This P&P includes the following main sections:

• Background
• Definitions
• General guidelines
• Criteria common to all ranks
• Main criteria for specific ranks
• Procedure for review

The promotion policy of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia is contained in the policy manual of the Board of Regents. SPSU's policy follows the Board policy, while also adding elements that reflect the history, structure, and identity of the university.

Described here are the following terms:

Year of Service

• A year of service toward tenure is considered to be a regular full-time appointment for an academic year. The year of submission and review is counted as a year of service.

• Time spent on leaves-of-absence interrupts one's service and will not normally be counted for credit toward tenure.

Program Peer Committee

• Each program peer committee consists of all tenured faculty in the program who are not current candidates for promotion.

• At the start of each fall semester, the committee begins a 12-month term and selects its own chairperson.

• In tenure cases, all faculty on the committee may discuss and vote on all candidates.

• In promotion cases, a committee member may discuss and vote on only those candidates seeking a rank equal to or lower than the rank of the committee member.

School Peer Committee

• Each school peer committee consists of one tenured full professor from each program in the school, elected by the tenure-track faculty in the respective program. If there is no tenured professor available, the program faculty may elect s tenured associate professor.

• At the start of each fall semester, the committee begins a 12-month term and selects its own chairperson.

• A faculty member may not serve simultaneously on the SPSU campus peer committee and any SPSU school peer committee.

• All members may discuss all cases for tenure and promotion. However, a member may not vote on (a) cases from his or her own program and (b) cases for rank higher than his or her own rank.

Campus Peer Committee

• The campus peer committee consists of one tenured full professor from each school, elected by the tenure-track faculty in each school. If there is no tenured professor available, the school faculty may elect a tenured associate professor.

• At the start of each fall semester, the committee begins a 12-month term and selects its own chairperson.

• A faculty member may not serve simultaneously on the SPSU campus peer committee and any school peer committee.

• All members may discuss all cases for tenure and promotion. However, a member may not vote on (a) cases from his or her own school and (b) cases for rank higher than his or her own rank.

Academic promotion at Southern Polytechnic is in accordance with published procedures and criteria. The SPSU promotion policy does not conflict with any Board of Regents stipulation with respect to promotion.

Promotion results from meeting established criteria and being positively reviewed through several levels of peer and administrative review.

The process at Southern Polytechnic culminates with the president's recommendation to the Board of Regents. The Board approves or disapproves the recommendation and is the final authority on promotion decisions.

No candidate shall be discriminated against on the basis of race, creed, national origin, ethnic background, age, gender, sexual orientation, or physical handicap (assuming duties of the position can be fulfilled) in the promotion process.

The appropriate academic administrator makes every effort to ensure that promotion carries with it an appropriate financial reward.

Promotion is a recognition of excellence, and nothing in this policy should be construed as a guarantee of promotion to any person.

Promotion will be based mainly on achievements and contributions during employment at Southern Polytechnic, with emphasis on the period since the last promotion.

This section includes most base-level criteria for promotion to all ranks. For details related to specific ranks, see the next section in this P&P.

Time in Rank

To receive a promotion at SPSU, normally faculty members should have completed at least the number of years at SPSU indicated below (with the understanding that the year the candidate is being reviewed is counted in the total):

• Three years as an instructor to be promoted to assistant professor
• Five years as assistant professor to be promoted to associate professor
• Five years as associate professor to be promoted to professor

Noteworthy Teaching

To receive promotion at SPSU, a faculty member must provide evidence of noteworthy teaching. Activities that fulfill this requirement are described in P&P 803.075 (Faculty Activities). As part of the documentation, candidates for promotion are required to submit (a) summaries of all available student evaluations for all academic year courses taught since the last promotion or since initial hire (see P&P 803.0701: Student Evaluation of Faculty) and (b) evidence that student evaluations have been used to improve teaching performance. Other evidence of may include peer reviews, administrative reviews, alumni evaluations, student comments, and noteworthy contributions such as examples of curriculum and course development.

Service

To be promoted to any rank at SPSU, faculty must provide evidence of excellent service to SPSU and, optionally, to the profession and/or community. Activities that fulfill this requirement are presented in P&P 803.075 (Faculty Activities).

Professional Growth and Development

To be promoted at SPSU, faculty must provide evidence of active professional growth and development over time. Activities that fulfill this requirement are presented in P&P 803.075 (Faculty Activities).

Academic Achievement

To be promoted at SPSU, faculty must provide evidence of solid academic achievement (also referred to as scholarship). Activities that fulfill this requirement are presented in P&P 803.075 (Faculty Activities). Note that the Faculty Activities P&P incorporates the Boyer/Glassick model with its four main types of scholarship-i.e., the scholarship of teaching, application, integration, and discovery.

This section lists specific promotion requirements that a faculty member must meet to be promoted to a higher rank. These requirements are covered for the following cases:

• Promotion from instructor to assistant professor
• Promotion from assistant professor to associate professor
• Promotion from associate professor to professor

Instructor to Assistant Professor

• Time in Rank: A faculty member should serve at least three years at the rank of instructor at Southern Polytechnic.

• Degree and Experience: An undergraduate faculty member should have at least a master's degree appropriate to the discipline. Degree requirements for graduate faculty are specified in P&P 803.0101 (Graduate Faculty Status).

• Evidence of Noteworthiness:
  • For all faculty candidates, evidence of noteworthy achievement is required in teaching.
  • For undergraduate faculty candidates, noteworthy achievement is required in either service, academic achievement, or professional growth and development.
  • For graduate faculty candidates, noteworthy performance is required in academic achievement.

Assistant Professor to Associate Professor

• Time in Rank: A faculty member should serve at least five years at the rank of assistant professor at Southern Polytechnic.

• Degree and Experience: An undergraduate faculty member should have at least a master's degree appropriate to the discipline. Degree requirements for graduate faculty are specified in P&P 803.0101(Graduate Faculty Status).

• Evidence of Noteworthiness:
  • For all faculty candidates, evidence of noteworthy achievement is required in teaching.
  • For undergraduate faculty candidates, evidence of noteworthy achievement is required in either service, academic achievement, or professional growth and development.
  • For graduate faculty candidates, evidenced of noteworthy performance is required in academic achievement.

Associate Professor to Professor

• Time in Rank: A faculty member should serve at least five years at the rank of associate professor at Southern Polytechnic.

• Degree and Experience: Faculty should have an advanced degree appropriate to the discipline. In keeping with Board of Regents Policy Manual 803.08, promotion to full professor "requires the doctor's degree or its equivalent in training, ability, or experience. Neither the possession of a doctorate nor longevity of service is a guarantee per se of promotion." Degree requirements for graduate faculty are specified in P&P 803.0101 (Graduate Faculty Status).

• Evidence of Noteworthiness:
  • For all faculty candidates, evidence must be submitted that shows the candidate has earned the respect of colleagues and is recognized as a leader.
  • For all faculty candidates, evidence of noteworthy achievement is required in teaching.
  • For undergraduate faculty candidates, evidence of noteworthy achievement is required in two of the following areas: service, academic achievement, and professional growth and development.
  • For graduate faculty candidates, evidence of noteworthy achievement is required in academic achievement and in one of the following areas: service or professional growth and development.

Each year by April 15, the vice president for academic affairs (a) notifies each faculty member who is completing, or has completed, the minimum number of years in rank to be considered for promotion and (b) issues the main deadlines that relate to the procedure.

Note:

Any eligible faculty member may initiate his or her own candidacy for promotion. It is the responsibility of the faculty member to assemble his or her own promotion package. He or she has the option to continue or to discontinue candidacy at any point in the promotion process.

The eligible faculty member submits the promotion package to the school dean by the announced deadline. The package must include the following parts when it is submitted to the dean:

• Cover sheet

• Resume in official SPSU format

• List of all course sections taught at SPSU, term by term

• Narrative-a maximum 8-page, single-spaced section in which the faculty member does the following:
  • shows how the details of teaching, service, professional growth and development, and academic achievement fit into an overall plan-emphasizing goals, preparation, methods, results, and self-reflection
  • provides clear support for the noteworthiness of one's teaching
  • provides clear support for the noteworthiness of one's contributions in other areas as required by criteria for the rank

• Summaries of official SPSU student evaluations for all courses taught for the last four academic years (note that spring term evaluations only became required as of 2001 and thus may not be available for some years)

• Two letters from appropriate experts outside the university-providing an objective evaluation of some or all of the candidate's work related to professional growth and development and/or to one or more of the four types of scholarship

• Appendix-a maximum 50-page section (paged, with a table of contents) that includes any additional supporting material the candidate wants to have considered

Note:

In stages of review that follow, supporting letters from the following committees or individuals will be added to the front of the packet, immediately after the cover sheet:

The dean forwards the package to the chairperson of the faculty member's program peer committee. The chairperson schedules meetings of the committee to review and vote on program promotion packages.

Note:

By a 2/3 vote of a school's tenured faculty and by agreement of the dean and VPAA, a school may elect to bypass review by the program peer committee and move directly to review by the school peer committee.

The program peer committee conducts its review and submits a letter to the school dean that does the following:

The dean forwards the package--with the letter of the program peer committee--to the chairperson of the school peer committee. The chairperson schedules meetings of the committee to review and vote on school promotion packages.

The school peer committee conducts its review and submits a letter to the school dean that does the following:

The school dean conducts his or her review and then submits a letter concerning the case to the vice president for academic affairs. The letter does the following:

The VPAA forward the packages-with all supporting letters from the program peer committee, school peer committee, and dean-to the chairperson of the campus peer committee. The chairperson schedules meetings of the committee to review and vote on university promotion packages.

The campus peer committee conducts its review and then submits a letter concerning the case to the vice president for academic affairs. The letter does the following:

The VPAA reviews all promotion packages--whether or not they have received positive or negative reviews at the previous levels of review:

The president reviews all promotion packages forwarded to his or her office by the vice president for academic affairs: