College of Arts and Sciences: APS Procedures Governing the Promotion of a Teaching Associate Professor to Teaching Professor

Unit Procedure

Title

College of Arts and Sciences: APS Procedures Governing the Promotion of a Teaching Associate Professor to Teaching Professor

Introduction

Purpose

This document outlines the eligibility criteria and procedural steps for reviewing and promoting a Teaching Associate Professor to the rank of Teaching Professor in the Department of Applied Physical Sciences (APS). Its purpose is to define required qualifications, evidence, committee processes, and voting procedures for promotion decisions.

Scope

  • Who does this Procedure apply to? (Keep in mind that a Unit Procedure can only apply to the same Unit)
  • Are there particular groups within the Unit who must know and follow this Procedure?
  • Are there groups within the Unit that this Procedure does NOT apply to?
    • If it’s a succinct statement, you can exclude groups here.
    • If the exclusions will take more space to explain, use the “Exclusions” section below.

Procedure

Eligibility for Teaching Professor

A teaching associate professor is eligible for recommendation for promotion to teaching professor on the following bases:

  • The candidate must have a minimum of six consecutive years’ full-time (i.e., 1 FTE) service as a teaching associate professor, or, if the candidate is from another institution and identified in a national search, six consecutive years of full-time (1 FTE) service as a teaching associate professor or faculty equivalent. A teaching associate professor may not be appointed to the rank of teaching professor until six consecutive years of 1 FTE service at the rank of teaching associate professor have elapsed. A teaching assistant professor is not eligible for promotion to teaching professor.
  • The candidate must provide demonstrable evidence of distinguished teaching and service to the appointing department, beyond that which is expected of a teaching associate professor, in accordance with standards of distinguished teaching and service defined by the unit in which the candidate is appointed.

In the Department of Applied Physical Sciences, evidence of distinguished teaching may include: a university teaching award, consistent teaching evaluations in the top 5-10% of the department, outstanding peer teaching reviews, leadership roles on unit committees concerned with teaching, success in writing and/or administering grants that improve teaching in a unit, administrative oversight and training of teaching assistants and/or other fixed-term faculty in a unit.

In the Department of Applied Physical Sciences, evidence of distinguished service may include: a university service award; leadership on committees and task forces at the unit, College, or University levels (such as educational policy, teaching award, staff award, or search committees); service as unit undergraduate advising coordinator or director of undergraduate studies; outstanding service on the UNC Faculty Council and/or its subcommittees; leadership in national or regional professional organizations; membership on the advisory board of a professional journal; invitations for speaking engagements at other institutions of higher learning; professional consulting.

Procedure for Unit Review of Candidates for Teaching Professor in the Department of APS

Only a teaching associate professor who has completed a minimum of six consecutive years of full-time (1 FTE) service in the Department of Applied Physical Sciences is eligible to be considered for promotion to teaching professor.

A candidate eligible for promotion to teaching professor in the Department of Applied Physical Sciences will be reviewed by a unit committee appointed by the Chair. This review committee must be composed of at least three faculty members, with at least one being a tenured faculty member and at least one being in the fixed term teaching track above the rank of the candidate being reviewed. The other member(s) may be tenured/tenure track or fixed term teaching track faculty above rank of candidate being reviewed. A teaching professor may serve as committee chair. If the departmental faculty contains no teaching professors, a teaching professor from another department should be included on a review committee, with the approval of the Dean’s office. This committee is responsible for reviewing any eligible candidate’s dossier and submitting a report on each candidate under consideration.

To be reviewed by the department’s review committee, eligible candidates for teaching professor must submit a dossier containing the following:

  1. the candidate’s current curriculum vitae;
  2. the candidate’s statement of teaching and service, and if applicable, a statement of research
  3. documentation of the candidate’s teaching and service activities, and if applicable, research activities;
  4. List of courses taught by year for the past five years;
  5. evidence of distinguished teaching and service;
  6. the names of two individuals (external to the candidate’s base department who may serve as referees). The individuals may be from within UNC or external to UNC. Referees from within the University must be able to observe at least one class taught by the candidate and substantiate the candidate’s qualifications for the rank of teaching associate professor. This review may count toward the required two peer teaching reviews. If part of the promotion determination is based on research then one (or both) of the letters will need to address this in addition to teaching and service.
  7. Additional materials such as student recommendations, nominations for teaching awards, grant applications, and other materials relevant to the case.

These records should cover the prior five-year period, or the period of service at UNC if less than five years.

Upon receipt of a complete dossier, the Chair or the review committee chair will solicit letters from two referees external to the candidate’s base department, one from a list provided by the candidate and one from a list developed by the Chair or committee, as to the candidate’s qualifications for promotion to the rank of teaching professor. Upon receipt of the two letters, the Chair will include them in the candidate’s dossier.

At least two faculty members must each observe at least one full class session. It is recommended they observe class sessions in different courses or for a different section of the same course. The observation must be carried out by either tenured/tenure track faculty or a teaching professor. Class observations carried out as part of a personnel decision are normally carried out in the 12 month period prior to the department meeting regarding the decision; they should preferably be carried out in the same semester as the department decision. Each faculty member participating in a peer faculty teaching observation is required to write a report for each class session observed, employing the peer teaching review template.

After reviewing each dossier, the unit review committee will submit to the Chair a report concerning each candidate for promotion to teaching professor. The Chair will make this report available to the assembled eligible faculty of the department, whom the Chair will consult in a manner analogous to the process whereby the unit Chair consults the unit’s faculty on the promotion of faculty members on the tenure track. For cases involving promotion to teaching professor, this consultation must include the tenured faculty and any teaching professors in the department. The consultation process will result in a vote of the eligible faculty of the department, recorded by rank, on each case for promotion to teaching professor. [define those eligible to vote (tenured/tenure track faculty, teaching associate professors and teaching professors, “any other fixed term ranks”)]

The Chair of the department may decide to accept or reject the advice given by the eligible faculty. In either case, the candidate’s complete dossier must be forwarded to the Dean with a letter from the Chair either recommending or denying promotion. Besides reporting the vote of the faculty, the Chair’s letter should highlight factors concerning teaching and service that most influenced the recommendation. Regardless of the Chair’s recommendation, the Chair must communicate that decision in writing to the candidate. A teaching associate professor whose case for promotion is denied is eligible for reconsideration three years after the decision against promotion; earlier consideration by the unit requires permission from the Senior Associate Dean.

The dossier for the candidate forwarded to the Dean will contain the following:

  • the chair’s letter, noting the review committee’s role and vote, and the vote of the eligible faculty, recorded by rank;
  • the report of the unit review committee on the candidate;
  • the candidate’s current curriculum vitae;
  • the candidate’s statement of teaching and service, and if applicable, statement of research;
  • documentation of the candidate’s teaching and service activities, and if applicable, research;
  • student course evaluations for the past five years including summarized data;
  • a minimum of two peer teaching evaluations carried out by either tenured/tenure track faculty or teaching professor;
  • a minimum of two letters from referees (external to the candidate’s base department) that address the candidate’s qualifications for the rank of teaching professor;
  • additional materials, [please specify] required by the department.

See the UNC-Chapel Hill Faculty Affairs website for a checklist of documents required for inclusion in the dossier of a fixed-term faculty member’s application for promotion (appointment to a higher rank).

Voting Information

College policy on voting rights of fixed-term faculty

Fixed-term faculty are not eligible to vote on the tenure and promotion of faculty within the tenured or tenure-track ranks. Teaching associate professors are eligible to vote on the promotion of teaching assistant professors to the rank of teaching associate professors. Teaching professors are eligible to vote on the promotion of teaching associate professors as well as teaching assistant professors.

UNC Faculty Code Definition of Voting Rights of Fixed-Term Faculty

The UNC Faculty Code includes fixed-term faculty among the General Faculty who have voting rights at UNC, provided three conditions are met. Voting rights are reserved for fixed-term faculty who hold at least a .75 FTE position, whose responsibilities include teaching or research, and whose term of appointment is for at least three years. Fixed-term faculty who have been re-appointed to a position such that the combined length of the current term and the immediately preceding term of service is at least three years are also eligible to vote.

Related Requirements

External Regulations (if applicable)

  • Is this Procedure connected to any Policies, Laws (federal, state, local, regulations), Accreditation requirements?
  • Are there any related UNC system-wide policies, procedures or standards?
  • Is this Procedure connected to any UNC-Chapel Hill Policies, Procedures, or Standards?
  • Are there any other resources or materials readers of this Procedure might likely refer to or need to follow or understand this Procedure?

Unit Policies, Standards, and Procedures (if applicable)

  • Is this Procedure connected to any Unit Policies, Procedures, or Standards?

Contact Information

Primary Contact

Office: Dean's Office

Telephone: 919-962-1165

Email: artsandsciences@unc.edu

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