in real-world situations relevant to the discipline in which the faculty member would be teaching.

General Education Faculty

The minimum qualification for faculty teaching general education is a master’s degree in the discipline they teach or master’s degree in another discipline with 18 credit hours of graduate-level coursework in the teaching discipline. A Master of Education degree, when inclusive of graduate- level content in the discipline and methods courses that are specifically for the teaching of that discipline is acceptable for College Credit Plus adjunct faculty if content of the master’s degree is sufficiently related to the discipline of the CCP course.

Career and Technical Education Faculty

The minimum qualification for faculty teaching in occupational associate’s degrees and certificates is a bachelor’s degree in the field and/or combination of education, training, and tested experience.

Developmental Education Faculty

The minimum qualification for faculty teaching in pre-college, developmental education is a bachelor’s degree in the appropriate discipline or in education specific for teaching of the appropriate discipline.

Workforce Development Faculty

The minimum qualification for teaching non-credit workforce is dependent on certifications, experiences, and education related to the content of the course. Faculty in this area must have evidence of applicable work experiences, certification, or other educational credentials related to the course content.

Faculty Temporary Credential for Special Circumstance

Zane State College addresses circumstances that may present where a faculty member may not have the requisite credentials due to an extreme circumstance such as sudden faculty illness or departure from the college. The Chief Academic Officer, in conjunction with a faculty content expert if available, department chair, and division dean may approve, after careful consideration of the candidate’s qualifications, an exception to the minimum qualifications for a faculty member limited to 5 years in which full credentialing should be obtained.

• Faculty hired into such an exception will be provided with a detailed plan and timeline for obtaining the minimal credential.
• A modification of this plan or extension of the timeline can only be granted by the

College President.

Tested Experience:

Zane State College determines faculty qualification based on experience deemed equivalent to the degree otherwise required by the institution. Such an equivalency is determined based on the breadth and depth of such an experience outside of the classroom in real-world situations (not teaching) relevant to the discipline in which the faculty member would be teaching. Such experiences demonstrate relevance of experience to degree level and course content.

Departments seeking to utilize Tested Experience must demonstrate such experience is sufficient to meet this standard.

Procedure: Program/Department Directors seeking to have a faculty considered based on tested experience should;

1. Assure the faculty members meets the documented criteria for their discipline,
2. Submit the completed faculty credential exception form to the Office of the Provost, and
3. Provide supporting documentation of the candidates’ equivalent experiences for consideration.

Discipline Specific Criteria and Tested Experience English Composition

• The minimum qualification for faculty teaching English Composition are a master’s degree or

higher in the discipline they teach or master’s degree in another discipline with 18 credit hours of graduate-level coursework in English Language and Literature, Composition and Rhetoric, or English.

• A Master of Education degree, when inclusive of graduate-level content in methods courses that are specifically for the teaching of English Composition and at least 18 credits hours of graduate-level coursework in English Language and Literature, Composition and Rhetoric, or English is acceptable for College Credit Plus adjunct faculty if content of the master’s degree is sufficiently related to the English Composition course being offered via CCP.

Communications

• A master’s degree or Ph.D. in interpersonal, organizational, or speech communication.
• A master’s degree in related communication field, such as journalism, with at least 18 graduate semester hours in interpersonal or speech communication may receive consideration.
• A Juris Doctorate/law degree plus one-year trial law experience may receive consideration.

Psychology

• A master’s degree in a related social sciences field with at least 18 graduate semester hours in psychology.
• A master’s degree in counseling from an education, social work, marriage and family therapy, or divinity program. The applicant should have at least 18 graduate semester hours in psychology (beyond counseling methods courses) or a bachelor’s degree in psychology.
• A Ph.D. from a human development, family science, social work, sociology, or divinity program. The applicant should have at least 18 graduate semester hours in psychology or a bachelor’s degree in psychology. [per Dr. Fish]

Sociology

• A master’s degree in sociology.

The following credentials may also receive consideration:

• A master’s degree in a related social sciences field with at least 18 graduate semester hours in sociology.
• A master’s degree in a related social sciences field, or in social work, with significant graduate coursework in sociology.
• A master’s degree in a related social sciences field, or in social work, in addition to a bachelor’s degree in sociology. [per Susan Markel]

Mathematics

• The minimum qualification for faculty teaching mathematics is a master’s degree or higher in mathematics or a master’s degree in another discipline with 18 credit hours of graduate-level

coursework in mathematics.

• Faculty with a master’s degrees in physics or engineering may be considered qualified to teach undergraduate mathematics courses.
• Faculty with a bachelor’s degrees in fields that require an in-depth knowledge of mathematics, such as engineering, physics, and accounting may be considered for teaching developmental mathematics courses.

Sciences*

• Biology: The minimum qualification for faculty teaching biology is a master’s degree or higher in biology or a master’s degree in another discipline with 18 credit hours of graduate- level coursework in biology. Faculty with graduate degrees in medicine (MD, DO, DC, DVM) nursing, or biomedical engineering may be considered qualified to teach undergraduate classes in biology.
• Chemistry: The minimum qualification for faculty teaching chemistry is a master’s degree or higher in chemistry or a master’s degree in another discipline with 18 credit hours of graduate- level coursework in chemistry. Faculty with graduate degrees in pharmacy or chemical engineering may be considered qualified to teach undergraduate chemistry.
• Environmental Science: The minimum qualification for faculty teaching environmental science is a master’s degree or higher in environmental science or a master’s degree in another discipline with 18 credit hours of graduate-level coursework in environmental science or a closely related discipline. Faculty with graduate degrees in chemistry, chemical engineering, or other closely related disciplines may be considered qualified to teach undergraduate environmental science.
• Geology: The minimum qualification for faculty teaching geology is a master’s degree or higher in geology or a master’s degree in another discipline with 18 credit hours of graduate- level coursework in geology. Faculty with a master’s degree in petroleum engineering or a related discipline may be considered qualified to teach undergraduate geology.
• Physics: The minimum qualification for faculty teaching physics is a master’s degree or higher in physics or a master’s degree in another discipline with 18 credit hours of graduate- level coursework in physics. Faculty with master’s degrees in engineering, and other fields with significant mathematical and science rigor may be considered qualified to teach undergraduate physics courses. Faculty with 18 graduate hours of physics or a related discipline may also be considered qualified.

*The minimum qualification for lab instructors for science courses is a bachelor’s degree in the  discipline.

Humanities

Faculty with graduate credit hours in multiple fields in arts and humanities such as English, communications, history, language, art, philosophy, etc. or those with graduate degrees in interdisciplinary fields related to the humanities may be considered to teach undergraduate courses in humanities.

• Ethics: Consideration will be given to persons with extensive teaching experience in Philosophy or Critical Thinking and evidence of pursuit of adequate credentials.
• Critical Thinking: Consideration will be given to persons with extensive teaching experience in Philosophy or Critical Thinking and evidence of pursuit of adequate credentials.