THE GRADUATE FACULTY
Form A and B Graduate Faculty members ordinarily are University faculty members with the highest degree in their fields who are assigned responsibilities in graduate education and research. Form C Graduate Faculty members are external professionals with specific expertise in a given discipline.
Responsibilities
Form A and B nominees for Graduate Faculty membership should be qualified to teach graduate courses, advise graduate students at masters and doctoral levels, and conduct research and scholarly activity leading to refereed or other professional competitive publications or to comparable artistic, clinical, literary, or technical achievements appropriate to particular fields. Form A and B Graduate Faculty members may direct thesis research, serve on doctoral committees, teach 500-level and above courses and perform other such academic duties as may be authorized by the dean of the Graduate School. Only Form A and tenure-track or full-time fixed-term Form B faculty members may also chair doctoral committees, serve on Graduate Council and its committees, and vote on matters submitted to the Graduate Faculty for a vote.
Form C nominees should be qualified to teach graduate professional courses. Form C faculty may teach specific 800-level courses, but cannot advise graduate students at masters or doctoral levels; direct thesis research or any culminating experience; chair or serve otherwise as Graduate Faculty on doctoral committees; serve on Graduate Council and its committees; or vote on matters submitted to the Graduate Faculty for a vote.
Criteria for Appointment to the Graduate Faculty
FORM A NOMINEES
Faculty members holding the highest degrees in their fields who are appointed to tenured or tenure-track positions in academic departments offering the highest degrees in the field (Ph.D., D.Ed., M.D., J.D. or masters degree in Architecture (M. Arch.), Landscape Architecture (M.L.A.), or Fine Arts (M.F.A.)) are granted membership in the Graduate Faculty by the dean of the Graduate School upon the recommendation of the department head and the concurrence of the college dean. This membership is restricted to those faculty members who are assigned significant responsibilities in graduate education and research. It is the responsibility of the deans of the academic colleges to notify the Graduate School of faculty members who meet these criteria for membership.
• Form A - Recommendation for Membership in the Graduate Faculty (for Tenure-track or Tenured Faculty)
FORM B NOMINEES
All other candidates for Graduate Faculty membership must be approved in accordance with established procedures of the Graduate Council. Faculty members holding the highest degrees in their fields who hold adjunct, affiliate, part-time, or fixed-term appointments and tenured or tenure-track faculty members appointed to departments not offering the highest degrees in their fields must be recommended by the chair of the graduate program to which the candidate will contribute and be approved by the corresponding college evaluation committee, college dean and dean of the Graduate School. The chair must provide documentation of the candidate's ability and experience in graduate teaching, research and supervising graduate students, proposed duties as a member of the Graduate Faculty, professional credentials, and doctoral and master's projects supervised by the nominee, if applicable.
• Form B - Recommendation for Membership in the Graduate Faculty (For Adjunct, Affiliate, Part-time, and Fixed-Term Faculty)
In addition, the chair of a professional masters degree program (such as MBA, M.Ed., MPA or M.Eng.) may nominate an individual for membership based on his or her professional qualifications, which may not necessarily involve an active research agenda. Such nominees must have earned a doctorate or the highest degree in the field (see Form A above). Acceptable professional qualifications will typically include sustained successful experience in their field, active involvement in professional organizations, and scholarship such as participation in professional conferences. These professionals should be nominated on the basis of their potential contribution to the professional education of graduate students in the masters program. The program chair must state the anticipated role of the nominee in the graduate program; this contribution should go well beyond teaching 500-level courses, and may include supervision of students who are preparing masters papers or who are participating in professional internships.
FORM C NOMINEES
Form C category Graduate Faculty membership must be approved in accordance with established procedures of the Graduate Council. Nominees must be recommended by the chair of the graduate program to which the candidate will contribute and be approved by the corresponding college evaluation committee, the college dean, and the Dean of the Graduate School (as per Form B nominations). The chair must provide documentation of the candidate's ability and experience, and list proposed teaching duties as a Form C Graduate Faculty member. Qualifications of individuals nominated for Graduate Faculty (Form C) membership should include a) a terminal degree in a relevant field and b) evidence of teaching ability. In exceptional cases, nominations for Form C membership may be considered for individuals who do not hold a terminal degree but for whom clear evidence of a) outstanding experience, sustained excellence and recognized leadership in their professional field and b) teaching ability are evident. If the proposed individual for Form C nomination has no evidence of formal classroom teaching experience, then if approved, the Form C member must be supervised for one semester by a member of the program's tenure-line Graduate Faculty. Form C category members may be approved for up to a 3 year period of membership to teach specified 800-level courses, and if requested by the graduate program, may be reviewed for reappointment for additional 3 year-periods based on the individual's performance. All Form C Graduate Faculty will be evaluated by means of both student evaluations (SRTEs) each time a course is taught, and peer evaluations (by tenure-line members of the Graduate Faculty in the respective program) on an annual basis. Reappointment requires submission of a Form C renewal together with an updated CV and student and peer evaluation summaries for courses taught during the previous appointment period (see forms for Form C appointment). Academic units to which Form C Graduate Faculty are appointed are also required to provide newly appointed Form C members with an orientation that communicates a shared understanding of what constitutes graduate level instruction and learning, and expectations for the quality of graduate level instruction.
Note - Graduate students are NOT eligible for nomination to the Graduate Faculty (any category) and are not allowed to teach graduate-level courses.
• Form C - Recommendation for Graduate Faculty Membership (Eligibility to teach 800-level professional graduate courses) and Renewal of Form C Graduate Faculty Membership
College Evaluation Committees
The dean of each college or school, as well as the dean of the College of Medicine and the respective provosts and deans of Penn State Harrisburg, Penn State Erie, and Dickinson School of Law each shall each year send to the Graduate School, for the dean's concurrence, the names of faculty members serving on the college/school evaluation committee. It shall consist of no less than a chairperson and two members, all of whom shall be tenured or tenure-track members of the Graduate Faculty, and whose terms of service shall be staggered to ensure continuity.
Administrative Guidelines
Appeal Procedure
The dean of the Graduate School shall be the final appeal authority for any recommendation of an evaluation committee, and may establish such ad hoc procedures in each case as deemed appropriate.
Adjunct, Affiliate, Part-time, and Fixed-Term Faculty Members
Graduate Faculty appointments for these persons are made for the period of their affiliation with the University. They are expected to participate actively in the graduate program, and to interact with students and faculty in a context of research or other creative activity that extends beyond the scope of an instructional assignment.
Temporary Appointments of Visiting Faculty
Based on the criteria for Graduate Faculty Form B or Form C above , these temporary appointments may be made for the period of affiliation by the dean of the Graduate School on the recommendation of the program chairperson.
Form C Graduate Faculty Members
Form C Graduate Faculty appointments are made for designated time periods of up to 3 years, with the possibility of renewal (see forms for Form C appointment), to teach specific 800-level courses. They are expected to provide high quality instruction and interact with students effectively within the faculty evaluation guidelines of their assigned academic unit. They do not have other privileges of Graduate Faculty membership.
Tenure in the Graduate Faculty
A member may be dropped from the rolls of the Graduate Faculty by the dean of the Graduate School upon the recommendation or concurrence of the program chairperson and with the concurrence of the college evaluation committee if he or she fails to participate significantly in the graduate affairs of the University or has no record of continuing scholarly or creative activity. A member may be dismissed from the Graduate Faculty by the dean for failure to maintain appropriate standards of professional ethics as described in University Policy AD-47. The action will be contingent upon the recommendation of the ad hoc investigatory committee, consistent with University Policy RA-10. Criteria for such dismissal include: ethical misconduct, including fraud, fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, and other serious deviation from accepted practices within the roles of teacher, researcher/scholar, colleague, and member of the University; failure to adhere to the principles of coauthorship in scholarly reports, papers, and publications (ref. RA-13); or failure to exercise utmost good faith in all transactions touching upon the individual's duties with and on behalf of the University, so as to avoid conflict between the interests of the University and the member of the Graduate Faculty (ref. HR-91).
Composition of Doctoral Committees
Doctoral committees are appointed by the dean of the Graduate School on the recommendation of the program chairperson and consist of four or more members of the Graduate Faculty, at least two of whom represent the major field of study, with at least one representing a field outside of it. The chair or at least one co-chair of the committee must be a faculty member in the major field. Special members who are not members of the Graduate Faculty but who offer particular expertise in the doctoral candidate's specialty may be added to the committee with the dean's approval. If such individuals will participate as readers and critics of the dissertation but not as full participants in the committee's functions, they may be added as special signatories of the dissertation rather than as committee members. The dean may on occasion appoint one or more members of the committee in addition to those recommended by the program chair.
Teaching by Non-members of the Graduate Faculty
Under special circumstances, on recommendation of the program chairperson and on approval of the dean of the Graduate School, non-graduate faculty members may be approved to teach specific 500-level courses.
• Form - Recommendation form for approval to teach 500- or 800- level course (by non-members of the Graduate Faculty)
Graduate Faculty Rights and Responsibilities
Members of Graduate Faculty who are tenured, on the tenure track or full-time fixed term shall have all the rights and responsibilities specified in a) through e) below.
Retired and emeritus faculty members shall have the rights and responsibilities in a) and b); and c) if, and only if, he/she began chairing the committee prior to retirement and has the continuing approval of the department head or program chair; but not d) and e) below.
Adjunct, affiliate, visiting and part-time fixed term faculty members shall have the rights and responsibilities in a) and b), but not c), d) and e) below.
Graduate Faculty (Form C) members shall have the rights and responsibilities in a) within the limits of approved teaching designated in Form C, but not b), c), d), or e).
a) Teach graduate level courses.
b) Serve on graduate students' committees.
c) Chair doctoral committees in accordance with policy on Advisers and
Doctoral Committees in the Graduate Degree Programs Bulletin .
d) Serve on the Graduate Council and its committees and subcommittees.
e) Vote on matters submitted to the graduate faculty for vote.
Approved by Graduate Council, May 11, 2005