FACULTY
FACULTY ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
FACULTY SEARCH PROCEDURES
PERFORMANCE EVALUATION
STUDENT EVALUATIONS OF FACULTY
GUIDELINES FOR PROMOTION AND TENURE
FACULTY DEVELOPMENT
WORK LOAD
RESEARCH FUNDS
MERIT PAY
SUMMER APPOINTMENTS
FACULTY ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Types of Faculty
Faculty in the College of Education include undergraduate/graduate
instructional faculty, clinical faculty, and Laboratory School (K-12) faculty.
The roles and responsibilities differ for the three groups.
Undergraduate/Graduate Instructional Faculty
This faculty includes all members of the academic staff having the
rank of instructor, assistant professor, associate professor, or professor
who are assigned, either totally or in part, to a department within the
College. Appointments may be made jointly with another unit of the College
or University with faculty approval from all units involved. Such joint
appointments specify appropriate voting, tenure, and promotion status.
Tenure may be given at all ranks above instructor and is granted only in
the primary department.
In addition, the departments may employ the services of visiting scholars,
adjunct faculty, temporary faculty, and part-time faculty. Generally, these
members are asked to assume teaching, advising, and/or other service responsibilities
within the department. With departmental faculty approval, visiting scholars
are allowed voting membership in the department, while adjunct, temporary,
and part-time members do not receive this privilege; further, none of these
groups accrues tenure in the College.
Major faculty roles include teaching, research, and service. Individual
faculty roles are defined by the department chair in consultation with
the faculty member. As noted in the LSU
Faculty Handbook, faculty members of a comprehensive research university
have multiple responsibilities. "They are primarily scholars who strive
to learn and to teach. They are counselors, models, tutors, guides, and
defenders of reason and truth. They are officers of the University who
share responsibility for that institution's accomplishing its purposes
and achieving its goals."
Faculty within a department have jurisdiction over academic policies
of the department insofar as they do not conflict with the rules and regulations
of the College of Education or of the University. Such policies include
establishing degree programs and requirements, admission standards, advisement
procedures, and program evaluation.
Clinical Faculty
Clinical faculty are members of the academic staff who hold ranks similar
to the instructional faculty but who are in non-tenure track positions,
currently classified as research faculty. Appointments at the professorial
ranks are made for one, two, or three years, with the potential for contract
renewal. Individuals appointed to clinical faculty positions have the same
faculty status as instructional faculty members of equivalent rank, except
in matters of tenure and promotion.
Clinical faculty work primarily with students in the professional preparation
programs. Their responsibilities include assisting LSU graduate faculty
members in advising and mentoring students through University and school-based
experiences; serving as a liaison between Professional Development Schools
and the University in student practicum experiences; assisting graduate
faculty members in linking on-campus courses to practicum experiences;
assisting in and/or providing instruction in the professional preparation
curriculum; assisting in students' academic and performance evaluations;
assisting with students' research projects; contributing to and coordinating
the efforts of professional development teams which include graduate faculty
and school personnel.
LSU Laboratory School Faculty
These faculty include those individuals at the rank of instructor who
are assigned to the LSU Laboratory School (K-12 grades). These are non-tenure
track appointments. Appointments may be made jointly with another unit
of the College or University with the approval of faculty from all units
involved.
Responsibilities of faculty in the Laboratory School fall into four
areas: (1) providing an excellent educational opportunity for children
enrolled in grades K-12 at the school, (2) contributing to teacher preparation,
(3) participating in research activities, and (4) engaging in in service
activities. Providing and evaluating instruction, sponsoring student activities,
arranging conferences with parents, and assuming other educationally-related
responsibilities comprise major roles of this faculty. Also, Laboratory
School faculty are responsible for working with instructional and clinical
faculty in providing field experiences in professional preparation programs;
for disseminating research and development information through in-service
training to area schools; and for assisting in and conducting University
research activities. The role of individual faculty members in the Laboratory
School shall be defined by the principal in consultation with the faculty
member.
Faculty have jurisdiction over educational policies of the Laboratory
School insofar as those do not conflict with the rules and regulations
of the College of Education or of the University.
Faculty Ranks
Full time faculty from all three categories hold the rank of instructor,
assistant professor, associate professor, or full professor. The ranks
and appointment process are defined by University regulations (PM-23
and PS-36).
Graduate Faculty Status
Qualified tenure-track/tenured faculty members at a rank above instructor
are appointed on recommendation of the Graduate Council as associate or
full members of the Graduate Faculty. For initial appointment as associate,
criteria include a rank of assistant professor and a terminal degree in
the appropriate field; for renewal, criteria also include participation
in a graduate program and scholarly activity. For full status, criteria
include a rank of associate professor or professor; a similar terminal
degree; current and sustained scholarly or creative activities; and significant
experience in a graduate program such as directing thesis/dissertations
and teaching/developing graduate courses. Associate and full Graduate Faculty
members are responsible for teaching graduate credit courses, directing
theses/dissertations, and serving on graduate student advisory committees.
Other qualified persons may be recommended to the Graduate Council
by department chairs for appointment as affiliate members. Affiliate members
may teach graduate courses, serve on student advisory committees, and,
with permission of the Graduate School dean, chair committees. In addition,
under exceptional circumstances and only for individual cases, administrative
appointments for non-Graduate Faculty instructors may be recommended by
the department chair to the Graduate School dean to assume graduate teaching
or committee membership roles.
Endowed Professorships
The College of Education holds six professorships intended to promote
excellence in education: the J. Franklin Bayhi Endowed Professorship, the
James R. and Vira Franklin Eagles Endowed Professorhip, the Elena and Albert
LeBlanc Professorship in the Laboratory School, the Albert LeBlanc Fellowship
in English Education, the Mary E. Baxter Lipscomb Memorial Endowed Professorship
in Education, and the St. Bernard Alumni Chapter Professorship. William
Doll holds the St. Bernard Alumni Chapter Professorship, and Amelia Lee
holds the Mary E. Baxter Lipscomb Memorial Endowed Professorship. Because
the other professorhips were recently established, they do not possess
sufficient funds to offer an award at this time. However, when funding
permits, specific guidelines will be developed to meet the requirements
of the endowments and awards will be offered accordingly.
FACULTY SEARCH PROCEDURES
Faculty searches within the College shall conform to all University
regulations (see PS-1,
PS-36,
and PS-40
for specific policies).
PERFORMANCE EVALUATION
Faculty performance in the College is reviewed annually by the chair
and the Dean following relevant guidelines in PS-36
as well as departmental procedures. These performance evaluations assist
faculty and administrators in supporting effective performance and professional
growth. The specific areas of responsibility on which the performance evaluation
are based are determined by the department chair in consultation with the
faculty member and departmental guidelines.
In the fall, each faculty member completes an annual plan outlining
teaching, research and service intentions for the coming year. During the
spring, each faculty member completes an annual activity report which describes
accomplishments during the year in terms of the annual plan. (See Appendix
D for annual report and activity guidelines for the three academic departments
and for the Laboratory School.) Upon receiving the activity reports, the
department chair completes a departmental evaluation form and then confers
individually with each faculty member on her/his report and the chair's
evaluation. Annual plans and annual activity reports are also forwarded
to the Dean for his review.
STUDENT EVALUATIONS OF FACULTY
In addition to their own annual reports, faculty in ELRC, EDCI, and
KIN are evaluated by their students and their department on their teaching
performance using departmental teaching evaluation forms. All instructional
faculty must be evaluated by students in regularly scheduled classes each
semester. In addition, all untenured faculty must be evaluated by their
department chair and/or a faculty member at least once during the academic
year. These evaluations generally are considered in the chair's annual
evaluation of the faculty member.
GUIDELINES FOR PROMOTION AND TENURE
Effective performance and the professional status of College faculty
in the three academic departments require a statement of job expectations
and the manner in which they are to be judged by all concerned persons.
These standards should be understood and agreed upon by faculty. Although
individual and departmental flexibility is important, these guidelines
and procedures provide the general basis for evaluating academic performance
of tenure-track and tenured faculty in the College of Education. Promotion
and tenure are guided by PS-36.
FACULTY DEVELOPMENT
For the College to carry out its mission of high quality instruction,
research and service, faculty must be current in their field. This involves
participation in professional meetings and organizations, time for study
and reflection, and involvement in continuing professional development
activities. Incentives for faculty development include:
Support for Faculty Travel
Each year the Dean, with input from the Administrative Council, allocates
money in the departmental budgets for professional travel. Travel funds
are typically given to faculty who present research papers at professional
meetings and/or attend institutes and workshops that improve their teaching
or research skills. Professional travel is seen as essential to ensuring
the vitality and competitiveness of faculty in a research university.
Sabbatical Leave
After six years of service, faculty can also apply for sabbatical leave.
Sabbatical leave is to provide faculty with time to carry out important
research or other professional development activities. Sabbatical leaves
are not automatic and will be granted when the proposed leave is determined
to be beneficial to both the faculty member and the University, and when
the absence of the faculty member will not adversely affect the University's
ability to deliver essential programs and services. Faculty may request
leave for a year at half pay, or a semester at full pay. Faculty are required
to return to the University for a year after a sabbatical leave or to reimburse
the University.
Leave Without Pay
Faculty may request leave without pay for good cause, provided the
reasons are acceptable to the University and the operations of the department
are not seriously affected. According to the
LSU
Faculty Handbook, good cause may be interpreted to include, but
not be limited by, the following: extended personal or family illness,
education which will directly increase job effectiveness, significant scholarly
activities, or, in special circumstances, temporary employment outside
the University which is clearly beneficial to the faculty member and to
the University. A leave without pay is not given to faculty who accept
a tenure-track, tenured, or administrative position at another university.
Normally, a leave without pay is granted for one semester or year, with
possible continuation for a second year. In addition, the faculty member
taking the leave normally will return to the University after the leave
is finished.
Teaching Award
Annually, the College honors an outstanding teacher with a College
of Education teaching award. Selected by the Awards Committee from nominees
from each department, the recipient and the other nominees receive financial
awards and are recognized at the annual Awards Convocation.
Continuing Faculty Development
Participation in faculty seminars, symposia, and workshops is also
an important part of a faculty member's professional development. The College
and the University offer many opportunities for faculty to enhance their
instructional, research, and public service skills, for example, through
the University's Center for Faculty Development. Each faculty member's
objectives for development are reflected in the Annual
Plan and Activity Report.
WORK LOAD
The University teaching load for departmental faculty budgeted 100
percent to instruction is 12 hours per semester. For non-graduate faculty,
this normally includes full-time teaching in regularly scheduled courses
and related activities such as field experience supervision. For graduate
faculty, this normally is distributed among direct instruction in regularly
scheduled courses, the supervision of graduate students, assignments in
the College's field experience programs, research related to the department's
mission, and other demanding professional responsibilities, such as editing
a journal or serving as president of a national professional organization.
Following these guidelines, and with appropriate consideration of faculty
members' requests and interests, work load assignments will be made by
the department chair.
Faculty are encouraged to seek outside funding for research and development
projects. Priority in grant proposals should be given to supporting graduate
students as research assistants and providing faculty salaries during the
summer. If funds are received to support faculty during the academic year,
a reduction in direct instruction of regularly scheduled courses may be
made by the chair as follows:
The normal expectation is that every faculty member shall teach
at least one course per semester. Exceptions to this one course per semester
policy must be approved by the Dean.
In addition to their classroom instruction, faculty are expected to
meet with and advise students on academic issues. First, faculty are expected
to maintain scheduled office hours in order to accommodate students who
wish to consult them. Second, faculty are expected to advise students on
issues related to their specific areas.
It should be recognized that work loads and responsibilities for faculty
members at the Laboratory School are assigned on a different basis than
found in other departments. The average instructional work load of regularly
scheduled classes in this department is 25 hours per week.
RESEARCH FUNDS
The College encourages faculty members to obtain external funding through
grants and contracts and recognizes these efforts by returning certain
funds to the sponsoring department. First, when external funds are provided
for a proportion of a faculty member's salary during the academic year
(e.g., a reduction in teaching load), that proportion of the member's state-funded
salary will be returned to the department and expended at its discretion.
In addition, 75% of the indirect costs returned to the College from the
University also will revert to the department for its specified use. The
Dean may be forced to make exceptions to this policy under the most extraordinary
circumstances, following appropriate dialogue with the department chair.
MERIT PAY
When circumstances permit, salary increases may be provided by the
University as a reward for meritorious performance in the areas of teaching,
research, and service. Exemplary performance could qualify a faculty member
for consideration of merit pay. The increment of merit pay awarded will
vary with the adjudged level of performance. Recommendations concerning
merit pay will be made by the chair on the basis of such criteria as the
faculty member's Annual Activity Report. These recommendations will be
reviewed and a decision made by the Dean.
SUMMER APPOINTMENTS
Summer term appointments are offered as available on the basis of instructional
need, summer term budget, and the following University policy from the
LSU
Faculty Handbook:
Because of reduced enrollment during the summer term, the University
cannot make supplementary summer appointments to all faculty members. Such
appointments are worked out on an individual basis through the department,
in cooperation with the appropriate dean and through the Office of Academic
Affairs, which issues appropriate guidelines annually.
In addition, the LSU Council on Research annually grants a limited
number of Summer Faculty Research Stipends to support full-time research
activities during the summer. These serve as stipends in lieu of summer
teaching salaries. Finally, faculty members may receive part or all of
their summer salaries from grant funds if the terms of the grant permit,
but they may not receive more compensation than is permitted by PS-43.