Promotion of Teaching Professors - Policies and Procedures

Owned by Hannah Hein
Last updated: Aug 08, 2022
10 min read

Downloadable Promotion of Teaching Professors Word Doc


FOREWORD

 

Changes and amendments to this document shall be approved by Faculty Council by majority vote.


This is one of several documents outlining the policies and procedures to be followed in the College of Visual and Performing Arts for contractual renewal, promotion to associate professor with tenure, promotion to full professor, and promotion to associate and full Teaching Professors.  In as much as these policies and procedures bear heavily on the outcome of application for or appeal of promotion, tenure, and contractual renewal, it is cautioned that they be carefully observed.


Exact dates for submission of materials and committee action on the department/school and college levels shall be set in the fall semester of each academic year by the dean in compliance with the promotion and tenure schedules set by the vice chancellor for academic affairs; hence, the dates on the following Promotion and Tenure Calendars may vary slightly from year to year.  Moreover, the Promotion and Tenure Calendars are a rough sketch of activities and responsibilities.


Each area within the college shall establish its procedures for mentoring full-time faculty, in accordance with overall college guidelines.  It is the responsibility of each director or chairperson to ensure that each full-time faculty member has at least one faculty mentor. Consideration may be given to identifying a faculty mentor outside the unit as well as inside the unit, particularly when the faculty member’s research is cross-disciplinary in nature.   It is the general obligation of the senior faculty to advise junior faculty of their professional responsibilities, assist in their integration into the college and respective departments/school, and advise them of the expectations for promotion, and contractual renewal.


Candidates for promotion and/or contractual renewal are responsible for familiarizing themselves with policies and procedures, and gathering and submitting materials as outlined in these documents as appropriate.



Promotion of Teaching Professors Calendar

College of Visual and Performing Arts

The specific dates on the calendar below may vary slightly from year to year.  Please note that this calendar is advisory and does not supersede the body of these Policies and Procedures.  We recommend that you familiarize yourself with the sections of Policies and Procedures pertaining to your application for promotion.

Phase I, Promotion activity deadlines during spring semester prior to promotion review year:

·       January 15

VPA Office of Academic Affairs notifies faculty eligible for the first time in rank for promotion (e.g., minimum of five completed years in the previous rank).

·       February 15

Faculty indicates in writing to the dean their intention to apply for promotion.

·       February 28

The dean officially notifies faculty in writing of receipt of intent, with calendars of promotion only process to both candidate and department chair.

·       March 1 through October 1

Faculty member gathers evidence while in current rank only of teaching and advising, service, and currency in their field of study/practice.  Candidate should discuss selection of materials with department chair, mentor, and colleagues.

Phase II, Promotion activity deadlines during fall semester of promotion review year:

·       October 1

Candidate submits their completed materials in binders to department chair/director.

·       October 2 through October 30

Department chair/director assembles all confidential materials, and department’s tenure and promotion committee reviews candidate’s application for promotion according to appropriate procedures and votes.  Chair/director assembles a document with “Department Committee Votes” (for and against and date).  Department’s tenure and promotion committee creates additional materials in support of its work, which includes:

o    Department chair/director writes letter (recommendation for promotion or reason for denial), including the committee’s assessment as well as the chair’s own evaluation, a description of promotion procedures, criteria/evidences, standards, and composition of department’s tenure and promotion committee, and completed document showing committee votes for and against.

·       October 30

Department chair/director informs candidate of department/school tenure and promotion committee’s decision.  At this time the candidate has the option to formally withdraw in writing to the dean their application for promotion from further consideration.

·       November 1

Department chair/director makes an appointment with the senior administrator in VPA Office of Academic Affairs to formally check-in all of candidate’s promotion materials, according to current practices for electronic submission.

·       November 15 through December

The college’s tenure and promotion committee meets to review all applications.  If needed the committee may call on department chairs/directors or program coordinators to answer specific question


 

Phase III, Promotion activity deadlines during spring semester of promotion review year:

·       February 1

All promotion materials are submitted to the dean, who makes an independent evaluation. The dean will make the final decision concerning promotion. If a promotion decision is positive, the dean sends a memo notification by email to the Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs.



 

PART ONE

OVERVIEW OF PROCEDURES AND CRITERIA FOR PROMOTION


Teaching Professors (TP) are defined by Syracuse University as full-time non tenure-track faculty members whose primary responsibilities are teaching/advising and service (see Faculty Manual, Section 2.1).  Teaching Professors are not expected to conduct research, but “such duties may be included among their responsibilities and in their evaluation portfolios, in accordance with the policies of the school or college.” Nonetheless, Teaching Professors are expected to maintain currency in their field of study/practice. Teaching Professors are not eligible to be granted tenure, but may be promoted from assistant to associate Teaching Professor, or from associate to full Teaching Professor.

The promotion process outlined in this document is related to, but distinct from, the annual contractual renewal process.  During the year in which the candidate seeks promotion, the written review of performance from the promotion process will serve as the department/school’s review for the purpose of annual contractual renewal.  The candidate will still complete and submit the annual CV Update form that will be used in part to determine the candidate’s annual merit salary adjustment.

TIME IN RANK

Teaching Professors typically request promotion to the next higher rank after a minimum of five years in the previous rank.

CRITERIA FOR PROMOTION REVIEW

Promotion from Assistant to Associate Teaching Professor is based on evidence of (1) excellence in teaching, (2) a strong record of service to the department, school, college, or University, and (3) maintaining currency in the field of study/practice, as defined by the appropriate academic unit’s “evidences” for promotion to rank of associate TP.  While not required, consideration of evidence of research/creative work may be a criterion, if articulated in that unit’s written evidences document.  As articulated in the Faculty Manual, “teaching excellence may be shown through classroom teaching, contributions to the design, syllabi, and organization of departmental course offerings, and applications or development of pedagogy in the field. Contributions to pedagogical advances will vary from field to field, and may be demonstrated by, but not limited to, developing independent or team-taught courses, creating teaching materials and methodologies, administration or maintenance of laboratory or [studio] settings used for pedagogy, training other instructors, or holding supervisory responsibilities for course offerings.”

Promotion from Associate to Full Teaching Professor is based on continued excellence and leadership in teaching and pedagogy within one’s discipline, an ongoing strong record of service when applicable, and maintaining currency in the field of study/practice, as articulated in the appropriate academic unit’s written “evidences” document for promotion to rank of full TP.  Again while not required, consideration of evidence of research/creative work may be considered as one form of currency in the field.


PROCESS FOR PROMOTION REVIEW

The process for review of TP candidates for promotion relies on some aspects of the already existing process and committee structures within the College of Visual and Performing Arts, but with some modifications. 

Declaration to Seek Promotion. The performance of Teaching Professors should be reviewed on an annual basis in a manner similar to the review of any other full-time faculty member.  Upon completion of the minimum number of years in rank, or any time thereafter, a TP may notify in writing their department chair/director and the VPA Office of Academic Affairs, indicating their intent to seek promotion. Normally, this letter of intent should be submitted no later than March 1 of the year prior to the review.

Candidate’s Preparation of Materials for Review.  The candidate, in consultation with the department chair/director and appropriate faculty colleagues, should prepare the following documentation, as a digital or hard copy portfolio according to current submission practices:

  • a full curriculum vitae (CV);
  • a personal narrative/statement about their approach to and accomplishments in teaching and advising, service, and maintaining currency in their field of study/practice, reflecting time in current rank;
  • a summary of all student course evaluations during the past five years;
  • sample materials used in teaching (e.g., syllabi and course assignments; select samples of student work; assessments of student learning outcomes; development of new courses; training of teaching assistants or other instructors; supervisory responsibilities for course offerings; development of new teaching methodologies);
  • sample materials reflecting maintenance of currency in the field of study/practice, which may take a variety of forms as defined in the unit’s evidences for promotion of Teaching Professors.

Unlike promotion of tenure-track or tenured faculty, the promotion of Teaching Professors does not require the soliciting of external review letters (but see the following section).  The candidate is responsible for submission of the materials outlined above to the department/school by the published due date, which normally coincides with the fall semester due date for all promotion and tenure cases (October 1).  

Department/School Level Review.  The local department/school level review of the candidate’s materials is performed by the unit’s regular Tenure and Promotion Committee, with the addition of at least one existing Teaching Professor.  If the unit has no other full-time TP’s, one should be sought from another unit within the College.  All members of the committee, with the exception of the unit’s representative to the College T&P Committee, should participate in the deliberations and vote on the promotion.  As in other types of promotion, the department chair/director is responsible for writing the committee’s letter of evaluation, and forwarding all materials to the Office of Academic Affairs by the published due date.  These materials should include all those submitted by the candidate, as well as invited student and junior faculty input for committee consideration. Each department/school should determine whether and how to include internal and external faculty evaluators and include that documentation in the candidate’s materials.  Since University guidelines grant the candidate the right to meet with the department chair/director and the faculty committee as part of the review process, the committee may wish to interview the candidate or ask the candidate to make a brief presentation to the committee.

College-Level Review.  The candidate’s materials, along with the department chair/director’s letter of review are provided to the College Tenure and Promotion Committee, which should also be expanded for TP promotion cases to include at least one Teaching Professor from within the College.   Upon deliberation of the case and a vote by the committee, following its standard procedures, the chair of the College T&P Committee writes a letter of evaluation and all materials are then submitted to the Dean for review.  The Dean makes the final decision regarding the promotion, and informs the candidate and their department chair/director in writing.

APPEALS

Action unfavorable to the candidate concerning their promotion may be appealed to the Senate Committee on Appointment and Promotions (for procedural reasons) or to the Senate Committee on Academic Freedom, Tenure, and Professional Ethics by either the candidate or the department.


PART TWO 

GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR COMMITTEE DELIBERATIONS

  1. General Guidelines for Committees

The committee structure for reviewing candidates for promotion of Teaching Professors must conform to University guidelines and should be as consistent as possible across the areas of the college while still retaining some flexibility at the departmental level to accommodate local traditions and practices.


According to University guidelines, deliberative bodies should be independent across levels (i.e., no individual should actively participate or vote in two levels of the process, such as at both the department/school and College level).


Committees for promotion should exclude individuals with potential conflicts of interest. In these committees, potential conflicts of interest occur when individuals who may directly or indirectly derive a personal benefit are in a position to influence a decision (e.g., promotion of a spouse or partner). Individuals may also recuse themselves from cases in which participation or voting might pose a substantial conflict with the performance of their primary duties in the University.

 

  1. Department/School Committees

The criteria for membership and voting privileges on all departmental/school committees shall be specified in that unit’s written policies and procedures regarding promotion and annual review of Teaching Professors. Those policies and procedures may differ from, but may not be inconsistent with college and university guidelines. More specifically:


  1. The department/school may act as a committee of the whole or determine the composition of a separate promotion The committee shall consist only of faculty above the rank of the candidate seeking to be promoted, unless there are no Teaching Professors at that rank. In such cases, there should be at least one Teaching Professor on the committee regardless of rank.
  2. In the event that the department/school has fewer than five eligible faculty members available to serve on its review committee, the dean shall appoint additional faculty member(s) whose rank and/or area(s) of study are appropriate to that of the candidate. The minimum number of faculty members sitting on a review committee shall be five voting members.
  3. The department/school’s representative to the College Tenure & Promotion Committee must vote at the College level, and may not actively participate in the department/school review. They should attend the review, but remain strictly in a “listener” role in order to be fully informed about the decision of the committee.

 

III. College Committee

There shall be a standing committee of the college named the tenure and promotion committee, which shall deliberate upon the matter of faculty tenure and promotion. The faculty of the college elects committee members according to the procedures given below. In terms of tenure and promotion, the committee shall act as advisor to the dean.

 

  1. Membership of College Committee

The committee shall have one full-time tenured full professor from each of the departments and schools of the college, and one Teaching Professor. The only exception to full professor status occurs when an academic unit does not have an eligible full professor available to serve. In such cases, a tenured associate professor may serve, as long as at least 2/3 of the committee are full professors.


  1. Faculty members shall be elected for two-year terms. Elections will be held during the spring semester for the following academic year.
  2. Alternates shall be elected by these areas in the same proportions.
  3. Half of the area representatives and alternates shall be elected in even-numbered years. Representatives and alternates from the remaining areas shall be elected in odd-numbered years.
  4. Alternates shall serve in the case of an extended absence of a committee member, or because of their ineligibility to serve.
  5. An alternate will not serve as a temporary replacement if a member is unable to attend a called meeting.
  6. A candidate for tenure or promotion or member of a candidate’s family will not serve on the tenure and promotion committee.