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Department of English BylawsApproved: June 13, 2001 Amended: October 7, 2003 I. DEPARTMENT MEMBERSHIP AND FUNCTIONSA. MEMBERSHIP 1. Faculty Ranks and Definitions--Fully Affiliated Faculty The English department will include full-time faculty at some or all of the following ranks: Instructor, Lecturer, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Professor. 2. Voting Membership The voting membership of the department comprises the fully affiliated faculty along with full-time staff with significant teaching and supervisory responsibilities. Each full-time staff member, instructor, lecturer, assistant professor, associate professor, and professor is entitled to one vote. 3. Adjunct Faculty The English department may include part-time faculty teaching a variety of courses. Among the part-time faculty may be some hired for only a class or two, some hired to teach on a regular basis, and some retired faculty who return to teach on occasion. The Writing Programs Committee or another subject-area committee will evaluate all new applicants for part-time positions and will recommend qualified applicants to the Chair. Adjunct faculty are not voting members of the department. However, in specified cases, adjunct faculty may serve and vote on department committees. They are invited to attend all official department functions and open meetings. 4. Emeritus Faculty Retired faculty who have been granted emeritus status continue to be affiliated with the department and may teach on occasion. Emeritus faculty may also attend all official department functions and open meetings. They are not voting members of the department. 5. Graduate Assistants The English department may include a number of graduate assistants. The Graduate Committee will evaluate all applicants for graduate assistantships. Graduate assistants are not voting members of the department. However, as specified in these bylaws, they may serve and vote on several department committees. They are also invited to attend all official department functions and open meetings. 6. Support Staff The English department may include a number of support staff, among them unclassified staff responsible for directing particular programs and classified staff responsible for managing the department office. Support staff are not voting members of the department. However, in specified cases, staff may serve on and vote in department committees and may attend department meetings. They are also invited to attend all official department functions and open meetings. B. GOVERNANCE 1. Faculty Involvement in Governance As requested by appropriate administrators, faculty will provide recommendations on an array of issues affecting the department and the college. Some of the means by which faculty will provide recommendations on governance follow:
2. Department Committees Department committees fall into three categories: Administrative Committees, Subject Area Committees, and Special Committees with particular responsibilities. Unless otherwise indicated, each committee below is a standing committee to be elected at the beginning of each year. Standing committees may form ad hoc subcommittees. a. Administrative Committees The administrative committees of the English department are responsible for reviewing and evaluating the programs and procedures of the department and for preparing materials for college and university committees.
b. Subject Area Committees
Duties:
ii. Language Programs Committee Members:
Duties:
iii. Literature Programs Committee Members:
Duties:
iv. Integrated Language Arts Program Committee
Members:
Duties:
c. Special Committees i. Library Committee
Members:
Duties:
ii. Visiting Writer Committee Members:
Duties:
iii. Colloquium Committee Members:
Duties:
C. SUMMER TEACHING POLICY The department Chair will follow the existing rotation and the language
of the Contract in assigning summer teaching. The Chair will give preference in summer teaching to faculty who notify the chair in writing that they intend to retire within three years. Any faculty member who returns to the summer rotation from a fiscal-year contract in which he or she was ineligible for summer teaching will go to the middle of the rotation. II. CRITERIA AND PROCEDURES FOR ANNUAL EVALUATIONS OF BARGAINING-UNIT FACULTY The department Chair will annually evaluate the performance of Bargaining-Unit Faculty following the procedure outlined in the contract. The Contract specifies the process by which Bargaining-Unit members will submit a report to the Chair and the Chair will evaluate their professional activities. The purpose of this by-law is to establish (1) the means by which the Chair will weigh the different areas of activity, and (2) the criteria the Chair will use in evaluation. Annual evaluations should recognize faculty for their successes in diverse areas of their professional lives. Thus, in some years, teaching, scholarship, or service may be weighted more highly than in others. The English Department adopts the following standard range of percentages for weighting each of the three professional areas of teaching, scholarship, and service.
The three percentages assigned must add up to 100%. The Department Chair will evaluate each area of each faculty member's professional activity and assign an integer to that area, guided by the criteria stated below. The Chair will then assign to each area a percentage from the range above that gives the faculty member the maximum possible overall average. The Chair may assign a different weighting from that defined above in any of the following situations:
A. THE EVALUATION OF TEACHING 2 1. Criteria for the Evaluation of Teaching In the following description, the phrase "course load" refers to the load assigned to each individual faculty member by the university. Depending upon other responsibilities, the actual number of courses taught may differ from one faculty member to another. In describing teaching, advising, and related activities, the adverb "effectively" refers on the one hand to demonstrable overall success in conveying appropriate information and building appropriate skills, and on the other hand to demonstrable effort in attaining such success. Thus, a faculty member may demonstrate the effectiveness of his or her teaching with evidence showing classroom success (e.g. positive student comments on evaluations, peer reviews of teaching by colleagues, recognition given to work completed by students in class), and (if needed) with evidence showing the kind and quality of effort he or she has made in meeting students' needs (e.g. a teaching journal or log, a portfolio of teaching materials, a discussion of special problems faced in a particular class). To receive a score of 1 (Adequate) in teaching, a faculty member must teach a course load effectively and advise students effectively. To receive a score of 2 (Meritorious) in teaching, a faculty member must teach a course load effectively, and perform all three of the following, or any two of the following with distinction:
To receive a score of 3 (Outstanding) in teaching, a faculty member must teach a course load effectively and perform all four of the following well or three of the four with distinction:
To receive a score of 4 (Extraordinary) in teaching, a faculty member must teach a course load effectively and perform all five of the following well or four of the five with distinction:
A score of 0 (Unsatisfactory) in teaching will be given to any faculty member who does not satisfy the requirements for an Adequate evaluation or who does not provide the Chair the evidence required for the Chair's evaluation. Symptoms of Unsatisfactory teaching performance may include (but are not limited to)
Behaviors like those described may result in an evaluation of Unsatisfactory (if they are frequent and characteristic) or a lowered evaluation (from Meritorious to Adequate, for example). 2. Evidence for the Evaluation of Teaching Student evaluations of teaching are required of all bargaining-unit faculty. In addition, peer evaluations are required of all probationary bargaining-unit faculty. Student Evaluations The contract specifies what part of the student evaluations will be sent to the faculty member only and what information will be sent to the Chair. If they wish, faculty may provide additional evaluation material or may provide information explaining or responding to the student evaluations. Peer Evaluations: The Chair and the department Promotion, Tenure, and Retention Committee will arrange for the peer evaluation of non-tenured bargaining-unit faculty. At least one peer evaluation visit will be conducted for each non-tenured bargaining-unit faculty member per full calendar year. The PTR Committee and the Chair will both have access to the reports of all peer evaluation visits. The Chair will use them in his or her Annual Evaluation, while the PTR Committee will use them in its statement of progress toward promotion and tenure. Faculty who wish to present additional evidence of their teaching effectiveness may arrange on their own for peer evaluation visits. Reports of any peer evaluation activities are due to the Chair by the date on which the activity reports are due. Other Evidence: Faculty may submit additional evidence to the department Chair. Supporting evidence may include (but is not limited to) the following:
The Chair may also gather evidence to be used as part of the evaluation of teaching. In such cases, the Chair will make all written records and/or summaries of evidence available to the faculty member. B. THE EVALUATION OF SCHOLARSHIP 1. Criteria for the Evaluation of Scholarship 4 The English department values research and scholarship, and fully understands that real scholarship often bears fruit only after a researcher spends a considerable time preparing the ground. Thus, in determining merit in scholarship, the Chair should not only weigh publications but the time and effort of preparation. (Collaborative scholarship normally requires as much effort as single-author scholarship and should be evaluated accordingly.) In particular, the department encourages the Chair to look beyond the work of the single year to get a sense of the faculty member's overall performance as a scholar. Similarly, we encourage all faculty to give the Chair materials which will help him/her accurately judge merit using a broader perspective than that of a single year. However, higher levels of merit in scholarship, particularly the rankings of Outstanding and Extraordinary, will normally require publication of the kind described below. To receive a score of 1 (Adequate) in scholarship, a faculty member must
To receive a score of 2 (Meritorious) in scholarship, a faculty member must
To receive a score of 3 (Outstanding) in scholarship, a faculty member must
To receive a score of 4 (Extraordinary) in scholarship, a faculty member must do at least one of the following fully or some partial combination of at least two of the following, or the equivalent, in addition to otherwise keeping at least an Adequate or Meritorious level of scholarly activity:
A score of 0 (Unsatisfactory) in scholarship will be given to any faculty member who cannot satisfy the requirements for an Adequate evaluation. Symptoms of Unsatisfactory scholarly performance include (but are not limited to) demonstrations of incompetence in matters of professional expertise, periods of four or more years without a professional publication of any kind, refusal to respond to mentoring or to develop a research plan (if requested), and so on. 2. Evidence for the Evaluation of Scholarship Faculty may claim a work for the purposes of merit (above the level of Adequate) in one year only. For example, an article may be reported in year one as being "in preparation" or "under consideration"; in year two it may be reported as having been "accepted"; in year three it may be reported as being "published." While it is useful for faculty to list all three in order to establish their ongoing commitment to keeping current with their professional fields, the article will count for Meritorious or higher consideration either in year two or year three. That is, an article, chapter, or book may count when it is accepted for publication or when it appears. In support of all claims of merit in scholarship at the Meritorious level and above, the faculty member must submit the following:
C. THE EVALUATION OF SERVICE 1. Criteria for the Evaluation of Service Activity like the following will be typical of an Adequate level of service and will receive a score of 1:
Activity like the following will be typical of a Meritorious level of service and will receive a score of 2:
In addition to an otherwise Meritorious level of service, activity like the following will be typical of an Outstanding level of service and will receive a score of 3:
To receive a score of 4 (Extraordinary) in service, a faculty member must perform some combination of Outstanding activities in multiple areas of service or one Extraordinary accomplishment in service; for example take a major leadership role in the university while heading a state professional organization. 2. Evidence for the Evaluation of Service Faculty should submit to the Chair
III. CRITERIA AND PROCEDURES FOR PROMOTION AND TENURE The following paragraphs describe the criteria for promotion and tenure in the English department. Normally, candidates for tenure and promotion to Associate Professor or for tenure only at the Associate Professor rank should be able to show that their activities in each area have been ongoing from the time of hiring to the date of the evaluation for promotion. Candidates for promotion and tenure may present accomplishments dating from before their hiring at Wright State University if the accomplishments are relevant to their case (for example, a scholarly article in English published while the faculty member was a graduate student or employed outside academe) or if the position previously occupied was an academic position at another university. Candidates for tenure already at the Associate Professor or Professor rank may present evidence from Wright State and/or from the previous place of employment. The department PTR committee expects all faculty to show that they have been productive in all three areas of teaching, scholarship, and service. Normally, teaching and scholarship will be valued most highly; service is important but should not be pursued to the detriment of teaching and scholarship. A. CRITERIA FOR PROMOTION TO ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR (WITH TENURE) Before becoming eligible for promotion to the rank of Associate Professor with tenure, an Assistant Professor will ordinarily accumulate at least five years of full-time college teaching and will ordinarily serve as Assistant Professor at Wright State University for at least two years. 1. Teaching: The candidate for promotion to Associate Professor with tenure must show that he or she has advised and taught students successfully. Among other things, a successful teacher will do both of the following, or the equivalent:
In addition, a successful teacher will do some or all of the following, or the equivalent:
Evidence of Successful Teaching 1. Each candidate for promotion and tenure must produce a summary of his or her student evaluation numbers as part of the formal promotion and tenure document. 2. Each candidate for promotion and tenure will produce a portfolio of teaching which will be an appendix to the promotion and tenure document. The portfolio of teaching will include a selection of evidence showing how the candidate has performed actions like those itemized above. 3. The department Chair and the tenured members of the Bargaining Unit Faculty will arrange for the peer evaluation of teaching for all non-tenured faculty. Such peer-written letters will be placed in the candidate's portfolio of teaching. 4. The candidate may place additional testimonials, solicited or unsolicited, responses to peer-written letters, student evaluation comments, or other documents relating to his or her teaching in the portfolio of teaching 2. Scholarship The candidate for promotion to Associate Professor with tenure must show that he or she has pursued a successful and effective program of ongoing scholarship. Scholarship can include traditional forms of research and publication as well as creative writing. 6 Scholarship may be collaborative. 7 At a minimum, success in scholarship sufficient for promotion and tenure will include the following, or a clear equivalent 8:
Although scholarly publication is a goal, we recognize that not all significant faculty scholarship eventuates in publication. Candidates for promotion with tenure may further demonstrate their "successful and effective program of ongoing scholarship" by listing activity like the following, or the equivalent:
Evidence of Successful Scholarship: 1. The candidate must provide copies of all publications. 2. Works accepted but not yet published, works not yet accepted for publication, conference papers, and works in progress (if they are claimed) must be provided to the PTR committee in typescript form. 3. The candidate will provide a list of five to seven potential outside reviewers qualified to evaluate the quality of his or her work. The PTR committee will solicit letters from three of these reviewers. If the PTR committee cannot find three appropriate and available reviewers from the candidate's initial list, the candidate will provide additional names, as requested, until the committee can find enough appropriate and available reviewers. Reviewers should be scholars qualified in the candidate's field(s). The PTR committee will use the reviewers' letters to help gauge the candidate's contributions and potential contributions to his or her field. 3. Service The candidate for promotion to Associate Professor with tenure must show that he or she has performed appropriate service successfully and effectively. Success in service should include at a minimum the following, or their clear equivalents:
As part of the service itemized above or in addition to it, the department will recognize and especially welcome service activities that advance the department, college, university, or academic discipline, such as the following, or the equivalent:
Evidence of Successful Service: Each candidate for promotion and tenure will list service accomplishments on the CV, which is a required part of the promotion and tenure document. The candidate may include any testimonials, solicited or unsolicited, relating to service as part of an appendix to the promotion and tenure document. B. CRITERIA FOR PROMOTION TO PROFESSOR Before becoming eligible for promotion to the rank of Professor, an Associate Professor will normally complete at least five years as Associate Professor. Time in rank alone will never be sufficient criterion for promotion to Professor, however. The candidate for promotion to Professor must show that he or she has been productive and successful, at a level significantly beyond that required for promotion to Associate Professor, in each of the three areas of faculty activity. The candidate must also show significant evidence of effective leadership in several areas of his or her professional life, leadership that has had positive effect upon the department, college, university, community, and/or profession of English. 1. Teaching To be eligible for promotion to Professor a faculty member must show that in the area of teaching he or she has accomplished the following, or their equivalents:
2. Scholarship To be eligible for promotion to Professor a faculty member must show that in the area of scholarship he or she has accomplished the following, or its equivalent:
Candidates for promotion to Professor may further demonstrate their ongoing scholarship by listing activity like the following, or the equivalent:
3. Service To be eligible for promotion to Professor a faculty member must show that in the area of service he or she has accomplished the following, or their equivalents:
C. CRITERIA FOR TENURE ONLY To be eligible for tenure a faculty member already at the Associate Professor or Professor rank must demonstrate the level of accomplishments defined above for promotion to those respective ranks. The candidate may freely use evidence from Wright State and from previous positions, academic and non-academic where appropriate, to demonstrate ongoing effectiveness in teaching, scholarship, and service. The department may vote to waive the requirement for a teaching portfolio. All candidates must submit at a minimum a full CV describing in detail their teaching, scholarship, service, and other relevant academic experiences. 1 - All PTR committee members are eligible to vote on
cases of the promotion and tenure of Assistant Professors and on cases
of the tenure of Associate Professors. Only Professors may vote on cases
of promotion to the rank of Professor and on the annual statement of progress
toward promotion for Associate Professors. Return to
section.
2 - In this document, "teaching" refers to all assigned teaching done by department faculty at or on behalf of Wright State University, whether or not it occurred in the English department. Return to section. 3 - As stated in the Contract, for non-tenured bargaining-unit faculty, the numerical portions of all student teaching evaluations are sent to the department Chair along with the written portions. The Chair will consider these numerical evaluations (along with any numerical evaluations submitted voluntarily by tenured bargaining-unit faculty) as part of the overall evaluation of teaching, keeping in mind the questionable validity of numerical evaluations. Return to section. 4 - In this document, "scholarship" refers to the publication of original research and scholarship in both print and electronic media. In assessing electronic scholarship, the Chair will be guided by the standards current in the profession for evaluating electronic media. Return to section. 5 -The department uses "peer review" in a broad sense to mean review of submitted material by people in an appropriate academic/professional discipline. Return to section. 6 - The term "traditional" here does not in any way exclude scholarship that may appear in on-line journals or other non-print-and-paper formats. Creative writing shall be evaluated as the equivalent of research-based scholarship providing the creative work appears in reputable and selective literary publications with strong regional or national reputation. Return to section. 7 - The English Department recognizes that collaborative scholarship normally requires as much effort as single-author scholarship and should be evaluated accordingly. In cases where a faculty member's contribution to a collaborative work was that of substantial coauthor, the work will be counted as the equivalent of a similar single-authored work. In cases where an individual's contribution may have been that of co-researcher or facilitator, or where the individual authored a portion of the scholarly work, the appropriate portion of the work will be counted. Return to section. 8 - "Equivalent" here refers both to the effort going into a work and the professional importance of the scholarship itself. Thus, an important edited book may well be the equivalent of one or two important and substantial articles; an article widely recognized as groundbreaking in a major field may well be counted as more than one article; an invited article in an important journal or collection, although not technically "peer-reviewed," may be equally important. Return to section. 9 - "Substantial" here refers to work which
(a) meets professional standards for depth and breadth of coverage, and
(b) reflects current theory and practices within specific disciplines.
Return to section.
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