Comprehensive Standard #3.7.1 (Qualifications)

The institution employs competent faculty members qualified to accomplish the mission and goals of the institution. When determining acceptable qualifications of its faculty, an institution gives primary consideration to the highest earned degree in the discipline in accordance with the guidelines listed below. The institution also considers competence, effectiveness, and capacity, including, as appropriate, undergraduate and graduate degrees, related work experiences in the field, professional licensure and certifications, honors and awards, continuous documented excellence in teaching, or other demonstrated competencies and achievements that contribute to effective teaching and student learning outcomes. For all cases, the institution is responsible for justifying and documenting the qualifications of its faculty.

Credential Guidelines:

Compliance Certification:

The College of William and Mary is in compliance with this comprehensive standard.

Explanation

The College is committed to attracting and retaining excellent faculty. Faculty members engage in the full range of instructional, scholarly research, and professional service activities included in the mission.

As indicated in Code of Virginia 23-44, the Board of Visitors is responsible for faculty appointments. Justifications and credentials for full-time faculty appointments are prepared by the academic unit(s) seeking to employ faculty members. They are reviewed and, as appropriate, approved by the dean(s) and the Provost, and then submitted to the President and, finally, to the Board of Visitors for review and ultimate approval. The Faculty Handbook provides detailed policies governing recruitment, appointment, retention, tenure, post-tenure review, annual merit review, and professional conduct of faculty members. All faculty appointments require terminal degrees in the appropriate field (typically, the doctorate) and necessary preparation for teaching and scholarly or creative work at the professional level. All efforts to recruit faculty are governed by policies detailed in the Equal Opportunity Office. (See Equal Opportunity Search Procedures.)

Review of Credentials

As part of the compliance certification review, the College conducted an extensive review of faculty appointments and teaching assignments. Faculty records from the administrative data system and from faculty folders were matched with instructor and course assignment records also from the administrative data system. Any missing data were reconciled to ensure that each course section was reviewed. Schools and departments verified the accuracy and completeness of all course and instructor data used for the reviews.

Once the data were compiled and verified, faculty members' academic preparations were compared with their course assignments. For the review, the Instructor of Record was the faculty member responsible for overall course content, student evaluation, and the assignment of student grades. The Roster of Instructional Staff presents a record for all faculty members teaching during Fall 2004 and Spring 2005 semesters. The Roster presents their academic preparation, course assignments, and any additional notes that support their experience or ability to teach their assigned courses.

In most cases, faculty members possess all academic credentials suggested in the guidelines. Though these faculty members also may possess extensive experience, no additional notes on qualifications are provided for. Where faculty credentials differ from the guidelines, a description of the academic and/or professional experiences and credentials of the faculty member is presented in the notes column of the Roster. The comparison of the faculty credentials data with the suggested guidelines clearly supports the assessment that William and Mary faculty are qualified for their teaching assignments.

Comprehensive Standard 3.7.1 also indicates that all programs should have more than 25% of their undergraduate course hours in the major taught by faculty with a terminal degree in an appropriate discipline. Part of the review process evaluated faculty assigned to courses in the various undergraduate majors. All programs at William and Mary significantly exceed the standard. Data for each program are contained in the Instructional Roster for Academic Year 2004-2005, available to SACS Reviewers on the accompanying CD.

The College of William and Mary limits the use of graduate teaching assistants (TAs) as primary instructors. Most teach in laboratory or "breakout" sections. Regularly appointed faculty members coordinate these courses in various departments. Course content, outlines, and materials are the responsibility of the full-time faculty members. Only those graduate students who meet the requirements detailed in Recommendations of the Ad Hoc Committee on Teaching Assistants may serve as instructors of record. (See also Educational Policy Committee Teaching Assistants Report.) The Recommendations define the various roles for graduate assistants involved in instruction and specify their preparation and supervision.

SACS Reviewers: Please review faculty credentials information contained in the accompanying CD labeled "Instructional Roster for Academic Year 2004-2005."

References