Supplementary Procedures and Criteria for Tenure and Promotion

The Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture (VCEA) presents in this document its college-specific procedures and criteria for tenure and promotion for the VCEA tenure-track/tenured faculty and clinical and research faculty. As required by the WSU Faculty Manual, Section III.D.4, Page 54, these VCEA procedures and criteria supplement those in the WSU Faculty Manual, which presents the official general procedures and criteria for the granting of tenure and advancement in ranks. These two documents outline these official criteria and procedures for the VCEA faculty. It should be noted that neither promotion nor tenure is automatic but requires affirmative action on the part of the university administration.

In order to account for the distinct character of the various college programs, two sets of criteria for tenure and promotion apply:

• one set to those departments and schools which administer engineering and/or computer science programs. Current department and schools/programs are:
  • Gene and Linda Voiland School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering
  • Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
  • School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
  • School of Engineering and Computer Science, WSU Vancouver
  • Engineering and Computer Science Programs at WSU Tri-Cities
  • School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering
• another set to the:
  • School of Design and Construction

Additional supplementary criteria may be developed by individual departments/schools within the college pertaining to the portion of a program offered at a branch campus or for programs offered only at branch campuses. These criteria should be directed toward the goals and objectives of those particular units. In such cases, the supplementary department/school criteria must be approved by the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, the Dean, and the Provost.

In rare appointments in which the requirement of a position dictates the use of special criteria, those criteria must be approved in writing by the Dean and the Provost at the time of initial appointment. As stated in the WSU Faculty Manual, weighting of criteria may reflect other considerations. The related weighting factors must be included as a part of the tenure and promotion documentation.

I Timeline for Tenure Review and/or Promotion

For faculty members initially appointed full time at the level of Assistant Professor, tenure & promotion consideration shall normally occur no later than the sixth year of appointment, but may exceptionally occur earlier, in especially meritorious cases, at the request of the Dean, and with the consent of the Provost, department Chair, and faculty member.

Faculty members initially appointed full time at the level of Associate Professor ordinarily will be considered for tenure no later than during the third year of service at WSU. The timing of tenure consideration is a negotiable condition of employment, which condition may include granting of tenure, through usual procedures, effective the date of initial appointment.

An Associate Professor, whether hired at or promoted to this rank, may normally be considered for promotion to Professor at the end of his or her fifth year of service at that rank at WSU. Whereas it is rare for a faculty member to attain the level of distinction expected for promotion to Professor prior to the end of the fifth year of service at the rank of Associate Professor, it is demonstrated merit rather than the number of years of service as Associate Professor the principle that guides promotion consideration. Accordingly, consideration for promotion to Professor may occur earlier, but only under extraordinary circumstances of outstanding performance and with the prior approval of the Dean and the Provost.

Faculty members initially appointed full time at the level of Professor, ordinarily will be considered for tenure no later than during the first year of service at WSU. The timing of tenure consideration is a negotiable condition of employment, which condition may involve granting of tenure, through usual procedures, effective the date of initial appointment.

These criteria reflect the corresponding standards in the 2015-2016 edition of the WSU Faculty Manual, Sections III.E.3.f, page 52, III.E.4.f, page 56, and III.E.5.c, page 57.

II Procedures for Tenure Review, Promotion to Associate Professor and Professor

The procedures for tenure review and promotion to all ranks consist of common procedures for all cases and complementary procedures for specific tenure and/or promotion cases.

II.1 Common Procedures for All Cases

1. It is the responsibility of a faculty member to maintain an academic biographical record and file that provide materials relevant to the criteria for tenure and/or promotion. It is the joint responsibility of the faculty member and the department chair or school director and/or department/school promotion committee (if such exists) to ensure that the materials submitted present a concise, complete, and accurate case. The materials should be presented in a way that an assessment of the quality of the candidate’s performance can be made an integral part of the case for tenure and/or promotion.
2. In order to emphasize the quality of the candidate’s publications and research-effort contributions, no more than five selected manuscripts will be used in the evaluation and incorporated in the candidate’s dossier. The candidate must include in the dossier a statement on the significance and intrinsic merit of each contribution. In the case of collaborative publications, this statement should include an explanation of his/her specific contributions.
3. Each year the progress of a faculty member towards tenure and/or promotion is reviewed by the department chair/school director and/or appropriate department/school promotion committee. The results of this review are then discussed by the department chair/school director with that faculty member. Thereafter, a written summary of the discussion is shared with the faculty member.
4. The department chair/school director or the department/school tenure and promotion committee, in consultation with the candidate and the Dean, will obtain at least four letters of recommendation from peers outside of Washington State University, with at least three of these letters to be obtained from peers recommended by colleagues other than the candidate. These recommendation-letter criteria augment the related regulations in the WSU Faculty manual. All the peers to provide the recommendation letters will be distinguished colleagues who normally serve at prestigious national or internationally known academic or research institutions and are qualified to evaluate the accomplishments of the faculty member in research and scholarly activities and/or other areas as appropriate; these peers should also be qualified to evaluate the national/international stature of a candidate who seeks promotion to professor. All external letters received must be included in the documentation forwarded to the Dean. In forwarding these letters with promotion and tenure materials, the department chair/school director will include the qualifications of the external reviewers.
5. Following review and discussion of each candidate’s academic biographical record and file by all the eligible faculty of the department/school shall provide signed recommendations using confidential ballots provided by the Dean. The chair/director shall ensure that every eligible faculty member including those on leave, if practical, has an opportunity to review the record and to complete the confidential ballot. The “eligible faculty” are defined in the complementary procedures.
6. The chair/director shall forward the tenure and/or promotion ballots, together with the documentation and a personal recommendation, to the Dean. For branch campus faculty, the chair/director shall forward all materials and documentation simultaneously to the Dean and the branch campus Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs.
7. There shall be a Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture Tenure and Promotion Advisory Committee to make recommendations on tenure and promotion cases to the college Dean. The committee will be composed of seven tenured faculty members, preferably holding the rank of professor, or higher, from within the college, appointed by the Dean. At least one of the seven faculty members must be from WSU Vancouver, and one must be from WSU Tri-Cities. Each of the remaining five members will be from each of the schools or departments at the Pullman campus, listed on page five (5). Committee members will serve two-year staggered terms. Whenever there is no VCEA full professor at a branch campus, the Dean will appoint to this committee the most senior VCEA tenured Associate Professor available at that campus; if there is none, the Dean will appoint a faculty member at the rank of at least professor from within the college from one of the Pullman schools/departments. Only faculty members at the rank of at least professor will make recommendations on cases of promotion to professor.
8. The Tenure and Promotion Advisory Committee will review and discuss each tenure and promotion case, and each member will make an individual recommendation to the Dean for each case; the Dean may participate in the committee discussions. In the formulation of their recommendations, the committee members will review all materials forwarded by the chair/director, except the signed tenure ballots, and by branch campuses, in cases involving branch-campus VCEA faculty. In these cases, the branch-campus Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs will review all materials and, after consultation with the Branch Campus Tenure and Promotion Advisory Committee, should one exist, make an independent recommendation regarding tenure and/or promotion and forward it both to the Tenure and Promotion Advisory Committee and to the Dean, since this recommendation emphasizes local considerations.
9. The Dean will review all materials and make an independent recommendation and forward documentation and recommendations (including the Dean’s comments about the assessment of each case by the members of the College Advisory Committee) to the Provost’s office, in the cases of tenure and simultaneous promotion applications; in the cases of applications for promotion to professor, all of these materials are only forwarded to the Provost’s office when recommendations to promotion are positive.
10. Ultimately, tenure and/or promotion recommendations are submitted by the Provost to the President for action and to the Board of Regents for information.

II.2 Complementary Procedures for Tenure and/or Promotion to Associate Professor

Normally, faculty appointed at the assistant professor level will be recommended for promotion to associate professor at the time of tenure consideration. All accomplishments since awarding of the terminal degree are to be used in the evaluation; however, primary importance is placed on accomplishments since joining Washington State University.

1. The yearly progress review will involve participation of the tenured faculty members. The written summary of the review discussion between the department chair/school director with the non-tenured faculty member is countersigned by the faculty, whose signature solely signifies receipt of the statement. The faculty member has the right to attach a rebuttal to the review summary.
2. A formal tenure progress review will be conducted during the third year of service for faculty initially appointed full-time at the level of assistant professor. If a probationary period of fewer than six years was negotiated at the time of hire, this review, if possible, should occur three years before the tenure decision must be made. The purpose of this review is to identify relevant strengths and any deficiencies in respect to the conferral of tenure. If the likelihood of development of a record leading to tenure is deemed low, a decision not to reappoint should be made at this time. The results of this tenure progress review shall be provided to the faculty member in writing.
3. Preparation for tenure review should begin as early as the spring semester of the 5th year. Typically, toward the end of the spring semester, the call for tenure and promotion files is sent to the colleges from the Provost’s Office. The Dean’s office will forward this list to the chairs/directors. Chairs and directors are encouraged to develop their own lists of faculty eligible for tenure and/or promotion in advance of the Provost’s notification and to initiate the process by assembling a list of potential external reviewers. To enable timely completion and receipt of external letters, the candidate and the chair/director will jointly review the academic file and ensure that it is complete and ready for distribution to external referees.
4. At the beginning of the fall semester or earlier, when scheduled for tenure review or when being recommended for promotion, the candidate and the chair/director will again jointly review the academic file and ensure that it is complete. The entire package is typically due to the Dean early in the fall semester, and then due to the Provost by mid-semester.
5. The eligible faculty members who review the records of the candidates for tenure and provide thereafter confidential signed recommendations in the ballots provided by the Dean shall be all the tenured faculty members in the department/school.
6. In the case of promotion alone, the chair/director shall forward the documentation and a recommendation to the Dean, after consultation with the tenured associate professors and professors in the department/school.
7. Notification of the granting or denial of tenure, and promotion if jointly pursued, shall be given in writing to the particular faculty member by the Dean within three working days after the decision has been made by the Dean, the Provost, and the President, or designee acting for the President. This notification will include the date that the tenure, and promotion if jointly pursued, recommendation will be reported to the Board of Regents.
8. Cases of denial of tenure or promotion may be appealed by the candidate in accordance with the WSU Faculty Manual.

II.3 Complementary Procedures for Promotion to Professor

All accomplishments since awarding of the terminal degree are to be used in the evaluation. However, primary importance is placed on accomplishments since joining Washington State University.

1. The written summary of the review discussion between the department chair/school director with the associate professor may be appended to the annual review statement, if appropriate. As a result of this evaluation, potential candidates for promotion to professor will be identified.
2. During the spring semester of the year prior to the intended promotion date, the department chair/school director, after preliminary consultation with the Dean and the department/school promotion committee (if such exists), will recommend to the candidate whether or not to proceed with the preparation of complete documentation. Such a recommendation does not commit WSU to any particular outcome of the evaluation process. Faculty members who are discouraged from pursuing promotion in that year may, nonetheless, exercise their rights and options in accordance with the WSU Faculty Manual.
3. In the case of a department chair or school director being considered for promotion to professor, the Dean will be responsible for solicitation of external letters.
4. The eligible faculty members who review the records of the candidates for promotion and provide thereafter confidential signed recommendations in the ballots provided by the Dean shall be all the faculty members at the rank of professor or higher in the department/school.
5. Negative recommendations for promotion are returned by the Dean to the chairs/directors, without being forwarded to the Provost’s office, with written reasons for the decision.
6. Notification of the promotion shall be given in writing to the particular faculty member by the Dean within three working days after the decision has been made by the Dean, the Provost, and the President, or designee acting for the President. This notification will include the date that the promotion recommendation will be reported to the Board of Regents.
7. Cases of denial of promotion may be appealed by the candidate in accordance with the WSU Faculty Manual.

III Departments/Schools with Engineering and/or Computer Science Programs

III.1 Evaluation Categories and Criteria for Tenure and Promotion

In order to be considered for tenure and promotion, faculty must have demonstrated accomplishments in the following basic categories of evaluation:

1. research and scholarly activities
2. teaching and associated scholarly activities
3. professional activities and university service.

These basic categories of evaluation are described after the criteria for the ranks of Associate Professor and Professor.

The ability of a faculty member to interact effectively with colleagues and students is also of importance for tenure and promotion evaluation. Effective interactions with students include mentoring of undergraduate and graduate students.

The WSU Faculty Manual states that advancement in rank is not automatic. “Promotion is not to be regarded as guaranteed upon completion of a given term of service.”

III.2 Criteria for the Rank of Associate Professor

Faculty being considered for tenure and/or promotion to associate professor must have demonstrated:

• outstanding achievements in research and scholarly activities
• effectiveness in teaching activities
• adequacy in both professional activities and university service.

Moreover, the potential for a faculty member to meet the requirements of future promotion to professor must be apparent at the time of tenure review.

III.3 Criteria for the Rank of Professor

Candidates for the rank of Professor must have demonstrated:

• fulfillment of the criteria for the rank of Associate Professor with superior records of accomplishment
• continued accomplishments in all of the basic categories of evaluation
• achievement of national or international recognition and reputation

The criteria for tenure and/or promotion to the rank of Professor are the same as those pertaining to the rank of Associate Professor with the additional requirement that candidates for this higher rank must demonstrate superior records of accomplishment. This requirement follows from the WSU Faculty Manual (III.D.4.c,page 55), which states that: “documented evidence that the quality and quantity of the accomplishments of the candidate are at a significantly higher level than that expected of an associate professor is required.”

The rank of professor is awarded to those faculty members who have also demonstrated continued accomplishments in each of the basic categories of evaluation. Promotion to the rank of professor or initial appointment at that rank furthermore requires that the faculty member presents evidence of national or international recognition and reputation for research and scholarly contributions and exhibit mature leadership qualities that are essential for the progress of the department/school.

National recognition is most often achieved through sustained outstanding accomplishments in research and scholarly activity including a sustained record of publication/presentation in high quality, peer referred outlets, leadership in professional activities, and funding obtained via a competitive review process.

Whereas it is rare for a faculty member to attain the level of distinction expected for promotion to Professor prior to the end of the fifth year of service at the rank of Associate Professor, as previously noted, it is demonstrated merit rather than the number of years of service as Associate Professor the principle that guides promotion consideration. Accordingly, consideration for promotion to Professor may occur earlier, but only under extraordinary circumstances of outstanding performance and with the prior approval of the Dean and the Provost.

III.4 Categories of Evaluation

An integral part of the tenure and/or promotion criteria is evidence of the quality of the candidate’s performance as a faculty member and accomplishments in each of the categories of evaluation described in the following subsections.

IV School of Design and Construction (SDC)

IV.1 Evaluation Categories and Criteria for Tenure and Promotion

This section contains guidelines for tenure and promotion that apply within the School of Design and Construction (SDC) at Washington State University (WSU). These guidelines summarize the comprehensive SDC tenure-&-promotion guideline document, to which reference should be made, and supplement the procedures, policies, and criteria specified in the WSU Faculty Manual, the Provost’s Guidelines for Faculty Promotion and Tenure, and the related guidelines in the Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture (VCEA), and those in the College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences (CAHNRS).

IV.2 Criteria for Advancement of Rank to Associate Professor (tenure-track)

Candidates for tenure and promotion to the rank of Associate Professor in the SDC must demonstrate:

• outstanding accomplishments in disseminated design or construction research, scholarship, and/or creative activities
• excellence in teaching
• effectiveness in service and outreach

All candidates must also demonstrate effective, respectful, collegial, and professional interaction with faculty colleagues, staff, and students in ways that complement and/or support their own progress and those of others. Effective interactions with students include mentoring of undergraduate and graduate students. Furthermore, the potential for candidates to meet the requirements for future promotion to the rank of professor must be apparent.

Tenure-track faculty in the SDC are normally expected to distribute their efforts as follows:

• forty percent (40%) of their efforts to research, scholarship, and/or creative activities
• forty percent (40%) of their efforts to teaching
• twenty percent (20%) of their efforts to service and outreach.

There is, however, often overlap between the categories (Faculty Manual, p. 48) and it is also understood that it is difficult for faculty to break down their time commitments in ways precisely mirroring this percentage breakdown. Furthermore, tenure-track faculty may excel more in one category than the other(s), and tenured faculty as well as the director should do their best to recognize this in any ballot or evaluation.

However, for tenure and promotion at the level of Associate Professor, there will be no substitute for one category thoroughly at the expense of the other. According to a statement on page three of the “Recommendations for Faculty Promotion and/or Tenure” memo from the Office of the Provost (May 26, 2015), “good performance in one area cannot substitute for a failure to perform in other areas.” Tenure-track candidates should be mindful to balance their loads during their time-to-tenure.

Tenure-track faculty in the SDC will be evaluated on the following three criteria (see subsection C, Categories of Evaluation, below):

1. Research, Scholarship, Creative Activity
2. Teaching
3. Service and Outreach.

IV.3 Criteria for Advancement in Rank to Professor

To obtain the rank of professor, candidates must have achieved:

• contributions to a major area of the candidate’s work assignment that exceed the minimum requirements for associate professor
• national or international recognition
• a reputation as an established leader in his/her field of endeavor, documented by:
  • a well-established scholarly program
  • a substantial body and/or celebrated quality of peer-reviewed work
  • evidence of professional stature
  • continued excellence in research, teaching, and service

Candidates to professor must also demonstrate effective, respectful, collegial, and professional interaction with faculty colleagues, staff, and students in ways that complement and/or support their own progress and those of others. Effective interactions with students include mentoring of undergraduate and graduate students.

There is no specified time-in-rank to become eligible for application for advancement in rank to professor, yet it is highly unusual for a faculty member to be promoted with fewer than five years at the rank of associate professor. As with the process for promotion to associate professor, should candidates wish to be considered for promotion at their earliest eligibility, all material for the dossier must be complete by the conclusion of the fifth year since receiving promotion as an associate professor.

Although the criteria for advancement in rank to professor are generally the same as those for advancement in rank to associate professor, research, scholarship, and/or creative activities are nevertheless weighted more highly than accomplishments in teaching. Unless shifts in workload responsibility between research and teaching have been agreed upon in writing with the SDC director (to most effectively foster the strengths of the school), for promotion to professor all associate professors will be required to demonstrate excellence in research, scholarship, and/or creative activity; teaching; and service.

Candidates to the rank of professor must provide documented evidence that, as noted, the quality and quantity of accomplishments are at a significantly higher level than that expected of an associate professor (Faculty Manual, p. 56). Furthermore, the candidate must present evidence of national recognition (and/or international recognition, depending upon what is considered of highest quality in the field), as well as a reputation for disseminated scholarly design or construction research and/or creative activities. Accomplishments can include innovations in teaching methods carried out in conjunction with the candidate’s teaching but must be disseminated through rigorous peer review.

National or international recognition is most often achieved through outstanding accomplishments sustained over several years—with evidence of continuation. Such recognition is typically accompanied by a high level of professional activity, including leadership roles in professional organizations.

Evidence of continued accomplishments in all the three categories of evaluation:

1. Research, Scholarship, Creative Activity
2. Teaching
3. Service and Outreach

presented in subsection IV.4 is also required. Work completed, published, presented, or taught prior to achieving rank as an associate professor may be included in the dossier, but significantly greater weight shall be placed on that which was completed since the initial promotion.

IV.4 Categories of Evaluation

An integral part of the tenure and/or promotion criteria is evidence of the quality of the candidate’s performance as a faculty member and accomplishments in each of the following three categories of evaluation:

1. Research, Scholarship, Creative Activity
2. Teaching
3. Service and Outreach

described in the following subsections.

V Definitions, Criteria, and Procedures for Promotion for Career-Track Faculty

This section includes definitions, procedures, and criteria for promotion for career-track faculty in the Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture. This supplements the procedures and criteria for promotion and advancement in rank outlined in the WSU Faculty Manual and describes the application process within the Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture.

Career-track faculty members play a vital departmental, school, and/or college role by providing leadership in research, teaching, and/or service—though, unlike tenure-track faculty, they are not necessarily expected to contribute to all three areas. Career-track faculty may normally hold the terminal degree in their discipline, although exceptions should be made depending upon circumstances and negotiations between faculty and school directors, department chairs, and/or the dean. Because of the myriad ways in which a career-track faculty member might contribute to the mission of the unit, it is the responsibility of the school director or department chair to develop a clear statement of the duties for each career-track faculty member, as well as the expectations for advancement in rank. These expectations should be reviewed each year during the annual review.

There are four sub-tracks of career-track faculty at WSU: Clinical faculty, Research faculty, Scholarly faculty, and Teaching faculty. As of 2020, the “Clinical” sub-track is reserved for those faculty who either work in actual clinics (e.g. health/medical) or are affiliated with them; thus, this sub-track is not applicable for VCEA faculty. However, should a VCEA faculty member be hired in this capacity, the definitions for Clinical faculty in the 2019-2020 WSU Faculty Manual (p. 97) shall apply. The categories in the sections below (Research faculty, Scholarly faculty, and Teaching faculty) cover the majority of career-track appointments in VCEA.

In general, the principal areas of evaluation for promotion of career-track faculty, similar to tenure-track faculty, are excellence in the areas of research, teaching, and/or service. The ability to interact effectively with colleagues, students, and staff will be a supplementary, but significant, consideration as well. However, unlike tenure-track faculty, career-track faculty will typically have a specific appointment focused more intentionally in one area (e.g. research) instead of the other (e.g. teaching). Contributions to service activities may or may not be a part of the career-track faculty member’s responsibilities. For promotion to career-track Professor, some external recognition of distinction is necessary.

It should be noted that promotion is not automatic but requires positive action on the part of the university administration. In appointments in which the requirement of a position dictates the use of special criteria, those criteria must be approved in writing by the dean, the vice chancellor for academic affairs (dependent upon location) and the provost at the time of initial appointment. As stated in the WSU Faculty Manual, weighting of criteria may reflect more localized considerations (dependent upon WSU location) with weighting factors reflecting the assigned duties of the faculty member. Additional criteria may be developed by individual schools or departments within the college (for example, pertaining to the portion of a program offered at a particular WSU location, for programs offered solely at that WSU location, etc.). These criteria should be directed toward the goals and objectives of those particular units and must be approved by the dean and the provost.

V.1 Research Faculty: Definition and Criteria for Promotion

Faculty in the research sub-track are in non-tenure track research appointments and predominantly conduct research, scholarship, or creative activity. Research faculty members may be expected to serve as principal or co-principal investigators on grants or contracts administered by the university, and otherwise should focus upon developing a strong, leading-edge research program of external research funding, scholarly publication, and doctoral/postdoctoral supervision. The appropriate qualifications for research faculty include having earned the terminal degree in an appropriate field.

Typically, the college will have made a commitment of office and/or research space. However, schools, departments, or colleges may expect research faculty members to provide all or significant portions of their own salary through extramural funding. The terms for space, start-up funds, and salary will generally be negotiated during the hiring process, although those terms can be renegotiated by the institution or the faculty member. In general, research faculty will have no significant teaching or service expectations unless those responsibilities are negotiated, and commensurate funding support is provided.

In the VCEA, the promotion criteria for research faculty should essentially follow the related research/scholarly activity expectations for tenure-track faculty, including the publication of peer-reviewed scholarship. For promotion to both Research Associate Professor and Research Professor, service to the profession, mentoring of students and postdocs, or teaching may assist the case. However, these activities are not required.

For promotion to Research Associate Professor, the candidate must exhibit evidence of initiating an independent, externally funded research program. The expectation of gaining at least some portion of funding from competitive sources is relaxed. For example, a Research Assistant Professor whose sole source of external funding is from industry or from non-competitive external funding, would still be eligible for promotion to Research Associate Professor.

For promotion to Research Professor, candidates should establish an externally funded research program that supports themselves in addition to technical staff, graduate students, postdocs, and/or undergraduate researchers. Furthermore, Research Professors should have established a national reputation at a level appropriate to their research activities. Work completed or classes taught prior to achieving rank as a Research Associate Professor may be included in the dossier, but significantly greater weight shall be placed on that which was accomplished at WSU since the initial promotion.

It is the responsibility of the director or chair, in collaboration with the supervising faculty member or center, institute, or laboratory director (if applicable), to develop expectations and duties for each research faculty member, as well as ensuring that all reviewers are aware of same at the time of any evaluation. These expectations and duties, as well as expectations for advancement, should be reviewed each year during the annual review.

V.2 Scholarly Faculty: Definition and Criteria for Promotion

Faculty in the scholarly sub-track have significant responsibilities in at least two of the following areas: (a) teaching, (b) student advising, (c) research or scholarship, (d) creative activity, (e) outreach, (f) practice, (g) educational leadership, (h) administration, or (i) academic service. Most faculty in this sub-track will have a significant teaching or student advising responsibility. According to the WSU Faculty Manual, however, carrying a large teaching or advising load and receiving good student ratings is not sufficient for promotion. Candidates for promotion are expected to demonstrate a “scholarly approach to teaching, evidence of teaching effectiveness, and achievement or recognition in one or more of the additional areas (e.g., research/scholarship, educational leadership, outreach, etc.).” (2019-2020 WSU Faculty Manual, p. 98). Demonstration of a “scholarly approach to teaching” may include evidence of attention to the art, science, or profession of teaching (pedagogy). It is important that career-track faculty members work with the director/chair of their unit to clarify how a scholarly approach to teaching will be best measured.

Criteria for advancement in rank for Scholarly faculty (e.g. from Scholarly Assistant Professor to Scholarly Associate Professor) are generally the same as those for advancement in rank for tenure-track faculty—at least in the realm of teaching and service. Indicators of excellence in teaching may include student evaluations, peer evaluations, internal or external teaching awards, peer mentoring and new or updated courses or course material. Scholarly Faculty also may demonstrate excellence through publication(s) in journals related to the scholarship of teaching and learning; presentations about teaching accomplishments or strategies at professional meetings; and/or external awards (at least beyond the program or department). Ideally, this performance will be validated by external sources.

 Scholarly faculty members aspiring to promotion in VCEA are not expected to advance a research program (unless this is specified in their contract), but accomplishments in research, scholarship, and/or creative activity should be considered in any case for promotion. Such activities, however, should not be used to substitute for excellence in teaching and service: they should enhance them.

Candidates for promotion to Scholarly Professor will be evaluated using the same general criteria as those desiring promotion to Scholarly Associate Professor but teaching and service accomplishments must demonstrate a steady improvement following the promotion to Scholarly Associate Professor. Work completed or taught prior to achieving rank as a Scholarly Associate Professor may be included in the dossier, but significantly greater weight shall be placed on that which was accomplished since the initial promotion.

It is the responsibility of the director or chair to develop expectations and duties for each scholarly faculty member, as well as ensuring that all reviewers are aware of same at the time of any evaluation. These expectations and duties, as well as expectations for advancement, should be reviewed each year during the annual review.

V.3 Teaching Faculty: Definition and Criteria for Promotion

Teaching faculty members are those whose primary responsibility is teaching and/or student advising and mentoring. Teaching faculty generally have little or no additional expectations in research, scholarship, creative activity, leadership, or academic service. Faculty with a teaching appointment will often have large teaching commitments according to their assignment and contract. Promotion criteria should include evidence of teaching effectiveness and innovation.

The primary responsibility of teaching faculty members in VCEA is to teach specific undergraduate courses, but they may be asked to teach graduate courses provided they have the appropriate credentials. For promotion in this sub-track, teaching excellence will be the principal, if not sole, criterion. Teaching faculty are generally given a 100% teaching appointment, and usually hold heavier teaching responsibilities (and loads) than tenure-track, tenured, or even scholarly faculty.

Criteria for advancement to Teaching Associate Professor are generally the same as those for advancement to Scholarly Associate Professor, although teaching faculty are neither expected to provide service nor a scholarly approach to teaching. However, accomplishments in such areas should be considered in a promotion case (though engagement in the latter activities cannot be used to substitute for excellence in teaching). Indicators of excellence in teaching may include student evaluations, peer evaluations, internal (i.e. program or department) teaching awards, and new or updated courses or course material. Publications in journals about teaching and learning; presentations about teaching accomplishments or strategies at professional meetings; or external awards may enhance the case for promotion but are not required.

Moreover, Teaching faculty should not expect to deliver the same courses with the same methods, year after year, and expect promotion—without some evidence of improvement or innovation to reflect shifts in pedagogy or advancements in the field.

Candidates for promotion to Teaching Professor will be evaluated using the same general criteria as those desiring promotion to Teaching Associate Professor, but teaching accomplishments should demonstrate a steady improvement since promotion to Teaching Associate Professor. Work completed or taught prior to achieving rank as a Teaching Associate Professor may be included in the dossier, but significantly greater weight shall be placed on that which was accomplished since the initial promotion.

It is the responsibility of the director or chair to develop expectations and duties for each teaching faculty member, as well as ensuring that all reviewers are aware of same at the time of any evaluation. These expectations and duties, as well as expectations for advancement, should be reviewed each year during the annual review.

V.4 Procedures for Promotion for Career-Track Faculty (Research, Scholarly, Teaching)

A request for promotion may be made by the career-track candidate or by the school director or department chair. Career-track faculty members are not typically considered for promotion to the next higher rank prior to completing five years at their current rank. If promotion to the next higher faculty rank is not pursued, or is not granted, career-track faculty members may remain at their current rank provided satisfactory performance continues. After five years of service at their current rank, there is no limit on the number of times a career-track faculty member may seek promotion to the next higher clinical faculty rank. Time in rank, however, is not sufficient by itself for promotion.

For promotion, the school or department must conduct a comprehensive review resembling the tenure-style review and, thus, in accordance with the same time schedule as the tenure and promotion reviews of tenure- track/tenured faculty. For promotion to career-track Associate Professor, this tenure-style review involves all career-track, tenure-track, and tenured faculty members in the school or department at the ranks of Associate Professor and higher. For promotion to career-track Professor, this review involves all career-track, tenure- track, and tenured faculty members in the school or department at the ranks of Professor and higher. If a school/department does not have adequate voting faculty members then the university-level policy regarding this will be adhered to.

Dossier preparations should be made in accordance with the provost’s guidelines and the WSU Faculty Manual and include the standard material that a tenure-track promotion dossier might contain (such as a CV). However, the dossier should be appropriate for the appointment (i.e. candidates for Teaching Associate Professor would naturally include examples of teaching evaluations and peer review(s) of teaching, but those candidates for promotion to Research Associate Professor might not). Supplemental information may be provided to help advance the cases but should be done in moderation (i.e. candidates need not include an overabundance of student projects or student evaluations, particularly if they are not expected as part of the appointment).

Internal or External Review Letters are required for career-track faculty. At least four review letters are required for career-track promotions and may be from either internal or external reviewers. The candidate should work with the school director or department chair to identify potential letter writers, although the school director or department chair may wish to solicit one of those letters without consultation from the candidate. At least one of these letters should be from a faculty member external to the school or department but could be internal to VCEA or WSU more generally. Ideally, that letter should be of a rank higher than that for which the candidate is seeking promotion. If letters from former students are solicited, those students should have risen to some position of leadership within their company, firm, laboratory, or institution and should be able to speak to the influence of the faculty member in their career.  Letters may be solicited from current students, former students, and colleagues.