Standard 5 Supporting Artifacts
Narrative
Standard 5: Faculty Qualifications, Performance, and Development
Faculty are qualified and model best professional practices in scholarship, service, and teaching, including the assessment of their own effectiveness as related to candidate performance; they also collaborate with colleagues in the disciplines and schools. The unit systematically evaluates faculty performance and facilitates professional development.
Level: Initial and Advanced
The College of Education at the University of Georgia has attracted and nurtured a faculty with national and international recognition. Faculty are qualified and model best professional practices in teaching, scholarship, and service. Faculty creatively collaborate across departments within the College, with faculty in other colleges at the university, and with colleagues in P-12 schools. The College of Education systematically evaluates faculty performance and facilitates professional development. (Standard 5.5)
Faculty quality contributes significantly to the national college ranking of the College of Education. In U.S. News & World Report (2004), ranked 24th overall, 14th among public institutions, and 3rd in the South. Eight programs in the College are in the top 20 for their disciplines.
Standard 5.1: Qualified Faculty
For the year 2005-2006, the College of Education at the University of Georgia employed a total of 270 faculty members 184 tenured or tenure-track, 35 career-track, 5 temporary full-time, and 58 part-time faculty. Of this total, the unit employed 33 faculty of color representing approximately 17% of the faculty and 127 women representing approximately 47% of the faculty.
Faculty are highly qualified to teach in their assigned disciplines. All tenured and tenure-track faculty hold doctoral degrees or terminal degrees in the academic fields in which they are assigned. All non-tenure track faculty and clinical faculty have appropriate credentials and experience in the area in which they are assigned to teach or supervise. Of the 270 faculty members currently employed, only five non-tenure track faculty members do not terminal degrees. One lecturer (Communication Sciences and Special Education) and one academic professional (speech clinician) were hired based on quality and experience prior to the terminal-degree requirement. One lecturer is completing a Ph.D. in Sports Management. One faculty member (Educational Psychology and Instructional Technology) is teaching as an instructor, a rank for which the terminal degree is not required. One lecturer (speech clinician) is part-time and holds a master’s degree.
Cooperatingteachers and other supervising school personnel are experienced and certified in the specialties in which candidates are assigned. All cooperating teachers and supervisors have a minimum of three years of experience. A sampling of mentor teachers and clinical supervisors in spring 2005 indicated that in actual practice, the qualifications of the field supervisors exceeded these minimum criteria with an average of 13 years of experience and the majority of supervisors holding advanced master’s, specialist, or doctoral degrees (68%).
Standard 5.2 Modeling Best Professional Practices in Teaching
Teaching is central to the mission of the university and the college. In the guidelines for promotion and tenure, teaching is defined as “communicating knowledge to candidates and developing in them the desire and skills necessary to continue learning. The university distinguishes between routine classroom performance and contributions to teaching that draw upon the teacher’s depth and breadth of scholarship. Teaching includes not only formal classroom instruction, but also advising and mentoring of undergraduate and graduate candidates.”
The unit’s faculty members, through their training and continued professional development activities, maintain an in-depth understanding of their specialties. These scholar-professionals integrate what is known from their disciplines into their own instructional practice. They exhibit intellectual growth and sensitivity to classic scholarship and emerging issues related to both content and pedagogy. Faculty model best professional practices in teaching through (a) a broad range of pedagogical strategies used in classroom instruction, (b) the construction of supporting materials and resources to supplement class experience, and (c) the on-going curricula revision apparent at the course and program level.
The unit’s evaluation of faculty performance occurs in a variety of ways including the tenure, promotion, and post-tenure review processes as well as annual reviews of performance. During 2000-2005, 37 faculty members have been promoted to associate professor with tenure, and 29 have been promoted to full professor. Of tenured faculty members, 118 have successfully completed post-tenure review processes, and 3 have been engaged in improvement plans based on recommendations from the review committee.
Candidates provide feedback on the quality of instruction through course evaluations and exit surveys. Course evaluations for the last seven semesters indicate a range of averages on a 5-point scale (with 5 reflecting excellence) across the college at the undergraduate level of 4.14 to 4.39 and at the graduate level of 4.18 to 4.45. Exit surveys with teacher- education candidates from 2004-05 indicate that over 90% of candidates agreed that faculty encouraged reflective practice, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills; used a variety of instructional strategies; and integrated diversity and technology throughout their teaching.A review of course syllabi provides evidence of a full range of pedagogical strategies in classroom instruction. Topical outlines, class assignments and activities, and program assessments support faculty commitment to the conceptual framework, current research and developments in their specialties, and the development of professional dispositions. Specifically, review of syllabi indicate faculty support for candidate learning particularly in their capacity for self-reflection and critical thinking, sensitivity and advocacy related to diversity issues, and ability to use technology. Across programs, candidates are involved in many experiences including reflective journals, case studies, project-centered instruction, group activities, film, fiction, technology-based projects, inquiry projects, debates, demonstrations, exhibits, and other instructional strategies. In advanced programs, faculty mentor candidates as they engage in individual and collaborative research efforts that culminate in publications and/or presentations at national conferences. Candidates at all levels are involved in a variety of service learning projects within partnerships nurtured by faculty with P-12 schools and/or community groups. Increasingly, faculty in initial and advanced programs are requiring candidates to document their experiences and outcomes through the use of LiveText.
LiveText Implementation & Evaluation News
Excellence in teaching is also apparent through the national ranking of the College of Education and the number of awards for teaching received by faculty. During the last five years, faculty in the College of Education have been recognized for the quality of their teaching through selection for the Richard B. Russell Undergraduate Teaching Award, the Faculty Senate D. Keith Osborn Award for Teaching Excellence, the Lilly Fellows Award, the Senior Teaching Fellows Award, the Ira E. Aaron Award for Teaching Excellence and Collegiality, and the Donald O. Schneider Award for Mentoring.
College and University Teaching Award Recipients, 2001-2005
Standard 5.3: Model Best Professional Practices in Scholarship
As part of a research-extensive university, the expectations for scholarship are rigorous. The promotion and tenure guidelines for the university note: “Research and creative accomplishments are the studious inquiry or examination, especially critical investigation or experimentation, that have as their purpose to improve the development, refinement and application of knowledge…. Inquiry and originality are central functions of the University. Faculty are to discover new ideas, to fashion new interpretations of enduring ideas, and to participate in the application of these ideas. Consequently, faculty should conduct research or engage in other creative activities appropriate to their disciplines and to the missions of their appointment units, and they should disseminate the results of their work through media appropriate to their disciplines.” These expectations are apparent in guidelines for recruitment and hiring, promotion and tenure materials, and the conceptual framework for the college.
Faculty are extensively involved in numerous types of scholarship and routinely integrate this work with teaching and service. The 2004 annual report for the college indicates an extraordinary record of productivity by faculty including 227 journal articles, 27 books, 119 book chapters, 14 edited books, 513 presentations at national or international conferences, and 177 workshops. Of publications within the college during 2004, 20% were related to diversity.
2004 Faculty Scholarly Activities Report
COE Publications by Journals, 2004
2004 Faculty Publications Related to Diversity
The unit continued to attain national distinction in research through the awards of our faculty and through external funding. Faculty received a number of awards, including Derrick Alridge, who was named a Rising Star in Academe by Black Issues in Higher Education; Deryl Bailey, who was recognized by the National Association for Multicultural Education; Melissa Cahnmann, who received a $10,000 award for her poetry; Shawn Glynn, who received the Georgia Research Award in science education; and Wendy Ruona, who received the Early Career Scholar Award from the Academy of Human Resource Development. Faculty are also involved in grant writing, and for the academic year 2004-2005, faculty received $18,075,490 in external grants and contracts including a CDC grant for Workplace Exercise Study for $1.3 million; $2.4 million from the U.S. Department of Education to develop a web-based program aimed at preparing more special education teachers; and $1.06 million for Evidence-based Technology Enhanced Alternative Curriculum in Higher Education (E-TEACH); a $318,775 Spencer Foundation grant for a historical study of the education of the freed people; and $2.53 million for continued work in teacher education, particularly science and mathematics education
COE Grant Awards Fiscal 2003 - 2005
Standard 5.4: Model Best Professional Practices in Service
University guidelines for promotion and tenure note that “service to society refers to the function of applying academic expertise to the direct benefit of external audiences in support of unit and university missions. It can include applied research, service-based instruction, program and project management and technical assistance.” While the majority of faculty within the college are not technically budgeted for service, all faculty actually provide service to their departments, the college, the university, the profession, P-12 schools, and/or the community. Service is apparent at the local, state, regional, national, and international levels. Faculty serve on committees, advisory boards, and editorial boards. They serve as consultants, editors, and leaders. This service, though not budgeted, is in keeping with the integrated conceptual framework for the unit.
Several of the unit’s departments run clinics that provide training for our graduate candidates while serving local populations. For example, faculty in the Speech and Hearing Clinic provide supervision for candidates providing hearing screenings for the Special Olympics, Athens Council on Aging, and Hope Haven (a regional agency focusing on empowering individuals with developmental disabilities and their families) as well as for bilingual assessments through school partnerships with Clarke, Jackson, and Oconee counties. The Fitness Center provides adult fitness and rehabilitation services to faculty, staff, and community members. Faculty in Counseling and Human Development Services supervise graduate candidates in providing direct services to approximately 92 clients per week through the Center for Counseling and Personal Evaluation. Faculty in the School Psychology Clinic supervise graduate candidates providing low-cost psychological evaluations for children with learning and behavior problems. In 2005, this clinic provided services to 37 clients.The Pediatric Exercise Clinic provides motor development and adapted physical education services to children with various disabilities.
Faculty and candidates from several departments have been actively involved in service-learning projects. Schools and agencies that have benefited from these projects include several county parks and recreation agencies (Athens-Clarke, Gwinnett, and Oconee), Athens Boys and Girls Clubs, and several schools (Gaines Elementary, Chase Elementary, and Timothy Road Elementary).
Nearly all departments offer professional development activities for school personnel. Faculty in the Department of Communication Sciences and Special Education offered four teleconferences reaching 210 sites nationwide serving 8,400 participants; six Beginning Teacher and Classroom Academies in four states serving 1,260 participants; and six Reach the Hard to Teach Summer Institutes in 30 states serving 2,100 participants. The Department of Educational Psychology and Instructional Technology coordinated the Georgia Future Problem Solving Program for Georgia’s gifted and talented children. Many faculty across the college provide consultation to the Georgia State Department of Education and various school districts in their areas of specialization.
Faculty provide extensive service to their professions at the local, state, regional, and national levels, often serving in leadership capacities. In 2004, 22 faculty members served as editors of professional journals, held more than 30 positions of leadership in elected positions or on major committees in state, national, and international organizations, and reviewed 2,004 manuscripts for professional journals.College of EducationFaculty Service to Professional Field, 2004
Standard 5.3 - Supporting Artifacts
In keeping with the global commitment of the conceptual framework, faculty in the college have also increased their international outreach. Thirty-nine faculty delivered keynote speeches, conference presentations, and workshops to scholars around the globe including Barbados, Costa Rica, Cuba, Jamaica, Brazil, Peru, Mexico, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Germany, Holland, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, South Africa, China, South Korea, Taiwan, Philippines, Bali, Malaysia,. Thailand, Australia, and New Zealand.
College of Education International Activities AY 2004-2005
Standard 5.5: Collaboration
Faculty within the College of Education creatively collaborate across departments within the college, with faculty in other colleges at the university, and with colleagues in P-12 schools. A variety of examples are available concerning the types of collaboration apparent across the unit, with other units on campus, and with institutions across the state:
- The Georgia Systemic Teacher Education Program (GSTEP) is a partnership to transform teacher preparation by shaping curriculum, supporting induction, recruiting teachers, and fostering research. This initiative involves three Board of Regents institutions (Albany State University the University of Georgia, and Valdosta State University), nine school districts, five agency partners, and faculty in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences.
- The Partnership for Reform in Science & Mathematics (PRISM) is a partnership designed to improve science and mathematics education in Georgia. The Northeast Georgia Region of PRISM consists of five partner organizations: the University of Georgia, Georgia Perimeter College, Clarke County School District, Jackson County School District, and Oconee County School District.
- The Partnership for Community Learning Centers is a collaborative effort of the Clarke County School District, the University of Georgia, and the Athens community. The goal of the partnership is to create schools that are community-learning centers designed to meet the intellectual, social, and cultural needs of all students. The vision is being achieved through collaboration where leadership and resources are shared from the school district, the university, parents, and the community and its various organizations.
- The Dean’s Council on Diversity is a college-wide initiative to provide leadership and support for the college’s multicultural education goals and help the college fulfill its multicultural education mission. Faculty, staff, and students from across the college serve as representatives in planning activities, events, and support in increasing multicultural awareness, knowledge, and skills.
- The University of Georgia Center for Latino Achievement and Success in Education (CLASE) is an educational resource center providing professional development and resources for K-12 educators working with Latinos state-wide. On campus, CLASE participates and collaborates with numerous Latino-oriented initiatives, including the Latino Advisory Board, CLACS, the Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach, the Dean’s Council on Diversity, the Teachers for English Language Learners (TELL) program, and others. Collaboration ranges from participating in meetings and events, to helping organize and fund local outreach activities, to serving in advisory capacities for new initiatives. Service-learning opportunities are also provided through CLASE for our candidates in a variety of Spanish-speaking communities.
- Within a specific discipline, one of the partnerships with the longest history is the Classic City Counselors’ Collaborative (CCCC). The CCCC began approximately 15 years ago as a collaborative and grassroots initiative between faculty and graduate students in the School Counseling Program within the Department of Counseling and Human Development Services and professional school counselors in the Clarke County School District. This partnership (a) meets monthly for professional development and support, (b) has received over $500,000 in external funding for co-reform initiatives, and (c) engages in on-going collaborative action research and program development.
Standard 5.6: Unit Evaluation of Professional Education Faculty Performance
Faculty evaluation actually begins with employment and continues through post-tenure review. Faculty applicant screening processes are based on guidelines for recruitment and hiring. Announcements for faculty positions typically include required and desired qualifications. A terminal degree is a required qualification for tenure-track and career-track faculty (i.e., academic professionals, research scientists, public service assistants, lecturers). Applicants without required qualifications are automatically excluded from further consideration. General work expectations are included in the letter of offer given to the faculty during the hiring process. This letter must be included in the promotion dossier. Criteria and procedures for promotion (tenure and career track) and tenure (tenure track only) clarify expectations for each rank. The web site for these criteria and procedures is included in the letter of offer.
Once employed, a faculty member receives an annual evaluation of his/her performance relative to budgeted time, departmental expectations and promotion criteria. Student course evaluations serve as one data set used to evaluate faculty. Merit-pay decisions are based on this annual evaluation. Faculty members also undergo a more comprehensive evaluation of all aspects of their work during their third year of employment. Third-year review is a formal process that provides feedback to individual faculty members concerning their progress toward promotion and tenure. Suggestions on how to address any identified weaknesses are given to the faculty member in writing. This document and any response from the faculty member are included in the promotion dossier when promotion is sought.
There are clearly articulated promotion guidelines for both tenure-track and career-track faculty and tenure guidelines for tenure-track faculty. These guidelines are given to faculty at the time they are hired and form the basis for third-year reviews. According to the university guidelines, every department must also have departmental guidelines which highlight the critical expectations for that discipline. When a faculty member satisfies time in rank requirements and feels ready for promotion, s/he requests a preliminary vote from departmental faculty. This non-binding vote signals if the majority of departmental faculty, after a review of preliminary documentation, believes the person is ready for promotion. If the preliminary vote is positive, external reviewers are sought to provide an independent evaluation of the quality and quantity of the person’s scholarly work. Once the external evaluations are obtained and a dossier describing achievements is complete, a binding vote is taken. Dossiers are then forwarded to a college-level committee for another review and vote and finally go to a university-level committee. The departmental vote has the strongest influence but may be overturned by a 2/3 majority during successive reviews. All dossiers proceed through all reviews unless the candidate asks that the dossier be withdrawn. Written university-wide criteria and procedures are available to all faculty in hard copy or on the web.
After a tenure-track faculty member is tenured, s/he must undergo post-tenure review every five years until resignation or retirement. A departmental committee of at least three faculty members reviews documents, which include a current vita, annual evaluations from the preceding five years, a two-page statement of accomplishments, and other materials the faculty member wants to submit or the committee requests. Faculty members who have identified performance weaknesses receive a development plan and have three years to satisfy the needed progress on that plan before the post tenure review begins again. There is an appeal process for faculty who disagree with the findings of the committee. Written college-wide procedures for this process are available to all faculty on the web. Career-track employees are hired on annual contracts. Performance weaknesses may result in non-renewal.
Tenure-track faculty must apply for membership on the Graduate Faculty if they will be involved in graduate education. Membership allows a faculty member to teach advanced graduate courses and serve as major professor for graduate candidates. Membership is based on current, active scholarship and engagement with graduate education. Faculty must reapply every seven years. All graduate faculty members of a department vote on reapplications. Those applications with positive departmental votes are reviewed by a college-level committee. Those with positive votes at the college level are reviewed by a Graduate School committee. This process insures that faculty teaching graduate candidates remain actively engaged in scholarship and have the skills needed to mentor graduate candidates.University Promotions and Tenure Guidelines (UGA)
Career-track faculty members, including academic professionals, service professionals, and research professionals, have a similar process of review through the office of the related vice president.
Guidelines for Appointment and Promotion of Academic Professionals (UGA Office of Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost)
Guidelines for Appointment and Promotion of University Full-Time Research Professionals (OVPR)
Additionally, the unit’s requirement for end-of-semester evaluations exceeds the Board of Regents’ requirements that evaluation occurs at least annually and that there be a written system of student evaluation. Course evaluations can be done through a paper process or through a recently developed on-line student evaluation system. Both forms are aggregated at the unit level and used as a basis for faculty review, professional development, and evaluation.
Faculty members complete an online Faculty Activity Report (FAR) each January detailing all activities in teaching, research, and service for the previous year. Individual faculty reports are reviewed by each department head in the process of determining annual merit raises. This online system serves a key function in aggregating data at the department and college levels for assessing faculty and unit effectiveness.
Standard 5.7: Unit Facilitation of Professional Development
The unit incorporates numerous professional development activities for faculty throughout the year. As examples:
- The Dean’s Council on Diversity and CLASE have collaborated on the delivery of a number of workshops and seminars.
- New faculty orientation and promotion and tenure workshops are coordinated through the Faculty Network Group.
- A variety of research support opportunities are provided through the college, including grantwriting workshops, grant development programs, writing retreats, and research leaves.
- COE Faculty Research Funding Programs
- Travel funds are allocated for presentation and attendance at discipline-specific conferences. During 2005, travel per faculty member averaged $1,900.
The unit faculty are highly qualified in all areas of teaching, scholarship, and service. They are award-winning teachers, highly productive scholars, and have a deep commitment to serving communities locally, nationally, and globally. Unit faculty work with faculty in the arts and sciences as well as other units across campus as well as in the community to provide high quality programs for our candidates. Unit assessments systematically evaluate faculty performance and the unit provides resources to enhance the work of the faculty through professional development.
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