Program Standards for Geology (GEOL)

This policy covers all members of the Geology Program faculty, including tenure-track 
faculty, non-tenure track faculty, and part-time faculty.
Preamble 
The faculty of the Geology Program support the University and NAMS standards and intend 
for the elements of this document to further elucidate the areas of teaching, scholarship, 
and service from the perspective of Geology. Added elements at the program level 
beyond University and NAMS Standards are printed in italics.
The Geology Program faculty supports the University and School Standards and intend the
elements of its standards to elucidate the areas of teaching, scholarship, and service from the
perspective of Geology, broadly defined.
These standards apply to all members of the Geology Program faculty, including tenured faculty,
tenure-track faculty, non-tenure track faculty, and part-time faculty.
NTTP will be held to the same teaching and service standards outlined in sections 6.1 and 6.3 of
this document.

The Geology Program faculty recognizes that its members have diverse paths to excellence which
will be reflected in Individual Faculty Plans for Tenure and Promotion, as developed through
mutual agreement of each faculty member and his/her program mentors.

6.0 ELABORATION  OF  UNIVERSITY  STANDARDS  FOR 
TEACHING FACULTY

6.1 Teaching
6.1.1 Educating students, both inside and outside the classroom, studio, or 
laboratory  is  the  University’s  primary  purpose.  Therefore, 
performance in teaching carries the greatest weight in the evaluation 
of faculty. All aspects of teaching, including preceptorial teaching as 
applicable, will be evaluated in order to gain a clear understanding 
of each faculty member’s performance. Our highest priority in GEOL 
is excellence in teaching. 
6.1.2 The GEOL program expects the faculty to demonstrate teaching 
effectiveness by a variety of methods. There are many ways of 
achieving excellence in teaching, and individual faculty members 
may have a unique way of dealing with the challenges of teaching. 
Incorporating a field component to most program courses is 
essential. In addition to traditional classroom teaching, we recognize 
that GEOL faculty are often involved in field and laboratory work, 
independent studies, and other relevant instructional methods 
which present additional time constraints and challenges.
To demonstrate teaching effectiveness, we encourage the faculty to 
rely on several indicators of successful teaching in addition to the 
IDEA. Examples may include but are not limited to: syllabi, teaching 
philosophy, handouts, assessments, activities, peer observations, 
student reflections, midterm evaluations, discussion of IDEA patterns, 
lab and field manuals, etc. The faculty self-evaluation should clearly 
guide through evidence of teaching effectiveness using these indicators.
In broad terms excellence in teaching is characterized by:
6.1.2.1 A  thorough  and  current  command  of  the  subject  matter, 
teaching techniques, and methodologies of the disciplines 
one teaches. Indicators listed in Section 6.1.2 as appropriate 
may be submitted as indicators. Participation in professional 
development  opportunities  to  improve  pedagogy  (internal 
and  external,  professional  organizations,  conferences, 
workshops, etc.) may also be submitted as indicators.
6.1.2.2 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. Indicators  listed  in 
Section 6.1.2  as appropriate may be submitted as indicators.
Faculty may submit evaluation of one's course materials and 
content by members of their program or of General Studies
as  described  in  section  II.B.3  of  the  Faculty  Evaluation 
Procedures.
6.1.2.3.  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. Indicators listed in 
Section 6.1.2 as appropriate may be submitted as indicators.
6.1.2.4     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.
6.1.3 Where appropriate, additional measures of teaching excellence are:
6.1.3.1 Ability to use technology in teaching.
6.1.3.2 The capacity to relate the subject matter to other fields of 
knowledge.
6.1.3.3 Seeking  opportunities  outside  the  classroom  to  enhance 
student learning of the subject matter.
6.1.3.4 The  ability  to  lead,  promote,  and/or  participate  in 
successful  credit-bearing  experiences  in  community 
engagement, service-learning, international education, and 
global engagement.
6.1.3.5 Ability to create an inclusive and respectful environment.
6.1.3.6 Evidence  of  effectiveness  for  alternate  faculty  work 
assignments  and/or  non-teaching  responsibilities  should 
be demonstrated.

6.2 Scholarly and Creative Activity-Note: Instructors and Non-Tenure Track 
Teaching Professionals are not required to engage in scholarly or creative 
activity 

6.2.1 The  teacher-scholar  model  recognizes  that  a  serious  and  continuing 
commitment to engaging in the scholarship or creative activity of one’s 
disciplinary and/or interdisciplinary work, consistent with rank and/or 
assigned  responsibilities,  enriches  teaching  and  is  the  foundation  of 
sustained  excellence within  the  classroom.  Additionally,  consideration 
should  be  given  to  scholarship  in  areas  different  than  the  candidate's 
specialty, if it contributes  to  the candidate's intellectual and scholastic 
development and reputation, as it is consistent with Stockton's mission 
as a liberal arts university.
6.2.2 Publications and creative work in support of reappointment and tenure 
are  those achieved during  the  tenure candidate’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.
6.2.3 The  University  recognizes  a  wide  variety  of  scholarly  vehicles: 
disciplinary or interdisciplinary research, pedagogical research, applied 
research,  integrative  scholarship,  community  engagement,  service-

learning,  artistic  or  creative  activity,  and  grant  writing.  Scholarly  or 
creative  activities  may  take  many  forms  and  use  different  vehicles  to 
communicate with the broader academic community.
6.2.3.1 The University recognizes that the time and effort required 
to  complete  scholarly  or  artistic  projects  may  vary 
markedly  among  disciplines  and  sub-disciplines, 
particularly  in  geology  . Though  we  don’t  establish  strict 
guidelines on the quantity of scholarly work that needs to be 
completed for promotion, progress in scholarly areas should 
be  demonstrated  in  some  way.  Examples  may  include 
publications,  conference  presentations/posters,  research 
projects  with  students,  pedagogical  research,  internal  and 
external  grant  proposals  (funded  or  unfunded),  scientific 
and/or  program  review,  community  impact/engagement, 
etc.).  Faculty  should  clearly  describe  and  reflect  on  this 
progress in their self-evaluation document. 
6.2.4 The  burden is  always  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. In the event that scholarly 
activities and research fall outside of traditional peer-review processes, the 
faculty  member  should  find  alternative  criteria  or  outlets  to  determine 
quality  and  impact.  Clarifications  of  the  evaluation  of  scholarly  and 
creative activities are as follows.
Typically, central to judgments regarding scholarly and creative activity 
are:
6.2.4.1 The  capacity  to  bring  scholarly  or  creative  projects  to 
completion may  be  demonstrated  by  a  publication  and 
presentation record, as well as by periodic grant reports 
(where applicable). For projects that have not yet resulted 
in  publication,  current  unpublished  manuscripts  and 
comments  by  knowledgeable  peers  both  internal and 
external to the University are appropriate to include in the 
candidate's file.
6.2.4.2 A  mix  of  scholarly  activities  appropriate  to  one’s 
appointment e.g., in some cases scholarly activity will be 
primary, in others creative activity.
6.2.4.3 Judgments  of  the  worth  and  significance  of  the  work  by 
those  qualified  to  make  such  judgments.  These  may 
include disciplinary peers, funding agencies, professional 
organizations, ad hoc groups, such as evaluation, judging, 
or refereeing panels.
6.2.4.4 Documentation of the impact of one’s work
● with students
● within the classroom or teaching laboratory
● 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
6.2.4.5 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.
6.2.4.6 The  University  understands  excellence  in  a  variety  of 
scholarly or creative activities to embody the following:
6.2.4.6.1 Books  should  be  published  by  reputable  academic  or 
trade presses and reviewed in appropriate journals. 
6.2.4.6.2 Articles, essays, reviews, and creative writing should be 
published  in  appropriate  scholarly/creative  journals  or 
venues,  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/creative 
reputation and whether or not the journal or proceedings 
are peer reviewed. Additionally, college publications such 
as lab manuals and other teaching publications should be 
evaluated  by  internal  or  external  peers.  The  quality  of 
material  submitted  to  or  contained  in  government 
documents  should  be  judged  by  the  level  of  its  prepublication review.
6.2.4.6.3 Scholarly and creative activity  that involves students as 
co-presenters,  co-participants,  or  co-authors  is  valued 
regardless of the venue.
6.2.4.6.4 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.
6.2.4.6.5 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).
6.2.4.6.6 Other  forms  of  scholarly  or  creative  activity  that  may 
appear  in  emerging  scholarly  or  artistic  media  such  as 
online journals, websites, fora and blogs, may be included 
as  well,  provided  that  comparable  standards  of  peer 
review  can  be  applied  to  them as  evaluated  by 
knowledgeable faculty or external evaluators.
6.2.4.6.7 Reviews  (if  submitted  as  documentation)  from 
appropriate  journals  and  other  outlets  specified  at  the 
School  and  Program  level  may  be  included.  Where 
reviews are included in a file as evidence of the worth of 
scholarly or artistic work, attention should be given to the 
professional  credentials  of  the  reviewer  and  the 
reputation of the journal or publication.
6.2.4.6.8 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.  These  activities  may 
include but are not limited to serving as a peer reviewer or
an external program or department reviewer, serving on 
editorial  boards  of  scientific  or  other  professional 
journals  and  publications,  and  conducting  contract 
research  with  the  appropriate  evaluation  by  the 
contracting government agency or private company. The 
creation of new knowledge or standards of practice should 
be  documented  when  these  activities  are  presented  as 
evidence of scholarship.
6.2.4.6.9 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.
6.2.4.6.10 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.  In  addition,  grant  applications  that  receive 
positive  reviews  from  the  external  evaluators  and  the 
University faculty may be used as evidence of scholarship 
even if they are un-funded or no funding decision has been 
finalized at the time of review.
6.2.4.6.11 Faculty  engaged  in  community  outreach  can  make  a 
difference in the 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.

6.3 University and Community Service

6.3.1 The  faculty  role  includes  contributions  to  the  achievement  of  the 
University’s  mission  through  effective  participation  in  governance 
activities,  including  leadership  roles  at  the  Program,  School,  or 
University-wide levels. These contributions may require the capacity to 
work collaboratively with other members of the University community, 
including activities related to alumni and the University Foundation or 
other agencies.
6.3.2 Faculty may  also  contribute in  broader  arenas  such  as  state,  regional, 
national  or  international  organizations  and  disciplinary/professional 
associations.  In  addition,  faculty  may  contribute  to  the  University’s 
public mission, including its commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, 
and belonging, through service to our community, region, state or nation. 
Per  the  Carnegie  definition,  community  engagement  and  servicelearning  that  enriches  scholarship,  research,  and  creative  activity; 
enhances curriculum, teaching and service-learning; prepares educated, 
engaged citizens; strengthens democratic values and civic responsibility; 
addresses  critical  societal  issues;  contributes  to  the  public  good;  and 
enriches scholarship. Community engagement and service-learning are 
particularly valued at Stockton.
6.3.3 The University expects faculty in their first five years of service to serve 
the University and community at levels commensurate with their rank. 
Faculty who are tenured, have multi-year contracts, and/or are of senior 
rank would be expected to have more substantial records in this area, as 
demonstrated  by  achievements  in  leadership  on  campus,  in  the 
community, to their disciplines, and to professional organizations.
6.3.4 effectiveness  of  participation,  and  contributions  to  the  functioning, 
administration,  and  development  of  the  University  and  other  entities. 
Clear goals, adequate preparation, and appropriate methods of providing 
service,  significant  results  of  the  service,  and  reflection  on  the 
contribution  and  impact  of  service  work,  and  its  use  to  improve  the 
quality of future service are all aspects of documenting achievement in 
campus  and  community  service. The  University  standards  state  that 
compensated  service  is  generally  not  sufficient  to  meet  the  minimum 
requirements. However, NAMS and GEOL value all service irrespective of 
whether it is compensated or uncompensated.
6.3.5 Evidence  of  effectiveness  in  University  or  community  service  may 
include such items as:
6.3.5.1 One  or  more  instances  when  one  has  used  one’s 
professional  skills  or  knowledge  for  the  benefit  of  the 
University, or of a non-University group or individual.
6.3.5.2 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.
6.3.5.3 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.
6.3.6 GEOL  encourages  faculty  to  direct  their  service  efforts  in  areas  and 
activities  that  are  best  suited  to  their  interests,  strengths,  and  faculty 
plans.  The  balance  of  effort  among  program,  school,  university, 
community, and professional service may shift but should  result in an 
overall  high  level  of  service.  Note  these  were  adapted  from  the 
Psychology Program Standards. This is not intended to be an exhaustive 
list, and GEOL members should tailor their service in a manner that fits 
their professional goals.
Examples  of GEOL  program/NAMS  school  service  include  but  are  not 
limited to:
6.3.6.1 Regular attendance at program meetings
6.3.6.2 Leading or serving on GEOL committees
6.3.6.3 Participating in admissions events such as open houses, 
discover Stockton, and other recruiting events
6.3.6.4 Contributing to the future of the program via service on 
search  committees,  interacting  with  candidates,  and 
participating in review processes.
6.3.6.5 Serving on or leading NAMS-wide committees
Examples of University service include but are not limited to:
6.3.6.6 Serving on University wide committees or task forces
6.3.6.7 Serving on Faculty Senate
6.3.6.8 Involvement with Union committees and/or officership
Examples of professional service include but are not limited to:
6.3.6.9 Chairing or serving on panels at local, regional, national, 
or international conferences
6.3.6.10 Serving as a peer reviewer for journals
6.3.6.11 Serving as an officer for professional organizations at the 
local, regional, national, or international level
Examples of community service include but are not limited to:
6.3.6.12 Membership or leadership of local, statewide, national, or 
international professional boards, charities, institutions, 
civic, or advocacy groups.
6.3.6.13 6.13 Educating  through  workshops,  seminars,  talks  to  local, 
statewide,  national,  or  international  professional 
organizations,  charities,  institutions,  civic,  or  advocacy 
groups.