Non-Tenure-Track Faculty
Appointment, Evaluation and Promotion
Non-Tenure-Track Faculty
1. Mission
1.1 The mission of the School of Journalism is to advance the profession of journalism as explicated in the Mission Statement for the School of Journalism. The school educates people for the profession by guiding them in the acquisition of a broad liberal education, by providing them the techniques and skills necessary to practice the profession, and by instilling a critical understanding of journalism’s principles and traditions. The school also advances the profession through research and scholarship, media analyses and criticism, and the exemplary practice of journalism. The school educates future scholars and teachers of journalism.
2. Content
2.1 The school’s teaching mission is carried out in the context of daily, competitive journalism practiced through the school’s media. Experienced faculty supervisors work side by side with students in the production of news stories and advertising and in the scholarly study of the media. The context gives the Missouri system of journalism education its strength.
2.2 It also provides the foundation on which the school’s extensive continuing education program is built. The program identifies and honors excellence in many areas of journalism practice. The school also raises the level of skill and understanding of working journalists by conducting workshops and other training programs.
2.3 To accomplish its mission, the school has found it essential to hire different types of faculty for the school’s pedagogical, scholarly, creative and service activities. Some have extensive journalism experience. Some have extensive scholarly experience. Some have extensive experience in both scholarship and journalism.
The school will continue to hire faculty with excellent professional credentials for its tenure track faculty. Such faculty will be expected to produce an impressive body of scholarly or creative products, of a quantity, although not necessarily of the same kind, comparable to that expected of a traditional research scholar in order to gain tenure. In addition, the school will hire professional practice faculty, primarily for the media that serve as teaching laboratories for the school and other positions requiring the extensive use of professional skills. Professional practice faculty will be expected to devote most of their time and their energies to becoming expert teachers or to assigned administrative duties and to advancing the practice of journalism through professional seminars, workshops and similar activities.2.4 The School of Journalism enjoys an international reputation for excellence, and the faculty aspire to continue that level of quality. A superior faculty is the surest guarantee of continued excellence. Toward that goal, the journalism faculty establishes the following procedures and criteria for appointing, evaluating, tenuring, and promoting members of the faculty:
3. Types of Appointment
3.1 Two broad categories of faculty contribute to the mission of the school: non-regular faculty and regular, i.e., tenured or tenure-track faculty. Some non-regular faculty may be designated “NTT faculty (professional practice).” The appointment shall be determined at the time of hire. The school’s promotion and tenure committee shall be consulted before any formal offer of fulltime appointment is made and shall recommend to the dean the appropriate rank and tenure status for each appointment.
3.2 The professional practice appointments and tenure-track appointments provide for two distinctly different kinds of appointment. Professional practice faculty are expected to devote most of their time to teaching and advising, and, in some cases, assigned supervisory or administrative duties. Professional practice faculty are also expected to improve the practice and analysis of journalistic methods. While there is an expectation that professional practice faculty will continue to develop intellectually, and to demonstrate that development through products of the kind mentioned in sections 5.8 through 5.8.3.1 below, the professional practice faculty member is expected to devote considerably less of his or her time to non-pedagogical activities than the tenure-track faculty member.
4. Procedures for the Appointment of Non-Regular Faculty other than Professional Practice Faculty
4.1 Non-regular faculty without the “professional practice” designation may be hired for temporary positions. Those pursuing an advanced degree at the university automatically fall into this category. Others, with the approval of the relevant faculty chair and the dean of the school, may be hired as non-regular faculty for temporary positions. The chief expectation of non-regular faculty members is that they will be excellent teachers.
5. Procedures for the Appointment, Evaluation and Promotion of NTT Faculty (Professional Practice)
5.1 Professional Practice Faculty. This appointment is designed for those faculty members whose chief responsibilities are to the teaching and service missions of the school. They have no obligation to undertake ongoing scholarly activities of the kind expected of tenure-track or tenured faculty. These professional practice faculty contribute to the mission of the school by supervising students working on the school’s media, by teaching students the skills and techniques of journalism, and by providing service to the professional through workshops, participation in professional organizations, and other outreach activities.
5.2 Given its unique method of laboratory instruction in community media, the school recognizes the crucial contribution of professional practice faculty. Professional practice faculty are not eligible for tenure and may sit on journalism school promotion and tenure committees only when such committees are considering applications for hiring, reappointment, and promotion of other professional practice faculty. In those cases, the relevant promotion and tenure committee will be augmented by the addition of a member(s) of the professional practice faculty selected by vote of the NTT members of the faculty. Professional practice faculty may participate in all other committees and activities of the school. They are eligible for raises and promotions, based on their performance, measured against the criteria enumerated in sections 5.8 through 5.9.2. They professional practice faculty enjoy the same rights of academic freedom as tenured and tenure-track faculty.
5.3 The professional practice ranks will be Assistant Professional Practice Professor, Associate Professional Practice Professor, and Professional Practice Professor.
5.4 Professional practice faculty will be hired initially on one-year appointments. For purposes of reappointment, the first year starts on the following September 1, regardless of when the job duties begin. Following the first year of appointment, at the discretion of the school, the faculty member may be reappointed for a period of one to three years, with a yearly review. In no case will there be a commitment that the individual will be retained beyond the period of appointment. The faculty member shall consult with the faculty chair at the time of hiring and upon each reappointment to develop measurable goals and a written plan for professional growth.
5.5 Following each term of appointment, the faculty chair shall evaluate the performance of the professional practice faculty member. The chair shall recommend not to appoint, to appoint for one year, or to appoint for a longer period (but not exceeding three years) as permitted by university regulations. These recommendations shall be considered by the school promotion and tenure committee, who shall make its own recommendation to the dean for non-appointment, appointment for one year, or appointment for a longer period (not to exceed three years).
5.6 Professional practice faculty are expected to be excellent teachers and advisors and to work continually to improve the education offered the school’s students. The school also expects professional practice faculty to demonstrate expertise in their field through continuing contacts with the journalism profession and to provide service to the school, the campus, and the community.
5.7 Professional practice faculty are also expected to demonstrate professional growth in areas related to teaching and service. Unlike tenure-track faculty, though, professional practice faculty may demonstrate professional growth primarily through activities connected to their teaching. Such activities might include, for example, leadership roles at workshops that improve knowledge of current trends in media industries, working for brief periods of time in media jobs to refresh professional skills, or researching and evaluating new methods of teaching. Such activities, while important, should occupy a relatively small amount of the faculty member’s time relative to teaching assignments.
5.8 The evidence to be considered by chairs and the dean in the annual reviews of a professional practice faculty member’s performance, and by the chair, the school promotion and tenure committees and the dean in reviews shall include but not be limited to the following:
5.8.1Teaching: Assessment of course syllabuses, assignments and examinations; monitoring of subsequent course in which the student is expected to build upon an already acquired proficiency; favorable student evaluations of teaching effectiveness through standardized evaluation instruments; development of new courses or revision and enrichment of established courses; efforts to enhance teaching through work in professional positions or through participation in seminars, workshops and campus teaching-improvement programs; receipt of awards or grants for teaching-related activities.5.8.2Professional growth: Professional practice faculty will typically demonstrate continuing professional growth though work closely connected to the classroom and the profession. These may include, but not be limited to:
5.8.2.1Creation of content for professional workshops and seminars designed to advance the profession.5.8.2.2Reports of innovation in teaching.5.8.2.3Other activities designed to increase the faculty member’s skills as a teacher or that serve the journalistic profession.5.8.2.4 The faculty chair and the dean shall judge the relative merits of such activities using generally accepted standards of journalistic excellence.
5.8.3 Service: School, campus, system committee and administrative work; consulting; journalistic efforts that benefit the general public; contributions to professional associations; judging professional competitions; contributing to professional workshops.
5.8.3.1 The school promotion and tenure committee shall take into account any administrative duties of a professional practice track member in evaluating reappointments and promotions. Because of administrative duties, some candidates may have little or no teaching responsibilities. Such faculty members should provide evidence of the quality of their administrative work along with meritorious performance in service and professional growth. Evidence of quality administrative work may include, but is not be limited to, relevant summaries of budgetary and staff management, fundraising, program development, strategic and communication planning, board evaluations, research, and training. Faculty who serve as faculty area chairs should submit the results of annual faculty evaluations to be conducted by the policy committee in addition to other evidence of quality administrative work.
5.9 Promotion of professional practice faculty. The dean, working with the appropriate faculty chair and the school promotion and tenure committee, may consider a professional practice faculty member’s application for promotion to the next higher academic rank. In order to be considered for promotion, professional practice faculty must demonstrate substantial achievements as measured by attainment of goals included in the plan for professional growth noted in sections 5.4, and by the criteria listed in 5.8 through 5.8.3.1. All professional practice faculty, as a condition of reappointment, are expected to demonstrate meritorious performance in teaching or administration and service. In addition, they are expected to demonstrate continuing professional growth. Promotions will not therefore be considered routinely, but rather only upon demonstration of particularly high standards of performance that merit promotion measured against the criteria enumerated below. The faculty member who seeks promotion from Assistant Professional Practice Professor to Associate Professional Practice Professor and particularly the faculty member who seeks promotion from Associate Professional Practice Professor to Professional Practice Professor, must show a record of teaching excellence as evidenced by evaluations and peer reviews, and professional growth beyond his or her accomplishments at the time of appointment.
5.9.1 Promotion from Assistant Professional Practice Professor to Associate Professional Practice Professor. The faculty member must demonstrate an outstanding record of teaching or administrative work, as evidenced by the activities delineated in 5.8.1. In addition, the faculty member must show a record of continuing development in professional and service activities, as delineated in 5.8.2 through 5.8.3.1.
5.9.2 Promotion from Associate Professional Practice Professor to Professional Practice Professor. Such promotions shall be made only when an Associate Professional Practice Professor has shown an exceptional record of teaching or administrative work and continued development in professional and service activities. Only faculty who can demonstrate national or international reputations, as measured by the judgment of peers at other universities, or by those in the profession, shall be considered for such a promotion.
5.10 Procedure from acting on applications for promotion by professional practice faculty. Professional practice faculty must be on a three-year appointment to apply for promotion in rank. A professional practice faculty member wishing to be considered for promotion to a higher rank shall notify his or her chair in writing no later than the end of the fall semester. The faculty member will prepare a dossier documenting the faculty member’s performance in the early part of the following winter semester. The dossier must include, but does not have to be limited to, the following materials in support of the faculty member’s application for promotion:
5.10.1 Student teaching evaluations, peer reviews, syllabi, self-reports on teaching innovations and other evidence of the quality of the applicant’s teaching performance.
5.10.2 Candidates for promotion to Professional Practice Professor must have evaluation letters. The candidate may submit up to six names for this process, of which the chair will select three. The chair will solicit letters from three additional evaluators not named by the candidate. The evaluators should be asked to comment on the teaching or administrative work, creative accomplishments, contributions to the profession and the candidates’ comparative standing with peers in the discipline or profession.
5.10.3 All materials that demonstrate the applicant’s professional growth since appointment to the current rank, including reports on professional activities, participation in conferences, contacts with professionals and other evidence. In the fall of the following academic year, the faculty chair and the School promotion and tenure committee will examine the dossier and make separate recommendations on whether to promote. Both recommendations and the dossier, will be submitted to the dean. The schedule is determined by the campus Provost and is subject to change. The dean will notify the applicant of the dean’s decision on the application for promotion within four weeks of receiving the recommendation from the School Committee. The dean will submit the dean’s recommendation along with the dossier to the provost.
5.10.4 If the school promotion and tenure committee denies the applicant’s request for promotion, the applicant may request reconsideration by the committee. Regardless of the final committee vote the dossier will be forwarded to the dean. If the applicant’s request for promotion is denied by the dean, the applicant may request reconsideration. If the original decision stands, the dossier will be forwarded to the provost or otherwise designated campus body for final action. If the Provost denies promotion the applicant can request reconsideration. The decision of the Provost is final.
5.11 Constituting promotion and tenure committees for reviews and for applications for promotions. In all cases in which a professional practice faculty review of application for promotion is involved, two professional practice faculty members elected by the appropriate professional practice faculty in the school shall sit on the committee and shall have a vote.
5.11.1 To vote on an application to Professional Practice Professor, the NTT faculty members must be Professional Practice Professors. The policy committee shall appoint temporary replacements to the school promotion and tenure committee for any school promotion and tenure committee members who are not Professional Practice Professor.
5.12 As a result of the annual evaluation process, modifications may be made in the focus of responsibilities as appropriate to the interests of the school and the faculty member. Such modifications should be as explicit as possible and retained in the faculty member’s file.
5.13 During the course of the academic year, the activities of each faculty member should be documented when possible by placing information in his or her file. The documentation is primarily the responsibility of the faculty member.
5.14 Professional practice faculty who pursue advanced degrees. As specified in section 4.1, faculty applicants who intend to seek advanced degrees shall be hired on non-regular temporary appointments with the rank of instructor or similar title. Faculty members who are hired on the professional practice track and later become degree candidates may retain professional practice status. All degree-seeking faculty members shall agree with their faculty chair on a reasonable timetable for earning the degree at the beginning of their studies. This agreement should also specify the workload expected of the faculty member during pursuit of the degree. Once each year during the course of degree candidacy, the faculty member shall provide the faculty chair with a progress report specifying courses taken, grades earned and work remaining toward the degree. This annual report shall be signed by the faculty member and her or his academic adviser.
Adopted April 1997
Adopted May 2006
Revised and adopted April 8, 2011
