Graduate Faculty Policy
Graduate Faculty appointments at Minnesota State University, Mankato are intended to signify active involvement in one or more graduate programs. Thus, only faculty with Graduate Faculty appointments may teach graduate courses, mentor graduate students as they develop their capstone projects, direct graduate–level independent studies, and advise graduate students in developing their programs of study. The three types of appointment to the Graduate Faculty are Research Graduate Faculty Status, Regular Graduate Faculty Status, and Associate Graduate Faculty Status.
The criteria presented below reflect the philosophy that graduate education can flourish only in a climate in which faculty scholarship and quality teaching are expected and encouraged. To sustain a graduate culture requires a genuine commitment to scholarship in all its forms as well as to effective teaching and advising.
The standards outlined in this document are the minimum necessary. Faculty are encouraged to exceed these standards individually and collectively. Departments may recommend criteria that exceed these standards to the Graduate Sub Meet and Confer for approval.
There are three sets of criteria for teaching graduate courses. The standards used in applying these criteria vary according to the status being sought and are outlined below.
Applicants for Research Graduate Faculty Status must hold an appropriate terminal degree from an institution accredited at the time they received their degree and be in a tenured or tenure–track position at Minnesota State Mankato. Those individuals who do not possess the appropriate terminal degree but believe they have special teaching or research expertise may also apply through the procedures for Visiting and Collaborative Faculty. The CV submitted with the application should indicate that the applicant has received a terminal degree.
Effective teaching ability is a necessary condition for approval to teach graduate–level courses. Applicants must submit evidence of teaching effectiveness from graduate courses taught in the four–year period prior to the initial application or the Review year (undergraduate courses may be used if graduate courses have not been taught). Documentation of teaching effectiveness should include a brief (1-page) narrative analyzing teaching effectiveness supported by two or more of the following: student evaluations, peer evaluations, departmental assignments, and capstone experiences and dissertations supervised.
The evidence provided in this section must include accepted forms of activity from the four–year period prior to the initial application (pdf or doc) or the review year. (Refer to the list of accepted activities below.)
An applicant is expected to show evidence of:
Additional substantive scholarly work from C.1 may substitute for presentations in C.2 with the recommendation of the chairperson of the Graduate Faculty Status Committee (GFSC). Departments and Colleges may recommend to the GFSC additional items for C.4 that are unique to the discipline and of equal value. Evidence of scholarly activity should include a copy of the first page of publications (including the title, author, date, and source of publication, such as the title of the journal) and copy of the conference program (indicating title, author, date, and conference). For grants, a copy of the award letter should be included.
Applicants for Regular Graduate Faculty Status must hold an appropriate terminal degree from an institution accredited at the time they received their degree and be in a tenured or tenure–track position at Minnesota State Mankato. Those individuals who do not possess the appropriate terminal degree but believe they have special teaching or research expertise may also apply through the procedures for Visiting and Collaborative Faculty.
The evidence provided in this section must include accepted forms of activity from the four–year period prior to the initial application or the review year. (Refer to the list of accepted activities below.)
An applicant is expected to show evidence of:
Departments and Colleges may recommend to the GFSC additional items for C.4 that are unique to the discipline and of equal value.
Applicants for Associate Graduate Faculty must hold a minimum of a masters/specialist degree and preferably an appropriate terminal degree from an institution accredited at the time they received their degree. Those individuals who do not possess the appropriate degree but believe they have special teaching or research expertise may also apply through the procedures for Visiting and Collaborative Faculty.
The evidence provided in this section must include accepted forms of activity from the four–year period prior to the initial application (pdf or doc) or the review year. (Refer to the list of accepted activities below.)
An applicant is expected to show evidence of:
Departments and Colleges may recommend to the GFSC additional items for C.4 that are unique to the discipline and of equal value.
Research Graduate Faculty Status is reserved for Graduate Faculty who have a record of sustained scholarly/creative and professional activity looked upon favorably by peers outside of Minnesota State University and the region.
Regular Graduate Faculty Status is intended for individuals who have not pursued the Research Graduate Faculty Status.
Faculty appointed to Associate Graduate Faculty Status are primarily non–tenure track faculty, part– or fulltime fixed–term or adjunct faculty, who provide service courses for graduate students, supervise students in internships or practica, as well as faculty from other institutions who may be invited to serve on thesis or dissertation committees.
Faculty may nominate themselves or be nominated by their department to the appropriate graduate faculty level. Departments are expected to formally comment on graduate faculty nominations.
Applicants for Research Faculty status must submit an application along with a curriculum vita and evidence of the following: scholarly productivity; graduate teaching effectiveness; and fulfillment of professional responsibilities (see criteria for a complete description). The CV should indicate that the applicant has received a terminal degree. Evidence of scholarly activity should include a copy of the first page of publications (including the title, author, date, and source of publication, such as the title of the journal) and copy of the conference program (indicating title, author, date, and conference). For grants, a copy of the award letter should be included. Documentation of teaching effectiveness should include a brief (1-page) narrative analyzing teaching effectiveness supported by two or more of the following: student evaluations, peer evaluations, departmental assignments, and capstone experiences and dissertations supervised.
For Regular and Associate Faculty Status, applications must be accompanied by a curriculum vita that clearly identifies the recent accomplishments that satisfy the requirements for the graduate faculty status sought.
Each department will select members from the regular full–time faculty to serve on the Graduate Faculty Status Committee (GFSC) or comparable committee. This committee will be selected according to procedures established by the college and the department. The procedures for selecting the committee will be placed on file in the Graduate School. Only faculty approved to teach graduate courses are eligible to serve on the Graduate Faculty Status Committee (GFSC).
A copy of the completed application for eligibility to teach graduate courses will be submitted to the GFSC, who will be responsible for reviewing and verifying the information contained in the applications. The GFSC's recommendations, along with the application and the support material, will be forwarded to the College Dean, who in turn will review and render individual recommendations and further forward the application to the Graduate School.
Note: This review process is distinct from the promotion and tenure review processes. Tenure and promotion committees should not use the decisions of the Graduate Faculty Status Committee in their deliberations.
Upon the discretion of the departments and college, a college committee may be formed to review all nomination materials and make recommendations on the nominations to the appropriate College Dean. The College Dean will review and render individual recommendations and further forward the application to the Graduate School.
All information for the review process will be taken from the four academic years previous to the review year.
For probationary faculty, the appropriate level of Graduate Faculty Status, if any, will be determined during the hiring process in consultation with the hiring Department and Dean of the College. Probationary faculty who wish to apply for a status other than the status conferred at the point of hire may apply at any point in the probationary cycle. They will be re-evaluated during their first year as a tenured faculty member regardless of the year of their initial approval so subsequent reviews may be coordinated with Professional Development Report review years.
A tenured faculty member who is approved to teach graduate courses will enter into a normal review process according to the PDP Review cycle. The application submitted to the Graduate Faculty Status Committee and the College Dean for this review process will reflect the previous four years and will be evaluated by the procedures described above. Thus, the faculty member being evaluated will have to prepare only one set of supporting documents.
The Dean of the College of Graduate Studies and Research shall initiate the renewal and review process by notifying the Academic Deans by September 1 of the faculty up for review and potential renewal.
All nominations should be forwarded to the Graduate Dean no later than October 1st of the academic year. The graduate faculty rosters will be completed by the end of January. The Dean of the College of Graduate Studies and Research in consultation with the Graduate Sub Meet and Confer will approve or disapprove the rosters.
The same process for nomination to Graduate Faculty will be used for the removal or reduction in responsibility of Graduate Faculty. Before a regular faculty member's graduate status is reduced, the College Dean of the academic unit will write a letter to that faculty member, notifying him or her of the intent to change responsibilities. Cases in which the faculty member was hired for a fixed–term or became inactive will be exempt from the removal process.
A faculty member denied approval to participate in graduate programs during the initial year or review years may reapply at any time that he/she has new and pertinent evidence for consideration.
Whenever there is a disagreement between the GFSC and the College Dean, the Graduate Dean will meet with the applicant, the GFSC Chair, the Department Chair and the College Dean to resolve the differences and to insure that the criteria were followed. The Graduate Dean will have the option of holding individual or collective meetings. The Graduate Dean will then make the final decision after these consultations.
Exemptions from the degree requirement must receive approval from the Graduate Dean prior to applying for permission to teach graduate courses.
A waiver from the scholarly and/or professional activity requirement may be granted by the Graduate Dean to a faculty member to teach a highly specialized course or to meet an emergency. The waiver shall be granted on a semester–by–semester basis after consultation with the GFSC, department chair, and the College Dean.
When intellectual or professional necessities or consortia agreements lead to nomination of non–MSU faculty for any of the above categories the department chair will nominate the candidate using the normal process and apply the appropriate criteria to assess and recommend appropriate status. The Graduate Dean upon the recommendation of the department chairperson, Graduate Faculty Status Committee and College Dean may approve Visiting and Collaborative Faculty. The college shall pay careful attention to the academic preparation and record of scholarly and professional achievement in making their recommendations. The appointment is for three years and is renewable.
Academic administrators at the rank of Dean or higher are conferred Ex Officio Regular Graduate faculty status unless they have elected to submit their materials for appointment consideration in another graduate faculty status.
In cases in which departments offering Doctoral Programs experience a sudden change in Research Graduate Faculty within the department as a result of death(s), resignation(s), reassignment(s) or other unforeseen events a three–year exemption may be requested for faculty by the department chair, and approved by the College Dean, Graduate Committee, and Graduate Dean.
Adopted January 2007; Revised January 2008, March 2009
