Handbook of Operating Procedures
Chapter 2 - Faculty and Academics
Previous Publication Date: April 7, 2017
Publication Date: November 9, 2020
Policy Reviewed Date: September 1, 2020
Effective Date: September 1, 2020
Policy Owner: VP for Academic Affairs

2.50 Fixed-Term-Track Faculty Recruitment, Evaluation, and Promotion Processes
This is not the current policy. For the latest, click here.

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

UTSA or UT System Policies or the Board of Regents’ Rules and Regulations

Board of Regents’ Rule 31001, Faculty Appointments and Titles
Board of Regents’ Rule 31002, Notice of Nonrenewal to Nontenured Faculty Members
Board of Regents’ Rule 10701,Policy Against Discrimination and HOP 9.01 Nondiscrimination
UTSA Handbook of Operating Procedures policy 2.02, Faculty Appointments and Titles
UTSA Affirmative Action Plan
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):

Academic Affairs
210-458-4110

Office of the Respective Dean
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

FTT faculty member
1. Initiates promotion process with the Department Chair
2. Provides all required and relevant material for promotion review
Department Review Committee
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.
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.
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.
Search Committee
If a decision is made to conduct a search to fill a FTT position, a Search Committee is established. The Search Committee:
1. Follows the procedures described below under “Search Committee Procedures” and “Short List and Interview Procedures.”
Academic Affairs
1. Oversees appointment process.
2. Reviews recommendations for promotion.

IX. PROCEDURES

Recruitment

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.

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.

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.
Workload, Duties

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. Evaluation of Work Performance
  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.
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.
Promotion

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.
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 begin in Senior Lecturer position, depending upon circumstances including qualifications, area of expertise, years of service, and performance.

Categories of Performance and Criteria for Promotion

General Provisions
1. Annual evaluations are not the only criteria considered in decisions regarding promotion.
2. In addition to meritorious accomplishments, successful applicants for promotion must demonstrate a high potential for continued excellence and effectiveness.
3. Satisfaction of University Criteria is judged in each individual case and College and Department criteria may also be used.
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.

University Criteria

Faculty applicants for promotion are evaluated based on accomplishments in the categories of performance: teaching or research/scholarship/creative activities, and/or service.
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.
Teaching
1. Teaching activities shall include, but are not limited to:
  1. classroom and laboratory instruction;
  2. service learning courses;
  3. development of new courses, laboratories, and teaching methods;
  4. publication of instructional materials;
  5. supervision of undergraduate and/or graduate students;
  6. mentoring and advising students; and
  7. competitive funding for instructional/pedagogical development.
2. Effective teaching is a necessary prerequisite to promotion.
3. Effective teaching is assessed by multiple indicators including, but not limited to:
  1. performance on student surveys;
  2. departmental assessments of classroom performance;
  3. pedagogical preparations; and
  4. evidence of peer observation of teaching
Research / Scholarship / Creative Activities
1. Research/scholarship/creative activities are characterized by the creation and dissemination of new knowledge or of other creative works and activities, including, but not limited to:
  1. peer-reviewed publications;
  2. exhibitions and performances;
  3. architectural design;
  4. engineering technology;
  5. development of intellectual property such as patents and licenses;
  6. external competitive research funding; and
  7. community-based participatory research
  8. mentoring and advising students.
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.
Service
1. Service activities shall include, but are not limited to:
  1. service to students, colleagues, the department, college, and university;
  2. administrative and committee service within the university;
  3. service to the profession, including academic or professionally related service to disciplinary based societies, editorial boards, and other educational entities and extended education; and
  4. community-engaged service, including public service and extended education to the community, state, and nation.
Colleges and departments may draft and distribute statements articulating disciplinary criteria for promotion, for the purpose of faculty mentoring.

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.

The following table provides the minimum and maximum timeline for promotion for each faculty title series:

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