Revised Tenure Document
(January 18, 2004)
Teaching
Teaching is an activity in which faculty engage as teachers, as advisors to students, and as partners with public schools.
Required Evidence
- Statement of teaching philosophy and description of teaching and learning strategies
- Syllabi and other documents that show evidence of careful planning and organization, clarity of expectations, and fairness in the evaluation of student performance
- Documentation of teaching and student learning Teaching should reflect state licensure regulations and content included in PRAXIS examinations as well as state and national standards of applicable professional organizations and accrediting agencies (e.g., NCATE unit standards, state and national program standards); teaching should also demonstrate use of the RCOE conceptual framework in courses taught, and include the effective integration of technology as appropriate
- Student evaluations for all fall and spring semester classes. The type of evaluation may vary. However, the instrument must directly address the quality of instruction and include a series of approved core items held constant for all faculty members. The evaluation must be administered without the instructor present, and students must be able to respond anonymously
- Narrative summary of evaluations for the period under review The narrative must include a description of ways student evaluations are used to improve instruction.
- Peer and/or chairperson reviews A minimum of one peer review, using the standard form, must be conducted each semester for all non-tenured faculty. The review must be conducted in two different courses and by two different reviewers (one may be from an allied department). One of the reviewers must be tenured. Tenured faculty members are required to have one peer review every two years
- Student advisement documents (e.g., accessibility to students, accuracy of advisement, successful mentoring of students, knowledge of program policies and procedures)
Additional Evidence
- Teaching evaluations for summer courses, journal reflections, and formative course evalutions
- Mentoring and collaboration activities with colleagues
- Supervision of student-directed scholarship
- Communication from students, alumni, and colleagues
- Major revision of courses
- Acknowledgements/honors for excellence in teaching
- Professional development school/university public school partnership activities
- Service-learning implementation
- Supervision of practicum/internship experiences
- Working with practitioners
Quality of, and Productivity in, Scholarship, Research, and/or Creative Activity
Research may be reflected in a variety of ways. It may be the creation of new knowledge through theorizing, and/or inventing; it may be the integration of new knowledge with existing knowledge; it may lead to the application of knowledge to provide benefits to society and/or the improvement of teaching and learning. Collaboration and individual work are equally valued. Long-term and ongoing projects with appropriate evidence may be used to document potential and commitment to future scholarship. A narrative may accompany tenure materials to provide evidence for a cohesive research agenda as well as potential for future scholarship.
Required Evidence
- Publication of articles in refereed journals*
- refereed papers published in conference proceedings* and/or peer reviewed book chapters* and/or presentations at refereed professional conferences*
*and/or the equivalent in creative scholarly products related to one’s field
Additional Evidence
- Publication of a book, textbook supplement, or monograph
- Publication of curriculum materials or computer software
- Authorship of book chapters in edited books
- Paper published in conference proceedings
- Invited article or book chapter
- Publication of article in non-juried journal
- Authorship of technical reports
- Funded competitive grants
- Competitive grants written and submitted
- Funded solicited grants
- solicited grants written and submitted
- Presentations at non-juried professional conferences
- Invited presentations at professional conferences (refereed or non-juried)
- Presentations to community organizations related to a faculty member's professional expertise
- Keynote addresses/presentations
- Media presentations and television programs
- Editorship of books, manuals, or journals
- Editorship of newsletters
- Membership on editorial boards of scholarly publications
- Published reviews in professional journals
- Critique/evaluation of unpublished manuscripts for a publisher or the critique/evaluation of a new edition of a published book
- Formal study related to academic area
- External evaluations or reviews
- Invitations to review the tenure or promotional materials of others
- Evidence of research in progress
- Eligibility for membership on the graduate faculty
- Acknowledgement or honor for research/creative activity
University, Professional, and Community Service Professional service is manifested in activities that contribute to the public welfare or the common good, call upon faculty member's academic and/or professional expertise, and directly address or respond to real-world problems, issues, interests, or concerns. Within this area, a faculty member can show evidence over time in the various areas of service: to the profession, to practitioners and community, and to the institution. Required Evidence - Service on department, program area, and college committees
- Shows evidence of active participation in department, program area, and college activities
- Memberships and participation in professional organizations
- Ongoing/sustained service to public schools and/or community service in one’s academic area Additional Evidence
- Participates in curricular and program development
- Leadership and organization of off-campus programs (unless contracted) including international programs
- Participates in recruitment and/or scholarship activities for students
- Coordinates program area(s)
- Service on university committees
- Particpation in university meetings
- Leadership on department, college, and university committees
- Service on special task forces
- Advising of student educational groups
- Involvement with student activities, organizations, and programs
- Activities in professional organizations
- Activities for education agencies/policy boards
- Accreditation activities (e.g., NCATE, SACS, DPI, other professional organizations)
- Sustained engagement with practitioners
- Inservice and workshop activities for schools or districts
- Professional consultation
- Leadership and/or volunteer work for schools or districts
- Activities in the community related to one's academic area (e.g., consultation for educational organizations; consultation for civic, community, and/or government organizations providing professional services to individuals and/or groups; presentations designed to enhance the public's understanding of one's field)
- Mentoring/collaborating with colleagues related to professional work
- Conducting a peer review
- Acknowledgement or honor for service activities
University, Professional, and Community Service
Professional service is manifested in activities that contribute to the public welfare or the common good, call upon faculty member's academic and/or professional expertise, and directly address or respond to real-world problems, issues, interests, or concerns. Within this area, a faculty member can show evidence over time in the various areas of service: to the profession, to practitioners and community, and to the institution.
Required Evidence
- Service on department, program area, and college committees
- Shows evidence of active participation in department, program area, and college activities
- Memberships and participation in professional organizations
- Ongoing/sustained service to public schools and/or community service in one’s academic area
Additional Evidence
- Participates in curricular and program development
- Leadership and organization of off-campus programs (unless contracted) including international programs
- Participates in recruitment and/or scholarship activities for students
- Coordinates program area(s)
- Service on university committees
- Particpation in university meetings
- Leadership on department, college, and university committees
- Service on special task forces
- Advising of student educational groups
- Involvement with student activities, organizations, and programs
- Activities in professional organizations
- Activities for education agencies/policy boards
- Accreditation activities (e.g., NCATE, SACS, DPI, other professional organizations)
- Sustained engagement with practitioners
- Inservice and workshop activities for schools or districts
- Professional consultation
- Leadership and/or volunteer work for schools or districts
- Activities in the community related to one's academic area (e.g., consultation for educational organizations; consultation for civic, community, and/or government organizations providing professional services to individuals and/or groups; presentations designed to enhance the public's understanding of one's field)
- Mentoring/collaborating with colleagues related to professional work
- Conducting a peer review
- Acknowledgement or honor for service activities
Revised Merit Document
(October 2, 1998)
The following is the revised merit document adopted by the faculty in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at its October 2, 1998 meeting. The faculty member requesting merit would submit in writing to the chair their rationale (summary of their activities in the three areas under consideration and including a self-appraisal of the quality of their performance) in support of their request for merit. The self-appraisal document would be submitted to the chair at the annual end- of-the -year conference. Merit is awarded in addition to any cost-of-living increase or bonus monies available for distribution.
All tenure track faculty are eligible for merit. Grades of merit exist from none to merit to high merit. Teaching, scholarship and service receive equal weight.
As stipulated in the Faculty Handbook, eligibility for merit is determined by the chair and is indicated by outstanding performance in either teaching, research, or service with at least satisfactory performance indicated in two of the three areas under consideration. Outstanding performance in research/creative activities, for example, might be indicated by publications in a combination of national/regional/state refereed journals, and paper presentations at national/regional/state conferences. Similarly, outstanding teaching might be documented by student evaluations, portfolios, and peer review evaluations. Finally, outstanding performance in service might be documented through service activities at all levels of the university and to the profession.
In any given year, outstanding faculty may be designated to receive high merit. High merit is determined by the chair on the basis of outstanding performance in two of the three areas under consideration and satisfactory performance in one of the three areas under consideration. Faculty may be awarded merit or high merit continuously.
The department chair will withhold between 2-5% (may be variable) of the pool of dollars designated for merit for the high merit award. Each faculty member receiving high merit will be awarded an equal share of those monies set aside. High merit is awarded in addition to standard merit.
Example:
Department allocation $40,000
5% taken off the top for high merit ($2000). Reduces pool of dollars for merit to $38,000 to be divided among those faculty receiving merit. Faculty receiving high merit receive merit + high merit. For example, if 15 faculty receive merit, each receives in the example above, $2533. With high merit added, an individual would receive an additional $400 (given 5 awards for high merit) for a total of $2933 added to their base salary.
