SCHOOL STANDARDS FACULTY OF EDUCATION

Adopted on 3/5/08
Approved by Dean deThy, Match 6, 2008

This policy covers all members of the School of Education faculty, including tenure-track faculty, nontenure track faculty, and part-time faculty.

1.00 SCHOOL OF EDUCATION STANDARDS FOR FACULTY EVALUATION

PREAMBLE:
The School of Education recognizes the importance of teaching, scholarship, creative activity, and
service as important conditions for tenure and/or promotion.
While learning and teaching are important to all Schools within the College, they are central to our
mission. The School of Education faculty teaches undergraduate and graduate courses to a variety of
audiences, with courses that include both disciplinary content and pedagogy.
In the School of Education, we recognize that scholarship informs and enriches teaching. Appropriate
scholarship takes many forms, including but not limited to: disciplinary, interdisciplinary, applied,
and pedagogical research, as well as grant acquisition.
The School of Education values service to its programs, the School, and the College at large.
Distinctive to the School of Education is its level of commitment to community service through
partnerships with local institutions and agencies within the community. 

 

1.1 SCHOOL OF EDUCATION STANDARDS

1.1.1 This section outlines School standards for the evaluation of all faculty and the process.
1. 1.2 The School expects all faculty to meet and continue to meet these standards. For
probationary faculty the School will expect consistent evidence of positive development in all
areas of evaluation. Adjunct, part-time, and tenured faculty are expected to sustain an overall p
tern of excellence consistent with their rank and assigned responsibilities.
1.1.3 The School recognizes that faculty members, either in response to evaluations or in the
interest of continuing vitality, may create individual paths towards excellence in a blend of
teaching, scholarship/creative activity and service that allows them to distinguish themselves.
Consistent accomplishment over time will be evaluated positively, while recognizing that a
candidate’s relative contributions to the campus community in terms of teaching/librarianship
scholarly/creative/professional activity and service normally will vary over time. Therefore, short
periods of relatively less activity in one area should be complemented by greater activity in the
others, producing balance and a consistently high level of accomplishment overall. 

2.00 ELABORATION OF SCHOOL STANDARDS FOR TEACHING FACULTY

2.1 Teaching

2.1.1 Educating students, both inside and outside the classroom is the School’s primary purpose.
Therefore, performance in teaching carries the greatest weight in the evaluation of faculty. All
aspects of teaching, including preceptorial teaching, will be evaluated in order to gain a clear
understanding of each faculty member’s performance.
2.1.2 In broad terms excellence in teaching is characterized by:
2.1.2.1 A thorough and current command of the subject matter, teaching techniques and
methodologies of the disciplines one teaches.
2.1.2.2 Sound course design and delivery in all teaching assignments – whether program
or General Studies, introductory or advanced offerings — as evident in clear learning
goals and expectations, content reflecting the best available scholarship or artistic
practices, and teaching techniques aimed at student learning.
2.1.2.3.The ability to organize course material and to communicate this information
effectively. The development of a comprehensive syllabus for each course taught,
including expectations, grading and attendance policies, and the timely provision of
copies to students.
2.1.2.4 Excellence in teaching also entails respect for students as members of the
Stockton academic community, the effective response to student questions, and the
timely evaluation of and feedback to students. 

2.1.3 Where appropriate, additional measures of teaching excellence are:
2.1.3.1 Ability to use technology in teaching.
2.1.3.2 The capacity to relate the subject matter to other fields of knowledge.
2.1.3.3 Seeking opportunities outside the classroom to enhance student learning of the
subject matter. 

2.2 Scholarly and Creative Activity

2.2.1 The teacher-scholar model recognizes that a serious and continuing commitment to
scholarship or creative activity enriches teaching and is the foundation of sustained excellence
within the classroom.
2.2.2 Publications and creative work in support of reappointment and tenure are those achieved
during the applicant’s probationary period. Activity in support of a post-tenure promotion or
range adjustment is that work completed since the most recent promotion or range adjustment.
2.2.3 The School recognizes a wide variety of scholarly vehicles: disciplinary or interdisciplinary
research, pedagogical research, applied research, integrative scholarship, artistic or creative
activity, grant acquisition. Scholarly or creative activities may take many forms and use different
vehicles to communicate with the broader academic community

2.2.3.1 The College recognizes that the time and effort required to complete scholarly or
artistic projects may vary markedly among disciplines and sub-discipline

2.2.4 It is always the case that the burden is on the candidate to document the excellence of one’s
work. In cases of shared or multiple authorship, clarification of the degree of one’s participation
is expected. In cases of conference presentations or proceedings, clarification should be provided
with regard to the selectivity of the review process.

Typically, central to judgments regarding scholarly and creative activity are:
2.2.4.1 The capacity to bring scholarly or creative projects to completion.
2.2.4.2 A mix of scholarly activities appropriate to one’s appointment, e.g., in some cases
scholarly activity will be primary, in others creative activity.
2.2.4.3 Judgments of the worth and significance of the work by those qualified to make
such judgments. These may include disciplinary peers, professional organizations, ad hoc
groups such as evaluation, judging, or refereeing panels.
2.2.4.4 Documentation of the impact of one’s work
• with students
• within the scholarly area
• within higher education generally
• on documented standards of best practices in pedagogy
• in the application of one’s work
• as evident in citations of one’s work
• on public policy or institutions
• in the artistic/cultural realm
• or in educational settings 

2.2.4.5 Just as in the case of traditional scholarship involving the discovery of new
knowledge, when one’s work consists of pedagogical, integrative or applied scholarship,
its significance may be documented by demonstration of clear goals, adequate
preparation, appropriate methods, significant results, effective presentation, and reflective
critique. Presentation before peers and colleagues and advancing the discipline are also
expectations of alternate forms of scholarship.
2.2.4.6 The School understands excellence in a variety of scholarly or creative activities
to embody the following:
2.2.4.6.1 Books should be published by reputable academic or trade presses and
reviewed in appropriate journals.
2.2.4.6.2 Articles, essays, and creative writings should be published in
appropriate scholarly journals, whether print or electronic. Some assessment
should be made as to the quality of the journal in which the piece appears; in
particular, its scholarly reputation and whether or not the journal or proceedings
are peer reviewed. 

2.2.4.6.3 Scholarly and creative activity that involves students as co-presenters,
co-participants, or co-authors.
2.2.4.6.4 A presentation should be evaluated on the quality of its content and on
the prestige of the meeting where it was delivered. Qualitative judgments are best
made when copies of presentations are made available. National and regional
meetings should rank higher than local meetings in most instances. Scholarly
presentations should be ranked more highly than non-scholarly ones. Competitive
selections as well as presentations receiving disciplinary acknowledgement for
excellence should be noted. In most disciplines a record of scholarship based on
presentations alone will not be evaluated as highly as one including refereed
publications.
2.2.4.6.5 Work in the arts may be evaluated by a number of different measures:
assessment of its quality by peers or professional critics; the reputation of the
gallery, museum, or other artistic venue where it is shown or presented; the
respect afforded the organization for which it is performed or under contract; or
some other measure of its success or impact (e.g. royalties, awards, or impact on
public debate or on other artists). 

2.2.4.6.6 Other forms of scholarly or creative activity that may appear in
emerging scholarly or artistic media may be included as well, provided that
comparable standards of peer review can be applied to them.
2.2.4.6.7 Reviews (if submitted as documentation) from appropriate journals may
be included. Where reviews are included in a file as evidence of the worth of
scholarly work, attention should be given to the professional credentials of the
reviewer and the reputation of the journal or publication.
2.2.4.6.8 Professional activities undertaken as a practitioner or consultant are
considered scholarly activity when they go beyond the routine application of
knowledge to the creation of new knowledge and the development of new
standards for practice. Such qualities distinguish between scholarship and
professional service. Those making the judgments regarding the standards for
applied research necessarily involve more than clients and include academic
peers familiar with the area of practice under consideration.
2.2.4.6.9 In those disciplines with strong expectations of practice to maintain
current competency, appropriate standards for determining the significance of
this work will be developed at the program level and approved through the
standard procedure. 

2.2.4.6.10 Grants or monetary awards that are funded or reviewed as fundable
from governmental or non-governmental organizations are considered examples
of scholarship if those grants and awards are subject to external peer review.
2.2.4.6.11 Faculty engaged in community outreach can make a difference in their
communities and beyond by defining or resolving relevant social problems or
issues, by facilitating organizational development, by improving existing
practices or programs, and by enriching the cultural life of the community. 

Scholarship may take the form of widely disseminating the knowledge gained in
community-based projects in appropriate professional venues in order to share its
significance with those who do not benefit directly from the project. 

2.3 College and Community Service

2.3.1 The faculty role includes contributions to the achievement of the School and College’s
mission through effective participation in governance activities including leadership roles at the
program, School, or College-wide levels. These contributions may require the capacity to work
collaboratively with other members of the College community, including activities related to
alumni and the College Foundation.
2.3.2 Faculty may also contribute in broader arenas such as state or regional organizations or
disciplinary associations. In addition, faculty may contribute to the College’s public mission
through service to our community, region, and the State or the Nation.
2.3.3 Normally the School expects probationary faculty to serve the College and community in
selected activities, while faculty who are tenured and/or of senior rank would be expected to have
more substantial records in this area, as demonstrated by achievements in leadership on campus
and to their disciplines and professional organizations.
2.3.4 Evaluation of achievements in this area focuses on the significance of participation, the
impact of service, the scope of responsibilities, and the effectiveness of participation. Clear goals,
adequate preparation and appropriate methods of providing service, significant results of the
service, and reflection on the contribution and its use to improve the quality of future service are
all aspects of documenting achievement in campus and community service. 

2.3.5 Evidence of effectiveness in College or community service may include such items as:

2.3.5.1 One or more instances when one has used one’s professional skills or knowledge
for the benefit of the College, or of a non-college group or individual.
2.3.5.2 Contributions to professional organizations that are focused on service or
professional responsibility as opposed to scholarship, research, or artistic/creative work.
For example, an officership or service on a professional board may be more appropriately
listed here, whereas editing a special issue of a journal may be more appropriately listed
under the section on scholarship.
2.3.5.3 General civic or community activities to which one has contributed one’s
professional skills or a significant amount of time, talent, energy, and involvement
beyond that which might be expected by the usual citizen or member.