Clinical Faculty
Per the Faculty Handbook “Clinical faculty track consists of faculty in the College whose work is primarily teaching in a clinical setting and as appropriate to their individual disciplines.” The Clinical faculty track is a non-tenure line. In the College, the Clinical faculty track consists of faculty members who hold clinical licenses/credentials and who may practice as clinicians in their disciplines. They are primarily hired to mentor/teach students in clinical disciplines and/or clinical settings. Clinical faculty may hold the rank
- Assistant Clinical Professor
- Associate Clinical Professor
- Clinical Professor
Faculty in the Clinical faculty track will normally be hired at the rank of Assistant Clinical Professor, but rank may be negotiated at the time of hire depending on qualifications and experience.
Clinical faculty must be evaluated annually by the unit Director/Chair based on the unit’s guidelines with more extensive reviews performed in the last year of multi-year contracts. Extensive reviews will be completed by the unit’s PTC with input from the Director/Chair and then sent on to the Dean for action of renewal or non-renewal.
Clinical faculty members may be employed on the basis of full-time or part-time appointments.
Clinical faculty members may negotiate a shift from a full-time to a part-time appointment, or from a part-time to a full-time appointment without loss of rank.
Percentage distribution of scholarship, teaching, and service responsibilities are negotiated with the Chair/Director at the time of hire in the letter of offer and annually as appropriate to meet the needs of the unit or college.
Faculty holding a Clinical Track position are eligible to apply for tenure track positions when they become available. The criteria for rank determination in the Clinical Track and the Tenure Track differ. Hence, a faculty member’s rank in the Clinical Track is not necessarily transferable to the Tenure Track.
A. Promotion
In all review cases, the weight given teaching must be considered in light of other demands made on the faculty member by hiring agreements or activities necessary to fulfill the unit’s mission. For example, a candidate may have been hired with the understanding that workload would include administrative responsibilities or may have received resources for scholarly activities that include a reduced teaching workload.
Specific teaching responsibilities will occur through dialogue between the faculty member, the unit Director/Chair, the Program Director, and/or the Chair of the unit’s PTC (other committee members also may be involved) and will reflect the goals and needs of the program (including interdisciplinary teaching, if applicable) and the professional goals of the individual faculty member.
The unit Director/Chair shall provide a written record of decisions that may later affect promotion decisions to the faculty member and copies retained in his/her permanent file. To this end, the candidate must maintain accurate documentation (e.g., summary notes of conversations with the Director/Chair, email correspondences) of any changes in workload and expectations that may occur during the pre-promotion period. These documents may be used in the evaluative materials submitted by the candidate at the time of review.
B. Early Promotion
Although typical time periods in a given rank are usually expected (e.g., a minimum of 5 years in the rank of Assistant and a minimum 5 years in the rank of Associate), demonstrated merit, not years of service, shall be the guiding factor for promotion. Promotion shall not be automatic nor will it be regarded as guaranteed upon completion of a typical term of service.
A recommendation for early promotion is possible but requires that a case be made for the candidate’s exceptionality as defined in these guidelines and specified by units. The
candidate must explicitly address the case for exceptionality in the dossier under each section as applicable. Faculty members who apply for early promotion and tenure and are not successful may reapply in the following year.
Candidates are advised to conduct preliminary discussions with their chair and the Dean prior to submission for early promotion/tenure by the last day of the spring semester prior to early review.
C. Review of Clinical Faculty
Promotion through the ranks from Assistant Clinical Professor to Clinical Professor is in recognition of the accomplishments of the faculty member being considered. All Clinical faculty members in the College are encouraged to move through the academic ranks to achieve the status of Clinical Professor.
1. Pre-Promotion Review
In addition to annual evaluations, clinical track faculty planning on applying for promotion should request a pre-promotion review. Depending on the terms and conditions of hire and the historical relationship with the College, the timeline may vary. Ideally, the review would take place in the fall term, three years prior to applying for promotion. It is noted that individual circumstances may alter the timeline. Congruent with the College’s goal of collaboration and mentorship, the Unit PTC will work with the candidate to assist in preparation and guidance for the review. It is the responsibility of the candidate to initiate this process. By the second Monday of September, the candidate will submit to the PTC a dossier conforming to the college template.
The unit PTC and unit Director/Chair will review the materials by the end of the first week of spring term. The candidate will receive a letter from the unit Director/Chair that integrates all feedback about his/her progress toward promotion. The letter will include suggestions regarding which area(s) the candidate may need to strengthen and improve. The unit Director/Chair will issue the pre-promotion review letter no later than February 15.
2. Assistant Clinical Professor to Associate Clinical Professor
Depending on the terms of hire and the standards of the academic unit, promotion from the rank of Assistant Clinical Professor to Associate Clinical Professor will be based on one or more of the following and should be consistent with the workload and defined clinical responsibilities for the faculty member:
a. Teaching/Mentorship
A demonstrated record of effectiveness as a teacher/mentor.
b. Scholarship (if applicable)
A record of peer-reviewed scholarly activity that contributes to a focus within the candidate’s discipline or field of study and demonstrates the candidate’s intellectual development, scholarly independence, and potential to sustain a thematic/focused research program.
c. Service
A record of service including administration to the discipline, the academic unit, and, where possible, the unit, College, and/or University and to the public as well as the profession at large.
d. Clinical Activities
Evaluation of clinical service according to documented workload. Specifically clinical service should be clearly explained and include performance measures according to supervision, administration, and/or direct patient contact as applicable. Discussion of teaching and research (if applicable) in light of clinical service must be included.
3. Associate Clinical Professor to Clinical Professor
Depending on the terms of hire and the standards of the academic unit, promotion from the rank of Associate Clinical Professor to Clinical Professor will be based on one or more of the following and should be consistent with the workload and defined clinical responsibilities for the faculty member:
a. Teaching/Mentorship
Demonstrated continued growth and a cumulative record of mentoring/teaching effectiveness that includes expertise in their content area, integration of pedagogical practices, and/or curriculum development.
b. Scholarship
A consistent record of peer-reviewed scholarly activity that contributes to the candidate’s discipline or field of study.
c. Service
Demonstrated leadership in service to the unit, College, and/or University and to the public as well as the profession at large. Portions of this leadership should reflect national recognition in the candidate’s profession or area of study.
d. Clinical Activities
Markers of continued excellence in clinical service according to documented workload. Specifically, clinical service should be clearly explained and include performance measures and indicators of leadership according to supervision, administration, and/or direct patient contact as applicable. In lieu of direct clinical service, the candidate should clearly explain the correlation of clinical experience to his/her teaching, research, and/or service.
Continued growth in all areas is expected from the time of appointment to Clinical Associate Professor. National or international recognition of the candidate’s work in teaching, research, and/or service is an expectation for promotion.
If significant but unrecognized administrative duties prohibit continued growth in any of the areas, the PTC may consider the circumstances as long as documentation is provided.
D. Documentation
The college PTAC will focus review on documentation that would advance to the Provost and can request supplemental materials such as teaching portfolios. Required documentation will be submitted electronically and must include the following:
Section One -- Introductory documents
- Signed review form for promotion
- College dean letter
- Unit Chair/Director letter
- Unit PTC letter
- Regional campus dean non-decision, input letter (if applicable)
- Annual evaluation letters and any promotion progress letters
- Appointment letter
Section Two – Promotion Summary Documents (Dossier)
- Table of Contents
- Academic preparation
- Professional experience
- Instruction and Advising
- Teaching load
- Teaching effectiveness
- Evidence of course organization, presentation, and requirements, including 2-course syllabi
- Student course evaluation results
- List of teaching awards and recognition
- Selection for teaching in special programs
- Participation, as a student, in the teaching enhancement program
- Other evidence of teaching effectiveness (e.g. instructor self-assessments, sample course materials, measures of student learning, peer reviews, academic leader reviews, and/or stakeholder feedback)
- Interdisciplinary teaching
- Advising and supervision
- Research and Scholarly Accomplishments (if applicable) such as:
- Articles in professional journals
- Other publications and presentations
- Books or book chapters
- Sponsored research and grants
- Proposals
- Evidence of Clinical Practice such as:
- Evidence of expanded clinical services and/or new service lines created in the practice area
- Evidence of clinical quality outcomes; indicators selected and reported by the applicant
- Evidence of annual patient satisfaction data/ratings that illustrate trends over time (e.g. 3-5 years)
- Demonstrated timeliness/adequacy of completion of medical records and other documentation
- Attainment of board certification or recertification
- Implemented patient safety and continuous quality improvement measures
- Development of clinical and community program(s) increasing access to community service
- Demonstrated ability to work in and/or lead interprofessional teams of healthcare providers
- Developed patient education materials from clinical expertise and evidence-based practices
- Leadership position within the practice, such as medical director, or clinical practices consultant; sustained track record of exemplary clinical leadership
- Peers external to the college/department have judged the activity as exemplary and leading to the improvement of practice
- Letter from employer substantiating candidate is in good standing in the practice
- Committees and service
- Division, unit, college, university committee service
- State and national professional services, such as:
- Member of professional association committees, task forces, workgroups, etc.
- Elected office, board of directors, etc.
- Contributor to the improvement of clinical practice standards
- Consultant to clinical practice or clinical product development
- Editorial consultant/reviewer
- Member of an accreditation organization
- Interdisciplinary contributions
- Other factors