Promotion and Tenure Guidelines: College of Aeronautics
- Reviewed and approved by the College faculty September 27, 2018
- These guidelines may be reviewed and revised by the College of Aeronautics as needed and shall be reviewed at least every 5 years.
Introduction
The College of Aeronautics (the College) faculty is comprised of highly qualified individuals from both academia and a variety of disciplines related to aviation who work in harmony to execute the College’s mission, which is: (a) to prepare students for success and advancement in the aviation professions, (b) advance aviation knowledge through faculty and student research, scholarly activity and projects, and (c) encourage and enable student and faculty service to the university, community and aviation professions.
Primary Areas
Concomitant with this mission is promotion and tenure, which are earned by faculty members’ demonstration of overall excellence in three primary areas: Teaching, Scholarship, and Service. All College faculty are expected to engage in the three interrelated areas.
- Teaching includes effective teaching and student advising
- Scholarship includes the contribution of work to the advancement of knowledge within faculty members’ research field—which will vary given the interdisciplinary nature of the College—as well as the publications and venues in which the work is presented
- Service includes faculty members’ participation across a wide spectrum of activities that are both internal and external to the university
The relative weighting of these three areas shall be determined in agreement between the faculty member and the COA dean and also shown on the COA Faculty Evaluation Form and in the Statement of Expectations. Thus, final decisions for promotion and tenure may be based on different relative weightings for different faculty members.
College of Aeronautics Model of Academic Professionalism
The College’s promotion and tenure criteria are organized on the College’s Model of Academic Professionalism, which is then applied across the areas of Teaching, Scholarship, and Service. This model consists of the following six dimensions, which were adapted from Kern’s (2011) Domains of Professionalism in Aviation: (a) Excellence in the Field, (b) Professional Ethics (c) Continuous Improvement, (d) Professional Engagement (e) Professional Image and (f) Service to the Profession. The focus of each dimension is given in Table 1 while Tables 2-7 give examples of experiences related to each dimension.
Table 1: College of Areonautics "Model of Professionalism."
Dimension | Focus |
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Excellence in the Field |
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Professional Ethics |
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Cotinuous Engagement |
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Professional Engagement |
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Professional Image |
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Service to the Profession |
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Examples of Experience
Examples of experience for the three primary areas and across each dimension of the College’s Model of Academic Professionalism are provided in Tables 2—7. These tables are to be used as examples and not as a checklist when preparing the Statement of Expectation and the promotion dossier.
Although quantity generally is easier to measure than quality, the College recognizes that quantity is subordinate to quality. The College defines quality relative to: (a) the work’s perceived reputation within the faculty member’s research field, which will vary given the interdisciplinary nature of the College; (b) the extent to which the work is used to establish relationships within a faculty member’s discipline; (c) the scope of the work from a practitioner perspective; and (d) the work’s novelty.
Statement of Expectation
Recognizing that contribution to the advancement of knowledge, quality, and effort vary widely with different experiences, the College does not prescribe a specific quantity of work for promotion and tenure. Rather, College faculty who petition for promotion and tenure are expected to include their Statement of Expectation, agreed to between the faculty member and the College dean. The statement will include, in part, the weighting of the areas and what specific experiences are expected to be completed so that the faculty member’s overall experiences reflect the level of accomplishment appropriate for the rank being sought. For faculty hired before implementation of tenure, the current and previous Faculty Workload Forms will serve as the initial draft of the statement of expectations.
Promotion to Associate Professor with Tenure
Faculty members considering promotion to Associate Professor with Tenure must meet the minimum qualifications for the rank, and must have a documented record of experience in each of the required primary areas that builds on their accomplishments since their last promotion in rank and shows that they have met the expectations in their Statement of Expectation.
Minimum Qualifications
- A minimum of 5 years in rank as Assistant Professor or equivalent
- A doctoral degree
- A Statement of Expectation or similar alternative agreement defining specific criteria for promotion and tenure
Promotion to Professor with Tenure
Faculty members considering promotion to Full Professor with Tenure must meet the minimum qualifications for the rank, and must have a documented record of experience in each of the required primary areas that builds on their accomplishments since their last promotion in rank and shows that they have met the expectations in their Statement of Expectation.
Minimum Qualifications
- A minimum of 5 years in rank as Associate Professor or equivalent
- A doctoral degree
- A Statement of Expectation or similar alternative agreement defining specific criteria for promotion and tenure
Table 2 Examples of Experience for Dimension 1: Excellence in the Field
Promotion Rank: Tenured Associate Professor
Examples of Teaching Effectivess | Examples of Scholarship | Examples Service/ Professional Activities |
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Promotion Rank: Tenured Full Professor
Examples of Teaching Effectivess | Examples of Scholarship | Examples Service/ Professional Activities |
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Table 3 Examples of Experience for Dimension 2: Professional Ethics
Promotion Rank: Tenured Associate Professor and Tenure Full
Examples of Teaching Effectivess | Examples of Scholarship | Examples Service/ Professional Activities |
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Table 4 Examples of Experience for Dimension 3: Continuous Improvement
Promotion Rank: Tenured Associate Professor
Examples of Teaching Effectivess | Examples of Scholarship | Examples Service/ Professional Activities |
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Promotion Rank: Tenured Full Professor
Examples of Teaching Effectivess | Examples of Scholarship | Examples Service/ Professional Activities |
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Table 5 Examples of Experiece for Dimension 4: Professional Engangement
Promotion Rank: Tenured Associate Professor and Tenure Full
Examples of Teaching Effectivess | Examples of Scholarship | Examples Service/ Professional Activities |
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Table 6 Examples of Experience for Dimension 5: Professional Image
Promotion Rank: Tenured Associate Professor and Tenure Full
Examples of Teaching Effectivess | Examples of Scholarship | Examples Service/ Professional Activities |
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Table 7 Examples of Experience for Dimension 6: Services to the Profession
Promotion Rank: Tenured Associate Professor and Tenure Full
Examples of Teaching Effectivess | Examples of Scholarship | Examples Service/ Professional Activities |
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Promotion Guidelines (Non-Tenured Teaching Track): College of Aeronautics
Reviewed and approved by the College faculty September 6, 2018
These guidelines may be reviewed and revised by the College of Aeronautics as needed and shall be reviewed at least every 5 years.
Overview
The College of Aeronautics faculty is comprised of highly qualified individuals from both academia and the aviation profession who work in harmony to execute the College’s primary educational function of preparing students for the inherent challenges associated with all facets of the aviation profession through effective teaching. Concomitant with these functions is promotion, which is earned by faculty members’ demonstration of overall excellence in teaching effectiveness, which includes teaching, advising, scholarly activities, professional development, and service. Faculty appointed as teaching professors are expected to have appropriate knowledge and experience in their field. They also are expected to develop their pedagogical expertise as they apply their knowledge and experiences to traditional classroom and/or online instruction, student mentoring and advising, and curriculum and professional development. Faculty who are hired and appointed to a teaching track are expected to remain active in their field.
Assistant Professor of Instruction
Faculty members considering promotion from Instructor to Assistant Professor of Instruction must meet the minimum qualifications for Assistant Professor of Instruction and must have documented record of experience in each of the required areas that builds on their accomplishments at their last promotion in rank. Required areas of accomplishment are:
- Teaching excellence and advising
- Scholarly activities
- Professional development in education
- Professional development in their field
- Service
Minimum Qualifications
- A terminal degree in the discipline
- A minimum of 18 graduate semester hours of aviation-based course work or alternative qualifications in domain-specific industry experience in the area being taught
- Licenses/ratings or industry-based credentials appropriate to the courses being taught
- At least 3 years in the rank of Instructor or similar years experience in industry related to their field. This time may be waived once the faculty member has completed a doctoral degree.
Samples of Experience
Teaching Excellence and Advising
- Classroom observations conducted by peers, academic unit head, and/or Dean/Associate Dean
- Student evaluations
- Academic advisor for undergraduate students
- Eligible for membership on Graduate Faculty at master’s level
- Alternative qualifications based on domain-specific industry experience
Scholarly Activities
- Pedagogical activities such as curriculum development or course revision
- Demonstrated alignment among course content (curriculum) with outcome-based student learning outcomes (SLOs) and assessment methods to document SLOs
- Alternative qualifications based on industry experience in their
Professional Development as an Educator
- Evidence of improvement in teaching skills and/or teaching materials
- Apply research-based best practices to improve instruction
- Participate in action research/teacher mentorship program
- Alternative qualifications based on domain-specific industry experience
Professional Development in the Discipline
- Discipline-specific professional development such as advanced qualifications or certifications
- Scholarly achievement related to:
- pedagogical research activities such as examining the effect different instructional strategies or resources have on achievement
- attending conferences related to education or their field
- presenting papers, participating on panels, or conducting workshops at education- related or conferences related to their field
- domain-specific industry experience
Service
- Some service to the College, University, or discipline
- Active membership in professional organizations
Associate Professor of Instruction
Faculty members considering promotion from Assistant Professor of Instruction to Associate Professor of Instruction must meet the minimum qualifications for Associate Professor of Instruction and must have documented record of experience in each of the required areas that builds on their accomplishments at their last promotion in rank. Required areas of accomplishment are:
- Teaching excellence and advising
- Scholarly activities
- Professional development in education
- Professional development in their field
- Service
Minimum Qualifications
- A minimum of 5 years in rank as Assistant Professor of Instruction or equivalent
- A doctoral degree related to their field
Samples of Experience
Teaching Excellence and Advising
- Recipient of recognition related to teaching or advising
- Industry recognition related to teaching activities
- Member of Graduate Faculty at doctoral level
- Member of thesis or dissertation committees
Scholarly Activities
- Creative instructional endeavors/scholarly activities such as
- publishing education-related material
- authoring domain-specific material
Professional Development as An Educator
- Pedagogical-specific professional development such as completing activities designed to improve teaching, participating in inservice programs, or taking enrichment courses
Professional Development in the Discipline
- Discipline-specific professional development such as completing industry or graduate- level courses related to the discipline
- Acquisition of additional academic qualifications, licenses/ratings, or credentials
Service
- Continued active membership in professional organizations
- Continued service to the College, University, or discipline with respect to improving teaching and training practices
Professor of Instruction
Faculty members considering promotion from Associate Professor of Instruction to Professor of Instruction must meet the minimum qualifications for Professor of Instruction and must have documented record of experience in each of the required areas that builds on their accomplishments at their last promotion in rank. Required areas of accomplishment:
- Teaching excellence and advising
- Scholarly activities
- Professional development in education
- Professional development in their field
- Service
Minimum Qualifications
- A minimum of 5 years in rank as Associate Professor of Instruction or equivalent
- A doctoral degree related to their field
Samples of Experience
Teaching Excellence and Advising
- Recipient of teaching-related recognition at the national level
- Major advisor to students’ thesis/dissertation committees
- Recognition from former students (undergraduate or graduate) whose professional and/or personal success is attributed directly to candidate
Scholarly Activities
- Improve domain-specific education at a national level such as helping to develop standards, accreditation or certification criteria,
- Develop education material such as textbook, book chapters, or similar material
- Develop new courses, curricula, or academic programs
Professional Development as An Educator
- Pedagogical-specific professional development such as completing graduate-level courses related to teaching
Professional Development in the Discipline
- Nationally and/or internationally recognized expert within their field
Service
- Serve as a mentor to junior faculty
- Leadership in professional organizations
- National and/or international recognition for service
- Perform peer-based classroom observations of faculty instruction
- Demonstrated leadership within the academic unit, College, University