Standards for Faculty Sufficiency & Faculty Qualifications

Transcription

1 Standards for Faculty Sufficiency & Faculty Qualifications This document provides the College of Business Administration at The University of Texas Pan American the definitions for and maintenance of the classification of participating and supporting faculty status and scholarly academic, practice academic, scholarly practitioner and instructional practitioner.

2 I. Introduction and Overview As specified in the Strategic Plan of the College of Business Administration, the mission statement of the college is: To create and disseminate scholarly and practical business knowledge that transforms the leadership and well-being of the South Texas region through innovation and entrepreneurship. A critical factor in being able to achieve our mission is for the college to have and maintain an active, engaged, and highly qualified faculty. Only with broad-based and talented faculty involvement focused on continual improvement will the college achieve the level of success it desires. The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International (AACSB International) reinforces this notion in their Eligibility Procedures and Standards for Business Accreditation (2013). AACSB International standards highlight two key aspects of expectations for business schools and their faculty: 1. Faculty resources should be sufficient (faculty sufficiency). Partly this indicates having an adequate number of faculty members to perform or oversee the following functions related to degree programs: curriculum development, course development, course delivery, assessment of assurance of learning, and other activities that support the instructional goals of the school s mission. Equally important, however, is the notion that there needs to be substantial faculty engagement in college matters beyond direct teaching responsibilities engagement across a broad array of faculty development, research, and service activities that stem from the college mission. 2. Faculty should possess adequate qualifications (faculty qualifications). This means having talented and capable faculty who perform their duties at a level that achieves the mission of the college. The qualifications relate both to initial training, education, and experience and to the continuation of maintaining currency of one s skills and knowledge base. Faculty Sufficiency The AACSB International accreditation standard that relates to faculty sufficiency is Standard 5, which states: The school maintains and deploys a faculty sufficient to ensure quality outcomes across the range of degree programs it offers and to achieve other components of its mission. Students in all programs, disciplines, locations and delivery modes have the opportunity to receive instruction from appropriately qualified faculty. (AACSB 2013) Furthermore, Standard 5 notes that, normally, participating faculty members will deliver at least 75% of the total business school s teaching and at least 60% of the teaching in each degree program and in each discipline. Faculty members not classified as participating faculty members are referred to as supporting faculty members. Faculty Qualifications The AACSB International accreditation standard that relates to faculty qualifications is Standard 15, which states: Page 2

3 The school maintains and strategically deploys participating and supporting faculty who collectively and individually demonstrate significant academic and professional engagement that sustains the intellectual capital necessary to support high-quality outcomes consistent with the school s mission and strategies. (AACSB 2013) Moreover, Standard 15 notes that normally (a) at least 90% of faculty resources are Scholarly Academics (SA), Practice Academics (PA), Scholarly Practitioners (SP) or Instructional Practitioners (IP); (b) at least 40% of faculty resources are SA; and (c) at least 60% of faculty resources are SA, PA, or SP. It also indicates that schools with research doctoral and research master s degree programs are expected to have higher percentages of SA and PA. II. Qualifications and Maintenance Expectations for Participating and Supporting Faculty Being a participating faculty member requires that an individual be actively engaged in activities of the college in matters that go beyond direct teaching responsibilities, including policy and procedural decisions, advising, assessment of assurance of learning, research and service. Alternatively, a supporting faculty member only engages in direct teaching responsibilities (preparing, teaching, grading, and holding office hours) and there is not an expectation to be involved in other activities of the college. Maintenance Expectations for CoBA Faculty Members 1. Tenured and tenure-track faculty members are expected to be participating faculty members, as they are all expected to be involved in helping to achieve the college mission via teaching, scholarly, and service activities. 2. Full-time, non-tenure track faculty members are expected to be participating faculty members, as they will usually be expected to participate in some college activities beyond just teaching. 3. Part-time, non-tenure track faculty members (adjunct, and PhD students who teach one or two courses) are expected to be supporting faculty members, as they are usually only expected to fulfill direct teaching responsibilities. The following list, though not exhaustive, provides examples of activities that would be evidence of involvement of participating faculty members: 1. Instructional Activities Beyond Direct Teaching Responsibilities a. Attending teaching/pedagogy workshops or seminars b. Participating in other faculty development events or activities c. Writing and publishing teaching materials d. Designing and developing new curriculum and courses e. Participating in study abroad trips/courses in a faculty leadership role f. Participating in assessment activities 2. Scholarly Activities a. Conducting academic research b. Participating in funded research and/or grant activities c. Making presentations at academic/professional meetings d. Publishing in academic or professional journals e. Publishing in proceedings from scholarly meetings Page 3

4 3. Service Activities a. Serving on department, college or university committees b. Serving as a faculty advisor to official student organizations c. Serving as an advisory during student registration periods d. Regularly attending and actively participating in departmental meetings and activities e. Regularly attending and actively participating in college meetings and activities f. Participating in academic or professional organizations related to one s field g. Attending academic or professional meetings related to one s field h. Serving as a manuscript reviewer for journals related to one s field III. Qualifications and Maintenance Expectations for Scholarly Academic and Practice Academic Faculty Being qualified as scholarly academic or practice academic requires initial academic preparation augmented by subsequent activities that maintain or establish preparation for current teaching responsibilities (i.e., activities that allow the maintenance of scholarly academic or practice academic qualified status). Initial Academic Preparation A faculty member must meet one of the following descriptions of initial academic preparation to be qualified as scholarly academic or practice academic: 1. A doctoral degree in the field in which the individual teaches. This includes a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree for teaching business law courses. 2. A doctoral degree in a business or non-business field that is outside of the individual s primary field of teaching. However, the less related the faculty members doctoral degree is to their field of teaching, the higher the level of sustained and substantive academic or professional engagement must be to support their currency and relevance in their teaching field. 3. A specialized graduate degree in taxation. Individuals with a graduate degree in taxation or a combination of graduate degrees in law and accounting will be considered academically qualified to teach taxation. 4. Substantial specialized graduate coursework in the field of primary teaching responsibilities, but no research doctoral degree. Most commonly, this would cover individuals currently pursuing a business degree in the area of instructional responsibilities, while they are at the ABD stage. This condition would justify initial academically qualified status for no more than three years following the completion of doctoral comprehensive examinations. Having successfully met the requirements for an initial SA or PA designation under items 1 through 4 above, a faculty member automatically retains such designation for a period of five years past the year of degree completion. A faculty member who initially meets SA or PA status under item 4 above automatically retains such designation for a period of three years. Maintenance of Scholarly Academic Qualified Status Page 4

5 Maintaining SA qualified status beyond the period of initial academic preparation requires evidence of the continual learning activities and intellectual contributions of each faculty member. A faculty member that meets the initial academic preparation for being SA qualified will maintain the designated qualified status if, over the most recent five-year period, he or she has completed at least five (5) maintenance activities, of which at least three (3) must be refereed journal articles. The maintenance activities that the faculty member can engage in to maintain their SA status are defined as follows: 1. Published article in a refereed journal that is publicly available either physically or electronically. The articles can focus on either basic research, applied research, or teaching and learning research. 2. Published proceedings from a top scholarly meeting that is publicly available either physically or electronically 3. Publishing the second or higher, edition of a textbook (or evidence that the first edition has been widely accepted by other schools). 4. Publishing a peer-reviewed scholarly book or edited volume. 5. Publishing a chapter in a peer-reviewed scholarly book. 6. Presentation of an article at a top academic conference meeting. 7. Completion of a publicly available research report from a funded grant (minimum of $10,000). 8. Relevant, active editorship with academic journals or other business publications. 9. Service on editorial boards or committees 10. Validation of SA status through leadership positions, participating in recognized societies and associations, research awards, academic fellow status and invited presentations. Faculty members that regularly teach masters courses are required to be SA qualified at a level above the minimum maintenance activities specified above. These faculty members must apply for graduate faculty status and the criteria and process for graduate status is provided in Appendix A. Faculty members that regularly teach doctoral courses are required to be SA qualified at a level above the minimum maintenance activities specified above and graduate faculty status standards. These faculty members must apply for doctoral faculty status and the criteria and process for doctoral status is provided in Appendix B. Maintenance of Practice Academic Qualified Status Maintaining PA qualified status beyond the initial period of initial academic preparation requires evidence of the continual learning activities and intellectual contributions of each faculty member. A faculty member that meets the initial academic preparation for being PA qualified will maintain the designated qualified status if, over the most recent five-year period, he or she has completed at least five (5) maintenance activities, of which at least three (3) must be refereed journal articles. The maintenance activities that the faculty member can engage in to maintain their PA status are defined as follows: 1. Significant participation in business professional associations. 2. Relevant, active service on board of directors. Page 5

6 3. All intellectual contributions. 4. Consulting activities that are material in terms of time and substance. 5. Faculty internships. 6. Development and presentation of executive education programs. 7. Sustained professional work supporting qualified status. 8. Documented continuing professional education experiences. 9. Participation in professional events that focus on the practice of business, management, and related issues. 10. Participation in other activities that place faculty in direct contact with business or other organizational leaders. 11. Professional certification that is relevant to the faculty member s instructional field. Faculty members that regularly teach masters courses are required to be PA qualified at a level above the minimum maintenance activities specified above. These faculty members must apply for graduate faculty status and the criteria and process for graduate status is provided in Appendix A. Maintenance of SA and PA Qualified Status for Academic Administrators Academic administrators (e.g., dean, associate dean, department chair, program directors, etc.) are expected to maintain their SA or PA qualified status in the same manner as faculty members as specified above. IV. Qualifications and Maintenance Expectations for Scholarly Practitioner and Instructional Practitioner Faculty Being scholarly practitioner (SP) or instructional practitioner (IP) qualified requires a combination of initial academic and professional qualification augmented by subsequent activities that maintain or establish preparation for current teaching responsibilities (i.e., activities that allow the maintenance of SP or IP qualified status). Initial Academic and Professional Qualifications A faculty member is considered to have appropriate initial academic and professional qualifications to be considered SP or IP qualified if (s)he satisfies the following two requirements: 1. Possesses a master s degree in the faculty member s instructional field or in related field and has a minimum of 18 hours of course work in that instructional field. In limited cases, SP or IP status may be appropriate for individuals without a master s degree if the depth, duration, sophistication, and complexity of their professional experience at the time of hiring outweigh their lack of a master s degree. 2. Has, at the time of hire, at least four (4) years of professional experience in a middle-level (or higher) position related to the faculty member s instructional field. A faculty member who meets the initial academic and professional qualifications for SP or IP qualified status will automatically be SP or IP qualified as long as their most recent full-time work experience occurred within the previous seven (7) years. Page 6

7 Maintenance of Scholarly Practitioner Qualified Status Maintaining SP qualified status beyond the initial period of initial academic and professional qualifications requires evidence of professional development and/or engagement in activities that support the faculty member s currency and relevance in their field. A faculty member will maintain SP qualified status if (s)he successfully undertakes and/or achieves a minimum of three (3) professional maintenance activities of significance in the most recent five-year period, such as, but not limited to, the following: 1. Obtain a new professional certificate that is relevant to the faculty member s instructional field. 2. Publish an article in the faculty member s instructional field in any of the following: a. a peer and/or editorial reviewed journal, b. a peer reviewed proceeding at a well-regarded conference and, c. a practitioner journal, d. practitioner oriented media contribution 3. Presentation of an article at an academic conference meeting 4. Completion of a publicly available research report funded by a grant (minimum of $5,000). 5. Attend seminars or graduate level courses that expand the faculty member s knowledge base within his/her instructional field. 6. Serve as an officer in national, regional or local associations related to the faculty member s instructional field. 7. Service on editorial boards or committees. Maintenance of Instructional Practitioner Qualified Status Maintaining IP qualified status beyond the initial period of initial academic and professional qualifications requires evidence of professional development and/or engagement in activities that support the faculty member s currency and relevance in their field. A faculty member will maintain IP qualified status if (s)he successfully undertakes and/or achieves a minimum of two (2) distinct professional maintenance activities of significance in the most recent fiveyear period, such as, but not limited to, the following: 1. Obtain a new professional certificate that is relevant to the faculty member s instructional field. 2. Significant participation in business professional associations. 3. Consulting activities that are material in terms of substance. 4. Sustained professional work supporting qualified status. 5. Documented continuing professional education experience. 6. Participation in professional events that focus on the practice of business, management, and related issues. 7. Participation in other activities that place faculty in direct contact with business and other organizational leaders V. Initial Implementation and Ongoing Administration Page 7

8 This document updates the CoBA Standards for Faculty Sufficiency & Faculty Qualification documented adopted by the College Council of CoBA on November 24, This update incorporates the AACSB standards adopted on April The annual faculty review process (HOP Annual Faculty Evaluation) and faculty tenure review process (HOP Faculty Tenure) will be used to review a tenure-track faculty member s SA or PA status. Any tenure-track review processes resulting from non-sa or non-pa status will commence at the time of annual evaluation. The post-tenure review process (HOP Periodic Performance Evaluation of Tenured Faculty) will be used to review a tenured faculty member s SA or PA status. Any post-tenure review processes resulting from non-sa or non-pa status will commence at the time of the annual evaluation. The annual faculty review process (HOP Annual Faculty Evaluation) will be used to review a fulltime lecturer s SP or IP status. A finding of non-sp or non-ip status will result in the non-renewal of his/her appointment and they will be notified according to established practice. VI. References 1. Eligibility Procedures and Accreditation Standards for Business Administration, AACSB International The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, April 2013, downloaded from Page 8