Scope

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Reason for Policy

In his 2017 State of the University address, President Michael McRobbie called for a redoubling of efforts to assure pervasive excellence in teaching and learning through a number of new initiatives aimed at underscoring the central importance of excellent teaching on all campuses of Indiana University. One such initiative focused on strengthening career paths for faculty devoted to teaching and learning. In particular, President McRobbie asked that:

…the UFC and other faculty governance organizations work with campus academic leadership to consider developing new, well-defined, rigorous pathways for tenure and promotion based specifically on excellence in teaching. The pathways should be evidence-based, use multiple types of evidence of excellence, consider evidence of student learning, and be peer reviewed. I also ask that they consider changes to the non-tenure-track ranks to provide stronger career paths that recognize the professionalism of these important and growing segments of IU’s instructional community. In this connection, UFC might also consider other full-time faculty ranks to recognize long-term commitment to excellence and mentorship in teaching. (President Michael A. McRobbie, 10.10.2017)

Following considerable discussion among faculty governance groups across the campuses of Indiana University, the University Faculty Council (UFC) recommended the creation of a new tier within the lecturer career path, teaching professor, to ensure that the professional path for lecturers was parallel to that for the tenure stream and clinical professor ranks, both of which include three tiers. This recommendation was approved by the Indiana University Board of Trustees in June, 2019. The rank of teaching professor is situated at the top of the lecturer rank, beyond lecturer and senior lecturer.

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Procedures

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Definitions

The table below reflects recommendations of the Promotion and Tenure Ad Hoc Task Force. These standards reflect an initial effort to establish minimum expectations for promotion to senior lecturer and teaching professor for all academic units at IU Indianapolis, IU Columbus and IU Fort Wayne. School criteria (and department criteria, when applicable) are expected to meet or exceed these levels of performance.

External Reviewer Requirement:

Standards for Satisfactory Service:

Note on criteria formatting: Currently, the IU Indianapolis P&T Guidelines present criteria in two grids. One has expectations for particular faculty types and ranks without regard to area of excellence. The other stipulates expectations for areas of excellence, without regard to faculty type. A formatting change is in development which presents expectations for each faculty type and rank, by area of excellence. A separate document, “Standards for Excellence in Teaching,” provides the old and new formats.

Key Highlights of Proposed Changes:

1. There are no changes to the current standards for tenure-track and clinical cases based on excellence in teaching. Tenure-track cases require an emerging (associate) or achieved (full) national reputation, dissemination in teaching, and disseminated scholarship in one’s research area. Clinical cases require national-level peer-reviewed dissemination in teaching (clinical associate professor), sustained over time (clinical professor).
2.  No changes are proposed for any requirements pertaining to student input on teaching or to peer evaluations.
3. Senior lecturers and teaching professors must both establish strong teaching records (student learning outcomes) and a distinct teaching philosophy. Candidates may choose a specific domain within teaching to demonstrate excellence (e.g., curriculum development, student support, mentoring, classroom instruction, technological innovation).
4. Senior lecturers would not need peer-reviewd dissemination, whereas teaching professors would.
5. Senior lecturers would not need external reviewers beyond IU Indianapolis, whereas teaching professors would.
6. Teaching professors would need to demonstrate sustained excellence over time. While a specific period of time is not stipulated, it is assumed that faculty will demonstrate five or more years of excellence at the senior lecturer rank, similar to current language regarding advancement to full professor. For a transition period through 2023-2024, each promotion case would be examined for a sustained record of excellence, regardless of the exact rank held at the time (e.g., a candidate may have met the criteria and standards for senior lecturer while holding the rank of lecturer).

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History

Process for Developing Campus Standard:

• Fall 2019: Ad Hoc Committee to Revise Promotion and Tenure produces, “Moving the Middle” document, based on input from FACET and from a group working on a Scholarly Teaching Taxonomy. Ad Hoc Committee includes non-tenure-track faculty, representation from large schools, and members of the campus Promotion and Tenure Committee as well as the Faculty Affairs Committee from the IU Indianapolis Faculty Council.
• Timeline developed by Executive Vice Chancellor Kathy Johnson and IFC President John Watson.
• Workshop held October 31, 2019.
• January 2020: Information item for IU Indianapolis Faculty Council. Questions asked, answered; feedback, incorporated into new proposal (after distribution to Ad Hoc Committee)
• Due: January 30, school-level criteria
• Next steps:
  February 4, 2020 IFC meeting: 1st reading of change
  March 3, 2020 IFC meeting: 2nd reading of change; vote
  If adopted:
  First candidates for teaching professor may apply for the 2020-2021 cycle, including completing submission of a dossier in summer 2020 and preparing materials for external review in spring 2020. Future reviewer requirements: Candidates for senior lecturer may use new criteria for the 2020-2021 cycle, but may also use existing criteria. Reviewers need not be external.
  From 2020 through 2024, “time in rank” will be interpreted on a case by case
  basis.
  
  
• IUPUI and IUPUC were changed to IU Indianapolis and IU Columbus, February 2026, to reflect the change in the campus's names. 

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