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3.1.5.6 Eligibility Standards for Rank

(Charter)

Faculty are not required to apply for advancement in rank. To be considered for advancement, except for Emeritus Professor, faculty must apply and submit a complete dossier. Prior requirements apply for each advancement in rank.

  1. Rank for Tenure-Track Faculty

    The University recognizes the following ranks with standards for eligibility. Degrees must be appropriate to a teacher’s discipline and earned from an institution accredited by a recognized accrediting body. The number of years taken to reach eligibility for progression through the ranks is not generally shortened, as an enculturation to the University requires time and experience.

    1. Instructor

      Faculty will demonstrate promise for teaching and professional involvement in their discipline, as well as contributions to the University and community. Involvement in the discipline includes regular convention attendance, professional memberships, appropriate professional certification or licensure, and scholarly activity. They will also meet one of the following requirements:

      i. Master’s degree

      ii. Bachelor’s degree with relevant experience, graduate study, credentials, registration, or licensure as required by the department

    2. Assistant Professor

      Faculty will demonstrate ability in teaching and must show evidence of engagement in scholarly activity in the candidate's discipline, as well as evidence of contributions to the University and community. They will also meet one of the following requirements:

      i. Doctoral degree

      ii. Master’s degree and two years of additional full-time graduate study and one year of successful college or university teaching experience

      iii. Master’s degree and one year of additional full-time graduate study and two years of successful college or university teaching experience

      iv. Master’s degree and four years of successful college or university teaching experience

    3. Associate Professor

      Faculty will demonstrate significant achievement in teaching and must show evidence of continuing scholarly activity in the candidate's discipline since becoming an Assistant Professor, as well as evidence of contributions to the University and community. They will also meet one of the following requirements:

      i. Doctoral degree and four years of successful college or university teaching as an assistant professor

      ii. Completion of all academic requirements for a doctoral degree except the dissertation, and five years of successful college or university teaching as an assistant professor

    4. Professor

      Faculty will demonstrate exceptional contribution in teaching, show evidence of continuing scholarly achievement in the candidate's discipline since becoming an Associate Professor, as well as evidence of contributions to the University and community. They will also meet the following requirement:

      i. Doctoral degree and four years of successful college or university teaching as an associate professor

    5. Emeritus Professor

      Upon retirement from full-time employment, emeriti faculty will have achieved the rank of professor and will have demonstrated meritorious service in teaching and professional involvement, as well as contributions to the University and community. They will also meet one of the following requirements:

      i. Fifteen years employment with the University

      ii. Ten years teaching experience as a professor at the University, five of which are immediately prior to retirement

  2. Rank for Librarians

    Librarians must have an earned American Library Association-accredited master’s degree. To advance in rank, librarians will perform at a high professional level (professional practice) in areas contributing to the educational and research mission of the University, such as reference service, collection development, and bibliographic organization and control. The University recognizes the following levels of rank with standards for eligibility:

    1. Assistant Librarian, Level 1

      Librarians will demonstrate promise for professional practice and professional involvement in the discipline, as well as contributions to the University and community. Involvement in the discipline includes regular convention attendance, professional memberships, appropriate professional certifications or licensure, and scholarly activity.

    2. Assistant Librarian, Level 2

      Librarians will demonstrate ability in professional practice must show evidence of engagement in scholarly activity in the discipline, as well as evidence of contributions to the University and community. They will also meet the following requirement:

      i. Four years of successful college or university experience as an Assistant Librarian, Level 1

    3. Associate Librarian

      Librarians will demonstrate significant achievement in professional practice and must show evidence of continuing scholarly activity in the discipline since becoming an Assistant Librarian, as well as evidence of contributions to the University and community. They will also meet one of the following requirements:

      i. A second master’s degree, and four years of successful experience as a college or university Assistant Librarian, Level 2

      ii. Seven years of successful experience as a college or university Assistant Librarian, Level 2

    4. Librarian

      Librarians will demonstrate exceptional contribution in professional practice and show evidence of continuing scholarly activity in the discipline since becoming an Associate Librarian, as well as evidence of contributions to the University and community. They will also meet one of the following requirements:

      i. A second master’s degree and four years of successful experience as a college or university Associate Librarian

      ii. Seven years of successful experience as a college or university Associate Librarian

    5. Emeritus Librarian

      Upon retirement from full-time employment, emeriti librarians will have achieved the rank of Librarian and will have demonstrated meritorious service in professional involvement as well as contributions to the University and community. They will also meet one of the following requirements:

      i. Fifteen years employment with the University

      ii. Ten years of library experience as librarian at the University, five of which are immediately prior to retirement

  3. Rank for Non-Tenure-Track Employees

    Full-time, salaried, non-tenure-track faculty members of the University may be eligible for academic rank when sponsored by an academic department.

  4. Temporary Appointments

    Temporary appointments may be made at any rank with a title indicating the temporary nature of the appointment, such as acting instructor, lecturer, visiting professor, or visiting lecturer. The University may employ retired faculty members on a yearly basis, continuing at their last rank. For all such faculty members, the temporary nature of the appointment must be clearly indicated in the written statements of terms of employment.

  5. Alternate Qualifications

    Recommendations for advancement in rank may be made on the basis of alternate qualifications if one of the following conditions is met:

    1. The candidate has the highest available degree in the particular field of expertise or has a terminal degree as recognized by the institution.
    2. The candidate has completed graduate work comparable to the prescribed degree or has extensive training in the relevant professional area.
    3. The candidate has qualifications, such as recognized expertise in the particular academic or professional area, or has made outstanding contributions to the advancement and betterment of the department, the University, the discipline, and/or higher education.

    Adequate supporting data must be provided, demonstrating that the qualifications are generally recognized in academic circles.