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Handbook of Operating Procedures
Chapter 2 - Faculty and Academics
Previous Publication Date: November 9, 2020
Publication Date: March 27, 2023
Policy Reviewed Date: September 1, 2020
Policy Owner: VP for Academic Affairs


2.50 Fixed-Term-Track Faculty Recruitment, Evaluation, and Promotion Processes


I. POLICY STATEMENT


The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) is committed to identifying, recruiting, and retaining highly qualified, talented, and diverse faculty for Fixed-Term -Track (FTT) positions in all academic fields. Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) guidelines as well as university processes and procedures must be followed during all faculty searches. Academic Affairs is responsible for developing and overseeing the FTT faculty recruitment process.


II. RATIONALE


This policy establishes procedures and guidelines for the recruitment, evaluation, and promotion of the following FTT faculty titles: all levels of Lecturers, Professors of Practice, Professors of Instruction, Professors of Research, and Clinical Professors. Adherence to these procedures and guidelines will help ensure that faculty appointed and promoted in these ranks are of the highest quality. The Fixed-Term-Track Faculty Recruitment Guide provides greater detail regarding the recruitment of multi-year FTT faculty.


III. SCOPE


This policy applies to the following FTT faculty titles: Professor of Instruction Series, Lecturer Series, Professors of Practice Series, Clinical Professor Series, and Professors of Research Series.


IV. WEBSITE ADDRESS FOR THIS POLICY


http://www.utsa.edu/hop/chapter2/2.50.html


V. RELATED STATUTES, POLICIES, REQUIREMENTS OR STANDARDS


  1. UTSA or UT System Policies or the Board of Regents’ Rules and Regulations
    1. Board of Regents’ Rule 31001, Faculty Appointments and Titles 
    2. Board of Regents’ Rule 31002, Notice of Nonrenewal to Nontenured Faculty Members
  2. UTSA HOP Policies
    1. UTSA Handbook of Operating Procedures policy 2.02, Faculty Appointments and Titles
  3. Other Policies and Standards
    1. UTSA President's Statement of EEO/Affirmative Action Policy Support (Statement)
    2. FTT Faculty Promotion Guide

VI. CONTACTS


If you have any questions about Handbook of Operating Procedures (HOP) policy 2.50, Fixed-Term-Track Recruitment, Evaluation and Promotion Process, contact the following office(s):

  1. Academic Affairs
    210-458-4110
  2. Office of the Respective Dean
  3. Office of the Respective Academic Department

VII. DEFINITIONS


Fixed-Term-Track Academic Titles are titles in which tenure cannot be granted previously referred to as Non-Tenure Track.


VIII. RESPONSIBILITIES


  1. FTT faculty member
    1. Initiates promotion process with the Department Chair
    2. Provides all required and relevant material for promotion review
  2. Department Review Committee (DRC)
    1. Evaluates faculty performance for annual review
    2. Provides written evaluation of faculty performance to the department chair.
    3. Reviews and recommends FTT faculty for promotion.
  3. Department Chair and/or Unit Director
    1. Initiates, implements, and oversees recruitment process.
    2. Conducts annual appraisal of FTT faculty.
    3. In consultation with the Dean, oversees promotion process for FTT faculty in his/her department.
    4. Reviews and considers recommendations of the Department Review Committee (DRC) for promotion of FTT faculty.
  4. College Review Committee
    1. Reviews and considers FTT faculty promotion recommendations of the (DRC) and Department Chair and/or Unit Director before making promotion recommendations to the Dean
  5. Dean
    1. Approves short list of candidates to interview in the recruitment process as well as the final candidate who will be offered the position.
    2. Consults with Department Chairs regarding promotion process.
    3. Reviews and Recommends promotion to Academic Affairs.
  6. Search Committee
    1. If a decision is made to conduct a search to fill a FTT position, a Search Committee is established. The Search Committee will follow the procedures described below under “Search Committee Procedures” and “Short List and Interview Procedures.”
  7. Academic Affairs
    1. Oversees appointment process.
    2. Reviews recommendations for promotion.

IX. PROCEDURES


  1. Recruitment
    1. FTT positions at UTSA may be filled by promotion through the ranks or through recruitment.  The following process was developed to facilitate recruitment and should be utilized for positions involving multi-year appointments. The process is described in further detail in the “Fixed-Term-Track Faculty Recruitment Guide” on the Academic Affairs website.
    2. UTSA administrators are responsible for ensuring that equal opportunity is afforded to all candidates to further the University’s goal of identifying and recruiting diverse, qualified, and talented faculty.
    3. In units not connected to an academic department or college, the director of that unit assumes the responsibilities assigned here to department chairs. Directors should work with their direct supervisors where there is no reporting line to an academic dean.
  2. Workload, Duties
    1. Each tenured, tenure-track, and FTT faculty member employed by UTSA shall be assigned a faculty workload, which is constituted by the faculty member’s classroom teaching, and/or basic, applied and translational research, service, and professional development weighted duties and responsibilities. The university faculty workload policy is provided in HOP 2.14: Faculty Workload Requirement and the accompanying Guidelines.
      1.1 Evaluation of Work Performance
             1.1.1 Annual reports, including a current vita and supporting documents, will be submitted and evaluated using the
             same procedure required of T/TT faculty (See HOP policy 2.11, Annual Faculty Performance Evaluation for Merit
             Consideration
      ). Evaluation of performance will follow the distribution of workload responsibilities for that particular
             position. The outcome of this evaluation may be used for consideration of reappointment, merit consideration, and        promotion.
             1.1.2 An evaluation of “Unsatisfactory” in any category indicates that the faculty member would benefit from
             additional support and the department chair shall create a plan for developmental improvement to include
             institutional support (e.g. teaching effectiveness assistance, mentoring in research, service opportunities). The faculty
             member may additionally be reviewed by the department chair after one semester to determine if development plan
             has been met. If the plan has not been met, the faculty member can be subject to further action, including but not
             limited to further development plans, discipline, termination or non-reappointment.
  3. Promotion
    1. Candidates for promotion to a higher rank position must meet the qualifications for that position. Promotion from one FTT rank to the next rank, for example promotion from associate professor of instruction to professor of instruction, requires satisfactorily meeting the requirements. More details are provided in the “Guidelines for Promotion for Fixed Term Track Faculty” at UTSA” on the Academic Affairs Website (https://provost.utsa.edu/faculty-review/fixed/).
    2. The promotion process is initiated by the faculty member by submitting a request to the department chair or through reaching the total maximum combined appointment period for a faculty member. Professor of Practice, Instruction, Clinical, and Research series titles may be awarded to individuals who currently hold the title of Senior Lecturer, depending upon circumstances including qualifications, area of expertise, years of service, and performance.
  4. Categories of Performance and Criteria for Promotion
    1. General Provisions
      1.1 Annual evaluations are not the only criteria considered in decisions regarding promotion.
      1.2 In addition to meritorious accomplishments, successful applicants for promotion must demonstrate a high potential for continued excellence and effectiveness.
      1.3 Satisfaction of University Criteria is judged in each individual case and College and Department criteria may also be used. Individuals must meet or exceed expectations in each category of performance being reviewed.
      1.4 In the review of promotion material provided by the faculty member, only faculty at or above the rank under consideration may review applications for that promotion.
    2. University Criteria
      2.1 Faculty applicants for promotion are evaluated based on accomplishments in the categories of performance: teaching or research/scholarship/creative activities, and/or service.
             2.1.1 In order to earn promotion, a faculty member must have a demonstrated record of consistent productivity in
             teaching effectiveness, or research/ scholarship/creative activities. Promotion cannot be earned on service
             performance alone.
      2.2 Teaching
             2.2.1 Examples of teaching activities include, but are not limited to:
                    a. classroom and laboratory instruction;
                    b. service learning courses;
                    c. development of new courses, laboratories, and teaching methods;
                    d. publication of instructional materials;
                    e. supervision of undergraduate and/or graduate students;
                    f. mentoring and advising students; and
                    g. competitive funding for instructional/pedagogical development.
             2.2.2 Effective teaching is a necessary prerequisite to promotion.
             2.2.3 Effective teaching is assessed by multiple indicators including, but not limited to:
                    a. performance on student surveys;
                    b. departmental assessments of classroom performance;
                    c. pedagogical preparations; and
                    d. evidence of peer observation of teaching
      2.3 Research / Scholarship / Creative Activities
             2.3.1 Research/scholarship/creative activities are characterized by the creation and dissemination of new knowledge
             or of other creative works and activities. Examples of research/scholarship/creative activities include but are not
             limited to:
                    a. peer-reviewed publications;
                    b. exhibitions and performances;
                    c. architectural design;
                    d. engineering technology;
                    e. development of intellectual property such as patents and licenses;
                    f. external competitive research funding; and
                    g. community-based participatory research
                    h. mentoring and advising students.
             2.3.2 Excellence in research and creative activity is defined by the quantity, quality, and impact of publications and
             creative works, and the success of applied research, as judged by peer review. Peer review for purposes of this
             standard is defined to include review by independent external nationally and internationally recognized experts in the
             faculty member's field.
      2.4 Service
             2.4.1 Example of service activities include, but are not limited to:
                    a. service to students, colleagues, the department, college, and university;
                    b. administrative and committee service within the university;
                    c. service to the profession, including academic or professionally related service to disciplinary based societies,
                       editorial boards, and other educational entities and extended education; and
                    d. community-engaged service, including public service and extended education to the community, state, and
                       nation.
      2.5 Colleges and departments may draft and distribute statements articulating disciplinary criteria for promotion, for the
            purpose of faculty mentoring.
      2.6 College and department statements of criteria are advisory only and do not substitute for or take precedent over the
            individualized review and decision of the faculty review advisory committees and university administrators as provided
            in this policy.
      2.7 The following table provides the minimum and maximum timeline for promotion for each faculty title series: These
            timelines apply to full-time faculty. Eligibility standards for promotion for part-time faculty are determined at the
            College level and are required to be included in each College’s Promotion Guidelines. See your College’s Promotion
            Guidelines for more information.

      Faculty Title

      Requirement

      Promotion

      Professor of Instruction

      Terminal Degree or honorific title, or state/national teaching award

      No limit

      Assoc. Professor of Instruction

      Terminal Degree or  honorific title, or state/national teaching award

      Min. 2 years
      Max. No limit

      Asst. Professor of Instruction

      Terminal Degree or honorific title, or state/national teaching award

      Min. 4 years
      Max. 10 years

      Professor of Research

      Terminal Degree

      No limit

      Assoc. Professor of Research

      Terminal Degree

      Min. 2 years
      Max. No limit

      Asst. Professor of Research

      Terminal Degree

      Min. 4 years
      Max. 10 years

      Professor of Practice

      Terminal degree or Professional Experience

      No limit

      Assoc. Professor of Practice

      Terminal degree or Professional Experience

      Min. 2 years
      Max. No limit

      Asst. Professor of Practice

      Terminal degree or Professional Experience

      Min. 4 years
      Max. 10 years

      Senior Lecturer

      Min. Master’s Degree

      No limit

      Lecturer

      Min. Master’s Degree

      Min. 2 years
      Max. 10 years

      Clinical Professor

      Terminal degree or Professional Experience

      No limit

      Clinical Associate Professor

      Terminal degree or Professional Experience

      Min. 2 years
      Max. No limit

      Clinical Assistant Professor

      Terminal degree or Professional Experience

      Min. 4 years
      Max. 10 years


X. SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR IMPLEMENTATION


None


XI. FORMS AND TOOLS/ONLINE PROCESSES


People Excellence Administrator and Supervisor Toolkit website: https://www.utsa.edu/hr/HRToolkit.html


XII. APPENDIX


None


XIII. Dates Approved/Amended


03-27-2023
11-09-2020

04-07-2017