Sam Houston State University (SHSU) justifies and documents the qualifications of its faculty members in each of its educational programs, regardless of program or course modality. The faculty at SHSU are qualified to accomplish the mission and goals of the University [1]. SHSU strives to hire capable, intelligent, and active faculty who “are excellent scholars, educators and professionals.” To achieve the mission of providing “high quality education, scholarship and service,” the faculty of SHSU are expected to contribute to the University through effective teaching, scholarly accomplishment, and service to the University, academy, and community.
Faculty at SHSU meet or exceed the competency expectations of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). The qualifications of all faculty who taught during the fall 2017 and spring 2018 semesters may be accessed through the Faculty Credentials report. The Faculty Credentials report contains information for each faculty member who a the faculty member of record in the specified semester. The information includes courses taught by the respective faculty member and the faculty member’s academic credentials. Links are provided to course syllabi, course descriptions, and the faculty member’s vita. In some cases, the Faculty Credentials report also provides a listing of graduate hours earned in specific disciplines and other qualifications, such as licensure, professional experience, and honors and awards. While the vast majority of faculty credentials are justified through a terminal degree within the teaching discipline, some faculty credentials are justified through the documentation of graduate hours earned within the discipline and/or other qualifications. Faculty members who hold the terminal degree in the field for which they taught were not required to document these additional pieces of information, above and beyond their academic degrees. All faculty transcripts are available on file in the Office of the Provost.
Tenured and Tenure-Track Faculty
Tenured and tenure-track faculty are hired with the expectation that they will play a pivotal role in teaching, research, and service. The vetting processes in hiring and promoting tenure-track faculty, described in detail in Standard 6.3, place a premium on academic credentials, teaching effectiveness, and scholarly performance. There is a clear expectation for tenure-track faculty to have a terminal degree appropriate for their field or discipline. In most fields the terminal degree is a doctorate, but in some disciplines, such as creative writing and the visual and performing arts, an appropriate master’s degree is considered the terminal degree [2]. Just under 97% of the tenured and tenure-track faculty teaching in the fall 2017 or spring 2018 semesters possessed a terminal degree. The remaining 3% were either tenured under previously qualifying terminal degrees or held terminal degrees in closely related disciplines combined with notable professional experience and/or research.
All tenured and tenure-track faculty are expected to demonstrate effective teaching, research or creative accomplishments, and professional service and are reviewed annually as required by Academic Policy Statement (APS) 820317, The Faculty Evaluation System [3]. Additionally, as required by APS 980204, Performance Evaluation of Tenured Faculty, tenured faculty are reviewed every fifth year after receiving tenure or when eligible for promotion [4]. The reader is referred to Standard 6.3 for additional details on faculty evaluation.
APS 800114, Academic Instructional Staffing, outlines the University’s procedures for assigning and reallocating faculty positions among the various departments of the University and outlines the expectations for faculty at SHSU:
Criteria for selection from among the applicants include: competitive quality of academic transcripts; recommendations from prior employers; the caliber of previous academic and nonacademic work experience; established record of or potential for research publications or creative activity; and the alignment of the expertise possessed by the applicant with that required of the position. [5]
On initial appointment, academic credentials are reviewed by the department faculty, the department chairs, the academic dean, and the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. As stipulated in APS 801014, Graduate Faculty Status, faculty must obtain appointment to the graduate faculty if they wish to teach graduate courses. The process for appointment to graduate faculty includes a review by the department chair, academic dean, Graduate Council, and Dean of Graduate Studies [6]. If a faculty member is not a member of the graduate faculty, the department chair can petition for the faculty member to teach a specific course on a temporary basis [7]. All faculty teaching graduate courses must meet rigorous standards for teaching and research [6].
Non-Tenure-Track Faculty
SHSU has both full-time and part-time non-tenure-track faculty. Non-tenure-track faculty consist of interim and temporary faculty. Most interim faculty are hired on a full-time, 9-month basis. Temporary faculty are hired on a semester-by-semester basis and may be assigned a full-time or part-time instructional load.
As it does for tenured and tenure-track faculty, APS 800114, Academic Instructional Staffing, provides procedures for assigning and reallocating faculty positions among the various departments of the University and outlines the expectations for faculty at SHSU [7].
APS 041020, Appointment of Clinical Faculty Members, outlines the process for hiring non-tenure-track faculty on a full-time basis who serve an essential teaching function in a clinical setting [8]. APS 890301, Employment of Non-Tenure Track Faculty, delineates the process for hiring these faculty and the standards for the non-tenure-track faculty. These faculty “should meet the same requirements for professional, experiential, and scholarly preparation as their tenured and tenure track counterparts teaching in the same disciplines” [9]. The credentials of non-tenure-track faculty are reviewed by their department chair and academic dean at the initial appointment. Like tenured and tenure-track faculty, all non-tenure-track faculty are reviewed annually as required by Academic Policy Statement (APS) 820317, The Faculty Evaluation System [3].
Graduate Teaching Assistants
Graduate teaching assistants (TAs) are responsible for assisting faculty in labs, large classes, developmental classes, and review sessions. In some cases, graduate assistants are responsible for teaching an undergraduate class as the instructor of record. As outlined in APS 890303, Employment of Graduate Assistants, graduate teaching assistants “must have earned eighteen (18) graduate semester hours in their teaching discipline, report directly to a faculty member, and be evaluated regularly” [10]. Further, the policy stipulates, that “in rare circumstances exceptions to the 18-hour guideline may be granted on a case-by-case basis if the background and credentials of the teaching assistant are appropriate to the course and approved by the department chair, academic dean, and Provost” [10].
All graduate teaching assistants who are instructors of record for baccalaureate courses receive training and are under direct supervision. The format of the training may differ by college and/or program. For example, a number of graduate students teach the freshman-level composition courses. These teaching assistants receive training in pedagogy through a specially designed course, Practicum in Teaching College Composition (ENGL 5367) [11]. These students are closely supervised and mentored by the Director of English Composition.
Teaching assistants in the Biology Department may be instructors of record for biology labs. They participate in a full-day training workshop [12] held at the beginning of each semester, the purpose of which is to expose them to pedagogical ideas designed to enhance the learning environment in the laboratory courses. During this workshop, TAs are exposed to pedagogical ideas designed to enhance the learning environment in the laboratory, receive instruction on important departmental and SHSU policies and procedures [13], and use case studies to model classroom management practices and ways to deal with uncomfortable or unexpected situations [14]. Teaching assistants also attend weekly preparatory meetings held during the semester to preview topics to be covered the following week. The lab coordinator and/or lab instructors present pre-lab discussions to their peers followed by a free exchange of ideas and constructive criticism. The lab coordinator and instructors then work together to set up the practical quiz to be given the following week. These weekly preparatory meetings also incorporate Karl A. Smith’s cooperative learning strategies [15]. The evaluation process for teaching assistants includes feedback given to lab instructors during the weekly prep meetings. At least once a year the lab coordinator conducts a classroom visit for each lab instructor and completes an evaluation form that is shared with the lab instructor [16].
In addition to department-specific trainings, the Professional & Academic Center for Excellence (PACE) and the Office of Graduate Studies host a Teaching Assistant Certification Series (TACS) that is available to graduate teaching assistants. The TACS offers a series of training workshops on topics such as managing “challenging” students in the classroom, addressing cultural diversity, designing a curriculum, incorporating pedagogical research into the classroom, and developing a statement of teaching philosophy [17].
Evaluation of Teaching
All faculty of record at SHSU, including teaching assistants, have their classroom performance evaluated using a nationally-normed instrument developed by the IDEA Center [18]. The course report not only provides an evaluation of the instructor’s effectiveness with respect to course objectives but also provides suggestions for improving teaching methods and styles [19]. Please see Standard 6.3 for more detailed information on instructor evaluations.
SACSCOC Credential Review Process
Regardless of faculty rank, all tenured/tenure-track and non-tenure-track instructional personnel undergo an additional SACSCOC credential review as part of the hiring process. Following the faculty selection and hiring process as described above and in detail in Standard 6.3, the credentials of each new instructional hire undergo an additional review. The Faculty Credentials New Hire Documentation form [20] [21] is required for all new instructional hires and serves as a final check and documentation of credentials. Both the department chair and the academic dean must certify and provide rationale for the appropriateness of the new hire’s credentials in relation to the faculty credentials guidelines as published by SACSCOC and adopted by SHSU. For instructional personnel who do not hold the terminal degree in the teaching discipline and are being hired to teach graduate-level coursework or for those instructional personnel who do not hold a master’s degree with an 18-hour concentration in the teaching discipline, a rationale for faculty credentials is required. The rationale must include documentation of excellence in relation to work or professional experience, discipline-related licensure and certifications, discipline-related honors and awards, and/or extensive publications or presentation within the field. The Office of the Provost hiring staff and the Associate Vice President for Academic Planning and Assessment/SACSCOC Liaison review each form to ensure appropriate documentation of credentials.