Nursing Education and Faculty Appointment, Promotion, and Tenure
Faculty
Appointment In Nursing Educational Institutes
Faculty
are appointed by the governing body of the college or university and are
responsible, in cooperation with the administration of the institution, for
teaching, scholarship, and service (Association of Governing Boards of
Universities and Colleges, 1996).
Faculty are appointed to fulfill various
responsibilities to meet the mission and goals of the college or university and
the school of nursing and, according to their degrees and experience, are
promoted and tenured on the basis of achievement of specified criteria.
Faculty
may hold appointments in more than one unit of the institution, including other
academic units or service units. Criteria for promotion and tenure are based on
the institution’s overall mission and thus vary among institutions.
Appointment
Tracks In Nursing Education
Faculty
may be appointed to a variety of full-time or part-time positions within
tracks. The tracks may include tenure, clinical, research scientist, or
lecturer/instructor. Within each track, faculty have the possibility for
promotion through ranks: assistant professor, associate professor, and
professor.
Each rank has its own criteria for teaching, scholarship, and
service, and for promotion within the rank. Appointment in the tenure track may
lead to tenure after a successful probationary period, often of seven years’
length. The awarding of tenure results in a permanent position at the school of
nursing.
Reappointment and review of continued service in tenured positions are
based on the evaluation of teaching, research, service components of the faculty
role, and is terminated post-tenure review. Non tenure track positions require
reappointment at specific intervals (eg, yearly or every 3 to 5 years).
The
tenure track is established for faculty whose primary responsibilities are
teaching and research. A doctoral degree or near completion of the degree is
required for appointment to the tenure track at most schools of nursing.
A
promise of excellence and the ability to be promoted to senior ranks is
required for a tenure track appointment. Faculty appointment to this rank is
considered tenure probationary until tenure is obtained after an extensive
review process, generally concluding in the seventh year of appointment.
The
clinical track, which does not have the protection of tenure, has been
developed at many institutions as an educator track, clinical educator track,
or educator practitioner track, depending on the primary focus of assigned
responsibilities. Appointment to this track is based on teaching and service
(clinical skills or clinical joint appointments).
Because this track allows for
possible promotion through the ranks of assistant, associate, and full
professor, a doctoral degree is often required for appointment to a clinical
track.
Although research is not the focus of this track, clinical or
educational scholarly dissemination is required for promotions in this track.
The increased use of clinical faculty is a growing trend as universities and
colleges reduce their reliance on tenure.
The
research scientist track is for faculty whose primary responsibility is funded
research and research dissemination through publications and presentations.
Although research scientists may have responsibilities for working with
students; serving on dissertation committees; teaching in the area of their
expertise; or providing service to the school, campus, or profession, their
time is protected for research through their securing of research grants from
external agencies.
Appointment is based on evidence of or promise of a funded
program of research. A doctoral degree and at least beginning research
experience are prerequisites for appointment to this track. Each school of
nursing defines the criteria for appointment and promotion to ranks (assistant,
associate, and full professor).
These criteria specify the responsibilities
associated with teaching, scholarship, and service. Schools of nursing also
develop temporary positions to which faculty can be appointed.
Visiting
positions may be appointed at any rank and designate someone who has a limited
appointment (1 or 2 years), who is on leave from another institution, who is
employed on a temporary basis, or who may be under consideration for a
permanent position within the school. The lecturer (sometimes called
instructor) position is considered to be a pre rank position.
It is used for
faculty who lack the necessary credentials (usually a terminal degree) for
appointment to a ranked position. Some institutions have an additional level
within this track (Senior Lecturer), allowing for at least a small avenue for
advancement in this track.
Adjunct
faculty are courtesy appointments for individuals whose primary employment is
outside the school of nursing but who have responsibility as clinical
preceptors or working with students on research projects. Adjunct faculty may
be appointed at any appropriate rank.
Emeritus is an honorific title that may
be conferred on faculty who are retired after significant service to an
institution. Faculty with emeritus status may be granted specific privileges,
such as use of the library, or computing services, or an office and secretarial
support. Students may be employed in limited teaching positions.
These
appointments, such as teaching assistant and associate instructor, are
temporary and usually part-time. Student employees are responsible only for
teaching or assisting faculty with teaching. They do not have the same level of
responsibility as full- or part-time faculty.
Teaching assistants must be
assigned to work with a faculty member who assumes responsibility for the
quality of their work. Student employees with teaching responsibilities often
receive a level of tuition waiver as part of their compensation.
The
Appointment Process In Nursing Institutes
The
appointment process in universities and colleges is somewhat different from
positions in nursing service, and nurses who are applying for teaching
positions in schools of nursing should understand the differences. A search and
screen committee, appointed by the dean or another university administrator,
manages the interview process.
Interested applicants submit an application and
resume that are screened by this committee. Potential candidates are invited
for an interview with the search committee, faculty and administrators at the
school of nursing, and others at the college or university as appropriate.
Depending
on the requirements of the position for which they are applying, applicants may
be asked to make a presentation of their research or to demonstrate their
teaching skills. At the time of appointment, the applicant’s records are
reviewed by the APT committee, or other appropriate committee, which recommends
a hiring rank to the dean.
Tenure
and Promotion In Nursing Education
What Is Tenure
Tenure
to the university is a reciprocal responsibility on the part of both the
university and the faculty. The faculty member is expected to remain competent
and productive: maintaining high standards of teaching, research, service, and
professional conduct.
Tenure also assumes that the faculty member is promotable
at the time of tenure, and typically promotion to the next level and tenure
occurs at the same time. Tenure, then, provides the faculty member the
protection of academic freedom.
Academic freedom has been affirmed since 1940
by more than 200 institutions of higher education. It guarantees protection
against efforts by government, university administration, students, and even
public opinion to restrain faculties’ free expression in teaching or the free
exercise of their research interests (American Association of University
Professors (AAUP), 1989).
On the other hand, academic freedom does not give
faculty unbounded rights. For example, an individual faculty member does not
have the right to alter the curriculum, the sequence of courses, or the content
of established courses, or to subject students to discussions that are
irrelevant to the course.
Tenure can be withdrawn for reasons of financial
requirement on the part of the university and for unprofessional faculty
behavior. Finally, tenure does not highlight faculty from participating in
performance review. Many institutions have instituted a post-tenure review
process.
Tenure
is granted after an extensive review, using published criteria, of the evidence
submitted by the faculty member (a curriculum vitae and dossier). Most
institutions affirm excellence through the use of additional reviewers from
external peer institutions.
The tenure or promotion review is typically held in
the faculty member’s sixth year, with tenure granted in the seventh year for
successful candidates. Unsuccessful candidates are usually given a 1-year
notice of non-reappointment (often referred to as “up or out”).
At appointment,
faculty with a record of significant achievement may be granted a specific
number of years toward tenure, thus shortening the time for the tenure review.
Faculty who has achieved tenure at a comparably ranked institution may be hired
with tenure already conferred.
The
tenure process is specific to each school of nursing and institution, and
faculty who are appointed to a tenure track position should familiarize
themselves with the criteria and process before appointment. Although the
tenure and promotion process may seem mysterious, there are clear and specified
criteria.
The current attitude is to employ faculty who show high promise for
attaining tenure and being promoted and to provide support and mentoring that
will facilitate developing their into successful and fully capable members of
the academic community.
Although at one time tenure was an unquestioned right
of faculty, critics are now questioning its true benefit, and some institutions
of higher education have abandoned the notion altogether.
Promotion In Nursing Education
Promotion
refers to advancement in rank. As with the tenure review process, faculty must
submit evidence of excellence in teaching, scholarship, and/or service, as well
as other criteria established by the school and be judged by a committee of
peers, external reviewers, school and university administrators, and governing
bodies.
Criteria and processes for promotion, like those for tenure, are
established by faculty committees and are made public. Faculty
should familiarize themselves with promotion criteria and processes at the time
of appointment and establish a relationship with the primary APT committee and
the department chair, whose role it is to inform faculty about APT policies and
procedures.
As noted earlier, an expectation of senior faculty is to guide and
mentor junior faculty through the tenure and promotion process. Some schools of
nursing assign mentors at the time of appointment. If a mentor is not assigned,
the newly appointed faculty member should seek one.