Unit Standard
Title
School of Nursing: Standard On Appointment And Promotion (APR) For Fixed-Term Faculty
Introduction
Purpose
The purpose of promotion is to acknowledge, reward, and communicate the scope of influence, and the depth and breadth of an individual faculty member's contributions. Those contributions encompass efforts directed to the School of Nursing (SON), the University, the profession, the public, and to quality health care.
Scope
This document applies to all fixed-term faculty at the UNC-Chapel Hill SON.
Standard
Fixed-term faculty members are vital contributors to the tripartite mission of the SON. Faculty are expected to meet the SON’s mission to advance health for all through educational preparation of undergraduate and graduate students in classroom or clinical settings, the delivery of direct or indirect care through clinical practice, service, research, administration, and interdisciplinary and interprofessional collaboration. It is an expectation that all faculty have progressive contributions in service and leadership to the SON and beyond. All fixed-term faculty are expected to disseminate scholarship in their area of excellence.
All fixed-term faculty members must demonstrate one area of excellence in either teaching, service, or research; and may include two additional areas of competence. These areas may overlap in unique and distinctive ways (see the Essay section under the SON's Standard for Preparing a Promotion Portfolio for review by Appointment, Promotion, and Reappointment (APR) Committee). At each successive rank, an expanding scope of professional influence is expected. Faculty are evaluated through assessment of their performance, evidence of the impact or significance of their work, and evidence that their work is being recognized by others. These are defined as follows:
- Performance: The teaching, service, and research activities in which the faculty member has been engaged. Performance is what the faculty member has done.
- Impact or Significance: The importance and influence of the faculty member’s work in shaping teaching, service, and research. Impact and significance also can be reflected in the faculty member’s influence on the work of others.
- Recognition: Evidence that peers and students as well as professional and community leaders hold the faculty member’s accomplishments in high regard.
These guidelines present specific recommendations as they apply to each fixed-term faculty rank. When considering appointment or promotion, the faculty member engages in discussion with the faculty member's division head to prepare materials that demonstrate continuing contributions (performance, impact, and recognition) commensurate with rank at each evaluation point. Examples are provided in the corresponding grids. These examples are not intended to be prescriptive or exhaustive but serve as a guide.
The grid below is also attached to the policy as a separate PDF: Specific Examples of Evidence to Support Appointments and Promotions.
Specific Examples of Evidence to Support Appointments and Promotions
A. Teaching
Teaching refers to a variety of educational modalities (e.g. classroom, e- learning, laboratory, simulation, clinical, continuing education, service-learning courses). This includes advising, mentoring, and supervising students in scholarly projects. Competence and accomplishment in teaching is typically documented by both refereed and non-refereed publications and presentations related to an area of expertise. The scholarship of teaching is active inquiry to generate knowledge about teaching and learning. Faculty should include documentation and explanation of any other scholarly works that contribute to their teaching competence and accomplishments but may be less traditional in nature. Examples of evidence that might be used to support the performance, impact, and recognition of a faculty member’s work are listed below. They are intended as a non-exclusive list of examples.
Teaching Example Evidence
| Examples of Evidence |
Instructor |
Assistant Professor |
Associate Professor |
Professor |
| |
Candidates have a minimum of a master’s degree in nursing or a
related discipline. |
Candidates have a doctoral degree and are teachers who demonstrate potential for or evidence of teaching and leadership excellence in academic and/or professional
nursing education. |
In addition to meeting the criteria for the rank of Assistant Professor, faculty demonstrate a pattern of excellence in
teaching and leadership in academic and/or professional nursing education on state and/or national levels. |
In addition to meeting the criteria for the rank of Associate Professor,
faculty have a sustained and significant record of teaching scholarship and leadership in academic and/or professional education on national and/or international level(s). |
| Performance |
- Positive student teaching evaluations and peer evaluations, or professional workshop evaluations.
- Participates as an effective team member in assigned courses.
- Serves as an effective student advisor.
- Serves as a committee member on MSN or BSN scholarly projects (student).
- Seeks out opportunities for faculty development related to teaching.
- Seeks out opportunities for interprofessional educational training or participation.
- Participates in SON faculty meetings.
|
- Positive student teaching evaluations and peer evaluations, or professional workshop evaluations.
- Develops innovative course materials that reflect state of the science and application of evidence to practice.
- Refines teaching strategies and course materials using peer and student feedback.
- Assists students in advising and in meeting professional goals.
- Serves as a member and increasing as a chair of student scholarly activities.
- Provides leadership in course coordination and/or preceptor development.
- Participates in professional organizations related to teaching or education in area of expertise.
- Collaborates in or leads the dissemination of scholarly productions related to teaching in refereed and non-refereed journals or books or formal presentations.
- Provides teaching mentorship to colleagues.
|
- Demonstrates sustained excellence in teaching and curriculum development.
- Demonstrates student-centered approaches to student learning.
- Promotes the development and evaluation of innovative learning opportunities for students.
- Mentors colleagues in developing teaching and leadership skills.
- Contributes to or leads the preparation of educational training grants.
- Chairs student committees (Honors, MSN, and DNP) through completion.
- Lead author or significant contributor on published articles through peer-reviewed and/or non-refereed journals or other scholarly presentations in area of expertise.
|
- Continuously improves instruction using evaluation data and emerging trends in educational science.
- Fosters the professional development of colleagues and students to greater achievement and identification of best practices.
- Assumes leadership on educational committees or task forces in the SON, regionally and nationally.
- Leads initiatives in the SON to plan, develop, implement and evaluate academic programs.
- Serves as lead or senior author on publications or presentations associated with area of expertise.
|
| Impact |
- Development of positive relationships with clinical sites.
- Sustained positive relationships with clinical sites or partners who contribute to the SON’s teaching mission.
|
- Positive student course evaluations, peer evaluations, course materials, or professional workshop evaluations.
- Invited to participate on interprofessional and/or interdisciplinary educational collaborative projects in the SON or University.
- Student achievement of MSN or BSN scholarly products.
|
- Progressive record of positive student and peer teaching evaluations.
- Evidence of influence on the professional careers of students.
- Record of service and leadership in teaching and/or curriculum development at the SON, University, and state levels.
- Evidence that scholarly products are used by other colleagues and/or programs.
|
- Leadership or mentorship resulting in the development of resources or funding for educational training programs.
- Sustained record of positive course and teaching evaluations.
- Record of scholarly publications as lead or senior author in peer-reviewed journals and/or books in area of teaching expertise.
- Evidence of impact on the professional careers of former students and colleagues.
|
| Recognition |
- Invited to participate as a lecturer or presenter to SON or local groups in area of expertise.
- Awards for teaching excellence.
- Invited to serve on SON, agency-related, or community groups in area of expertise.
|
- Accepted presentations, papers, and/or posters for professional conferences
- Awards for teaching excellence.
- Invited to conduct educational sessions at SON, University, and/or state and regional conferences.
|
- Sustained record of presentations, posters or educational sessions at regional and/or national conferences.
- Acknowledged locally and regionally for expertise and innovation within area of expertise.
- Reviewer for professional products (e.g. journals, books).
|
- Appointment to state, national and/or international committees related to academic nursing.
- Awards and other recognition for innovation in teaching and education.
- Serves as an educational or curriculum consultant to national and/or international organizations or institutions, or invited manuscripts
- Reviewer or editor for significant professional journals or organizations.
|
B. Service
There are two main foci for service:
- Participation, leadership, and mentorship in organizational structures within the SON, University, Community, and profession;
- Clinical practice with responsibility for: the direct care of clients; clinical consultation; health or health care advocacy; practice-related technical assistance; development or implementation of innovative health care initiatives or professional workforce initiatives; and professional workforce or health care initiatives.
Although continuing education is normally considered as a teaching activity, if it is incidental to or part of service to an organization or group (for example, if seminars for an organization's staff are conducted as an integral part of a technical assistance program), it may be considered to be clinical practice.
Competence and accomplishment in service are typically documented by publications, presentations, and consultations related to practice or service, honors and awards, and performance evaluations related to the specific service role. The pattern of service contributions should be consistent, documentable, and should increase in quality and scope over time.
Examples of evidence that might be used to support the performance, impact, and recognition of a faculty member’s work are listed below.
Service Example Evidence
| Examples of Evidence |
Instructor |
Assistant Professor |
Associate Professor |
Professor |
| |
Candidates must have a minimum of a master’s degree in nursing or a related discipline and demonstrate participation in service. |
Candidates have a doctoral degree and engage in the delivery of high-quality service related to SON, University, agency, and/or professional organizations at the local or state/regional levels. |
In addition to meeting the criteria for the rank of Assistant Professor, faculty demonstrate service and leadership excellence at the SON, University, state/regional, or national levels. |
In addition to meeting the criteria for the rank of Associate Professor, faculty have a sustained and outstanding record of service leadership and scholarship at state, national, and/or international levels. |
| Performance |
- Demonstrates competent service related to an identified focus.
- Participates in activities and committees in the SON.
- Analyzes and interprets practice or service data for quality improvement in area of focus
|
- Actively participates on one or more SON committees or task forces.
- Serves as a member of local, state or regional associations, agencies, task forces or review committees.
- Disseminates service-related presentations, posters or educational sessions at local and/or regional conferences.
- Collaborates on the dissemination service-related products in refereed and non-refereed journals or books or media
|
- Consistently contributes to leadership on SON or agency-related committees.
- Serves as an officer, or chair, of local, state or regional associations, task forces or review committees.
- Participates in the development of innovative models of nursing education or practice.
- Engages in service contributions that influence policies, programs, or outcomes of organization served.
- Significantly participates in grant writing and/or attainment of project goals.
- Collaborates on the dissemination of service-related products in refereed and non-referred journals or books or media.
- Lead author on presentations, posters or educational sessions at regional, state, and national levels.
|
- Assumes key leadership positions with the SON, University, or national committees.
- Record of presentations and publications of service-related scholarship at regional, state, and national levels.
- Participates in organizing national or international conferences or workshops.
- Advocates for or testifies on national or international levels on issues that improve health or advance nursing practice or education.
- Leads the development and evaluation of innovative models of care or service- related innovations.
|
| Impact |
- Builds a professional network through participation in professional organizations related to area of expertise.
|
- Evidence that service contributions significantly impact policies and programs of the organization served.
- Evidence that service contributions result in improved outcomes.
|
- Evidence of effective service on a regular basis at local, state, and/or national levels.
- Evidence of impact of service contributions on policies, programs, or outcomes.
|
- Evidence of effective consultation at state or national levels for service-related issues in area of expertise at state, national, and/or international levels.
- Evidence of successful achievement of project or grant objectives.
- Evidence that service activities have led to improved health care delivery or education at state, national or international levels.
|
| Recognition |
- Invited to participate as a lecturer or presenter to SON or local groups in area of expertise.
|
- Reviewer for abstracts, papers, and/or posters for local or regional professional conferences.
- Invited consultant for service-related issues including to local, state, regional institutions/organizations or to the media.
|
- Honors and awards in recognition of service-related contributions at local, regional/state, or national levels.
- Appointed to University, local or state committees on issues in focus area.
- Awarded competitive service-related grants.
|
- Holds an editorial role for a professional journal in the area of expertise.
- Appointed to state or national task forces and committees.
- Sustained record of reviewing articles for professional journals.
- Awarded service-related grants at the national level.
|
C. Research
Research is the scholarly contribution to the generation of knowledge and includes studies which involve laboratory, field, clinical, literature, and other sources of information. Competence and accomplishment in research are typically documented by publications, presentations, and grant awards based on research done independently as a primary investigator or collaboratively with others.
Examples of evidence that might be used to support the performance, impact, and recognition of a faculty member’s work are listed below.
Research Example Evidence
| Examples of Evidence |
Instructor |
Assistant Professor |
Associate Professor |
Professor |
| |
Candidates for this rank must have a minimum of a master’s degree in nursing or a related discipline. |
Candidates have a doctoral degree and demonstrate potential for or evidence of research/scholarship excellence on local and regional levels. |
In addition to meeting the criteria for the rank of Assistant Professor, faculty demonstrate excellence in research/ scholarship and recognition on local regional and/or national levels. |
In addition to meeting the criteria for the rank of Associate Professor, faculty have a sustained record of research/ scholarship excellence and recognition at national or international level(s). |
| Performance |
- Participates or collaborates on research projects (development or implementation) related to practice area (e.g. proposal development, internal reviews, data analysis).
- Presents scholarly work at local chapter meetings of professional or scholarly organizations, agency conferences, etc.
|
- Conducts small or pilot research studies in area of expertise.
- Begins to develop an interdisciplinary network of collaborators.
- Makes unique and identifiable contributions to collaborative research.
- Presents research papers/posters at local and regional conferences.
- Successfully competes for internal or small grant funding related to area of expertise.
- Publishes data-based articles in peer reviewed journals as a collaborator or first-author.
|
- Participates in interprofessional and/or interdisciplinary research teams in the SON, University, and state and/or nationally.
- Authors or co-authors state of the science or meta-analysis papers in area of practice.
- Presents research papers/posters at state, regional, and/or national conferences.
- Submits research grant proposals from local, state, and/or national funding sources.
- Serves as an officer, or chair, of local, state or regional research committee.
- Submits collaborative and own articles in area of expertise in peer-reviewed journals.
- Significantly participates in grant writing and/or attainment of project goals.
- Serves as a resource to faculty and students for research scholarship or methods (e.g. consultations, short courses, guest lectures).
|
- Record of funded research in area of expertise with national and/or international impact.
- Collaborates on multi-site research teams in area of expertise nationally and/or internationally.
- Mentors students, faculty, or clinicians in research in area of expertise.
- Sustained publication record of research or research application in area of practice in peer-reviewed journals.
- Serves as a consultant or advisory member on regional, national, and/or international organizations relevant to area of expertise.
- Engages students in research or scholarly activities.
|
| Impact |
- Positive evaluations of collaborative efforts.
- Publication of collaborative works.
|
- Evidence that research is cited by students and other researchers.
- Beginning record of funded grant proposals.
- Positive review of sections of proposal for which the faculty member has primary responsibility.
|
- Selected for individual or collaborative podium presentations or symposia at research conferences at regional/national level.
- Evidence that research has regional/national impact.
|
- Selected to present on practice and policy issues related to area of expertise at national and/or international conferences.
- Widely disseminates research-focused articles in peer-reviewed journals, non-refereed journals, or relevant books.
|
| Recognition |
- Award or special recognition for identifiable, unique contributions to collaborative research team.
|
- Receives local or regional recognition for research contributions in area of expertise.
- Named as a co-investigator on a grant project.
- Invited to be an abstract reviewer on local or state levels in area of expertise.
- Selected as a reviewer for grants external to the SON.
|
- Record of growing numbers of citations, evaluations, and/or reviews.
- Appointed to review research article submissions in area of practice for professional journals.
- Honors or awards at the local, regional or national level for innovation within area of expertise.
|
- Serves as an editor or co-editor of a peer-reviewed research-focused journal in area of expertise.
- Receives national or international recognition (e.g., awards, invited papers/lectures) of research contributions in area of expertise.
- Invited to serve as a reviewer on national and/or international levels.
|
Exceptions
None.
Related Requirements
Unit Policies, Standards, and Procedures
Contact Information
Primary Contact
Theresa Raphael Grimm, APR Chair