FACULTY CRITERIA FOR ADVANCEMENT IN RANK

The following criteria are provided so that faculty applying for promotion in rank have an understanding of what the expectations are.

• Faculty must be prepared at the master’s level. The master’s degree should be in the discipline, a related field or as approved by the Chief Academic Officer.
• Faculty must maintain professional licensure and certifications deemed necessary to offer education and training in their respective areas.
• Faculty must have a minimum of three years at the current rank of instructor prior to being considered for promotion.

Instructor to Assistant Professor

Letters of Recommendation (2):

• The supervisory Academic Dean will submit a letter of recommendation for the instructor to be considered for promotion. The letter must acknowledge the instructor (a) has demonstrated the ability to consistently deliver quality instruction and (b) is ready to assume the additional responsibilities of an Assistant Professor. The additional responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
  • Curriculum development
  • Assessment of student performance
  • Relevant professional development
  • Non-teaching activity involving
    • Recruitment
    • Retention
    • Student advising
    • Involvement in student clubs
    • Involvement in college-wide committees
• In the event the supervisory Academic Dean decides the applicant is not ready for promotion, he/she will:
  • Prepare a memo describing why the applicant is not ready for promotion.
  • Meet with the applicant to review the memo and develop a written professional development plan to prepare the applicant for promotion.
• The Academic Department Chair, Assigned Faculty Mentor, or division colleague at the rank of Assistant Professor or higher must prepare and submit a letter of recommendation describing why the instructor is ready to assume the responsibilities of Assistant Professor.

Evidence of Strong Teaching:

• The instructor must demonstrate evidence of continuous improvement in all areas of the evaluation tool that focus on delivery of instruction. In addition, the instructor must not have any needs improvement responses on the evaluation tool for the previous two evaluation cycles prior to the application for promotion.

• The supervisory Academic Dean must complete two in-class observations per year of the instructor. It is preferable that one observation be conducted with the instructor’s consent while the other is selected by the Dean without the instructor’s prior knowledge. It is preferable for instructors who teach courses with laboratory sessions that one observation be conducted in that environment. The most recent written evaluations should indicate mastery of teaching and classroom management.
• The Academic Department Chair, Assigned Faculty Mentor, or division colleague at the rank of Assistant Professor or higher will conduct one in-class observation per year of the instructor’s teaching. The observation will be scheduled with the instructor’s consent. The most recent written evaluation should indicate mastery of teaching and classroom management.

Other Considerations for Promotion:

Although not required for promotion, participation in activities listed below will provide additional support for promotion. The additional responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Curriculum development
• Assessment of student performance
• Relevant professional development
• Non-teaching activity involving
  • Recruitment
  • Retention
  • Student advising
  • Involvement in student clubs
  • Involvement in college-wide committees

Assistant Professor to Associate Professor and Associate Professor to Professor - Promotion Categories:

A faculty member seeking promotion to the next higher rank shall submit evidence of consistently exceeding current rank in two broad domains: (a) Instruction/Instructional Support and (b) Service. The categories for Instruction and Instructional Support are as follows:

1. Instructional Planning & Presentation
2. Assessment for Student Learning
3. Professional Development
4. Student Advising and Support
5. Scholarship

The categories for Service are as follows:

1. Service to the Department/Division
2. Service to the College
3. Service to the Profession
4. Service to the Community

For promotion to the next higher rank, a faculty member must demonstrate sustained performance at a rank above his/her current rank and hold at least three years in current rank. It is understood that for promotion in rank faculty are expected to demonstrate leadership in the specified number of categories; however, they do not have to hold defined leadership positions within each of the categories.

• Portfolio

• Each faculty member is responsible for maintaining a professional portfolio of documents required for promotion.
• The portfolio is considered the principal documentary evidence for promotions in rank and is used by the Promotion Review Committee as the foundation for their deliberations at the departmental, divisional, and college levels. The evidence compiled in the portfolio should show that the faculty member consistently exceeds the expectations of the current rank in selected categories of both the Instruction and Instructional Support area and the Service area.

• The portfolio stands on its own merits and no additions or changes are allowed after the portfolio submission deadline.

• Of the nine aforementioned categories, two are mandatory for all portfolios: Instructional Planning & Presentation and Assessment of Student Learning, and all portfolios must include a section for at least one category of Service. Faculty members seeking:

•  Promotion to Associate Professor should use the mandatory categories as well as three additional categories of their choice.
•  Promotion to Professor, should use the mandatory categories and five additional categories of the faculty member’s choice.
• Teaching Philosophy Statement (1-page maximum)

• Narrative Summary (1-page maximum for each selected category)
• Supporting Documentation

Promotion Procedure

When the faculty member has sufficient time-in-rank and is ready to assume the responsibilities of the next rank, he/she should verify eligibility with their supervisory Academic Dean.

If sufficient time-in-rank is determined, the faculty member must request consideration for promotion by filing an Intent to Apply for Promotion Form to the supervisory Academic Dean.

Instructor to Assistant Professor -

The instructor should contact their supervisory Academic Dean and Department Chair (or other as identified above) to prepare letters of recommendation at least 30 calendar days prior to the promotion application deadline.

The instructor should submit the following support materials to the supervisory Academic Dean to be considered for promotion in accordance with the policy timeline:

• Intent to Apply for Promotion Form

• Memo outlining how they are ready to assume the responsibilities of the next rank.

• Prepare a summary of faculty evaluations relative to classroom instruction and student opinion of instruction responses that support the application.

• The Faculty Mentor and the Office of Institutional Research may be valuable resources in this process

• Two letters or recommendation

In the event the two letters of recommendation are in agreement, all promotion materials will be forwarded by the supervisory Academic Dean to the Chief Academic Officer for promotion consideration.

In the event the letters of recommendation from the supervisory Academic Dean and Faculty Mentor (or other as identified above) are in conflict, the matter will be forwarded to the Promotion Review Committee for review.

It is expected that if the above criteria are met, and with the Chief Academic Officer’s approval, the instructor will be referred to the Board of Trustees for promotion. Upon the Board’s approval, the instructor will be promoted to the rank of Assistant Professor.

Assistant Professor to Associate Professor and Associate Professor to Professor -

The faculty member should submit the following support materials to the supervisory Academic Dean to be considered for promotion in accordance with the policy timeline:

 Portfolio organized as outlined below

The portfolio should be presented in a wide, three-ring binder with labeled dividers. The faculty member’s name, current rank, department, and division should be listed on the front cover, and the faculty member’s name, month, and year of application should appear on the spine of the binder. Empty sheet protectors must be included for the Letters of Recommendation section; other use of sheet protectors is left to the discretion of the faculty member.

The organization shown below includes all nine achievement categories that may be documented. Portfolio Format Organization:

• Cover Page (include name, current rank, department, and division)
• Table of Contents
• Section One

1. Intent to Apply for Promotion Form
2. Opening Remarks/Teaching Philosophy
3. Division Dean Letter(s) of Recommendation
4. Annual Performance Evaluations
5. Faculty Observation Reports - faculty to schedule observations

• Section Two (Documentation)

1. Instructional Planning & Presentation (mandatory)

II.Assessment of Student Learning (mandatory)

1. Professional Development (optional)
2. Student Advising and Student Support Activities (optional)
3. Scholarship (optional)

• Section Three (one category mandatory)

1. Service to the Department/Division
2. Service to the College
3. Service to the Profession
4. Service to the Community

Below are descriptions of documents to be included in the portfolio. Teaching Philosophy Statement (1-page maximum):

• The Teaching/Learning Philosophy Statement is an opportunity for you to explain who you are as an educator.
• Explain how you teach and how your pedagogy translates into student learning.
• What are your goals for your students, and how do you strive to achieve these goals in the classroom or in your distance-learning class?
• How do you maintain currency in your discipline, and how does this affect student learning?

• Support any generalizations with specific practices, actions, and activities.
• Illustrate your positive experiences in teaching and tell why these experiences were positive for both you and your students.

• Explain student reactions and how learning was enhanced by the experiences.

• Describe challenges you have encountered and how you have worked to make these opportunities for improved teaching and learning.

Narrative Summary (1-page maximum for each selected category):

• The importance of the Narrative Summary in the portfolio cannot be overstated.