AA/PPS 04.01.30 - Nomination and Evaluation Procedures for Graduate Faculty

POLICY STATEMENT

Texas State University is committed to hiring well-qualified graduate faculty and ensuring they are qualified to meet the responsibilities and performance expectations associated with their roles.

1. SCOPE

   1. This document outlines policies and procedures related to nominating and evaluating graduate faculty at Texas State University.

2. CRITERIA

   1. Graduate faculty may serve as instructors of record for graduate courses (e.g., 5000, 6000, and 7000 level). Individuals lacking graduate faculty status are not allowed to teach graduate level courses.

   2. Graduate faculty may chair or serve on doctoral or master’s committees. No member of the graduate faculty may chair the committee directing a student to a degree higher than the level of the highest degree earned by the graduate faculty member.

   3. Minimum Graduate College criteria for graduate faculty status include:

      1. completion of doctorate or other recognized terminal degree from an accredited institution;

      2. completion of doctorate or recognized terminal degree in a discipline in or related to the assigned graduate courses;

      3. proven record of scholarship or creative activity; and

      4. to chair a doctoral or master’s committee, the graduate faculty member must have a sustained record of scholarly or creative activity and be appointed in a tenure line in a graduate degree-granting unit at Texas State.

      Faculty holding administrative positions (e.g., department chairs or school directors, assistant deans, associate deans, and individuals holding the rank of dean or higher) are appointed to the graduate faculty following the same procedures for all faculty; however, the expectations for scholarship may be adjusted to reflect the time commitment and responsibilities of the administrative appointment.

      Any exceptions to minimum Graduate College criteria must be clearly justified and approved by the department chair or school director, college dean, and dean of The Graduate College. Appointing an individual lacking graduate faculty status to teach a graduate course or to serve as a member of a graduate committee is considered a serious violation of university policy.

   4. Criteria listed in 02.03 are minimum criteria. Departments, schools, or programs, including cross-disciplinary programs, may develop additional criteria and guidelines for graduate faculty eligibility and the composition of graduate committees that conform to the expectations of each program, department, school, and college regarding scholarly or creative activity in place for tenure requirements. If program, department, or school criteria are developed, they must be outlined in program-, departmental- or school-level policies and reviewed by the program, department, or school as part of the regular policy review process.

   5. Categories of graduate faculty include:

      1. Regular Graduate Faculty – may teach master’s and/or doctoral level courses; may chair master’s and/or doctoral committees; may serve as a member of master’s and/or doctoral committees; and may serve on the Graduate Council.

      2. Associate Graduate Faculty – may teach master’s level and/or doctoral level courses and may serve as a member of master’s and/or doctoral committees.

      3. Courtesy Graduate – Faculty and professional staff external to Texas State (i.e., faculty and professional staff employed by other institutions or organizations and faculty retired from Texas State) may be nominated in this category and may serve as a member of master’s and/or doctoral committees.

   6. Termination of Graduate Faculty Status

      1. Resignation or Retirement – Membership in the graduate faculty automatically ceases upon resignation or retirement. An individual wishing to retain membership in the graduate faculty must be nominated by the program, department, or school as courtesy graduate faculty.

      2. Revocation – A program, department, school, or college can petition to revoke the graduate faculty appointment of a faculty member or change a regular graduate faculty appointment to an associate graduate faculty appointment if the program, department, school, or college determines in annual reviews of faculty that the faculty member no longer meets the required expectations.

3. PROCEDURES FOR NOMINATION OF GRADUATE FACULTY

   1. Automatic Appointments

      1. All full-time tenure and tenure-track faculty of graduate degree conferring units at Texas State automatically become regular graduate faculty members upon appointment to the university. However, hiring departments or schools can request to revoke the status entirely or change the appointment to associate graduate faculty status if the faculty member does not satisfy either the criteria specified in 02.03 or departmental criteria. This notification is to be completed via the revocation category on the nomination form.

      2. All full-time non-tenure line faculty holding a terminal degree in the discipline (full-time lecturers, clinical faculty, research faculty, and faculty of practice) of graduate degree conferring units at Texas State automatically become associate graduate faculty upon appointment to the university. However, hiring departments or schools can request to revoke the status. This notification is to be completed via the revocation category on the nomination form.

   2. Nominations

      1. Nominations of Individuals External to the University – To grant individuals external to the university courtesy graduate faculty status a nomination must be submitted to The Graduate College. The nomination must include an agreement from the individual external to the university to not receive compensation for their duties.

      2. Nominations of Full-Time, Non-Tenure Line Faculty into the Regular Graduate Faculty Category – To appoint full-time lecturers, clinical faculty, faculty of practice, and research faculty as regular graduate faculty, a nomination must be submitted to The Graduate College. The nomination must contain an explanation of how the faculty member meets the criteria outlined in 02.03.

      3. Nominations of Per Course Faculty or Staff – To appoint per course faculty or staff, a nomination must be submitted to The Graduate College. The nomination must contain an explanation of how the faculty member meets the criteria outlined in 02.03. Per course faculty can only be nominated to hold associate graduate faculty status.

      4. Nominations of Individuals Lacking a Terminal Degree – In exceptional cases, individuals lacking a terminal degree may be nominated to serve on a master’s committees or teach a master’s level course. Such cases will be approved only if the individual possesses documented and demonstrated competencies and achievements related to a specific graduate student’s research project or related to the specific graduate courses they would be assigned. Nomination of graduate faculty not possessing the doctorate or terminal degree in the discipline in which they will teach must include detailed justification consistent with Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) requirements. Individuals lacking a terminal degree may only be nominated for associate or courtesy graduate faculty status.

      5. Nominated individuals serve for a term of five years in their respective category. In order to continue as graduate faculty, members must reapply upon completion of the approved term.

      6. To revoke graduate faculty status or to change the appointment status from regular to associate graduate faculty status, a nomination form must be submitted to The Graduate College.

   3. Nomination/Revocation Process

      1. The nomination of graduate faculty and the revocation of this status are initiated at the program, departmental, or school level. For each proposed graduate faculty member, the graduate advisor/doctoral program director, or designee, should initiate the nomination form on The Graduate College faculty nomination website. A complete and current Texas State vita must be attached to the form. The nomination must be approved before the individual begins working with the student or before they begin to teach a graduate-level course.

      2. The credentials of the proposed graduate faculty member should be examined and reviewed by the department’s or school’s graduate faculty committee, and the graduate advisor/doctoral program director, or designee, will sign the nomination form, recommending approval or denial.

      3. The department chair or school director will examine the credentials of the proposed graduate faculty member and recommend concurrence or non-concurrence. This information will be forwarded to the college dean.

   4. The college dean will examine the credentials of the nominee and recommend concurrence or non-concurrence. This information will be forwarded to the dean of The Graduate College.

   5. The dean of The Graduate College will examine the credentials of the nominee and approve or deny the appointment. The dean of The Graduate College will provide written notification of the decision to the department chair or school director and nominee.

   6. The Graduate Council will elect from its members a seven-person ad hoc appeal committee, composed of one representative from each college. An individual denied graduate faculty status at any level may appeal to this committee. A written request for an appeal must be submitted within 45 days from the date the faculty member is notified of denial.

4. REVIEWER OF THIS PPS

   1. Reviewer of this PPS includes the following:

      Position	Date
      Dean, The Graduate College	April 1 E5Y

5. CERTIFICATION STATEMENT

   This PPS has been approved by the following individuals in their official capacities and represents Texas State Academic Affairs policy and procedure from the date of this document until superseded.

   Dean, The Graduate College; senior reviewer of this PPS

   Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs