I. Policies And Procedures for Promotion and Tenure
A. The long-range needs of the University/College/Department/Program are made available to the faculty through the College and Departmental Strategic Plans. Faculty members develop Individual Faculty Missions (IFMs) that describes how they will contribute to the departmental Strategic Plan and their own professional development as appropriate to their area.
B. Each application for promotion and/or tenure will be considered on its own merits, without prejudice from prior applications.
C. Each Department/Program will develop evaluation criteria, consistent with the strategic planning goals for the Department/ Program and the College, for the interpretation of faculty service, scholarship, and teaching on an annual basis. The results of these annual evaluations will be used as part of the process for evaluating faculty applications for tenure and promotion.
D. A faculty member making application for promotion and/or tenure who believes that he/she has met all of the criteria of the Department/Program, the College, and the University as they appear in the AASU Faculty Handbook, should submit a letter of intent and portfolio to the Department/Program Head or Dean by the following deadlines:
September 15: Written request from the candidate for promotion or tenure is due to the Department Head
October 15: Portfolio due to the Department Head for purpose of departmental Peer Review process.
November 15: Portfolio and recommendation of the department head due to the Dean’s Office.
E.
The submitted portfolio shall be limited to no more than one three-ring, three inch binder, and shall include the following structural elements:
1) Title page (e.g. “A Portfolio Presented to the COHP Tenure and Promotion Committee for [Tenure and/or Promotion to the Rank of ….] Full name, Department, date submitted”);
2) A statement of personal goals/philosophy as they relate to the strategic goals of the Department, College, and University;
3) Current curriculum vitae;
4) Recent letter(s) of support from departmental colleagues, other faculty, and/or other colleagues;
5) Documentation to support the Tenure and Promotion Committee assessment of candidate teaching, scholarship, and service performance (see Section IV for specific contents).
F. The Department/Program Head or Dean, who must ascertain the reaction of the candidate's departmental colleagues, makes the initial recommendation. The Department/Program Head's recommendation, along with the recommendation of the candidate's Department/Program colleagues and portfolio are forwarded to the Dean of Health Professions by the deadline as established.
G. The Dean of Health Professions will forward these materials to the Chair of the College of Health Professions Tenure and Promotion Committee. The materials, along with the recommendation of the Committee, will be returned to the Dean.
H. The Dean of Health Professions will forward his/her recommendation along with the accumulated materials to the Vice President/Dean of the Faculty.
I. To be considered for tenure, faculty must have completed a satisfactory probationary period of at least five years of full-time service at the rank of assistant professor or higher. Typically, candidates apply for tenure during their “sixth year” during fall semester (defined as years at AASU + probationary credit granted towards tenure). Requests for “tenure in the fifth year” require strong justification. The intent of the University will be to limit to seven the number of years a tenure-track faculty member may serve full-time without the granting of tenure.
J. Candidates whose petition(s) for tenure and/or promotion are rejected may appeal through the appropriate procedures of the University and University System.
K. Faculty may petition for tenure and promotion using the same portfolio in the same academic year if they meet the criteria for each.
II. Definitions/Guidelines for Assessment of Teaching, Scholarship and Service
The Committee submits the following definitions and guidelines for the assessment of teaching, scholarship and service as they apply to tenure and promotion in the College of Health Professions.
A. Teaching
Criteria related to the evaluation of teaching effectiveness should take into consideration the candidate’s IFMs as they relate to the strategic goals of the candidate’s Department, the College, and the University. The criteria utilized should promote excellence and allow diversity in instructional styles, methods, and creative approaches. The following guidelines offer general considerations for reviewing teaching effectiveness. Each Department/Program should use and interpret these categories in ways that best meet the department's teaching mission and goals. In general, evaluation should not only give special attention to the strengths of each faculty member noting particularly how the strengths contribute to the particular teaching needs of the department, but also identify weaknesses and how they may be addressed. Teaching effectiveness is an important consideration in promotion decisions, but it should be the major consideration in decisions concerning tenure.
1) Assessment Criteria
a. Assessment of teaching should include the use of FACE data
b. Load. The College of Health Professions serves two primary teaching missions within the University: 1) didactic and 2) clinical. Because of the diversity of the Health Professions disciplines, consideration should be given to the types of courses that the faculty member teaches, how that instructional load meets the needs of the department, and whether any overload was taught in service of the department/program. Each Department/Program Head assigns contact/credit hour(s) to faculty on an individual basis.
c. Command of subject matter. The evaluation should consider academic degrees, course preparation, and/or other experience the faculty member has as appropriate preparation for teaching in the areas carried.
d. Teaching and Testing methods. The basic teaching responsibility involves being prepared for classes and meeting classes as scheduled, or as approved by the Department/Program Head. The College of Health Professions particularly stresses the development of skills in critical thinking, problem-solving, effective communication, teamwork and utilization of new technologies. Other skills may be distinct to particular disciplines or courses, e.g. laboratory and clinical skills. In general, the methods of teaching, testing, and grading used by a particular faculty member should be appropriate to the department, discipline and to the level of instruction.
e. Continuing attention to courses and teaching. Evidence of the continuing active engagement between the teacher and the course may include the development of new courses or revision of old courses, the use of new teaching materials or techniques, or other means or keeping current with new developments in the discipline and using them in courses.
f. Relationship with students. This relationship includes being available to students for conferences or academic counseling. It may also include supervision of individual student work such as independent study, directed readings, or student research. Perhaps most importantly, the relationship involves a genuine interest in teaching and working with students.
2) Specific Assessment Documentation
The portfolio submitted should contain, but is not limited to:
a. Assessment
1) Evidence of professional development and commitment to the departmental Strategic Plan through documented IFM achievement.
2) A reflective, personal assessment of teaching experience should be a part of the portfolio submitted along with the request for tenure and/or promotion. This assessment may also include illustrative documents, such as course syllabi, tests, or other material as appropriate. These documents should reflect activities pertinent to each of the Guidelines for Assessment (a-f) above.
3) Listing of courses, labs, and/or clinical courses taught during the evaluation period (minimum of three consecutive years, maximum of five years)
4) Peer review of teaching including, but not limited to: in class reviews, reviews of teaching materials, review of efforts to incorporate innovative teaching methods, and involvement in education workshops. The method of peer assessment may be determined by each department/program. It should culminate in a summary statement of evaluation.
5) Assessment by students. Effectiveness of teaching should include FACE data, signed student comments and other supporting documentation listed in A.2. during the evaluation period.
6) Assessment by the Department/Program Head. The Department/Program Head should consider the entire portfolio of information.
b. Supporting Documentation
1) Individual Faculty Missions for the previous 3-5 years.
2) Evidence of implementation of methods to improve teaching
3) Educational material development
4) Certification/Registry scores of graduates when able to be identified with the particular instructor
5) Sample Student presentations
6) Three to five years of FACE annual statistical summaries
7) Three to five years of AFEs (Annual Faculty Evaluation)
8) Evidence of individual awards/recognition for instructional performance.
B. Scholarship
Scholarship is an obligation of all full-time faculty in the College of Health Professions in support of the University's mission. The term scholarship is used in a broad sense, encompassing professional achievements which include, yet also extend, beyond research and publication. Scholarly activity is defined as any activity that enhances the intellectual environment of Armstrong Atlantic State University, the College of Health Professions, and/or the discipline.
1. Assessment Criteria
Departments/Programs in the College of Health Professions are responsible for establishing criteria to be used in the annual evaluation of faculty scholarly activities and achievements, consistent with the strategic goals of the department, College, and University, the regulations of the University, and the definition of scholarship as adopted by the College. Departments/Programs are responsible for informing their faculty members of the criteria used by the Department/Program in the annual evaluation of scholarship. Such criteria are reviewed at least every five years by the College and respective Departments/Programs as part of the strategic planning process.
a. Individual Faculty Mission: Evidence of professional development and commitment to the departmental Strategic Plan through documented IFM achievements in the Scholarship area.
b. Terminal Degree: The terminal degree should be in the academic area of specialization or a related field. This would make an Ed.D. acceptable as a terminal degree in any of the health professions/disciplines. For purposes of tenure consideration only, a Master’s degree in the academic area of specialization or a related field may be considered sufficient to satisfy this criterion.
c. Expectations: Expectations for scholarship may differ from Department/Program to Department/Program within the College but should reflect an equivalent breadth and depth of scholarly activities.
d. Acceptable Scholarly Activities: Scholarship includes activities that have a finished product upon completion of the process, add to the subject matter of the discipline, and are disseminated to a larger audience within and/or outside of the University. Maintaining professional skills and disciplinary competencies per se is a part of teaching; not of research and scholarship. Thus, a faculty working on team approaches to health care delivery who writes a journal article or makes a presentation on the topic at a professional meeting may include the activity under “scholarship” because a product “which adds to the subject matter of the discipline” is the result. Material developed to help students learn is a product of the process of effective teaching; not scholarship. The evaluation, publication, and/or presentation of such methods to an audience beyond the classroom may be considered as scholarly activity.
2. Specific Assessment Documentation
a. Examples of Scholarly Activities and Supporting Documentation. The portfolio submitted may contain, but is not limited to:
1) Copies and/or summaries of educational materials that are published or disseminated to a larger audience.
2) Titles/sample copies of professional publications (either paper based or electronic) juried or non-juried
3) Published book reviews (titles/table of contents)
4) Professional editorials, seminars, or workshop presentations (titles/sample copies)
5) Published books or chapters in books (titles/table of contents)
6) Clinical practice and publishing results (e.g. developing procedures to be used in clinical practice or clinical education); developing new clinical procedures to be performed on patients. (titles/sample copies)
7) Evidence of participation on editorial board of peer reviewed journals
8) Posters/oral presentations (invited/peer reviewed). Volunteered presentations are not acceptable.
9) Evidence of participation as a program committee reviewer for poster, seminar presentations, etc.
10) Evidence of continued professional development such as pursuit of graduate education, attendance at professional seminars, etc.
11) Evidence of submission of proposals for funding of scholarship activities and any grant awards received in support of scholarship activities.
12) Titles of papers presented at professional meetings
C. Service
1. Guidelines for Assessment
Service includes all work that involves the use of a faculty member's academic status or professional expertise to benefit the University, the community, or the profession. The essential element of service is that it involves contributions associated with a faculty member's established status in a discipline or the University. Unless otherwise stipulated, service is considered a responsibility of employment and consequently subject to evaluation. Each Department/Program Head should communicate clearly to each faculty member the importance of service in the evaluation process and provide guidelines for appropriate forms of service. Each faculty member's Individual Faculty Mission assessment and Annual Professional Activities Report will include an appropriate description of all services activities engaged in during the evaluation period in question.
2. Specific Assessment Documentation
a. Examples of Service Activities and Supporting Documentation. The portfolio submitted may contain, but is not limited to:
a. Service to the University. Service to the University may include, but is not limited to, contributions to special departmental, College, or University projects; working with students or faculty on extracurricular activities; active membership on department, College, or University committees; and participation in public service, continuing education, or recruitment programs of the department/Program, College, and the University.
b. Service to the Profession, College, or University. Service can be demonstrated in a variety of ways. Such service often arises through membership in and participation in projects of local, regional, national, or international professional organizations related to health care, the Department/Program, College and University.
c. Service to the Community. Service to the community may vary in importance from Department to Department or Program to Program. Evidence of service to the community may include, but need not be limited to, service to public or health agencies; professional consultation; and public speeches reflecting the discipline and profession of a faculty member or reflecting the results of scholarship.
III. Tenure Criteria (excerpted from AASU Faculty Handbook, Article II, Section C.1, Criteria Relating to Tenure)
In order to be considered for tenure, a faculty member must have completed a satisfactory probationary period of at least five years of full-time service at the rank of assistant professor or higher. The five-year period must be continuous except that a maximum of two years’ interruption because of leave of absence or of part-time service may be permitted; provided, however, that no probationary credit for the period of an interruption shall be allowed. A maximum of three years' credit toward the minimum probationary period may be allowed for service at other institutions in tenure track positions or for full time service at the rank of instructor at Armstrong Atlantic State University. Such credit for prior service shall be requested by the individual and shall be defined in writing by the President and approved by the Board of Regents at the time of the initial appointment at the rank of assistant professor or higher or at the time of promotion from instructor to assistant professor.
A candidate for tenure must not only meet the designated minimum period of service, but also must meet what are, at that time, seen as the long range needs of the University and must show a history of evaluations that merits the award of tenure. Only in such cases would tenure be granted in the first year of eligibility. A history of weak evaluations may lead to denial of tenure even in the candidate's final year of eligibility. Retention throughout a probationary period of service is by itself insufficient to guarantee the success of a candidacy for tenure.
Candidates for tenure will be evaluated in areas of teaching, scholarship, and service. A recommendation for the award or denial of tenure should take into account the candidate's cumulative performance in the sense that the candidate should not automatically be denied tenure because of isolated or anomalous unsatisfactory evaluations in any one of the three areas. However, no faculty member shall be awarded tenure without demonstrating at least satisfactory performance in all three of these areas.
Although the boundaries of teaching, scholarship, and service are not sharply defined, and the relative importance of each may vary both between and within Departments and Programs, there should be some general guidelines, consistent with the strategic goals and priorities of each Department/Program, regarding the relative weighting of each of these areas in any overall evaluation upon which a tenure recommendation is based. As this is primarily a teaching institution, tenure should be based mostly on a faculty member's teaching activity and only secondarily on service and scholarship. The following are appropriate considerations for tenure reviews:
A. Demonstrate evidence of meeting the long-range needs of the Department/Program, College and University.
B. There must be a reasonable level of support among the faculty as evidenced by tenure balloting.
C. History of satisfactory performance in teaching. Evidence of continuing interest and involvement in improvement of teaching techniques.
D. History of satisfactory service to the department, College, University, and/or community appropriate to the faculty rank.
E. History of satisfactory scholarship appropriate to the faculty rank.
F. Any College of Health Professions faculty hired after September 1994 may be required to have an earned doctorate in order to become tenured.
IV Promotion Criteria (excerpted from the AASU Faculty Handbook, Article II, Section C.3, Criteria Relating to Promotion:)
A. Candidacies for promotion will be judged according to the following guidelines and by the merits of the candidate's total professional history at the University as reflected in the individual's accumulated evaluations.
1. Promotion to Professor
Minimum of:
1. Twelve years of University level teaching, or fourteen years total teaching and/or related experience.
2. Five years at the rank of associate professor at Armstrong Atlantic State University.
3. Terminal degree (doctorate) in academic area of specialization, with exceptions made only if lack of degree is balanced by some clearly demonstrable special distinctions.
2. Promotion to Associate Professor
Minimum of:
1. Six years of University level teaching, or eight years total teaching and/or related experience.
2. Five years at the rank of assistant professor (with four years at the rank of assistant professor at Armstrong Atlantic State University).
3. Terminal degree (doctorate) in academic area of specialization, with exceptions made only if lack of degree is balanced by some clearly demonstrable special distinctions.
3 Promotion to Assistant Professor
Minimum of:
1. Four years total teaching and/or related experience
2. Three years at the rank of instructor at Armstrong Atlantic State University
3. Master’s degree minimum, with exception made only if lack of degree is balanced by some clearly demonstrable special distinctions.
B. Criteria
Although Armstrong Atlantic State University is primarily a teaching institution, promotion needs to take into account activities other than teaching in order to promote the best possible faculty and further the mission of the institution. The following are appropriate considerations for promotion reviews:
1. A terminal degree is required at the associate professor and professor levels. In extraordinary or exceptional cases only, an exception may be made at the associate professor level. Prior to beginning the promotion process, faculty members who do not hold a terminal degree should consult with the dean of the College of Health Professions.
2. There must be a reasonable level of support among the faculty as evidenced by promotion balloting.
3. There must be a history of an appropriate level of scholarly activity required for promotion depending on the rank.
a. To the assistant professor level, scholarly activities, including publications or presentations, should be evident.
b. To the associate professor level, a history of scholarly activities, including publications or presentation, should be evident.
c. To the professor level, a strong history of scholarly activities, especially juried or refereed publications or presentations, should be evident.
4. Evidence of consistently satisfactory teaching.
5. There must be evidence of consistent appropriate level of service for promotion including:
a. To the assistant professor level, there should be:
History of high satisfactory evaluations in service. At least one College or University committee assignment. Participation at the departmental level. Evidence of service to the profession or to the professionally related community.
b. To the associate professor and professor level, there should be all of the above plus:
At least one University committee assignment and history of participation in multiple College activities. Evidence of increasing responsibility to the University, profession or professionally-related community, and/or profession on statewide and national levels.
6. While securing tenure and promotion to the associate professor level are considered to be normal avenues of career progression for faculty, promotion to professor should be reserved for those who exemplify only the highest standards in terms of teaching, scholarship, and service. In particular, promotion to full professor should be indicative of the faculty member’s demonstrated impact on the profession well beyond the confines of AASU, and of the regard in which they are held by members of the AASU community and by members of their discipline at large. At the discretion of the faculty member’s department, or the Dean of the College of Health Professions, external reviews of candidates for promotion to full professor may be solicited.
7. In considering the promotion of an academic administrator (vice president, dean, assistant/associate dean, department head), decisions will be based upon the faculty criteria for promotion and will be independent of administrative performance.
I College of Health Professions Tenure and Promotion Committee
A. Composition of the Tenure and Promotion Committee
1. The committee will be composed of eight members (one faculty member from each Department/Program in the College of Health Professions).
2. Term of service is two years, four members to be named in odd years, and four members to be named in even years. Exceptions must be approved by the Dean of the College of Health Professions.
3. Faculty will be able to serve a second term after three years have elapsed since completion of the previous term.
4. A Department/Program Head may serve on the committee only if no other Department/Program member is eligible.
B. Appointment to the Tenure and Promotion Committee.
1. Appointed faculty must hold tenure in their respective department. A non-tenured member may sit on the committee only if no tenured faculty from that Department/Program is eligible.
2. Department heads are not eligible, except with special permission of the Dean of the College of Health Professions. A maximum of two department heads can serve on the committee at one time.
3. Committee members in the same department as an applicant may not be present when the vote is taken or when the letter of recommendation for that applicant is drafted.
4. The Department/Program faculty, with the approval of the Department/Program Head, will determine the method of selection.
C. Functions of the Committee
1. The committee will receive general recommendations on guidelines concerning promotion and tenure and will make recommendations to the Dean of Health Professions and the departments in the College of Health Professions.
2. The committee will recommend revisions to the College of Health Professions Guidelines for Promotion and Tenure to the dean.
3. The committee will review the application materials of candidates for tenure and for promotion and make its recommendation to the Dean of Health Professions.
4. The committee will utilize established Department/Program criteria for tenure and promotion recommendations.
D. Chair of the Committee
1. The committee will elect a chairperson who will serve for a term of one academic year. The chair may be re-elected for a second one-year term.
2 The chair will be responsible for:
a. Ensuring receipt of application materials for tenure and promotion
b. Distributing information concerning applications to committee members
c. Ensuring the smooth transition of committees from year to year
d. Scheduling and overseeing meetings of the committee
e. Maintaining accurate records of all proceedings
f. Forwarding all recommendations of the committee to the Dean, Department/Program Head, and candidate
E. Vote of the Committee
1. Votes should be by secret ballot.
2. The results of each vote, along with any accompanying diagnostic and prescriptive comments, will be included in the recommendation of the committee to the Dean.
College of Health Professions
Portfolio format
I. TITLE PAGE
"A portfolio presented to the Tenure and Promotion Committee for consideration for [promotion to the rank of …] [tenure.]
Full name
Date
Department"
II. STATEMENT OF PERSONAL GOALS/PHILOSOPHY
An overview of how your personal goals/philosophy relate to the goals of the department, college, and university.
III. CURRICULUM VITAE (Current)
IV. LETTERS OF SUPPORT (if any)
Examples are letters from the Dean, Department Head, fellow faculty, and other professional colleagues.
V. TEACHING
A. List of courses/labs/clinicals taught for the evaluation period. (Summarize for first page of APARs)
B. FACE yearly summaries for evaluation period.
C. Student comments for evaluation period. (Must include all signed comments and may include unsigned comments.)
D. Student outcome information. (Might include board/licensure scores, outcome assessments, etc.)
E. Other documents such as peer reviews, reviews of teaching materials, letters from former students, examples of innovative teaching materials, etc.
F. Self assessment statement showing improvement or changes based on feedback and how faculty member has met personal and departmental goals in this area. Also identify strengths and weaknesses.
VI. SCHOLARSHIP
A. List of publications with cover page of all articles and/or book table of contents.
B. List of presentations. (Indicate if peer reviewed, invited. Also indicate if local, regional, national, or international conference.)
C. Other scholarly activities. (This may include course development, in-service programs, continuing education, community group presentations, etc.)
D. Self assessment statement showing improvement or changes based on feedback and how you have met personal and departmental goals in this area. Also identity strengths and weaknesses.
VII. SERVICE
A. Faculty Committee service. Indicate if chair of committee.
C. University committee service. Indicate if chair of committee.
C. College committee service. Indicate if chair of committee.
D. Departmental committee service. Indicate if chair of committee.
E. Service to the profession. (Indicate if local, state, regional, or national. Also indicate office held.)
F. Community Service (Must be associate with expertise needed for faculty appointment.)
G. Other service not related to above.
H. Self assessment statement showing improvement or changes based on feedback and how faculty member has met personal and departmental goals in this area. Also identify strengths and weaknesses.
VIII. APARs and ANNUAL EVALUATIONS (Three years recommended)
IX. AWARDS AND HONORS
