Promotion in step, rank, or employment status is in part recognition of past achievement and an expression of confidence that the faculty member will continue in professional development. The successful, productive faculty member will be considered for advancement, ordinarily one step annually, but promotion is not automatic. It is based on employment Levels 1-3 and depends upon satisfactorily fulfilling the following criteria:
- The Faculty Promotions Committee in consultation with school deans/department chairs annually reviews the progress of each faculty member. The committee’s confidential recommendation for promotion in step, rank, or employment status is submitted to the president, who in turn makes recommendation to the Board for final action. That decision is communicated to the faculty member and the school dean/ department chair by the president or vice president for Academic Administration.
- The major considerations for promotion are teaching effectiveness, scholarly attainment, and professional activities. Other considerations include interpersonal relations, personal commitment to the objectives of the university and the Seventh-day Adventist Church, acceptable fulfillment of extra-and co-curricular assignments, and faithfulness in meeting university obligations.
- The central responsibility of faculty is to teach. Accordingly, classroom effectiveness is a major factor in decisions regarding a faculty member’s academic rank and level. Assessment of classroom effectiveness will be made by the school dean/department chair using their observations, student input, and additional valid information as sources of evidence.
- Faculty are expected to participate in professional activities and to achieve scholarly attainments as a regular part of their duties. The following policies apply to professional development:
- The institution may require, or faculty may negotiate, doctoral studies programs in schools/departments with specific needs for credentialed personnel.
- Faculty must substantiate regular use of funds for membership in learned societies and attendance at professional meetings.
- Faculty not engaged in programs of graduate studies must participate in self- directed professional activities, planned in consultation with deans of schools/ department chairs and the vice president for Academic Administration. Such activities include but are not limited to research, writing, presentations at professional meetings, productivity in the fine arts, and participation in the workplace to upgrade professional skills.
- As part of the annual evaluation of faculty by their deans/chairs, and deans/chairs by the vice president for Academic Administration, faculty must submit teaching portfolios regarding their teaching effectiveness and professional activities. The portfolio includes a review of their teaching effectiveness, an explanation of measures they are taking to improve their classroom performance, and an account of professional activities in which they have participated during the previous three academic years. Portfolios are submitted to the vice president for Academic Administration according to a five-year schedule. The faculty member’s portfolio will be made available to the Faculty Promotions Committee and will become part of the basis for a recommendation or a promotion. New faculty must plan to submit their portfolios three years after the date of their first contract.
- Faculty seeking consideration for a promotion from assistant professor to associate professor or from associate professor to full professor must present a portfolio of professional development to the Faculty Promotions Committee.
- Faculty who have been denied a promotion may appeal their cases to their school dean/department chair, the Faculty Promotions Committee, or the president. When an appeal is initiated, the dean/chair, the Faculty Promotions Committee, and the president are to be notified.