RUL 05.67.854 Department of Clinical Sciences Professional Faculty Contract and Promotion Standards and Procedures

Authority: Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost

History: First Issued: December 6, 2024

Contact: Department Head 919-513-6230

Additional References:
Office of the Provost RPT Website

INTRODUCTION

1.1 This rule describes the standards and procedures for initial contracts, subsequent contracts, and promotion of professional faculty with professorial rank in the Clinical, Research, Teaching, and Of the Practice tracks in the Department of Clinical Sciences (DoCS) at North Carolina State University (“NC State”). This rule is supplemental to and consistent with university and college rules on professional faculty. Only professional faculty appointed at 0.75FTE and above are eligible for promotion. DoCS recognizes that the specific activities upon which professional faculty are evaluated will vary.

1.2 DoCS is one of three departments in the College of Veterinary Medicine at North Carolina State University. The department is divided into sections, each of which concentrates on a specialty area within clinical veterinary medicine.

1.3 DoCS is charged with preparing veterinarians and veterinary specialists to enhance medical care for companion animal, equine, laboratory, avian/exotic, zoological and wildlife patients. This is accomplished through didactic, small group problem solving and clinical teaching, in addition to research to yield new methods to prevent, diagnose, and treat disease in companion animals, horses, aquatic species, and wildlife.

AREAS OF FACULTY RESPONSIBILITY

2.1 North Carolina State University specifies contributions in six (6) Realms of Faculty Responsibility as the principal standards for decisions about faculty promotion and subsequent contract. The four realms of faculty responsibility that are applicable for most members of the department are: (1) teaching and mentoring students, (2) discovery of knowledge through discipline-guided inquiry, (3) extension and engagement with constituencies outside the university, and (4) service in professional societies and within the university itself.

2.2 Except as provided by REG 05.20.34, the Department requires that professional track faculty distribute their efforts to some combination of these realms as outlined and proportioned in their Statement of Faculty Responsibilities (SFR). The assignment of percentages of effort for each responsibility will be made by the Department Head when a new faculty member is hired and outlined in a SFR signed by the Department Head and faculty member. It is expected that the highest percent effort will be assigned to the realm that coincides with the faculty member’s track. The assignment percentages will be reviewed annually and adjusted by the Department Head if deemed necessary.

GENERAL STANDARDS

3.1 The general standards for initial contract, subsequent contract, and promotion in DoCS follow those in REG 05.20.34 and RUL 05.67.853. Faculty performance will be evaluated in recognition of the weight of percentages assigned to each realm of responsibility on the SFR.

3.2 For those individuals engaged in teaching, evidence of good teaching must accompany each positive recommendation for promotion. Evidence of teaching productivity may include the number of courses taught, and development of innovative lectures, laboratory sessions, courses, electives, selectives and extracurricular activities that teach veterinary students. Assessment of these efforts by students and peers is essential and will be conducted using College of Veterinary Medicine procedures which were approved by the University Evaluation of Teaching Committee. Recognition of teaching excellence by students and peers is also part of the evaluation process.

3.3 Scholarly activity (which may or may not overlap with research and/or extension-related efforts) in education may include: 1) hypothesis-based educational research manuscripts, 2) chapters or textbooks, 3) review papers, 4) monographs, 5) generating and organizing web-based instructional materials, 6) developing and obtaining certification for autotutorial programs, 7) organizing major symposia on topics of vital concern to the profession or 8) developing and scientifically evaluating other new approaches to teaching not listed above. A record of invited presentations on teaching methods is also evidence of scholarly activity in education.

3.4 For those individuals engaged in research, evidence of successful research must accompany each positive recommendation for promotion. Documentation of creative and scholarly activity in a discipline relevant to the department is the responsibility of every member of the Departmental Faculty. Research work should be original and published in major journals of the discipline concerned.

3.5 The quantity of publications will be determined by the effort assigned to the Discovery of Knowledge domain within the SFR. The quality of the work and prestige of the journal or other media in which the work appears are factors to be considered. The impact factor of the journal and other metrics may be a consideration when evaluating the quality of scholarly activity. The evaluation of quality of research for promotion must be applied with judgment since there may be substantial variation among refereed works in terms of their contribution to the academic and professional community. Evidence must be presented in the candidate’s dossier that the work has either been published or accepted (acceptance letter from the Editor of the Journal). Manuscripts submitted or in preparation will not be considered when evaluating the quality of scholarly activity.

3.6 Research presented at professional meetings and activities such as membership on editorial boards of refereed journals, serving as a referee, assisting colleagues with their research activities and other contributions to the scholarly life of the department may be encouraged and will be considered, but will not substitute for peer-reviewed publications for faculty promotion. Invited presentations at national and international research symposia and conferences also may be considered evidence of the impact of the faculty member’s contribution to research.

3.7 Extramural grant submission is expected of all faculty members with an FTE >20% in Discovery of Knowledge. As the FTE increases, the individual is expected to provide sufficient extramural funds to support ongoing research endeavors and personnel within the laboratory.

3.8 Clinical service within the veterinary hospital or other sites is regarded as a 50:50 mixture of teaching and extension/engagement. For those individuals engaged in clinical service, evidence that the faculty member provides professional expertise and performs their duties in a competent and professional manner (as documented in the Veterinary Hospital (VH) evaluations or by other means) must accompany each positive recommendation for promotion.

3.9 Extension and engagement activities outside hospital service may be documented by providing evidence of continuing education activities, hosting visiting veterinarians and trainees, practice visits, and lay person educational activities.

3.10 Service within the department, college, and university is expected and evidence of service must accompany each positive recommendation for promotion. Service in professional societies is encouraged.

STANDARDS AND PROCEDURES FOR INITIAL AND SUBSEQUENT CONTRACT FOR PROFESSIONAL FACULTY WITH PROFESSORIAL RANK

4.1 Professional faculty appointments are fixed-term appointments as lecturer, assistant professor, associate professor, or professor with the appropriate modifier. Professorial professional faculty appointments have an appropriate prefix modifier (“Clinical”, “Teaching”, “Research”, “Of the Practice”). Qualifications for professional faculty professorial ranks are similar to comparable tenure track ranks. The candidate will be evaluated with regard to assigned effort in the individual’s realms of responsibility as described in their SFR.

4.2 Decisions for professional faculty initial and subsequent contracts are dependent on recommendations by the Departmental Voting Faculty (DVF) and Department Head to the Dean, unless the initial or subsequent contract is for two (2) years or less. The Department Head can recommend contracts of up to and including two (2) years to the Dean without DVF consultation. Professional faculty with three (3) annual reviews documenting that the individual meets expectations will be considered for contract renewal. The appropriate DVF will be provided with the faculty member’s CV and a tabular summary of the faculty member’s performance relative to expectations set in the SFR from their annual activity reports, and they will vote regarding contract renewal.

STANDARDS FOR PROMOTION TO ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR FOR PROFESSIONAL FACULTY WITH PROFESSORIAL RANK

Promotion to Associate Professor in all professional tracks will be evaluated for each faculty member with an appropriate and individual integration across the faculty member’s contributions in teaching, research and extension with due consideration to effective service to the institution. The expectation is that a faculty member will have demonstrated competency in teaching, research, clinical service, and organizational service as noted in their SFR and the potential to achieve national or international recognition as noted below.

5.1 Evidence of good teaching based on a number of measures, including student learning outcomes, will be demonstrated.

5.1.1 It is normally and generally expected that the faculty member will have provided effective teaching based on peer teaching review, performed according to the University schedule.

5.1.2 It is normally and generally expected that the faculty member will have provided effective teaching based on student teaching review performed according to the College schedule. On the question regarding overall effectiveness, 80% of students will agree or strongly agree that the faculty member was an effective teacher. If the individual teaches within a clinical service, 80% of students will have rated the faculty member as Excellent (4) or Good (3) for overall effectiveness as a teacher in clinical teaching.

5.1.3 It is normally and generally expected that clinical teachers will have effective teaching documented by at least one comprehensive VH evaluation.

5.1.4 Exceptions to Standards 5.1.1, 5.1.2, and 5.1.3, will be documented and discussed in the Department Head Summary.

5.1.5 The faculty member will select, from all of their accomplishments in these areas, the requisite items they want to be considered for review.

5.1.5(a) Improvements or innovations in teaching that have been implemented.

5.1.5(b) Individually initiated activities or contributions to section activities that provide clinical and/or research experience to years 1-3 students (special rounds, case presentations, lectures in non-DoCS courses, summer opportunities, student clubs, selectives, etc).

5.1.5(c) Mentoring of professional students, as documented by completion of the professional curriculum and successful transition into their chosen professional paths. Mentoring of graduate students and residents as documented by completion of their programs, passing of boards (if applicable), and transition into successful scientists and clinicians.

5.2 A faculty member will have demonstrated scholarly activity in research. From all of their manuscripts and grants, the faculty member will select the designated items they want to be considered for review for each of the following subsections:

5.2.1 Typically, both clinical and teaching track faculty will have at least 10% FTE in Discovery of Knowledge, with a minimum of two manuscripts (or more as determined by the SFR) that have been published in refereed journals, reporting original research beyond the level of a case-report. In exceptional circumstances, publication of fewer manuscripts with high impact may be considered. The faculty member being reviewed should be first author or corresponding author on the manuscripts; major co-authorship can also be counted with appropriate written documentation from the first or corresponding author and approval by the Department Head. Hypothesis-based educational research manuscripts will count towards the two research manuscripts.

5.2.2. Research track faculty will have an FTE in Discovery of Knowledge that exceeds 35%; the general expectation will be for substantial extramural grant funding and a minimum number of manuscripts (first or corresponding author, beyond the level of a case-report) that equals at least five plus one for every 10% their FTE exceeds 35%; exceptions to these standards will be made when appropriate and with approval of the Department Head. Additionally, Faculty in the research track must submit a minimum of two grant proposals for extramural funding. Receipt of substantial extramural funding may be considered as a substitute for one manuscript.

5.2.3 Of the Practice faculty should be accomplished professionals with extensive real world experience and board certification in their relevant specialty; these faculty will typically have 5% FTE in Discovery of Knowledge, with a minimum expectation of meaningful contribution to collaborative research as evidenced by co-authorship on at least four manuscripts that have been published in refereed journals, reporting original research beyond the level of a case-report. For Of the Practice faculty, four different types of acceptable substitutions exist which can be used to replace any of the required co-author manuscripts, and these include: being listed as co-investigator with paid effort on a funded extramural grant proposal (one grant is equivalent to one manuscript and there is no limit on how many substitutions can be made), first/corresponding authorship on a case report (maximum of three substitutions can be made using case reports), a letter (or formal written acknowledgement in the published manuscript) from the first or corresponding author of a research manuscript indicating that the Of the Practice faculty member made a substantial and essential contribution to a research manuscript (maximum of one substitution can be made using this mechanism).

5.3 If a faculty member has responsibilities in the Veterinary Hospital (VH), they will have demonstrated accomplishment by providing effective and efficient patient care and hospital management (see section 3.4), with continually improving quality.

5.3.1 Peers, staff and hospital administrators agree that the faculty member has provided effective service in the VH (if applicable), as documented by comprehensive VH evaluation.

5.3.2 Diplomate status (board-certification) has been achieved, if appropriate to the specialty.

5.3.3 Innovations in clinical service that have been introduced to the VH (new techniques developed or learned, new methods for delivery of service, clinical protocols established, etc.) are documented.

5.4 The faculty member will have demonstrated dissemination of knowledge and skills to professional colleagues and the lay public. For subsections 5.4.1, 5.4.2, and 5.4.3, from all of their accomplishments in these areas, the faculty member will select at least 5 items they want to be reviewed. A mix of regional and national activities should be included. If applicable, international activities may be included. Peer recognition and contributions to the State of North Carolina and its veterinary community are valued and should be noted.

5.4.1 Manuscripts that have been published based on clinical observations or of clinical relevance (including case reports). These manuscripts are not necessarily in addition to those listed under research.

5.4.2 Activities that have been implemented to provide professional development opportunities for veterinarians, such as practitioner-oriented laboratories, practice visits, hosting visiting veterinarians, interactions with practitioner adjunct faculty, substantive consults, etc.

5.4.3 Continuing education lectures and proceedings, books, book chapters, and/or review articles.

5.5. A faculty member will have provided a leadership role in the Department, VH, College of Veterinary Medicine, NC State University or professional organizations as documented by contributions to the process and accomplishments of committees and teams.

STANDARDS FOR PROMOTION TO PROFESSOR FOR PROFESSIONAL FACULTY WITH PROFESSORIAL RANK

6.1 Promotion to Professor in all professional tracks will be evaluated for each faculty member with regard to assigned effort in the individual’s realms of responsibility as described in their SFR. In general, the expectation is that a faculty member will have demonstrated internationally recognized scholarly accomplishments. These accomplishments may be in the area of teaching, research, clinical service, and/or organizational service. However, for promotion to Professor in any professional track, cumulative outstanding leadership within the university, over an extended number of years, which contributes to the national or international recognition of university programs may be heavily weighted in lieu of the faculty member’s individual national or international recognition for scholarship and leadership.

6.2 The types of activities detailed in section 5 above (Standards for Promotion to Associate Professor for Professional Faculty with Professorial Rank) will be used to assist in these deliberations, but the expectations are above and beyond those detailed in that section. Most importantly, the contributions of the faculty member must have made a difference, whether it is in the way veterinary students learn, the manner in which veterinary medicine is practiced and delivered, or in the creation and application of new knowledge.

PROCEDURES FOR PROMOTION OF PROFESSIONAL FACULTY

7.1 Promotions within the professorial professional faculty ranks are considered through the same departmental process as for promotion and tenure for tenure track faculty.

7.2 Professional faculty members will be reviewed in the spring semester of their penultimate contract year by the Department Head and the appropriate Assistant Department Head. If there is a consensus that promotion should be considered, the candidate will be notified. The dossier will be prepared and reviewed using the same departmental procedures used for tenure track faculty.

7.3 All Department procedures will be consistent with those of the College of Veterinary Medicine and NC State University.

7.4 The schedule of deadlines for dossier submission and DVF meetings regarding promotion decisions will be set and communicated by the Department Head. Professional faculty members appointed in the same track (i.e. clinical, teaching, etc.) and at or above the rank for which a professional faculty candidate is being considered will vote. Professional faculty will not vote on tenured or tenure-track faculty reappointment, promotion, and tenure actions.

7.5 Absentee votes may be submitted to the Department Head by faculty who are unable to attend the DVF meeting. The Head will announce the deadline for absentee vote submission to enable the department to meet the college submission deadline.