THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE

TO FACULTY QUALIFICATIONS

© 2018 Watermark Insights | All Rights Reserved The Essential Guide to Faculty Qualifications 2

INTRODUCTION .............................................................3

CHAPTER ONECredentialing Quiz: Are These Faculty Qualified? .....................................4

CHAPTER TWOFaculty Qualifications: What Accreditors Want ...................................... 6

CHAPTER THREECredentialing: A Framework ........................................................ 8

CHAPTER FOURThe Pitfalls of CIP Codes in Credentialing ...........................................11

ABOUT WATERMARK .....................................................11

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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INTRODUCTIONThere’s a hot topic on campus: faculty qualifications, or what accrediting bodies often call

credentialing. While the vast majority of faculty are qualified to teach based on their academic degrees, some faculty (particularly adjuncts or those in health sciences or business) may be

qualified based work experience, licenses, certifications or other qualifying activities. Here’s what you need to know about credentialing, from what accrediting bodies mean by it to approaches to

documenting and defending your faculty’s qualifications.

© 2018 Watermark Insights | All Rights Reserved The Essential Guide to Faculty Qualifications 4

To understand why faculty qualifications is such a complex topic, here’s a pop quiz to test your knowledge. For each of these examples, use the information provided to determine whether or not

the faculty is qualified to teach.

Dr. Francis Weaver possesses a Ph.D. in Philosophy from a regionally-accredited university. He is teaching reading and is the faculty chair for the Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) which is related to improving reading scores at the college. There are no courses with REA prefixes on his transcript; however, the college has provided a list of reading outcomes and matched his philosophy course work to each of the reading outcomes.

Ms. Victoria DeLaRosa earned a Master of Arts in Modern Languages from the Universidad Inca Garcilaso de la Vega located in Lima, Peru. She earned nine graduate semester hours in Spanish and nine graduate semester hours in Portuguese. All of her graduate courses, with the exception of Portuguese, were taught in Spanish. She would like to teach SPN 1120, Beginning Spanish I, and SPN 1121, Beginning Spanish II.

Dr. William Doolittle is a practicing Veterinarian who holds the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. He is teaching Anatomy and Physiology in an associate degree nursing program.

How easy is it to decide? Test your knowledge. Are these faculty members qualified?

CREDENTIALING QUIZ

YES NO

YES NO

YES NO

ARE THESE FACULTY QUALIFIED

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Dr. Janine Woods earned her Ph.D. in Sociocultural and Linguistic Anthropology. She has spent years researching language and technology and has published numerous papers on this topic. She recently moved to teaching courses in the newly developed program of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and Artificial Intelligence (AI)—the study of how people interface with computers.

Dr. Calvin Brandt is a faculty member in the music department. He is an accomplished concert pianist who regularly travels the world to perform. His Ph.D is in the field of Music Composition with a significant amount of graduate level coursework in music theory and in accompanying. He primarily teaches introductory courses in theory and composition but he also teaches several advanced piano performance courses.

Did you have a hard time deciding whether each faculty member is qualified? You’re not alone—because it truly depends on the situation!

HOW DO YOU DECIDE?There is no “one size fits all” when it comes to faculty qualifications. Universities must define their own qualification policies, apply them consistently, and defend their teaching assignment decisions based on their policies.

For example, Dr. Brandt’s institution may have determined that he is qualified to teach piano courses because of his performance experience, including a long repertoire list and consistent performance schedule. The university should be able to define the specific experiences or requirements that qualify an individual and apply them uniformly.

SCHEDULE A CREDENTIALING CONSULTATIONThe way your institution documents faculty qualifications will depend on the level of detail needed to satisfy accreditors and other stakeholders. We’re here to help. Contact us today for free a credentialing consultation.

YES NO

YES NO

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All of the regional accrediting bodies speak to the concept of a “qualified” faculty. Some accreditors provide detailed explanations of what constitutes a qualified professional while others are more vague. Accrediting bodies vary in how detailed they want institutions to be as they document and report faculty credentials. For some regional and professional accrediting bodies, a list of faculty and their terminal degrees may be sufficient, while others require much more detail. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) is generally viewed as the most detailed in its specified requirements and the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) region has also provided a great deal of guidance on the guidelines for faculty credentialing.

QUALIFICATIONS, THEN AND NOWHistorically, the primary way for a faculty member to be considered qualified has been an academic credential (i.e., you are qualified to teach Molecular Biology because you have a Ph.D. in that field). However, in a changing world, more and more institutions and the bodies that accredit them are recognizing that experience, research and other types of training can be just as compelling and rigorous a reason as a formal credential.

While the majority of your faculty are likely still qualified based on their terminal degrees, as these other justifications and experiences come into play, it becomes vital that institutions create appropriate policies, processes, and documentation of how they determine appropriate qualifications for their teaching faculty.

FACULTY QUALIFICATIONS

WHAT ACCREDITORS WANT

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New England Association of

Schools and Colleges (NEASC)

6.3 The preparation and qualifications of all faculty and

academic staff are appropriate to the nature of their

assignments. Qualifications are measured by advanced

degrees held, evidence of scholarship, advanced study, creative

activities, and teaching abilities, as well as relevant professional

experience, training and credentials.

Higher Learning

Commission (HLC)

3.C.2 All instructors are appropriately qualified, including those

in dual credit, contractual, and consortial programs.

REGIONAL ACCREDITOR QUALIFICATION STANDARD

Southern Association

of Colleges and Schools

Commission on Colleges

(SACSCOC)

6.2 For each of its educational programs, the institution

a. justifies and documents the qualifications of its faculty

members

Western Association of

Schools and Colleges (WASC)

3.1 The institution employs faculty and staff with substantial

and continuing commitment to the institution. The faculty and

staff are sufficient in number, professional qualification, and

diversity to achieve the institution’s educational objectives,

establish and oversee academic policies, and ensure the integrity

and continuity of its academic and co-curricular programs

wherever and however delivered.

Northwest Commission on

Colleges and Universities

(NWCCU)

2.B.4 Consistent with its mission, core themes, programs,

services, and characteristics, the institution employs

appropriately qualified faculty sufficient in number to achieve

its educational objectives, establish and oversee academic

policies, and assure the integrity and continuity of its academic

programs, wherever offered and however delivered.

Middle States Commission

on Higher Education (MSCHE)

3.2.B. An accredited institution possesses and demonstrates

student learning experiences that are designed, delivered,

and assessed by faculty (full-time or part-time) and/or other

appropriate professionals who are qualified for the positions

they hold and the work they do.

© 2018 Watermark Insights | All Rights Reserved The Essential Guide to Faculty Qualifications 8

One of the things that’s valuable about Digital Measures by Watermark is that faculty see the data, and they have an interest in ensuring it’s correct. The more you let the sun shine on data, the more accurate it gets and the more useful it becomes.”

Ray WhitingAssociate Vice President of Institutional Effectiveness for

Assessment and Special Education Initiatives, Augusta University

Given the range of expectations from regional accrediting bodies, plus the requirements of professional accreditors, is it better to take a high-level, overview approach, or get into the details of individual courses? We’ve worked with institutions across regions to develop a framework for credentialing that should allow you to provide the qualification information needed to satisfy any accreditor.

CREDENTIALING FRAMEWORK ADVISORSInstitutions like yours from across accrediting regions have reviewed and confirmed that this framework allows them to satisfy their accrediting body.

A FRAMEWORKCREDENTIALING

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BASIC APPROACHThis approach is easier, but less detailed. You’ll document faculty’s education, licenses, certification, and scheduled teaching, then provide a method to capture “additional qualifications,” such as a text box. The additional information is then available in a consistent format for use in reporting. This information is then reviewed by someone from the Office of Accreditation, the dean’s office, or a peer reviewer, who can determine if they align.

COURSE-LEVEL APPROACHThis approach requires significant upfront work to populate the information, plus ongoing work to maintain your dataset.

To use the course-level approach, you’ll need:a. Qualification categoriesb. Selections for specific degrees, licenses/certifications, and work history c. A place for additional text and files to support the qualification d. A method for connecting qualifications to relevant courses

The first time I tried out the faculty qualification report, with literally three clicks, I got what I needed. It was like a wonderful gift—the time savings, but also the report presentation. It really transforms how you can get information. As an institution, we have to show our processes are working and show our outcomes. Rather than write a description of what we do, we can now elevate it to an argument based on analysis of data.”

Jan Smith

Assistant Vice President for Institutional Effectiveness, Pittsburg State University

DEFINING YOUR PROCESSWhether you take the basic or course-level approach, you’ll need to define your internal process for determining qualifications. It is important to identify the person (or persons) at your institution who is responsible for reviewing and updating this information. At some institutions this may be a single person in an Office of Accreditation while at others, deans or department chairs may be responsible. No matter how you assign this responsibility, you will want to have a single person who can help ensure the information is being correctly entered and kept up to date.

Addressing these questions is essential. If you don’t have a well-defined process or it isn’t sustainable, it won’t live up to the requirements of peer reviewers from your regional accreditor.

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CHOOSING THE BEST APPROACH FOR YOUR INSTITUTIONIt takes a good deal of effort to capture and maintain the information needed for course-level credentialing, so here are some factors to consider when deciding.

If your institution falls into one of these categories, consider course-level credentialing:

• You don’t currently have a clearly documented process

• You’re in the SACSCOC region

• You’re a for-profit institution

• You have a very large adjunct population

Course-level credentialing is a substantial undertaking. As a benchmark, be prepared to dedicate someone essentially full-time during implementation, and consider keeping someone at least partially dedicated on an ongoing basis to maintaining and updating information.

All others should consider taking the basic approach.

The basic approach is a good choice if:

• A large majority of your faculty are qualified solely based on their highest degree

• You have a well-defined process to evaluate qualifications for the few faculty who aren’t qualified based on their academic credentials

SCHEDULE A CREDENTIALING CONSULTATIONThe way your institution documents faculty qualifications will depend on the level of detail needed to satisfy accreditors and other stakeholders. We’re here to help. Contact us today for free a credentialing consultation.

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The Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) provides a taxonomic scheme that supports the accurate tracking and reporting of fields of study and program completions activity. CIP was originally developed by the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics in 1980. For example, “Anatomy” has the six digit code of 26.0403, which places it in “Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences (26.04) and “Biological and Biomedical Sciences” (two-digit CIP 26).

Some institutions may wish to use this classification as a way to easily match faculty academic degree with the courses they are teaching. While this may be possible, consider the following cautions:

1. If you choose to use CIP codes, you have committed to course-level credentialing.

2. CIP codes aren’t included in transcripts, so you may not have or know the CIP codes that should be associated with a faculty member’s degrees. You’ll have to make that determination based on coursework, program name, etc.

3. Many courses and programs don’t fit neatly into a single CIP code. The level of granularity in the CIP code often results in an “it could be this or it can be that” decision that could raise flags rather than resolving them.

4. Even if you use CIP codes, there would still be a need to account for “other qualifications” and be able to associate those qualifications with specific courses.

All of the potential issues noted here may add to confusion for faculty, administrators, and peer reviewers rather than reduce it. Although CIP codes are widely used for education surveys and statistics, they aren’t generally known or used outside of the Registrar’s Office and Institutional Research Office. In general, while utilizing CIP codes in this way may give you a good “start” to your documentation and process needs or provide an excellent backup, they won’t solve the problem of how to account for non-degree qualifications and they aren’t a guaranteed solution.

Watermark’s mission is to put better data into the hands of administrators, faculty, and students everywhere to empower them to connect information and gain insights into learning that will drive meaningful improvements. Through its innovative educational intelligence system, Watermark supports over 1,600 institutions around the world in developing an intentional approach to learning based on data they can trust.

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CIP CODES

PITFALLS OF CREDENTIALING