RUL 05.67.415 – School of Public and International Affairs Appointment and Promotion of Professional Faculty Standards and Procedures

Authority: Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost

History: First Issued: November 10, 2020.

Additional References:
Office of the Provost RPT Website
School of Public and International Affairs Standards for Appointment to Lecturer and Appointment/Promotion to Senior Lecturer

Contact Information: Director, School of Public and International Affairs (5-8265)

1. INTRODUCTION

This rule provides the standards and procedures for appointment and promotion of professional faculty with professorial rank in the School of Public and International Affairs, hereafter referred to as SPIA, at North Carolina State University (“NC State”). SPIA is the home of the Department of Political Science and the Department of Public Administration. This rule is supplemental to university and college rules on the appointment and promotion of professional faculty. Only faculty appointed at 0.75FTE and above are eligible for promotion. School standards for appointment and promotion of Lecturers and Senior Lecturers are maintained at the school website linked under Additional References. SPIA recognizes that the specific activities upon which professional faculty are evaluated will vary.

2. AREAS OF FACULTY RESPONSIBILITY

NC State specifies contributions in six Realms of Faculty Responsibility as the principal standards for decisions about faculty appointments and promotion. All professional faculty with professorial ranks in the school are expected to engage in teaching and service as determined by their Statements of Faculty Responsibilities (SFRs). Some professional faculty may engage in research if that is indicated in their SFR.

3. GENERAL STANDARDS

At the departmental level, the review of candidates will employ standards generally consonant with those of the College and University, while specifically suitable for faculty members in the Department. These standards are applied with the expectation that faculty who are appointed and promoted within the Political Science or Public Administration Department are highly qualified within their discipline, as demonstrated by their teaching, service, and other relevant areas of responsibility, and that these are in line with the needs and resources of the university. The dossier must demonstrate that the faculty member has established a consistent record of performance at NC State that meets promotion criteria. The department recognizes that collegiality and the ability to cooperate with other faculty, staff, and/or students are factors that can affect a faculty member’s ability to meet the standards for their ranks and realms of responsibility. While collegiality in and of itself is not a performance standard, a lack of collegiality may be acknowledged in an evaluation process to the extent that it served as a factor negatively affecting the faculty member’s productivity in their realms of responsibility.

4. STANDARDS FOR APPOINTMENT TO ASSISTANT TEACHING PROFESSOR

4.1 Change in title from Lecturer or Senior Lecturer to Assistant Teaching Professor.

The change in title from Lecturer to Assistant Teaching Professor is solely a matter of credentials—the acquisition of the terminal degree, usually a PhD—and not a substantive change in duties and expectations.

4.2 Standards for Appointment to Assistant Teaching Professor

4.2.1 All faculty appointed to the rank of Assistant Teaching Professor must hold a PhD or other terminal degree appropriate to the course(s) being taught.

4.2.2 All faculty appointed to the rank of Assistant Teaching Professor must further show ability or definite promise in the mutually agreed upon realms of responsibility and ability and willingness to participate in department, college and university affairs.

5. STANDARDS FOR APPOINTMENT/PROMOTION TO ASSOCIATE TEACHING PROFESSOR

5.1 All Associate Teaching Professor faculty shall meet and exceed the criteria for Assistant Teaching Professors (i.e., hold an appropriate terminal degree, show relevant abilities (as described in 5.2 below).

5.2 Assistant Teaching Professor in SPIA who can demonstrate substantial progressive development of their curriculum may apply for promotion to the rank of Associate Teaching Professor. Faculty seeking promotion from Assistant Teaching Professor to Associate Teaching Professor must provide evidence qualifying for promotion accrued since their appointment to Assistant Teaching Professor by showing recognized ability and potential for distinction in the mutually agreed upon realms of responsibility and demonstrated ability and willingness to participate in department, college and university affairs. In all cases, excellence in teaching remains the most important of the following criteria:

5.2.1 Evidence of excellence in teaching courses, as documented by student (ClassEval) and peer evaluations of teaching, as well as any supervisory or departmental evaluations that have been conducted. Candidates may also cite awards or other sources of formal recognition of their excellence in teaching. When considering the role of student (ClassEval) evaluations as required by University regulations, the DVF will take into account the well-known biases, including gender and racial bias that have been documented in such evaluations and weight their evidentiary value accordingly, as is allowed by those regulations. The faculty will consider multiple sources of evidence in judging excellence in teaching.

5.2.2 Engagement with curriculum development and/or course design/revision, as evidenced by syllabi and pedagogical materials or student work presented in a teaching portfolio, in a way that demonstrates continuing familiarity with developments in the field.

5.2.3 Evidence of professional development, which may include but is not limited to: attending or presenting at regional, national or international meetings/conferences and/or attending or presenting at workshops in the discipline, on effective instructional practices, instructional technology use, critical thinking, and collaborative learning.

5.2.4 A record of professional engagement in or related to the discipline, which may include but is not limited to: scholarly conference presentations and/or publications including textbooks and curriculum units, creative artistry related to the discipline, technological innovation, service in professional societies.

5.3 Additional contributions beyond assigned teaching responsibilities to the department, college, university and/or community may also be considered as part of the promotion dossier. These may include but are not limited to: service on committees or the Faculty Senate, program coordinating or scheduling, presenting at teacher-training workshops, student advising, serving as a mentor for a club or student organization, supervising or co-teaching courses with graduate teaching assistants, organizing events, serving on the editorial team of an academic journal, educational outreach in the community, etc.

6. STANDARDS FOR APPOINTMENT/PROMOTION TO TEACHING PROFESSOR

6.1 All Teaching Professor faculty shall meet and exceed the criteria for Associate Teaching Professors (i.e., hold an appropriate terminal degree, show relevant abilities (as described in 6.2 below).

6.2 An Associate Teaching Professor may apply for promotion to the rank of Teaching Professor. Faculty seeking promotion from Associate Teaching Professor to Teaching Professor must provide evidence qualifying for promotion accrued since their appointment to Associate Teaching Professor by showing a persistent record of distinguished achievement in the mutually agreed upon realms of responsibility, demonstrated ability and willingness to participate in department, college and university affairs, and established reputation in the individual’s discipline or field of scholarly or germane creative activity. Although evidence of a combination of the following standards will be used to evaluate the candidate’s dossier, in all cases, excellence in teaching remains the most important of the following criteria:

6.2.1 Evidence of excellence in teaching courses, as documented by student (ClassEval) and peer evaluations of teaching, as well as any supervisory or departmental evaluations that have been conducted. Candidates may also cite awards or other sources of formal recognition of their excellence in teaching. When considering the role of student (ClassEval) evaluations as required by University regulations, the DVF will take into account the well-known biases, including gender and racial bias that have been documented in such evaluations and weight their evidentiary value accordingly, as is allowed by those regulations. The faculty will consider multiple sources of evidence in judging excellence in teaching.

6.2.2 Engagement with curriculum development and/or course design/revision, as evidenced by syllabi and pedagogical materials and/or student work presented in a teaching portfolio.

6.2.3 Evidence of professional development, which may include but is not limited to: attending or presenting at regional, national or international meetings/conferences and/or attending or presenting at workshops in the discipline on effective instructional practices, instructional technology use, critical thinking, or collaborative learning.

6.2.4 A record of professional engagement in or related to the discipline, which may include but is not limited to: scholarly conference presentations and/or publications including textbooks and curriculum units, or service in professional societies.

6.3 Additional contributions beyond assigned teaching responsibilities to the department, college, university and/or community, may also be considered as part of the promotion dossier. These may include but are not limited to: service on committees or the Faculty Senate, program coordinating or scheduling, presenting at teacher-training workshops, student advising, serving as a mentor for a club or student organization, supervising or co-teaching courses with graduate Assistant Teachings, organizing events, serving on the editorial team of an academic journal, or educational outreach in the community.

7. PROCEDURES

College and School procedures for personnel reviews must be in conformity with university guidelines and procedures.

7.1 Timetable: The PS or PA Department chair should identify those candidates who wish to be considered for promotion by May of the academic year preceding consideration. Dossiers will be fully assembled and ready for departmental review by October 1. Members of the departmental voting faculty (DVF) will be given at least two weeks to review files before departmental votes. For decisions regarding promotion to Associate Teaching Professor, Associate Professors (tenured and tenure-track), tenured Professors, Associate Teaching Professors, and Teaching Professors will vote. For decisions regarding promotion to Teaching Professors, tenured Professors and Teaching Professors will vote. Meetings to discuss candidates will thus generally be scheduled for mid-October, but in no case later than November 1.

7.2 External Evaluations: External evaluations for promotion are required for professional track faculty whose statements of faculty responsibilities include 25% of greater responsibility towards research, creative artistry and literature, engagement with external constituencies, or other activities that external reviewers can adequately and appropriately judge. In cases where letters are required, the SPIA Director may solicit external evaluations reviewing the contributions of candidates to their respective realms of faculty responsibilities. If solicited, letters from external evaluators must follow university regulations.

7.3 Content and Assembly of the File: University regulations specify the material to be included in the candidate’s dossier, and must address the realms of faculty responsibilities in which the candidate’s effort is greater than 0. Once the department votes on a case (and adds the vote tally and written assessments from the Director and the DVF to the file), the candidate’s dossier is considered closed.

7.4 Written Assessments by the SPIA Director and the Departmental Voting Faculty: Procedures in this section must be consistent with university policies, rules, and regulations for consultation (see REG 05.20.05). Written assessments from the SPIA Director and the DVF, prepared by the Department Chair, must substantively explain how the candidate’s accomplishments, as documented in the dossier, meet (or fail to meet) the standards for promotion laid out in departmental rules. In the event of a split vote of the DVF, the assessment from the DVF must explain both positive and negative votes. Missing votes must also be explained.

7.5 Terms for Contracts: Professional faculty subsequent contracts at the same rank are at the discretion of the departmental DVF and the SPIA Director. The minimum term of appointment for Assistant Teaching Professors is two years. The minimum term of appointment for Associate Teaching Professors and Teaching Professors is three years. Exceptions to these term minimums must be requested by the SPIA Director and approved by the college dean.