Faculty Status CommitteeSeattle Pacific University

Spring 2015

Sandra C. Hartje, Chair, 2014/15

David Nienhuis, Chair, 2015/16

Important things to know:

#1: Faculty Status Committee (FSC) uses the following to evaluate your application:

• The Faculty Employment Handbook (FEH)• The Scholarship Standards for your school or department• Your file

#2: When evaluating your file, FSC reviews the file for:• Eligibility• Completeness• Quality

#3: Resources for creating your file • SPU Website > Faculty and Staff > Provost Gateway

• Policies, Manuals and Procedures ‒ Faculty Employment Handbook (FEH)‒ School and Department Scholarship Standards‒ Faculty Advancement Due Dates

• SPU Website > Departments > Center for Scholarship and Faculty Development

• Faculty Development ‒ Building Your Faculty File

‒ Creating an Electronic File for Status‒ Vitae template

‒ Professional Guidelines and Resources ‒ CSFD Guidelines for Peer Observation

#4: Build a compelling case for yourselfTo build a case, you need the documents required in the FEH‒7.4.3.1 for Tenure‒6.4.3.1 for Promotion‒5.5.3.2 for Pre-tenure

Include documentary evidence and narrative explanations‒A file full of documents does not constitute a case.‒You must provide your readers (School or Departmental Review Committee, Dean, FSC, Provost, & President) with brief narratives interpreting the meaning and significance of the documents in your file.‒Keep in mind that the members on the Faculty Status Committee may be unfamiliar with your discipline; write for non-experts in your area; put things in a context for understanding, but also note any specific requirements of your Department or School

Your file must be professional: complete, well-organized and clear

Important things to know (continued):#5: Refer to the FEH•Appropriate sections in the Faculty Employment Handbook (FEH)

‒ Section 5.2 Criteria for Evaluating Teaching Faculty‒ Section 5.3 Evaluating Librarians‒ Section 5.5.3 & 5.5.4 Pre-Tenure Review of Tenure-Track Faculty &

Review of Non-Tenure Track Faculty in Their Third Year of Employment‒ Section 6.2 Eligibility for Promotion ‒ Section 6.3 Criteria for Promotion‒ Section 6.4 Procedure for Promotion‒ Section 7.2 Eligibility for Tenure‒ Section 7.3 Criteria for Tenure‒ Section 7.4 Procedure for Tenure

•The FEH takes precedence over everything!

The Key Areas (FEH Section 5.2) 1. Character and Congruence with Mission (5.2.1)

2. Competence and Contribution (5.2.2)‒ Teaching and Advising‒ Scholarship‒ Service to the University, Guild, Church & Community

Organizing Your File - Overview• All file types are organized the samePart I: Primary documents

A. Preliminary materials [no page limit]

B. Curriculum vitae [5 pages]

C. Faith narrative [4 pages]

D. Vocation narrative [4 pages]

E. Teaching self-evaluation [4 pages]

F. Scholarship [2 pages]

G. Service [2 pages]

H. Advising [2 pages]

Organizing Your File (continued) Part II: Appendix – no page limits

A. Current and prior PDP w/ responses

B. Representative syllabi [4 minimum]

C. Unabridged official university student evaluations Pre-tenure: All since arrival at SPU Tenure: prior three years minimum Promotion: prior three years minimum

D. Peer assessment of teaching

E. Scholarly products

F. Other supporting documents

Part I: Primary documents

A. Preliminary materials: Table of Contents – with active links to key sections

Letters:‒ Candidate: explain how you meet the eligibility requirement‒ Faculty Status Committee (pre-tenure letter required for promotion

and tenure files)‒ Department Chair (possibly added later)‒ Departmental or School Committee Review (added later)‒ Dean (added later)‒ Faculty Status Committee (added later)‒ Provost (added later)

Part I: Primary documents (continued)

B.Curriculum Vitae [5 pages]

‒ Make sure to include dates of hire and past promotion. ‒ Separate out peer-reviewed publications from non-peer-

reviewed.‒ List conference presentations and distinct works in separate

categories. ‒ Do not include works in preparation (trajectory)

Part I: Primary documents (continued)C. Faith narrative [4 pages]

• Narrative that describes the development of your faith over the years (description of your ‘faith journey’)

• Meaningful interaction with the SPU Statement of Faith1. historically orthodox2. clearly evangelical3. distinctly Wesleyan 4. genuinely ecumenical

• Explain the current practices that form and sustain your faith and life, including current church participation

• Power Point on Writing Faith Statement is available through the Center for Scholarship & Faculty Development > Faculty Development > Professional Guidelines and Resources

Part I: Primary documents (continued)D. Vocation narrative [4 pages]

• Connection between faith and…‒ Scholarship‒ Teaching‒ Service

How do your convictions affect your work in each of these three areas?

What is your philosophy of Christian higher education?

Part I: Primary documents (continued)E. Teaching Self-evaluation [4 pages]

• Note range of courses taught at SPU; explain the role of your teaching in your school or department

• Summarize Student Course Evaluations in the form of a chart or table that is understandable

• Interact with both student and peer evaluations• Self-analysis of strengths and weaknesses (addressing both

positive and negative aspects)

• Select three to four key areas, describe your response and note results

• Address any/all recommendations made by Status

Part I: Primary documents (continued)F. Scholarly trajectory [2 pages]

Clearly explain, and show, how you meet your school or departments scholarship standards.

Note the various categories: Peer-reviewed publications or equivalents, presentations at conferences, etc.

Provide some description of the journal (e.g., acceptance rate) or other indicator of quality or impact. (appendix)

Works in progress can serve as evidence of your research trajectory, but do not count as published, until they are published.

However, if a manuscript or other source is ‘forthcoming’ or ‘submitted’, provide evidence that the work has been accepted for publication (such as a copy of the acceptance letter) or that it is ‘in print’ or ‘under review’.

Part I: Primary documents (continued)G. Service [2 pages] University: ‒ University committees, task forces, etc.‒ Other cross-campus service (e.g., interview committees, Day of

Common Learning, etc.)‒ Participation in “extra” events (e.g., “Meet the Professor” day,

Majors’ Fair, New Student Advising, etc.)‒ Mentoring

Departmental:‒ committee work‒ Service to students (cadres, clubs, etc.)‒ Mentoring untenured faculty

Professional guilds (membership and leadership activities) Church and community (organizations, agencies, etc.)

Briefly indicate the nature of your involvement and time commitment.

Part I: Primary documents (continued)

H. Advising – academic and vocational [2 pages]

What is your role as an advisor? Specific qualifications and skills Number and type of advisees Self-assessment of effectiveness

Part II: AppendixA. Past and current Professional Development Plan (PDP) with

Dean or Chair response.

B. Representative syllabi [4 required]

C. Official university student evaluations – unabridged; see FEH for number of years to include

D. Peer review of teaching One inside and one outside school or department Do not include letters from your mentor Timing of teaching observations and letters (within one

year; preferably the quarter before the file is due) See the Guidelines for Peer Evaluations, available from the

Center for Scholarship & Faculty Development

Part II: Appendix (continued)E. Representative scholarly products

• reprints of journal articles and/or copies of grant proposals• Include artistic works, other scholarly activities as

appropriate and defined by Scholarship Standards• Include short description of the type of scholarship• Note the role of peer review, impact factor• Do not include books in their entirety. (Instead, you might

scan the title page, table of contents, book reviews, etc.)

Part II: Appendix (continued)F. Additional supporting documents

• Promotion to Full Professor: • At least 2 letters of support evaluating your scholarship and impact

from peers outside the University. Solicited by Deans.

• Other letters that attest to character, congruence, competence or contribution

Files for Tenure vs. Promotion Special Considerations for Tenure

7.3. CRITERIA FOR TENURE‒ Tenure evaluation will utilize the criteria for evaluating teaching

faculty described in Section 5.2. ‒ assessment of the candidate’s character and congruence with the

mission of SPU will be a particular focus of this evaluation.

‒ Consideration of the candidate’s competence and contribution will be concerned with assessing both the candidate’s current strengths and the evidence that the candidate will maintain and build on these strengths when granted the benefits of the tenure relationship.‒ Trajectory for scholarship

‒ Letters of recommendation must address the file you are submitting‒ If you were promoted in 2015, revise and update as appropriate

Files for Tenure vs. Promotion (continued)

Special Considerations for Promotion6.3. CRITERIA FOR PROMOTION • Promotion evaluation will utilize the criteria for evaluating teaching

faculty described in Section 5.2. • The foundational expectations about character and congruence with

mission remain relevant in every promotion evaluation, but the primary focus of these evaluations will be the set of considerations related to the candidate’s competence and contribution.

• Different standards for promotion to Assistant, Associate and Full-Professor (letters need to explain this)

‒ To Associate: Good in all areas, emerging strength in one.‒ To Professor: Strong in all areas, excellent in one.

6.3.1. Promotion to Assistant Professor typically recognizes completion of appropriate terminal degrees. Candidates for this promotion must offer evidence of teaching effectiveness and of participation in appropriate service roles. If they have not yet built a record of scholarly production, they should evidence their commitment to this area of faculty responsibility in their PDP.

6.3.2. Promotion to Associate Professor recognizes a faculty member as maturing in his or her role. Successful candidates for this promotion will demonstrate good performance in all three areas of faculty responsibility (teaching, scholarship, and service), and emerging strength in at least one of the areas.

6.3.3. Promotion to Professor designates a faculty member as an established teacher and scholar, who is recognized as such by peers in his or her field, and who serves as a model/mentor for others in the vocation. Successful candidates for this promotion will demonstrate strength in all three areas of faculty responsibility (teaching, scholarship, and service), with excellence in at least one of the areas.

Process (see FEH for details on procedure) • General Process

‒ Create file using Adobe Acrobat Pro• SPU Website > Center for Scholarship & Faculty Development >

Faculty Development > Creating an Electronic File for Status

‒ Submit files to department or school SPU Website > Provost > Faculty Advancement Due Dates

‒ Departmental or School Committee Review‒ Dean’s Review‒ Faculty Status Committee Review (pre-tenure review mostly

stops here)‒ Provost Review‒ President’s Review‒ Board of Trustees (tenure only)

Some Miscellaneous Do’s and Don’ts1. Make sure the file is professional: organized, complete,

thorough, and clear.

2. File makes a compelling case for promotion or tenure

3. Be clear about dates (e.g., of last promotion, publications).

4. Be clear about categories of scholarship – peer review, etc.

5. Provide unabridged course evaluations.

6. Your file must be electronic and indexed.

7. Do not assume reviewers know you and/or your program

8. Only contact status members through Dean post submission

9. Do not include letters from your assigned mentor

10. Avoid “fluff” (e.g., thank you notes from students)