Glenn Korff School of Music Faculty Handbook

University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Glenn Korff
School of Music
Faculty Handbook

version of September 14, 2017

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. INTRODUCTION

II. VISION and MISSION STATEMENTS

III. THE FACULTY
A. Academic Responsibility
B. Academic Freedom
C. Professional Responsibility
D. Types of Faculty Appointments

IV. GUIDELINES FOR ALL FACULTY
A. Record Keeping
B. Annual Faculty Evaluation
C. Criteria for Evaluation
D. Annual Conference With the Director
E. Faculty Development
1. Internal UNL Support
2. Fellowships and Leaves
F. Graduate Faculty Status
G. Outside Employment
H. Faculty Absences

V. GUIDELINES FOR TENURE-TRACK AND TENURED FACULTY
A. Appointment
B. Allocation of Effort
C. Reappointment
D. Promotion
E. Tenure
F. Special Peer Review and Post-Tenure Review

VI. GUIDELINES FOR PROFESSOR OF PRACTICE APPOINTMENTS
A. Appointment
B. Allocation of Effort
C. Reappointment
D. Promotion

VII. GUIDELINES FOR RESEARCH PROFESSOR APPOINTMENTS
A. Appointment
B. Allocation of Effort
C. Reappointment
D. Promotion

VIII. GUIDELINES FOR LECTURER AND SENIOR LECTURER APPOINTMENTS
A. Appointment
B. Allocation of Effort
C. Reappointment

IX. APPENDICES
A. Documentation for the Annual Faculty Evaluation Portfolio
B. Documentation for Reappointment
C. Documentation for Promotion and Tenure
D. Examples of Supporting Documentation of Accomplishments
E. Faculty Load Calculation 

I. INTRODUCTION

CREATE. PERFORM. ACHIEVE.

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln is an accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Music and an accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Dance.

The Glenn Korff School of Music at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (GKSOM) is a unit within the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts (HLCFPA). Its rules for governance include the Bylaws of the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska, the Bylaws of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the Bylaws of the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts, and the Bylaws of the Glenn Korff School of Music.

The purpose of this handbook is to explain the organization and mission of the GKSOM, to explain the duties and rights of the faculty, and to provide information to music and dance faculty concerning significant policies, procedures, and guidelines in accordance with the University of Nebraska Board of Regents, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Office of the Chancellor and the Executive Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs, the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts, the National Association of Schools of Music, and the National Association of Schools of Dance. Information from these sources is employed in this manual. All faculty should familiarize themselves with it.

For matters relating to terms and conditions of employment, rights and responsibilities of professional staff, and responsibilities and rights of students and others referring to the administration of the University, faculty members also are urged to study the Bylaws of the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska (effective Aug., 1973) at:

https://nebraska.edu/regents/bylaws-policies-and-rules

and the Bylaws of the Lincoln campus of the University of Nebraska at:

https://www.unl.edu/chancllr/bylaws/

as well as UNL faculty resources and policies concerning promotion and tenure at:

https://academicaffairs.unl.edu/faculty/promotion-tenure

and UNL employment policies at:

https://nebraska.edu/faculty-and-staff/employee-policy-manual.html

The GKSOM regularly posts important information and documents for faculty on Box, at:

https://unl.app.box.com/

Table of Contents

II. VISION MISSON and STATEMENTS

Vision – We embrace what our UNL “A 2020 Vision” white paper calls “an uncompromising commitment to excellence” in the disciplines of music and dance.

Mission - The Glenn Korff School of Music nurtures the creativity, artistry, and scholarship of students and faculty; educates students to achieve excellence as educators, performers, composers, and scholars; and enriches the education of all students through the study and practice of music and dance. The historic and continuing commitment of the GKSOM to teacher education infuses a fundamental commitment to the teaching of comprehensive musicianship into all aspects of its curriculum.

The GKSOM provides opportunities to understand, participate in, and enjoy music and dance. It has a responsibility for fulfilling this mission, not only for the citizens of Nebraska, but also for its constituency regionally, nationally, and internationally.

In fulfillment of its mission, the GKSOM:

1. Offers programs of study in music at the bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral levels;
2. Offers programs of study in dance at the bachelor’s level;
3. Provides professional preparation for educators, performers, composers, and scholars;
4. Stimulates research and creative work that fosters discovery, pushes frontiers, and advances society;
5. Serves the state and region as an important educational, artistic, and cultural resource;
6. Develops supportive and knowledgeable audiences and patrons for music and dance;
7. Sustains a strong commitment to liberal education through its course offerings and performance opportunities;
8. Maintains a strong commitment to life-long learning;
9. Provides leadership which fosters the development of music and the arts in the state, region, and nation.

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

III. THE FACULTY

A. ACADEMIC RESPONSIBILITY (section 4.1 of the Bylaws of the Board of Regents)

Membership in the academic community imposes certain obligations. These obligations include the following duties of academic responsibility:
1. To respect: (1) the dignity of others; (2) the right of others to express differing opinions; (3) the right of others to be free from fear, from violence, and from personal abuse; and (4) the right of the University community to be free from actions which impede its normal functioning.
2. To enroll, teach, and evaluate the work of students without regard to considerations such as age, sex, race, color, national origin, or religious or political beliefs.
3. To establish and maintain a classroom or laboratory atmosphere that encourages free inquiry and the free expression of ideas by students.
4. To present the subject matter of courses as announced to the students and approved by authorities responsible for the curriculum.
5. To study current developments and maintain competence in the areas of assigned courses; to examine, continually and critically, the subject matter of such courses, as well as teaching techniques and proposals for improving higher education.
6. To: (1) fulfill the assigned time schedule of all classes, including quizzes, laboratories, tests, and other meetings unless absence is caused by an emergency or approved University business. Changes in the scheduled times shall be authorized by the Dean, director, or departmental chairman, with the agreement of the enrolled students and in the interest of an academic objective; (2) be available at frequent, regular, and scheduled times for student consultation; and (3) inform students concerning the requirements, standards, objectives, and evaluation procedures at the beginning of each course.
7. To participate upon request in the activities of the University in the areas of student advising and public service, and as appropriate, in the activities of the department, the college, the campus, and the University.
8. To make every effort to indicate that members of the professional staff are not spokesmen for the University except when authorized so to act.
9. To create and protect an atmosphere of intellectual honesty in the academic community. 


B. ACADEMIC FREEDOM

1. The following is a statement of the American Association of University Professors:

The teacher is entitled to freedom in the classroom in discussing his subject, but he should be careful not to introduce into his teaching controversial matter which has no relation to his subject.

2. The following statement from the Bylaws of the Board of Regents is pertinent to the issue of academic freedom in the classroom, in research, and in publications:

. . . it is regarded as a breach of professional ethics for a faculty member to make personal criticisms of colleagues to students and the general public except for the purpose of correcting an injustice or wrong. No institution or individual is above improvement, but suggestions for such improvement should be brought to the attention of those bearing the responsibility for making them.
The college or university teacher is a citizen, a member of the learned profession and an officer of an educational institution. When an individual speaks or writes as a citizen, the individual should be free from institutional censorship or discipline, but the individual's special position in the community imposes a special obligation. As a person of learning and an educational officer, the individual should remember that the public may judge his profession and his institution by the individual's utterances. Hence the individual should at all times be accurate, should exercise appropriate restraint, should show respect for the opinions of others, and should make every effort to indicate that the individual is not an institutional spokesman.

C. PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY

Faculty members have a three-fold professional responsibility.

1. The first is teaching and recruitment/retention and is reflected in the faculty/student relationship within and outside of the classroom. Competence in presenting material effectively and willingness to be available to students for additional direction and counsel are of prime importance.

2. Second, faculty members are obligated to maintain command of current developments in their disciplines and to develop a program of research/creative activities that they can pursue fruitfully.

3. The third area of faculty responsibility is service to the School, College, University, and profession.


D. TYPES OF FACULTY APPOINTMENTS

The University of Nebraska recognizes two categories of faculty appointments: continuous (frequently referred to as “tenure-track”), and contingent (frequently referred to as “non-tenure-track”).

The subdivisions of these categories utilized in the GKSOM are as follows:

1. Continuous:
  a. Probationary (or tenure-track)
  b. Tenured

2. Contingent:
  a. Professor of Practice
  b. Research Professor
  c. Lecturer and Senior Lecturer

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

IV. GUIDELINES FOR ALL FACULTY

A. RECORD KEEPING

Introduction

Because evaluation of faculty performance is a requirement of the Bylaws of the Board of Regents (1973), faculty members must inform the Director about their teaching performance, their research and creative activities, and their service. The annual collection of such material is required by the Bylaws of the Board of Regents, sections 4.5 and 4.6. This requirement includes student evaluations and peer judgments "as part of an annual review of faculty performance." It is therefore expected that each faculty member will create, maintain, and keep up-to-date a record of professional activities and accomplishments across the entire course of his or her career at UNL. Moreover, records concerning each faculty member are not only maintained in files kept by the individual faculty member, but also in files maintained by the faculty member's department or school, and by the College.

Further, individual faculty members also must maintain a page on the GKSOM website with a photograph, brief biography, CV, and contact information.

Records maintained on or by each faculty member include:

1. The College File

The College shall maintain a file on each faculty member consisting of letters of appointment, Personal Activity File (PAF) documents, and relevant materials. Faculty members have a right to see and respond to the contents of their College file, except for confidential letters of evaluation when the right to review has been specifically waived by the faculty member.

2. The GKSOM File

The GKSOM shall maintain a file or files on each faculty member consisting of the initial letters of offer and acceptance memoranda of reappointment, promotion, and tenure; copies of the yearly annual report of faculty accomplishments (that is, the Faculty Evaluation Portfolio [FEP], including the Activity Insight file) and Performance Evaluation Summary; personnel documents; and any additional relevant materials.

Note: Faculty members have a right to see and respond to the contents of their school and college files, except for confidential letters of evaluation when the right to review has been specifically waived by the faculty member. Faculty members may petition the Director or the Dean to have material removed from their school or college file.

3. Faculty-Maintained Files

Faculty members must inform the Director of their activities and achievements in the form of materials that will become the basis for the annual evaluation related to merit salary adjustments, and also for evaluations concerned with reappointment and progress toward tenure, promotion, the awarding of Continuous Appointment, post-tenure review, and honors and awards for which the faculty member may be nominated. Information about individual faculty activities and achievements is conveyed in bodies of documentation (files) that the faculty member maintains and provides. They are:

a. the annual report of faculty accomplishments, called the Digital Measures Activity Insight™ file

This record is initiated by the faculty member upon commencing employment at the university in order to provide a brief but continuous record of the faculty member's activities, accomplishments, and honors. This record is updated and submitted yearly as part of the annual review of faculty for determining merit salary adjustments. Copies are to be kept on file by the GKSOM in the Director's Office, and by the individual faculty member. This form is available for online completion on at:

https://academicaffairs.unl.edu/honors-development/digital-measures

b. the Annual Faculty Evaluation File (called the Faculty Evaluation Portfolio, or FEP)

This file, maintained by the individual faculty member, is submitted yearly as part of the annual review of faculty for determining merit salary adjustments and, in addition to a copy of the annual report of faculty accomplishments---that is, the Activity Insight™ file---it contains additional materials deemed relevant by the Glenn Korff School of Music to its faculty member’s remuneration and status. For a detailed description of current requirements for this file, see Appendix A.

c. the Faculty Career Achievement File

In addition to maintaining a current curriculum vitae (CV), the materials assembled in reappointment and annual evaluation files, including all student evaluations, shall be preserved by the faculty member and shall cumulatively form the core of the Faculty Career Achievement file. These materials shall form the basis for the documentation provided by the faculty member for evaluations concerning reappointment, progress toward tenure, promotion, awarding Continuous Appointment, post-tenure review, chaired professorships, and honors and awards for which the faculty member may be nominated.

d. the Reappointment File

Reappointment files are prepared annually by probationary faculty in tenure-earning positions, and in the final year of an appointment period by lecturers and senior lecturers, and in the year before the final year of an aopointment by professors of practice and research professors. They are primarily constituted from the materials accumulating in the career achievement file that document achievement in the areas of teaching, research/creative activity, service, and outreach. For probationary faculty in tenure-leading appointments, the reappointment files are themselves cumulative and must contain the appropriate documentation and executive reviews from all years leading to the tenure and promotion decision. The reappointment process is separate from those of annual evaluation and of tenure and promotion; however, it may be possible to submit one file for consideration both for reappointment and for the annual evaluation (a decision made by the Director and the Executive Committee). Untenured faculty members in tenure-leading lines should be advised of the University’s tenure and promotion documentation requirements so that they may follow them in assembling their materials for reappointment each year. For a detailed description, see Appendix B.

e. the Promotion and Tenure File

Candidates for tenure and promotion must provide materials in accordance with the Documentation Request form that emanates from the office of the Senior Vice- Chancellor for Academic Affairs. Candidates must refer to the current Documentation Request form (available on-line at the website of the Office of the Senior Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs) and Appendix C of this Handbook for the specific requirements and guidelines. The request includes items within the following general categories:

1. Professional summary and employment history

2. Evidence of and analysis of the quality and significance of quality and effectiveness of teaching

3. Evidence of and analysis of the quality and significance of scholarly, professional, and creative activity, including awards, prizes and other noteworthy recognition

4. Evidence of and analysis of the quality and significance of professional and institutional service, outreach activities, and related recognitions

It is the responsibility of the individual being considered to examine these materials and make sure that they are complete. The Director may ask the faculty member to certify that the material being presented is complete. The faculty member should seek the advice of their assigned mentor and may seek the advice of the Director on the assembly of the tenure file to ensure that no important information has been overlooked.

Note: Promotion and tenure files are only partially constituted from materials provided by the faculty member that originate in the cumulative career achievement file and the annual reappointment files. Other materials in the promotion and tenure files are generated by the Director, the Dean, and outside evaluators, and some of these may in some cases be bound by confidentiality agreements that forbid faculty access to them. See the College by-laws for more elaboration on faculty rights in this regard.


B. ANNUAL FACULTY EVALUATION

Accomplishments in teaching, research/creative activity, and service are evaluated annually as part of the process of determining the distribution of funds made available to the GKSOM for the recognition of merit.

Annual evaluations may generate specific recommendations for self-improvement and professional development. Particularly in the case of tenure-track faculty, adherence to these recommendations will enhance the chances of reappointments and eventual achievement of tenure following the probationary period. Care should be taken that a positive annual review is not understood as a promise of eventual tenure. A positive evaluation should be interpreted as a prognosis favorable, but not binding on the part of the University. It is important to recognize that sustained positive contributions in teaching, research/creative activity, and service are critical for the awarding of tenure.

The Director of the GKSOM is required to submit the following information to the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts every spring semester:

1. An evaluation of the quantity and quality of the teaching, research/creative activity, and service for each faculty member expressed in numeric values on a grid provided by the Dean.
2. A copy of the written evaluation of every faculty member.
3. A recommendation for increases in salary, based on merit criteria which must stand comparison with the evaluations as stipulated in items 1 and 2.

How these requirements will be met is left to the determination of the Dean and the Director of the GKSOM. The evaluation described in point 1 immediately above is carried out by the Director and the GKSOM Executive Committee, and is based upon evidence provided in the annual Faculty Evaluation Portfolio (FEP).

Faculty members will receive late in the spring semester a written copy of their evaluation. After final action by the Board of Regents, a statement announcing their salary for the next year will be posted in the faculty member's Employee Self-Service section in UNL's Firefly Business Portal, at:

https://firefly.nebraska.edu/

 

C. CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION

Introduction

Over the course of their career, faculty will be evaluated for the purposes of annual reappointment, annual performance evaluations, promotion in rank, the granting of tenure, nominations for honors, awards, and chaired professorships, and post-tenure review. The process of evaluation will consider each of the following three areas: teaching, research/creative activity, and service (including community outreach and administration), with consideration given to the specific apportionment of duties in the individual faculty member's allocation of effort.

Assessment is made first at the department level and is determined both as appropriate to the discipline, and appropriate to this point in the faculty member’s career. However, all assessment at the University is part of a process of review at several levels with built-in checks and balances, and assessments or recommendations, made at all levels---from the faculty body or promotion and tenure committee, to the Director, to the College Executive Committee, to the Dean, to the Senior Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs, and to the Chancellor. The purpose of the review at the college level (and at the vice-chancellor level) is especially to insure that proper standards are being applied.

The foundational documents for evaluation procedures of faculty are the Bylaws of the Board of Regents, in particular Chapter IV: Rights and Responsibilities of Professional Staff, at:

https://www.nebraska.edu/board/bylaws-policies-and-rules.html

and UNL's Guidelines for the Evaluation of Faculty, at:

https://www.unl.edu/svcaa/documents/tenure_guide.pdf/

Criteria for reappointment, tenure, and promotion should be somewhat flexible among departments and schools in the university because the importance of teaching effectiveness, research productivity, or creative activity and service may necessarily vary among the disciplines, and also vary with the nature of an individual faculty member's appointment and allocation of effort. However, it is expected that all faculty members will show evidence of at least: 1) satisfactory participation in the educational tasks of the University (i.e., teaching, recruiting, and associated activities); 2) intellectual or creative activity related to their disciplines (i.e., research or associated activities); and 3) responsible participation in other School, College, University, or professional activities (i.e., service or associated activities).

1. Criteria For Evaluation

a. Terminology

The following terms are to be used for all stages of the review process. This is not a grading system in the standard sense, since College expectations are high and since the faculty hiring process itself is extremely selective. It is assumed that the College will attract and keep only meritorious, hard-working faculty members, and that new faculty members will maintain or raise the overall standards of teaching, research/creative activity, and service of the individual units.

It is important to note that these terms are to be applied to the evaluation procedure for the faculty member as appropriate at that point in his or her academic career, and based on apportionment of duties.

Exceptional Performance

Denotes exceptionally high performance or recognition, in one or more areas, at or near the top of his or her field nationally or internationally, that likely would not be duplicated every year.

Exceeds Expectations

Denotes superior performance or recognition, in one or more areas, exceeding the high expectations of the department and the college that likely could be repeated in successive years.

Meets Expectations

Denotes performance, in all areas, at a level of excellence demonstrating that a faculty member is living up to the promise shown at the time he or she was hired. Thus, “meets expectations” tends to be the normal, typical, most frequent description of faculty performance.

Needs Improvement

Denotes performance, in one or more areas, that is questionable and is not consistently meeting the high standards of the college.

Unacceptable

Denotes poor performance or neglect, in one or more areas.

b. Scope of Evaluation

It is assumed that faculty will document yearly activity in the areas of teaching, research/creative activities, and service. Some projects take more than a calendar year to complete. In fact, it is expected that post-tenure faculty may engage in more adventurous and expansive projects that may take several years to bear fruit. The annual evaluation, therefore, must look not only at the specific tangible achievements for that calendar year but consider progress on larger projects and the faculty member’s articulated plan for ongoing and anticipated future activity in all areas in which duties have been apportioned. Evaluations for promotion and tenure will consider the entire academic career of the candidate to that point.

c. Guidelines for the articulation of the criteria for evaluation

At UNL, specific criteria for evaluating faculty performance are determined by the faculty in the individual departments.


D. ANNUAL CONFERENCE WITH THE DIRECTOR

After the annual evaluation process has been concluded in the spring, a private conference with the Director provides each faculty member the opportunity to discuss professional and pedagogical accomplishments and aspirations as well as preferences in teaching assignments for the next year. At this meeting or immediately prior to it, faculty members receive a copy of their written evaluation, and at the meeting the faculty member and the Director will sign two copies of this evaluation, one to be kept by the faculty member and one to be placed in the GKSOM file.

During this meeting, there is the opportunity to discuss improvement in specific areas of performance and other matters of importance. Ideally, faculty members emerge with a clear understanding of the evaluation and plans for the following year, which may include steps to rectify any problems which emerged in the evaluation.

This is also an occasion for a faculty member to present his or her needs. Allocation of effort, workload, specific teaching assignments, plans for research/creative activity, and service can be discussed. Faculty may wish to come prepared to discuss topics such as:

teaching assignment

sources of satisfaction and concern

resources to implement more effective teaching or new research/creative activity support for the improvement of a performing ensemble

research/creative activity

Above all, the goal of the conference is to make each faculty member as effective in his or her work and as satisfied with his or her work and evaluation as is possible. Every effort is made to ensure the evaluation is candid and clear and that goals for change, if desired, are established with measurable indicators of progress. 


E. FACULTY DEVELOPMENT

1. Institutional Support (internal)

a. Research/Creative Activity

i. The Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts provides research and travel awards that are intended to encourage and enhance the research and creative activities of its faculty. They include:

Faculty Research/Creative Activity Grant
Faculty Presentation of Scholarly and Creative Activity Grant
Faculty Development Travel Grant

The eligibility guidelines, application procedures, and award criteria for these funds are available from the Dean’s Office. They are also posted on the college website at:

 https://arts.unl.edu/hlfpa/faculty-grants

 ii. The UNL Office of Research and Economic Development, and the UNL Research Council provide faculty support through a variety of campus-wide competitive awards, funds, and programs, including: These opportunities include:

Office of Research and Economic Development Opportunities

·         Arts & Humanities Research Enhancement Program

·         Layman New Directions Awards

·         Layman Seed Awards

·         Biomedical Research Seed Grants (Applications are accepted on a rolling basis)

·         Revision Awards (Applications are accepted on a rolling basis)

Research Council Opportunities

·         Distinguished Lecturer

·         Faculty Seed Grants

·         Grants-in-Aid

·         Interdisciplinary Grants

·         Symposia

·         Visiting Scholar

For more information about these programs or to access the requests for applications, visit https://research.unl.edu/internal-funding-opportunities/.

iii. NU recognizes outstanding faculty research and creative activity of national and international significance through its annual university-wide Outstanding Research and Creative Activity Award (ORCA).

iv. The GKSOM and the College may recognize outstanding faculty research and creative activity through the appointment of a faculty member to an endowed chair in the GKSOM, or through appointment as a Hixson-Lied Professor in the College; campus-wide, the same honor may be bestowed by appointment as a Bessey/Cather Professor and other similar honors.

b. Teaching

i. Organizations sponsored by the UNL Office of the Senior Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs that work in support of teaching include the Teaching Council, the Academy of Distinguished Teachers, the Instructional Technology Advisory Committee, and the General Purpose Classroom Advisory Committee.

ii. The Academy of Distinguished Teachers and the Teaching Council invite proposals for seed grants for the development and enhancement of teaching and curricular initiatives at UNL. See the web page for the Academy of Distinguished teachers at:

https://www.unl.edu/svcaa/academy/

iii. The Office of the Senior Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs sponsors an Initiative for Teaching and Learning Excellence that from time to time will make available competitive grants as special one-time funding for teaching- related projects.

iv. The College, UNL, and the NU system recognize and honor outstanding teaching through the following awards:

HLCFPA College Distinguished Teaching Award
HLCFPA Junior Faculty Achievement Award in Teaching
Annis Chaiken Sorensen Award (a UNL Campus-wide Distinguished Teaching Award in the Arts and Humanities)
Outstanding Teaching and Instructional Creativity Award (OTICA) (University-wide)
Departmental Teaching Award (University-wide, recognizing an entire department or unit)
Election to the University’s Academy of Distinguished Teachers


2. Fellowships and Leaves

a. UNL Faculty Development Fellowship

For the most current information on the UNL Faculty Development Fellowship program, see the website at

https://academicaffairs.unl.edu/faculty/leaves

For forms for an application for an unpaid leave of absence, a leave of absence with full or partial pay, or for a Faculty Development Leave agreement, see the website at:

https://academicaffairs.unl.edu/faculty/leaves

i. Eligibility for participation in the UNL Faculty Development Fellowship program is limited to persons who hold continuous appointments and who have held full-time appointments within the University of Nebraska for six years or more at the rank of assistant, associate, or full professor. Faculty Development Fellowships are awarded on a competitive basis, rather than as an automatic reward for years of service. The program cannot be used for the purpose of pursuing an advanced degree.

ii. A Faculty Development Fellowship provides the faculty member with full pay for one-half of his or her normal appointment period, or half pay for all of his or her normal appointment period, in order to engage in scholarly research, artistic activity, or study of teaching or professional innovations which will improve the faculty member's ability to contribute to the academic program of the University of Nebraska. It is presumed that the benefits of the fellowships will be enjoyed by the University for many years after the fellowship has been completed, but it is mandatory that each award winner spend at least one year in the employment of the University after completing the fellowship.

iii. Six full years of service must elapse before a candidate who has previously been awarded a Faculty Development Fellowship is eligible to be considered again.

iv. A faculty member's fellowship stipend can be supplemented with outside funds up to the level of the faculty member's normal full-time compensation.

v. The number of fellowship awards granted each year should approach as closely as possible a ratio of one award for every ten eligible faculty members.

vi. Fellowships are awarded with due regard to the benefits to be derived by both the faculty member and the University. Application for the program must be in the form of a written, detailed proposal submitted well in advance of the anticipated starting date of the fellowship. The proposal must provide evidence that the activities contemplated for the fellowship can actually be carried out. In particular, evidence of concurrence on the part of any proposed participating institutions and/or individuals must be provided. The Chancellor makes final recommendations to the President and Regents for Faculty Development Fellowship award recipients on each campus.

vii. If, after a fellowship award has been announced, it becomes apparent that the specific proposal for that fellowship cannot be implemented, the award may be continued on the basis of an alternative proposal, or deferred, or withdrawn at the discretion of the Chancellor.

viii. Fellowship awards will be made on a competitive basis, under rules promulgated by the Chancellor, in consultation with the faculty. In reviewing applications for fellowships, consideration may be given to any previous leaves granted to the applicant during the six preceding appointment years.

ix. No later than one semester after return to normal academic duties, a fellowship recipient must file a written report with the Chancellor that compares the faculty member's actual activities with those outlined in the proposal; the relationship of these activities to the faculty member's intellectual, artistic, and/or professional growth within his or her discipline; and the ways in which the faculty member feels the experiences gained during the fellowship will improve his or her performance as a faculty member of the University.

x. During the fellowship period the duties of an award recipient can be deferred until the fellow returns, assumed by colleagues, and/or carried out by temporary staff paid from funds available due to salary savings generated by full year fellowship leaves.

Note: Because of the unique, highly specialized nature of instruction in the GKSOM, and since the GKSOM has heavier than usual teaching loads calling for a proportionately larger number of contact hours, temporary staff, additional GTAs, or part-time teachers are required in most cases. Since additional resources are needed in most cases, all recommended fellowship leaves are subject to special approval by the Dean of the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts and are dependent upon the availability of funding for a temporary replacement.

The written proposal submitted as request for a fellowship leave by a GKSOM faculty member should include suggestions for an appropriate, temporary replacement and an estimate of the cost for the replacement. It is understood that while some temporary shifting of teaching assignments may occur, part-time or GTA personnel will still be needed for lower level and non-graduate-level teaching.

b. Other Paid or Unpaid Leaves

When a faculty member requests a paid or unpaid leave for personal or professional reasons other than on account of a UNL Faculty Development Fellowship (including, but not limited to, an unpaid leave of absence, or a leave of absence with full or partial pay, or a maternity, medical, or adoption leave), such leaves are subject to special approval by the Director of the GKSOM and the Dean of the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts, and may require the approval of the Senior Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs, the Chancellor, and the UNL Board of Regents. 


F. GRADUATE FACULTY STATUS

1. There is an over-arching Graduate College for the entire University of Nebraska system, which is administered form Varner Hall. It encompasses graduate studies and research and creative activity on every campus and in every academic unit of the university and adjudicates graduate issues of system-wide significance. Within the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, in parallel with the University Graduate College, the UNL Office of Graduate Studies  presides over all UNL graduate activities; it is overseen by UNL's Associate Vice Chancellor and Dean of Graduate Education.  The system-wide Graduate College has an Executive Graduate Council. The Graduate Council of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln The UNL Graduate Council serves as an advisory body to the UNL Dean of Graduate Education and, as the administrative body for Graduate Studies, is subject to the authority of the UNL Graduate Faculty. It acts as the agent of the graduate faculty on the Lincoln campuses and governs the graduate components of the various academic units of those campuses. The various graduate programs of the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts are subject to the regulations of the UNL Office of Graduate Studies as articulated by the Dean of Graduate Education and the UNL Graduate Council. Graduate degrees are system-wide degrees and their diplomas state that the degree is granted by NU, not UNL.

2. Every current and future tenure-line faculty member is automatically granted Graduate Faculty status if they possess a terminal degree and hold a primary appointment in a department that houses a graduate major. No application or review process of any kind is required. In the case of tenured or tenure-leading future hires, it is assumed that the department faculty are making a conscious decision to grant Graduate Faculty status simultaneous with the hiring decision. Such faculty members who are hired “ABD” will not be granted Graduate Faculty status until the terminal degree has been awarded. When the terminal degree has been completed, the faculty member is automatically granted Graduate Faculty status without an application or review process.

3. Non-tenure-line faculty (holding a full- or part-time appointment that does not hold the potential for tenure), including Professors of Practice and Research Professors at all ranks, must apply for Graduate Faculty status.

a. Required criteria for appointment as Graduate Faculty include:

i. Hold the rank of Senior Lecturer, Assistant Professor, or above;
ii. Hold the terminal degree in the discipline or its clear equivalent;
iii. Be actively involved in graduate teaching as part of regularly assigned duties;
iv. Have demonstrated clear evidence of continuing scholarly/creative activity at the national level, and potential in the discipline beyond teaching.

b. The process for applying to become a Graduate Faculty member is as follows:

i. Submit CV and appropriate documentation (requirements available from the GKSOM Graduate Secretary) to the Chair of the Graduate Committee;
ii. All Graduate Faculty vote on the application; the support of a two-thirds majority is required in order for the nomination to move forward. If the vote is positive, the Chair of the Graduate Committee forwards the file, with a letter of support, to Dean of the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts.
iii. The Dean will review the nomination and if approved, it will be forwarded to UNL Graduate Studies.
iv. The UNL Dean of Graduate Studies will review the nomination, and if approved, it will be forwarded to the Dean of the NU Graduate College.
v. The Dean of the NU Graduate College will review the nomination, and if approved, will formally appoint the faculty member to Graduate Faculty status.

4. The primary role played by graduate faculty is on supervisory committees for masters and doctoral students. Masters degree committees are now composed of at least three Graduate Faculty; doctoral committees are now composed of at least four Graduate Faculty.

The GKSOM expects that all of its faculty members who teach, coach, mentor, or advise graduate students have Graduate Faculty status.


G. OUTSIDE EMPLOYMENT

The following are excerpts from the Bylaws of the Board of Regents of the University, Terms and Conditions of Employment, sections 3.4.5 and 3.8 respectively. Please consult the Bylaws for further information.

Outside Employment.

Staff members employed on a part-time basis by the University, such as practicing lawyers or physicians, may engage in outside employment or activities unless it is expressly stipulated to the contrary in the conditions of employment. Staff members employed by the University, other than those covered in the preceding paragraph, shall be encouraged to engage in professional activities outside the University as a means of broadening their experience and keeping them abreast of the latest developments in their specialized fields; provided such activities do not interfere with their regular duties at the University, or represent a conflict of interest. Staff members may accept temporary or occasional employment for such professional services when such employment is recommended by Dean of the college or director of the division involved and approved by the Chancellor.

Specific approval of the Board is required before members of the full-time professional staff:

1. accept retainer fees or other remuneration on a permanent or yearly basis as professional consultants.
2. accept professional employment requiring more than an average of two days per month during the period of their full-time employment.
3. charge fees for work performed in University buildings with University equipment and materials.
4. provide professional services for remuneration to departments or agencies of state government.

Conflict of Interest. No employee of the University shall engage in any activity that in any way conflicts with duties and responsibilities at the University of Nebraska nor shall any employee hire or supervise a member of his or her immediate family without expressed written consent of the Board.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST AND OUTSIDE ACTIVITIES REPORTING FORM

Beginning in July 2012, the reporting forms for outside activity and conflict of interest were merged into a single reporting form through NUgrant. One must access NUgrant and the Interest and Outside Activity Reporting Form (under the Interest and Outside Activity Management heading) online at:

 nugrant.unl.edu.

This site requires My.UNL credentials to login.

For more information about the Board of Regents policy, and for frequently asked questions about this topic, please go to :

https://www.unl.edu/svcaa/policies/outside_activity.shtml


H. FACULTY ABSENCES

All faculty absences from classes or any other scheduled teaching activity must be approved in advance by the Director of the GKSOM. Faculty cannot miss classes or applied lessons other than for approved professional reasons and personal emergencies such as illness, death in the family, etc. If duty requires absence from teaching, a Memorandum of Absence form must be completed beforehand and approved by the Director. The form is available in the Director’s Office and in BOX. Provisions must be made for the missed classes and/or lessons and outlined on the Memorandum of Absence.

The rights and obligations of faculty not on tenure track are governed by the appropriate sections of the rules, by-laws, and documents specified in the Introduction to this Handbook, as well as by any additional language not in contradiction to the aforementioned documentation that is included in the letter of hire or appointment. To the extent possible, policies toward faculty not on tenure track will follow the relevant guidelines of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP). Staffing decisions concerning non-tenure-leading faculty are made by the Director. This authority pertains to routine temporary and part-time appointments but not necessarily to special appointments such as those of visiting experts.

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V. GUIDELINES FOR TENURE-TRACK AND TENURED FACULTY

A. APPOINTMENT

1. Appointments of tenure-track faculty are normally made by means of a national search performed by a regularly constituted GKSOM committee.

2. Criteria: The possession of the generally accepted terminal degree in the candidate’s specific discipline within the general subject of Music; or equivalent professional experience, as determined by the GKSOM.


B. ALLOCATION OF EFFORT

1. The following is a statement, in part, of section 3.4.4 of the Bylaws of the Board of Regents:

Assignment of Duties. The service and teaching obligations for each full-time member of the instructional staff in any semester shall consist of such amounts of one or more of the types of services necessary for a successful University program, including teaching, research, directing and supervising research, advising or counseling, committee assignments, administrative duties, field work, extension activities, and other miscellaneous assignments as may be deemed reasonable in each instance by the department chair and Dean or director concerned, within standards approved by the Chancellor, the President, and the Board.

2. The normal allocation of effort for all tenured or tenure-leading GKSOM faculty is as follows: teaching (60%), research/creative activity (30%), and service (10%). (See also Faculty Load Calculation in the Appendices.)

Merit recognition and reduction in teaching load may be provided for efforts beyond the customary expectations. The development of new courses; the continuous refreshment of old courses; recruitment/retention; steady progress on research projects or an acceptable standard of performance activity; and service to the GKSOM, the College, the University, and the profession are normal parts of the on-going duties of all faculty members.

3. Faculty members wishing to alter their official allocation of effort must negotiate individually with the Director of the GKSOM. Quoting from the Bylaws of the Board of Regents:

The specific apportionment of a faculty member’s responsibilities shall be reviewed periodically. Either the faculty member or the responsible unit administrator may initiate discussions of changes in apportionment of teaching, extension, service, research, and administrative responsibilities. In the process of any such discussions, both the faculty member and the unit administrator shall act in good faith to reach a mutual agreement.


C. REAPPOINTMENT

Criteria and Procedures for Reappointment.

Criteria. Criteria for reappointment will vary depending on the rank at which the candidate was hired; candidates must demonstrate a profile of activity commensurate with their current rank and with the potential for (i) progress toward tenure and also (ii) progress toward promotion in rank (unless appointed at the level of full professor without tenure).

Procedures. Faculty members during their probationary period must apply for reappointment every year by submitting a Reappointment File to the Director by a specified date. The candidate’s file will be made available for a specified period to all qualified faculty members, who will meet on a specified date to discuss the file and to vote for, or against, reappointment. At that time, a strictly advisory vote will also be taken regarding whether the faculty members see satisfactory progress being made toward tenure by the candidate.

Recommendations for reappointment are voted on by all faculty members in the School whose tenure has been approved by the Board of Regents and only by them.


D. PROMOTION

Criteria and Procedures for Promotion to Specific Ranks

1. Promotion to specific ranks may occur before or after the award of tenure, and is a separate process. Moreover, promotion in rank carries no guarantee regarding the granting of tenure. In order to attain promotion, faculty performance in the areas of teaching, research/creative activity and service must meet the expectations of the GKSOM and the College, and must be at a level that is commensurate with the ideals of the university. Specific criteria for describing faculty performance that meets these goals are determined by the faculty of the School of Music. In respect to the terminology for evaluation, at the time of promotion to associate or full professor, achievement in all areas must, at the very least, "meet expectations," but that is no guarantee of promotion.

a. Assistant Professor

Appointment to the rank of assistant professor signifies that a faculty member is well qualified to launch upon a full-fledged academic career. Qualifications include completion of a terminal degree or equivalent experience in the practice of the discipline. Unless the letter of appointment designates one as holding a Special Appointment pursuant to Regents Bylaws 4.4.1, assistant professors will be on both promotion and tenure tracks. In the period between appointment as an assistant professor and promotion to associate professor, terms expressed in the letter of offer, in the position description, and in the annual evaluations provide guidance regarding professional development to the faculty member and to peers and administrators charged with judging progress toward promotion.

b. Associate Professor

To attain the rank of associate professor, the candidate should be an accomplished teacher, where teaching is an assigned responsibility, have a significant record of scholarly/creative work in keeping with the individual’s job responsibilities, and have a significant record of service. Time-in-rank as an assistant professor is ordinarily at least five years, and typically is six years. Earlier promotion is quite unusual and implies that a candidate has accomplished in the shorter time period what normally would be expected in the longer one.

Although it is the objective of the University to have all faculty sufficiently qualified to eventually gain promotion to professor, no time limitations compel faculty to seek the highest academic rank in the University. Associate professors with tenure may stay in that rank for the duration of their careers.

c. Professor

The rank of professor is the highest academic rank in the University. This rank is reserved for those faculty members whose achievements in research/creative activity (including pedagogy) are sufficient to merit recognition as distinguished authorities in their field and who hold the professional respect of their colleagues in their discipline. Usually, the candidates have been awarded tenure. Although it is the objective of the University to have all faculty sufficiently qualified to eventually gain promotion to professor, no time limitations compel faculty to seek the highest academic rank in the University. Associate professors with tenure may stay in that rank for the duration of their careers. Ordinarily, it is highly unusual for faculty to move from associate professor to professor in less than seven years.

To attain the rank of professor, most phases of the candidate’s work must evince a level of sustained accomplishment. Such accomplishment is of the sort that would merit national recognition in appropriate arenas. That does not mean that the subject of the work must be of national character or scope. The subject may well be regional or local, but the importance of the work should be sufficient to merit significant recognition.

Peers and administrators evaluating a candidate for professor should review documentation of the entire academic career to date. That record will include outside evaluations. The Director will invite the candidate seeking promotion to recommend the names of possible external reviewers who, in the estimation of the candidate, are well qualified to assess the significance of the candidate’s work, particularly regarding the candidate’s research/creative activities. The office of the Vice Chancellor provides a release form offering confidentiality options with respect to the selected reviewers. For a copy of this form, please see the Director. The record of a successful candidate for professor must show evidence of sustained excellence over an extended period of time. Furthermore, a recommendation for promotion to full professor should be made only if the faculty member’s attainment is not only of sufficient significance, but also indicates the likelihood of continuation after promotion to this rank.

2. Procedure: All GKSOM faculty members with tenure, and holding an appointment at or above the rank to which promotion is recommended consider recommendation for promotion. The official voting is done by secret ballot following a meeting of the appropriate faculty during which discussion and clarification of each candidate’s file occurs. Tenured faculty members at the appropriate rank can indicate whether or not further information would help in arriving at a decision. The Director submits the faculty’s recommendation and his or her recommendation to the Dean’s office with supporting documents, including teaching evaluations. The Dean’s office submits the faculty’s and Director’s recommendations to the College Executive Committee. The College Executive Committee forwards all materials, previous recommendations, and its recommendation to the Dean for his or her recommendation. All recommendations are presented to the Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and to the Chancellor. The Board of Regents has final approval. At every step in the process, the faculty member must be given copies of all recommendations and has the right to read and respond to any recommendation forwarded to the next level.


E. TENURE

Criteria and Procedures for Tenure

1. The tenure of a faculty member is described in the Bylaws of the Board of Regents. The description, in part, states:

a. A ‘Continuous Appointment’ is an appointment terminable only for adequate cause, bona fide discontinuance of a program or department, retirement for age or disability, or extraordinary circumstance because of financial exigencies. No person shall acquire a Continuous Appointment until notice has been received by him that such an appointment has been awarded by the Board. Continuous Appointment as defined herein means academic tenure . . . The total period of full-time service on a faculty Appointment for a Specific Term prior to acquisition of a Continuous Appointment shall not exceed seven years, including all previous tenure-related full-time service with the rank of instructor or higher in all accredited institutions of higher education, unless a contrary agreement is specified in writing at the time the appointee is initially appointed by the University to an Appointment for a Specific Term. For faculty members with three or more years of previous tenure-related full-time service with the rank of instructor or higher at accredited institutions of higher education, such agreement will not normally extend the period of service at the University beyond four years before a Continuous Appointment is acquired . . .

b. The College expects faculty members to be productive over their entire careers in the three important areas of teaching, research/creative activity, and service. The College sees the interdependence of these three as fundamental and expects achievement in these three areas to carry national or international significance, as appropriate. In this light, a recommendation for tenure should be made only if the faculty member’s attainment is not only significant but also has been sustained over a sufficient period of time to indicate the likelihood of continuation after an award of tenure.

In order to attain tenure, faculty performance in the areas of teaching, research/creative activity and service must meet the requirements of the School of Music and the College, and must be at a level that is commensurate with the ideals of the university. Specific criteria for describing faculty performance that meets these goals are determined by the faculty in music and dance. However, achievement in all areas must at least meet expectations at the time of tenure.

In all but unusual circumstances, promotion of tenure eligible faculty to the rank of associate professor takes place at the same time as or before the tenure decision. However, since the decision regarding tenure is based upon broader criteria (particularly involving the probability of continued achievement and the attainment of national or international recognition), the two actions take place separately and require separate decisions. While it is assumed that a faculty member who has earned tenure should also have earned promotion to associate professor, promotion in rank carries no guarantee regarding the granting of tenure.

2. Procedure: In the GKSOM, a faculty member working toward tenure undergoes a major reappointment review during the fourth year of service. A final major review, with respect to tenure, occurs during the sixth year of service. At the end of the sixth year, the faculty member is notified of an award of either a one-year terminal contract or tenure beginning in the seventh year. Early granting of tenure (if there was no previous tenure-related experience) is possible but only when extremely meritorious performance, deemed outstanding, is evidenced. Tenure recommendations are developed in a context separate from other concerns; i.e., neither promotion offered before completion of the probationary period, nor positive annual evaluations, are guarantees of eventual tenure.

Faculty members on tenure-track lines should be aware that, for the tenure file, evaluative comments in the appropriate music or dance discipline will be solicited by the Director from other major universities, professional or other suitable organizations, additional scholarly institutions, etc. These outside evaluations will become one of the important components of the prepared file. The Director will invite the candidate seeking tenure to recommend the names of possible external reviewers who, in the estimation of the candidate, are well qualified to assess the significance of the candidate’s work, particularly regarding the candidate’s research/creative activities. The office of the Vice Chancellor provides a release form offering confidentiality options with respect to the selected reviewers. For a copy of this form, please see the Director.

Recommendations for tenure are voted on by all faculty members in the GKSOM whose tenure has been approved by the Board of Regents and only by them. The official voting is done by secret ballot following a meeting of the appropriate faculty during which discussion and clarification of the candidate’s file occurs. Any tenured faculty member can indicate whether or not further information would help in arriving at a decision. The Director submits the faculty’s recommendation and his or her recommendation to the Dean’s Office with supporting documents, including teaching evaluations. The Dean’s Office submits the faculty’s and Director’s recommendations to the College Executive Committee. The College Executive Committee forwards all materials, previous recommendations, and its recommendation to the Dean  for his or her recommendation. All recommendations are presented to the Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and to the Chancellor. The Board of Regents has final approval. At every step in the process, the faculty member must be given copies of all recommendations and has the right to read and respond to any recommendation forwarded to the next level.


F. SPECIAL PEER REVIEW AND POST-TENURE REVIEW

The Special Peer Review process is applicable to all tenured members of the faculty who have been on a continuous contract pursuant to Board of Regents Bylaws 4.4.3 for a period of three years or more. A faculty member shall not be subject to or eligible for a special peer review more than once every four years. This process is the one followed in a post-tenure review. The results of a Special Peer Review are advisory; when the process is invoked for a Post-Tenure Review, more serious consequences or administrative processes may result.

1. A faculty member shall be reviewed in accordance with the Special Peer Review process in the following circumstances:

a. A faculty member receives (after the third year of being on continuous contract) a written annual evaluation from the Director that identifies a substantial and chronic deficiency in the faculty member's performance and clearly states that if the faculty member does not make substantial, acceptable progress toward remedying the deficiency by the next annual evaluation, a post-tenure review will be initiated,
or
b. if a faculty member requests a review in accordance with the special peer review process,
or
c. if at the next annual review, the Director has determined that the substantial and chronic deficiency identified in the previous evaluation has not been remedied. In particular, if a tenured music or dance faculty member receives an “unacceptable” evaluation, indicating a substantial and chronic deficiency, for two consecutive years in the category of teaching or the category of research/creative activity, the Director will initiate a special peer review process that will be designated as a Post-Tenure Review process.

Upon recommendation of the Director and approval of the Dean, a faculty member subject to special peer review or post-tenure review may be exempted or deferred for review if there are clearly extenuating circumstances (such as health problems) and an alternative plan for addressing the problems is adopted.

2. Procedure: The Special Peer Review process is an elaborate one and is spelled out in detail in the College By-Laws. In brief, a file of documentation is prepared and presented to a specially formed Review Committee of tenured faculty from within and outside the unit. After a period of review and consultation, the Committee makes a written report of its findings and recommendations. If the faculty member has requested the Special Peer Review, this report goes exclusively to the faculty member. If the process has been initiated by the Director, then the written report of the Review Committee shall be provided to the Director, the Dean, and the faculty member. If sanctions or other administrative processes are to follow from the report, an appeals process is available to the faculty member. Note that Special Peer Review is not a prerequisite for initiation of those sanctions or other administrative processes.

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VI. GUIDELINES FOR PROFESSOR OF PRACTICE APPOINTMENTS

Assistant, Associate and (Full) Professors of Practice are non-tenure-track contingent faculty on term contracts. These appointments are normally 1.00 FTE but must be at least 0.5 FTE. As non-tenure-track faculty, they are not subject to the 7-year limitation on length of service. The governing policy guidelines for this faculty title are found on the website of the Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, at:

https://academicaffairs.unl.edu/searches-appointments/faculty-titles

A. APPOINTMENT

1. Professor of Practice appointments are made in two ways:
a. Through a search conducted by a committee drawn from GKSOM faculty, advisory to the Director.
b. Through application to the Director by a faculty member already serving in a contingent appointment.

2. Criteria: The possession of the generally accepted terminal degree in the candidate’s specific discipline within the general subject of Music; or equivalent professional experience, as determined by the GKSOM.

3. Term of appointment: shall be for a period of 1 to 3, 1 to 4, or 1 to 5 years, depending on rank, and the appointment is renewable. Normally, an appointment to the rank of Assistant Professor of Practice will be for 1-3 years; that for Associate Professor of Practice will be for 1-4 years; and that for Professor of Practice will be for 1-5 years.


B. ALLOCATION OF EFFORT

1. The following is a statement, in part, of section 3.4.4 of the Bylaws of the Board of Regents:

Assignment of Duties. The service and teaching obligations for each full-time member of the instructional staff in any semester shall consist of such amounts of one or more of the types of services necessary for a successful University program, including teaching, research, directing and supervising research, advising or counseling, committee assignments, administrative duties, field work, extension activities, and other miscellaneous assignments as may be deemed reasonable in each instance by the department chair and Dean or director concerned, within standards approved by the Chancellor, the President, and the Board.

2. The normal allocation of effort for all Professor of Practice faculty in the GKSOM is as follows: teaching (90 %) and service (10%). (See also Faculty Load Calculation [Appendix G].) Merit recognition and reduction in teaching load may be provided for efforts beyond the customary expectations. The development of new courses; the continuous refreshment of old courses; recruitment/retention; and service to the School, the College, the University, and the profession are normal parts of the on-going duties of all faculty members.

3. Faculty members wishing to alter their official allocation of effort must negotiate individually with the Director of the GKSOM. Quoting from the Bylaws of the Board of Regents:

The specific apportionment of a faculty member’s responsibilities shall be reviewed periodically. Either the faculty member or the responsible unit administrator may initiate discussions of changes in apportionment of teaching, extension, service, research, and administrative responsibilities. In the process of any such discussions, both the faculty member and the unit administrator shall act in good faith to reach a mutual agreement.

 
C. REAPPOINTMENT

Criteria and Procedures for Reappointment.

1. Criteria: Criteria for reappointment will vary depending on the rank at which the candidate was hired; candidates must demonstrate a profile of activity commensurate with their current rank.

2. Procedure: Faculty members in the year before the final year of their appointment period (e.g., year two of a three-year appoinment, year three of a four-year apointment) must apply for reappointment by submitting a Reappointment File to the Director by a specified date. The candidate's file will be made available for a specified period to all qualified faculty members, who will meet on a specified date to discuss the file and to vote for, or against, reappointment.


D. PROMOTION

1. Criteria and Procedures for Promotion to Specific Ranks

Promotion to specific ranks may occur at any time during a particular appointment period. In order to attain promotion, faculty performance in the areas of teaching and service must meet the expectations of the School of Music and the College, and must be at a level that is commensurate with the ideals of the university. Specific criteria for describing faculty performance that meets these goals are determined by the faculty of the GKSOM. In respect to the terminology for evaluation, at the time of promotion to Associate or Full Professor of Practice, achievement in all areas must, at the very least, "meet expectations," but that is no guarantee of promotion.

a. Assistant Professor of Practice

Appointment to the rank of assistant professor signifies that a faculty member is well qualified to launch upon an academic teaching career. Qualifications include completion of a terminal degree or equivalent experience in the practice of the discipline and demonstrated success in academic or professional instruction.

b. Associate Professor of Practice

To attain the rank of associate professor, the candidate should be an accomplished teacher, where excellence in academic or professional instruction is evidenced e.g. by student evaluations, portfolio, peer review, and student outcomes.  The candidate must also demonstrate evidence of leadership in instructional activity that has had significant impact on the department, college, or University.

c. Professor of Practice

This rank is the highest academic rank in the University. It is reserved for those faculty members whose contributions to instruction in the field are sufficient to merit recognition as distinguished authorities and who hold the professional respect of their colleagues in their discipline. Qualifications for promotion to this rank include excellence in academic or professional instruction, as evidenced e.g. by student evaluations, portfolio, peer review, and student learning outcomes; a very high performance standard in the candidate’s discipline; and an expectation of national visibility for the candidate’s instructional activities and/or practice, achievable, for example by:

i. leadership in professional organizations

ii. instructional methods and/or materials disseminated nationally

iii. grant funding for instructional activities or innovations

The record of a successful candidate for professor must show evidence of sustained excellence over an extended period of time. Furthermore, a recommendation for promotion to full professor should be made only if the faculty member’s attainment is not only of sufficient significance, but also indicates the likelihood of continuation after promotion to this rank.

2. Procedure: Faculty and administrators evaluating a candidate for Professor of Practice should review documentation of the entire academic career to date. That record will include outside evaluations. The Director will invite the candidate seeking promotion to recommend the names of possible external reviewers who, in the estimation of the candidate, are well qualified to assess the significance of the candidate’s work, particularly regarding the candidate’s research/creative activities. The office of the Vice Chancellor provides a release form offering confidentiality options with respect to the selected reviewers. For a copy of this form, please see the Director.

The candidate's file will be made available for a specified period to all qualified faculty members, who will meet on a specified date to discuss the file and to vote for, or against, promotion. The Director submits the faculty’s recommendation and his or her recommendation to the Dean’s office with supporting documents, including teaching evaluations. The Dean’s office submits the faculty’s and Director’s recommendations to the College Executive Committee. The College Executive Committee forwards all materials, previous recommendations, and its recommendation to the Dean for his or her recommendation. All recommendations are presented to the Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and to the Chancellor. The Board of Regents has final approval. At every step in the process, the faculty member must be given copies of all recommendations and has the right to read and respond to any recommendation forwarded to the next level.

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VII. GUIDELINES FOR RESEARCH PROFESSOR APPOINTMENTS

Research Assistant, Associate and (full) Professors are contingent faculty appointed to non-tenure-track term contracts. Contracts may be written for terms of 1 to 3 years (or in exceptional cases, for longer terms) and are renewable (or not). As non-tenure-track faculty, research assistant, associate, and (full) professors are not subject to the 7-year limitation on length of service. These appointments are normally 1.00 FTE. Appointments at 0.5 FTE or greater are ordinarily eligible for NUFlex and retirement benefits. The governing policy guidelines for this faculty title are found on the website of the Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, at:

https://academicaffairs.unl.edu/searches-appointments/faculty-titles
 
A. APPOINTMENT

1. Research Professor appointments in music are made in two ways:
a. Through a search conducted by a committee drawn from GKSOM faculty, advisory to the Director.
b. Through application to the Director by a faculty member already serving in a contingent appointment.

2. Criteria: The possession of the generally accepted terminal degree in the candidate’s specific discipline within the general subject of Music; or equivalent professional experience, as determined by the GKSOM.

3. Term of appointment: contracts may be written for a period of 1 to 3 years (or in exceptional cases, for longer terms), and are renewable (or not).

B. ALLOCATION OF EFFORT

1. The following is a statement, in part, of section 3.4.4 of the Bylaws of the Board of Regents:

Assignment of Duties. The service and teaching obligations for each full-time member of the instructional staff in any semester shall consist of such amounts of one or more of the types of services necessary for a successful University program, including teaching, research, directing and supervising research, advising or counseling, committee assignments, administrative duties, field work, extension activities, and other miscellaneous assignments as may be deemed reasonable in each instance by the department chair and Dean or director concerned, within standards approved by the Chancellor, the President, and the Board.

2. The normal allocation of effort for all Research Assistant, Associate, and (full) Professors in the GKSOM is as follows: teaching (15%), research/creative activity (75%), and service (10%). Merit recognition and reduction in teaching load may be provided for efforts beyond the customary expectations. The development of new courses; the continuous refreshment of old courses; recruitment/retention; and service to the School, the College, the University, and the profession are normal parts of the ongoing duties of all faculty members.

3. Faculty members wishing to alter their official allocation of effort must negotiate individually with the Director of the GKSOM. Quoting from the Bylaws of the Board of Regents:

The specific apportionment of a faculty member’s responsibilities shall be reviewed periodically. Either the faculty member or the responsible unit administrator may initiate discussions of changes in apportionment of teaching, extension, service, research, and administrative responsibilities. In the process of any such discussions, both the faculty member and the unit administrator shall act in good faith to reach a mutual agreement. 


C. REAPPOINTMENT

Criteria and Procedures for Reappointment.

1. Criteria: Criteria for reappointment will vary depending on the rank at which the candidate was hired; candidates must demonstrate a profile of activity commensurate with their current rank.

2. Procedure: Faculty members in the year prior to the final year of their appointment period (e.g., year two of a three-yer apointment, year three of a four-year apointment) must apply for reappointment by submitting a Reappointment File to the Director by a specified date. The candidate's file will be made available for a specified period to all qualified faculty members, who will meet on a specified date to discuss the file and to vote for, or against, reappointment.

D. PROMOTION

Criteria and Procedures for Promotion to Specific Ranks

1. Criteria: Promotion to specific ranks may occur at any time during a particular appointment period. In order to attain promotion, faculty performance in the areas of teaching, research/creative activity, and service must meet the expectations of the GKSOM and the College, and must be at a level that is commensurate with the ideals of the university. Specific criteria for describing faculty performance that meets these goals are determined by the faculty of the School of Music. In respect to the terminology for evaluation, at the time of promotion to Research Associate or Research (full) Professor, achievement in all areas must, at the very least, "meet expectations," but that is no guarantee of promotion.

a. Research Assistant Professor

Appointment to the rank of assistant professor signifies that a faculty member is well qualified to launch upon a full-fledged academic career. Qualifications include completion of a terminal degree or equivalent experience in the practice of the discipline and demonstrated success in academic or professional instruction. In the period between appointment as a research assistant professor and promotion to research associate professor, terms expressed in the letter of offer, in the position description, and in the annual evaluations provide guidance regarding professional development to the faculty member and to peers and administrators charged with judging progress toward promotion. Although it is the objective of the University to have all faculty sufficiently qualified to eventually gain promotion to professor, no time limitations compel faculty to seek promotion. Research Assistant Professors may stay in that rank for the duration of their careers.

b. Research Associate Professor

To attain the rank of associate professor, the candidate should be an accomplished teacher, where teaching is an assigned responsibility, have a significant record of scholarly/creative work in keeping with the individual's job responsibilities, and have a significant record of service. Although it is the objective of the University to have all faculty sufficiently qualified to eventually gain promotion to professor, no time limitations compel faculty to seek promotion. Research Associate Professors may stay in that rank for the duration of their careers.

c. Research (full) Professor

This rank is the highest academic rank in the University. It is reserved for those faculty members whose are accomplished teachers, whose contributions in research/creative activity are sufficient to merit recognition as distinguished authorities, and who hold the professional respect of their colleagues in their discipline.  Qualifications for promotion to this rank include excellence in academic or professional instruction, as evidenced, e.g., by student evaluations, portfolio, peer review, and student learning outcomes; a very high performance standard in the candidate’s research/creative discipline; and an expectation of national visibility or work of national character or scope, in that discipline.

The record of a successful candidate for Research Professor must show evidence of sustained excellence over an extended period of time. Furthermore, a recommendation for promotion to full professor should be made only if the faculty member’s attainment is not only of sufficient significance, but also indicates the likelihood of continuation after promotion to this rank.

2. Procedure: Faculty and administrators evaluating a candidate for Research Professor should review documentation of the entire academic career to date. That record will include outside evaluations. The Director will invite the candidate seeking promotion to recommend the names of possible external reviewers who, in the estimation of the candidate, are well qualified to assess the significance of the candidate’s work, particularly regarding the candidate’s research/creative activities. The office of the Vice Chancellor provides a release form offering confidentiality options with respect to the selected reviewers. For a copy of this form, please see the Director.

The candidate's file will be made available for a specified period to all qualified faculty members, who will meet on a specified date to discuss the file and to vote for, or against, promotion. The Director submits the faculty’s recommendation and his or her recommendation to the Dean’s office with supporting documents, including teaching evaluations. The Dean’s office submits the faculty’s and Director’s recommendations to the College Executive Committee. The College Executive Committee forwards all materials, previous recommendations, and its recommendation to the Dean for his or her recommendation. All recommendations are presented to the Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and to the Chancellor. The Board of Regents has final approval. At every step in the process, the faculty member must be given copies of all recommendations and has the right to read and respond to any recommendation forwarded to the next level.

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

VIII. GUIDELINES FOR LECTURER
AND SENIOR LECTURER APPOINTMENTS

Lecturers and Senior Lecturers are non-tenure-track contingent faculty on term contracts. Their contracts may be written for terms of 1 to 2 years and are renewable (or not). Lecturers and Senior Lecturers are not subject to the 7-year limitation on length of service. Lecturers and Senior Lecturers must be appointed at 0.5 FTE or greater. UNL is no longer making new appointments with the designation "Senior Lecturer," but individuals already so appointed may be renewed with this title. The governing policy guidelines for the faculty title "Lecturer" are found on the website of the Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, at:

https://academicaffairs.unl.edu/searches-appointments/faculty-titles

A. APPOINTMENT

1. Lecturers are normally appointed by the Director with advice optionally from a search committee composed of GKSOM faculty.
2. Criteria: minimum criteria to be determined by the GKSOM.
3. Term of appointment: 1-2 years, renewable.


B. ALLOCATION OF EFFORT

1. Assignment of duties. The following is a statement, in part, of section 3.4.4 of the Bylaws of the Board of Regents:

Assignment of Duties. The service and teaching obligations for each full-time member of the instructional staff in any semester shall consist of such amounts of one or more of the types of services necessary for a successful University program, including teaching, research, directing and supervising research, advising or counseling, committee assignments, administrative duties, field work, extension activities, and other miscellaneous assignments as may be deemed reasonable in each instance by the department chair and Dean or director concerned, within standards approved by the Chancellor, the President, and the Board.

2. The normal allocation of effort for all Lecturer and Senior Lecturer faculty in the GKSOM is as follows: teaching (100%). Merit recognition and reduction in teaching load may be provided for efforts beyond the customary expectations. The development of new courses; the continuous refreshment of old courses; recruitment/retention; and service to the School, the College, the University, and the profession are normal parts of the on-going duties of all faculty members.

3. Faculty members wishing to alter their official allocation of effort must negotiate individually with the Director of the GKSOM. Quoting from the Bylaws of the Board of Regents:

The specific apportionment of a faculty member’s responsibilities shall be reviewed periodically. Either the faculty member or the responsible unit administrator may initiate discussions of changes in apportionment of teaching, extension, service, research, and administrative responsibilities. In the process of any such discussions, both the faculty member and the unit administrator shall act in good faith to reach a mutual agreement.

4. The difference in title between Lecturer and Senior Lecturer involves their roles in graduate education. Upon the approval of the UNL Office of Graduate Studies, current and future departmental lecturers may teach a graduate-level course at UNL. Lecturers cannot take on any other of the responsibilities of a Graduate Faculty member. However, a current Senior Lecturer may be nominated to be a Graduate Faculty Associate or a full member of the Graduate Faculty of the University of Nebraska Graduate College, and take on all of the responsibilities of that position.


C. REAPPOINTMENT

Lecturers and Senior Lecturers are normally reappointed by the Director with advice optionally from a committee composed of GKSOM faculty.

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

IX. APPENDICES

APPENDIX A:
Documentation for the FEP, i.e., the annual Faculty Evaluation Portfolio (including Activity Insight File)

The following materials are required to be made available annually by each GKSOM faculty member in their Faculty Evaluation Portfolio (FEP) for consideration in the evaluative process. All elements are to be submitted electronically as .pdf files. Supporting documentation of accomplishments must be retained by the faculty member but not submitted unless requested by the Executive Committee. the FEP is due every year on February 1.

1. Activity Insight (AI) file.
2. Curriculum Vitae (complete account of the career concerning teaching, research/creative activity, with highlighting of the items belonging in the current year of evaluation)
3. Student course evaluations

For a more detailed enumeration of documentation that could be provided as supportive documentation, see below in “Appendix D. Examples of Supporting Documentation of Accomplishments.”

 

APPENDIX B:
DOCUMENTATION FOR REAPPOINTMENT

Documentation for the annual reappointment file for tenure-line faculty should mirror as closely as possible the contents and format of the documentation that will be required for promotion and tenure. Documentation should be organized in three sections: an Administrative Section, a Candidate Section, and a section of Appendices of supporting evidence. By their very nature, some of these materials will be cumulative over the entire career to date and other materials will refer exclusively to the year under review for reappointment. Some redundancy is inevitable in this scheme, in particular between the Activity Insight file and Teaching Information required in the Administrative section, and the CV, candidate statement, and documentation that follow. The following description of materials should be checked every year against the current requirements of the office of the Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs.

A. ADMINISTRATIVE SECTION

1. Original letters of appointment or position description, reappointment and record of any changes or amendments, if any, including in apportionment of duties
2. Annual letters of reappointment by the Director and the Faculty for each previous year of service at UNL
3. Annual letters of Evaluation by the Director for each previous year of service at UNL
4. The Activity Insight file for calendar year of evaluation
5. The Activity Insight file for the four immediately prior calendar years
6. Teaching Information: List of all courses ever taught, with summary of quantitative data from student teaching evaluations if available. Since a professional academic CV normally concentrates upon research and creative activity (and is requested below in the Candidate Section), the information requested here should constitute, in effect, a full CV of the entire teaching career, both at UNL and, if applicable, at other institutions prior to and during employment at UNL.

B. CANDIDATE SECTION

1. Curriculum Vitae (clearly note refereed or juried work; extent of contributions if collaborative work). It is normal that a professional academic CV should focus upon research/creative activity, but the CV requested here should also contain a report of teaching (but note the Teaching Information requested above in the Administrative Section, which does not have to be fully duplicated here) and a report of Outreach/Service. This CV should account for the candidate's entire career to date, including activity at other academic institutions prior to and during employment at UNL.

2. Candidate statement identifying that portion of the candidate’s work that in the candidate’s judgment represents his or her most significant work, explains why he or she thinks this work is significant, and points out what its impact has been or will be. This statement should refer to supporting materials in the Appendices. Most specifically, the particular work of the calendar year under review for reappointment should be contextualized in respect to prior work recorded in the CV and also in respect to future plans and goals.

To include as appropriate to assignment:

a. Teaching philosophy, goals, summary of evidence that documents achievements and local and broader impact (1-5 pages)
b. Research/Creative Activity philosophy, goals, achievements, significance and impact (1-5 pages)
c. Outreach/Service philosophy, goals, achievements, significance, impact at the department, college, university, professional and community levels (1-5 pages)

C. APPENDICES

1. To contain only significant and relevant information.
2. Should not contain any new information not referenced in the Candidate Section.
3. Drawn from documentation for the calendar year under review in the reappointment process.
4. Including evidence of the quality and effectiveness of teaching.
5. Including evidence of the quality of scholarly, professional, and creative activity.
6. Including evidence of the quality and significance of professional and institutional service and outreach activities.

 

APPENDIX C:
DOCUMENTATION FOR PROMOTION AND TENURE

Every year the UNL Executive Vice Chancellor and Chief Academic Officer sends to all unit heads the latest version of the Transmittal Form, a document that spells out what is requested for the primary file of candidates for promotion and tenure. From year to year, requirements change frequently in large and small ways. Candidates for promotion and tenure must work with the Director of the GKSOM to ensure that current requirements for documentation are being followed to the letter. Current requirements should also be shared with the candidate's faculty mentor to assure that all parties helping the candidate are working from the same current guidelines.

For the latest version of the guidelines of the Executive Vice-Chancellor for the documentation format for promotion and/or tenure, see:

https://academicaffairs.unl.edu/faculty/promotion-tenure

Note: The Ad-Hoc Committee on Promotion and Tenure of the GKSOM has recommended that all promotion and tenure files contain documentation on the peer-review of teaching, and that has been mandated by UNL since Fall 2017.

Candidates for promotion and/or tenure will mount a number of designated files on Blackboard for review by the appropriate level of Glenn Korff School of Music faculty. Candidates should consult with the Director of the School over which files are to be uploaded and how this is accomplished.

 

APPENDIX D:
Examples of Supporting Documentation of Accomplishments

Documentation begins with a current CV that should provide a complete professional summary and employment history. For reappointment or promotion, note that additional significant and relevant information may be introduced as supportive evidence only if it has already been referenced in the candidate’s CV and statement. Moreover, explanatory and justificatory statements are encouraged for those instances where activities might well be included in more than one category of professional activity (e.g., in the case of an activity that could be seen as both teaching and also service-related, or both creative and service-related).

The following examples of supportive evidence for teaching, research/creative activity, and service have been drawn from a wide variety of sources, including documentation created by the GKSOM faculty and Executive Committee, the By-Laws of the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts, and the UNL Office of the Executive Vice-Chancellor and Chief Academic Officer. They are meant to be a representative listing, without claiming to be prescriptive or all-inclusive. In some cases (e.g., the length of syllabi and the length of the analysis of student evaluations for one course), rules that have been adopted by the GKSOM to constrain the length of the Faculty Evaluation Portfolio (FEP) are mentioned for reference.

A. Teaching

1. Provide a list of courses currently taught, and a list of all courses ever taught at UNL.

a. Include individual guided research, independent study, and reading courses.

b. For studio courses, provide size of performance studio, breakdown of numbers into graduate students and undergraduates, students by year, students by degree program; numbers admitted versus numbers graduated; analysis of retention.

c. For ensembles, provide size ensemble(s), breakdown of numbers into graduate students and undergraduates, non-music-degree students, students by year, students by degree program, students by performance area; balance of performance areas; analysis of strengths and weaknesses in sections; analysis of stability and retention.

d. Provide description and accounting of chamber music coaching.

e. The Ad-Hoc Committee on Promotion and Tenure of the GKSOM has recommended that all promotion and tenure files contain documentation on the peer-review of teaching.

2. Recruiting and retaining students.

Complementary requisites of a satisfactory and nurturing environment for teachers and students within the GKSOM are the development and maintenance of studios, ensembles, and classrooms with sufficient vitality and enrollment to support the performance and academic programs of the GKSOM. It is the responsibility of the faculty to attract and retain undergraduate music majors and graduate students. Toward that end, music faculty are encouraged to show evidence of developing and supporting recruitment and retention programs appropriate to their teaching area and GKSOM degree programs, which may include:

a. Responding to student inquiries with a personal letter or telephone call.

b. Developing opportunities to work with prospective students in high school programs. This should be done regularly in the immediate region and frequently in other locales.

c. Regular contact with public school and private music instructors.

d. Membership and participation in appropriate professional organizations (e.g., NMEA, MENC, NATS, NSBA, etc.).

e. Active involvement in the recruiting activities of the school such as at             Audition Days and similar activities.

f. Maintenance of a regularly scheduled audition time.

g. Mentoring student groups.

h. Negotiating an appropriate studio size with the Director.

3. Syllabi (limited to a ten-page maximum per course when submitted as part of the yearly FEP; otherwise, submit the complete syllabus made available to students). The syllabus for each course is required to use the official GKSOM format.

a. The syllabus must include the following faculty information:

name

office address

UNL phone number

e-mail address

office hours

GTA name(s) and contact information

b. and the syllabus must have the following course information:

title of course (must match the current Bulletin) course number and section number

class time credit hours

catalog description (must match the current Bulletin) prerequisites (must match the current Bulletin)

required texts, scores, anthologies, recordings, and references course goals and objectives

content outline with schedule of topics and events instructional activities, including student presentations assignments, including essays and term papers

field and clinical experience

grading procedures (including quizzes and exams, essays and term papers, presentations, and weightings for the various requirements)

attendance policy

c. and for music and dance ensembles, the syllabus should list

special rehearsals (there should be very few of these)

performances (including dates, call times, dress codes, and tour dates with student costs)

provision for students to sign and submit copyright release forms

Note: At the start of every semester, current syllabi are to be mounted on Blackboard™ and also sent to the office of the director as a .PDF file.

4. Student Evaluations. An analysis of student evaluations of teaching, including, where possible, an interpretation of the quantitative data (numerical ranking as compared to others in the department); summary of student comments.

Evaluations of courses that do not contribute to the faculty member's teaching load credit are not required, for example, dissertation hours, continuing education courses, individual research, or individual reading courses.

Student evaluations are part of the materials submitted for annual review, promotion, and tenure. It is important for each faculty member to maintain a careful file of all student evaluations. Before evaluations are submitted for any review process, however, the faculty member has the right to submit any explanations or information desired. This appended information will be included in the review material. Once the evaluations have been used for the annual evaluation of a faculty member and/or tenure and promotion procedures, those evaluations become the property of the individual faculty member.

a. An analysis and interpretation of the student evaluations for each course for the immediately prior academic year and implications for future teaching. (For Reappointment and FEP files, please keep to a maximum of 1/2 page per course).

b. Evaluation Summaries (cover sheets), analyses, and interpretations from past years (beginning January 1998 and ending with the move to web-based evaluations).

c. Student Evaluations for all years (beginning January 1998 and ending with the move to web-based evaluations); web-based evaluative summaries for all subsequent years up to the present.

d. With the assistance of the Associate Director in providing necessary statistics, a tabular course-by-course and semester-by-semester comparison of individual Instructor Ratings with the average Area or Departmental rating

5. Academic advising of undergraduates on a formal basis as assigned by the Director: numbers of advisees, their degree programs, their year in the program, materials prepared for them, presentations made to them collectively, record of individual meetings, special issues dealt with (e.g., academic probation, study abroad, Honors Program requirements, preparation for nationally competitive scholarships and fellowships, preparation for graduate study, etc.)

6. Additional supportive materials representing student input (not including course evaluations) may include:

a. Evidence of student learning, achievement, and exceptional performance or outcome.

b. Additional information from students in respect to student-teacher interactions or effectiveness of advising or mentoring, etc., e.g., interview data after course completion, exit interviews, student write-ups in a course-review booklet, honors from students (e.g., student-initiated nomination for an award for good teaching), written comments from a student, a student’s parent, a student committee or honor society, etc.

7. Additional supportive materials in regard to instruction:

Student evaluations can and do evaluate only one aspect of the instructional role—the teaching situation in which teachers and students face or interact with one another. Student evaluations do not fully measure such other aspects of the instructional role as the faculty member's degree of familiarity with new developments in the field, course and curriculum development, preparation of instructional materials and/or laboratory activities, and the formulation and grading of tests evaluating student progress. Documentation for these other aspects of the instructional role (not including evidence of more formal activity in professional development in the area of pedagogy, for which see no. 8 immediately below) may include:

a. Course portfolio for one or more courses, that would include reading lists and library reserve lists, homework assignments [including listening lists, problem sets, simulations, case studies, etc.], packets or the equivalent, handouts, study guides and review materials, descriptions of non-print materials created (audio- visual [slides and PowerPoint™ slides, video recordings, movies and other DVD products, etc.], computer software, etc.); examples of completed assignments; descriptions of student performances: e.g., class presentations, recitals, departmentals, etc.; description of activities in supervising students in the field; copies of tests and quizzes used and examples of teacher's feedback in the form of graded exams, jury reports, recital feedback, research papers; statement of evaluation criteria for student grades, grade distribution.

b. Prose description and documentation of teaching methods.

c. Video recordings of classroom teaching, one-on-one studio teaching, chamber ensemble coaching, rehearsing, conducting, etc., with written analysis of contents

8. Professional development with respect to teaching: i.e., broadly speaking, SOTL (Scholarship of Teaching and Learning) activities

a. Curriculum and course development within an existing course, curriculum, or program

b. Design of new courses, curricula, and programs

c. Examples of new teaching techniques and innovation in instructional delivery, including web-based course delivery and distance teaching

d. International activity as a teacher (e.g., Fulbright Fellowship, etc.)

e. Record of additional education in pedagogy of subject area, or generally in respect to teaching

f. Keeping current in issues of general teaching improvement: record of attendance at local, regional, national international meetings

g. Keeping current in pedagogy of subject: record of attendance at regional, national, international meetings

h. Keeping current in pedagogy of subject: record of lectures/performances and papers presented at meetings, colloquia delivered, published works including books, book chapters, and articles published in respected journals (preferably refereed)

i. Record of self-initiated enquiries resulting in consultations, presentations, guest lectures, and workshops related to teaching

j. Record of external invitations resulting in consultations, presentations, guest lectures, and workshops related to teaching

k. Faculty development leaves and grants (with internal or external financial support) in pedagogy of subject area; proposals submitted, proposals funded

l. With appropriate justification, some work in the subject area of research/creative activity outside of pedagogy might be deemed appropriate, including:

i. Record of additional education in subject area

ii. Keeping current in subject: record of attendance at local, regional, national, international meetings

iii. Keeping current in subject: record of lectures/performances, published works (see also documentation of research)

iv. Faculty development leaves and grants (with internal or external financial support) in subject area; proposals submitted, proposals funded

9. Additional teaching-related activities outside in the classroom, studio, or rehearsal hall:

a. Record of guidance of research, independent study, and reading courses, honors theses, and UCARE projects, with description of outcomes.

b. Graduate instruction, advising, and mentoring.

c. Experience as chair or co-chair or member of a Supervisory Committee for a masters or doctoral student; member of a thesis reading committee; dissertation adviser (first reader). Provide a description of precise role and responsibilities.

d. Evidence of faculty member's role as a mentor to undergraduates, sustaining contact with students, nurturing careers and the intellectual and musical growth of individuals, and earning the respect of students he or she has never taught (and being sought out by same).

e. Especially significant contribution as a presenter to undergraduate and graduate convocations and departmentals.

f. Record of service on appropriate UNL and professional standing committees and special committees and Teaching Council (e.g., to examine grading policies, admissions standards, undergraduate and graduate curriculum, etc.) (see also faculty member's statement on service).

g. Description of activities in a field setting (other than supervising students).

h. Evidence of faculty member's contribution to morale.

10. Peer assessment: internal and external peer assessment of course design, instructional materials and examinations, level of student performance, student retention, and effectiveness of recruitment strategies. Note: the Ad-Hoc Committee on Promotion and Tenure of the GKSOM has recommended that all promotion and tenure files contain documentation on the peer-review of teaching.

11. Teaching awards and recognition: institutional and professional; from students, parents, peers; departmental, college-wide, campus-wide, university-wide, national and international; other evidence of impact on the teaching of the discipline.

B. Professional scholarly and creative activity

 Required is evidence for an on-going agenda of professional-level scholarly and creative activity, with a sense of where the career has been and where it is moving. Supportive materials for activities may include many kinds of evidence; the following is not meant to be either prescriptive or all-inclusive. Justification or explanation is always welcome where evidence might arguably fall in more than one category of effort (i.e., if it might also fit under teaching or service).

 1.  Performance (other than conducting)

 a.  Auditioned/Invited recitals/performances, including solo, collaborative, and ensemble appearances of music or dance at local, regional, national, and international venues, including conventions and conferences; the significance of the venue should be explained, if necessary (e.g., to help evaluate the prestige of a regional or national convention)

 b.  Other recitals/performances not specifically earned through audition/invitation (e.g., faculty recital on campus; personally arranged performance elsewhere)

 c.  Innovative performances such as commissions and premiere performances, and distinguish first performance of newly-prepared material from repeat performances of previously prepared material

d.  Sound and visual recordings available for private or for national or international distribution

e.  Scholarship of performance:

 ---Scholarly books and editions accepted for publication

---scholarly journal articles, book chapters, reviews, encyclopedia entries (identify as invited or refereed; explain the prestige of the publication venue)

---presentations/lectures (identify as invited or refereed) at local, regional, national or international venues

 f.  Reviews of performances, recordings, videos and DVDs in appropriate media, with explanation of the significance of the venue of the review

 g.  Grant and contract activity to support performing and recording

 h.  Awards, prizes, and recognition: departmental, college-wide, campus-wide, university-wide, national and international

 

  2.  Conducting (outside of prescribed UNL teaching duties)

a.  Innovative performances with UNL ensemble of compositions or arrangements, such as commissions and premiere performances, for which a case can be made that they represent creative activity

b.  Other performances, undertaken as part of UNL teaching duties in ensemble direction, for which a case can be made that they represent creative activity

c.  Success in competitive auditions with UNL ensemble participation

d.  Outside conducting opportunities (for which a case needs to be made, based on the ensemble and the repertoire involved, that they are not only professional service)

e.  Recordings, reviewed in appropriate media

f.  Publications relating to conducting, including books and articles: scholarly books accepted for publication; scholarly, refereed publication in national journals (or state journals with national prestige); research projects in performance and/or performance practices; published research in the areas of method books, manuals, teaching editions, transcriptions, books, articles, monographs, reviews

g.  Grant and contract activity

h.  Reviews of conducting

i.  Awards, prizes, honors, and recognition: departmental, college-wide, campus-wide, university-wide, national and international

 

  3.  Composition and choreography

a.  External commissions by individuals or ensembles of local, regional, national or international prominence; finished works not created in response to an external commission; arrangements or adaptations of pre-existing works

b.  Performances of compositions (including commissions), including both premieres of new works and continuing record of performances of past compositions; identify significance of venues, including regional or national conventions

c.  Recordings of original compositions available for national or international distribution

 d.  Dance choreography

e. Commercially published original compositions, and arrangements (note if a nationally recognized publishing house)

f.  Scholarly publications related directly to your personal creative activity, including books and articles in scholarly, refereed publications accepted for publication in national journals (or state journals with national prestige); scholarly books in publication; books or journals edited; refereed publications in proceedings, conferences, and symposia; scholarly abstracts; invited review articles; presentations; textbooks related to graduate education; book chapters, published instructional materials; or published professional reports

g.  Grant and contract activity

h.  Reviews

i.  Residencies and other awards, prizes, and recognition: departmental, college-wide, campus-wide, university-wide, regional, national, and international

 

   4.  Academic Scholarship

 Note: For some citations, it may be helpful to furnish evaluators a brief description providing names of editors, editorial board, and other useful information in order to better gauge the significance of the publication venue.

a.  scholarly books and editions accepted for publication; scholarly, refereed publications in international or national journals (or state journals with national prestige); invited publications in prestigious venues

b.  other published materials: books or journals edited; refereed publications in proceedings, conferences, and symposia; invited review articles; textbooks related to undergraduate or graduate education; book chapters, published instructional materials, or published professional reports

 c.  The presentation of lectures and papers (identify as new or as repeat of previously prepared material; you may wish to identify the most significant venues)

 d.  Grant and contract activity; proposals submitted, proposals funded

 e.  Reviews of your scholarship

 f.  Citations of your scholarship

 g.  Awards, prizes, and recognition: departmental, college-wide, campus-wide, university-wide, regional, national, and international


C. Service

1. List of institutional service to the department, college, and university, with dates, including roles in administration and in faculty governance

2. List of service to professional constituencies, organizations, and publications in some leadership capacity, with dates, on the local, state, regional, national, and international level.

3. Other activities, including

a. Master classes

b. Clinics (identify as new or as repeat of previously prepared material)

c. Workshops (identify as new or as repeat of previously prepared material)

d. Adjudication

e. Music, record, and scholarly reviews (an extensive review may qualify under research)

f. Journal or Newsletter editor

g. Newsletter columnist

h. Performances for University functions

i. Accompanying in the community

j. Church organist or choir director

k. Paid performance participation in professional ensembles such as the Lincoln or the Omaha Symphony Orchestra. (Particularly meritorious participation as a soloist may be counted as an aspect of creative activity.)

l. Departmental examinations (regular and customary participation in departmentals is a requirement of studio teaching)

m. Faculty advisor to student professional organizations and Panhellenic groups

n. Mentor to new faculty

o. External arts boards

p. Program notes for community-based performance

4. Land grant activities and related outreach activities not accounted for above; other community service related to assignment

5. Scholarship related to service, outreach, and land grant activities

6. Awards, prizes, and recognition: departmental, college-wide, campus-wide, university-wide, regional, national, and international


 

APPENDIX E:
FACULTY LOAD CALCULATION FOR TEACHING RESPONSIBILITIES

Faculty loads are calculated by the School of Music in the area of teaching in such a way that documentation of faculty effort and comparisons across areas can occur easily.

The typical apportionment of duty in the GKSOM for tenured or tenure-leading faculty is teaching (60%), research/creative activity (30%), and service (10%).  In the discussion below, the phrase “full load” refers to the teaching part of the apportionment at the typical 60% level.

NOTE: Not every important faculty responsibility is given a separate, discreet calculation of effort. For example, assignment as an administrative Area Head is counted as service. Further, all faculty members are expected to guide undergraduate and graduate-level independent study projects (e.g., MUSC 398, MUSC 498 & 499, MUSC 898), serve on graduate students' supervisory committees, and guide graduate and undergraduate student theses. Applied faculty are expected to oversee their students's recitals, and azttend juries. None of these important teaching responsibilities receives specific load credit.

The “units of measure” for various kinds of teaching are as follows:

APPLIED

Full applied teaching load = 18 majors per semester (or 2 x 18 = 36 majors per year),
where "majors" are PhD, DMA, MM, BM, BA, or BME students taking one hour-long lesson per week.

For applied faculty, the number of applied majors is multiplied by .0166:
2 x 18 x .0166 = .5976, which is close enough to .60

Minors and elective students, who take half-hour lessons, are counted individually as the equivalent of half a major, thus each is .5 x .0166 = .0083

In terms of time load (here, "contact hours" or "face time" or "clock time"), a full applied load is 2 x 15 wks x 18 hrs per week = 2 x 270 hrs per semester = 540 hours per year.

For applied faculty who also teach classroom classes, each 3-credit, 3-hour class is the equivalent of 3 majors. Thus, a full teaching load is one class plus 15 majors, or two classes plus 12 majors, or 3 classes plus 9 majors.

ACADEMIC

Full academic teaching load = five three-credit classes (225 contact hours)

For academic faculty, the basis of load is the following: teaching a course which meets once a week for one hour for 15 weeks in a semester, where the instructor has 100% responsibility, is given .04 load credit.

Thus, for example,
each two-credit academic class computes as 2 x .04 = .08
each three-credit class computes as 3 x .04 = .12
and the normal full load of five three-credit classes computes as 5 x 3 x .04 = .60

NOTE: A faculty member who teaches multiple sections of the same class or teaches material prepared by another faculty member (as is the case for multiple sections of undergraduate theory) may receive two thirds credit (rather than full credit) for teaching the additional course. Thus, for the second section of a three-credit course, the faculty member would receive 2 x .04 = .08 rather than 3 x .04 = .12 load credit.

Ballet and Modern Dance classes are 2-credit classes that meet for three studio hours per week; they are give a .12 load weight.

NOTE: Using the "per student" multiplier (.0166) in a three-credit class, the full load credit (.12) computes out as a minimum of somewhere between 7 (.116) and 8 (.133) students; for faculty who teach academic classes with an enrollment of 6 or fewer students, faculty load may be calculated on a per student basis (.0166 x number of students) at the discretion of the Director; this is regularly done, for example, for the small, specialized Lit & Ped classes [MUSC 462]).

NOTE ALSO: The common assumption in higher education governing load, which we operate under here, is that each classroom hour is credited with a further hour of preparation and an hour of grading ("prep, teach, grade"). Thus the "time load" is three times the "face time" in class (i.e., nine hours per week for a three-credit class). "Time load" is the basis of comparison with the applied studio teacher's contact hours ("face time"). That time load is 3 x 225 contact hours or 675 hours per year.

 ENSEMBLE

A full load of ensemble teaching = 3 semester-long five-hours-per week (250 minute) ensembles (2+1 or 1+2).

Ensemble load is calculated on the basis of direct contact hours, i.e. "face time" (and not credit hour productivity); thus, on this basis, smaller and larger ensembles are counted equivalently.

Some ensembles meets 5 hours per week (to be more precise, 250 minutes), or 75 hours per 15-week semester. Each 1 hour a week (15 hours a semester) of contact time receives a .04 weighting, so that for the ensembles meeting for 75 hours a semester (5 hours per week x 15 weeks), the  load weight is 5 x .04 = .20, and 3 ensembles x .20 = .60.

Contact hours are therefore 3 x 75 = 225 per year for a faculty member who is exclusively an ensemble director of a 250-minutes-per-week ensemble. A time load calculation taking into account the preparation of new scores for each semester's concerts, plus dress rehearsals and so forth (equivalent to the time load factored into classroom instruction), raises the total to a number comparable to the 540 hrs of face time for applied teachers and the 675 hrs of time load for classroom teachers.

Similarly, for an ensemble meeting three hours per week (to be more precise, 150 minutes), the load weight is .12.

 

SOME EXAMPLES OF FRACTIONAL NEGOTIATED TEACHING LOADS

Field experience supervision: each 12 visits = a one-credit-hour academic course = .04
Student Teaching =  each 12 observations = .04 (regardless of # of students at site)
Opera Direction: direction of a major opera = one half of one semester's load,
thus 0.5 x 0.5 x .60 = .15, calculated as 9 applied students  = 9 x .0166 = .15

Beginning Conducting: 1-credit class meeting two hours per week = 0.08
Chamber Music Coaching: each ensemble = 0.5-cr-hr academic course
= 0 or 1 + 2.5 x .04 per group = .02
BME Skills classes instruction [e.g., Strings] = 2 cr = 2 x .04 = .08
Aural Skills (Musicianship Lab) = 1.33 x .04 = .0532
Literature & Pedagogy (MUSC 462), if below 7 students = no. of students x .0166
Conducting a MUCO 344 ensemble = .04
Convocation (UG) (MM) = .04
Colloquium (DMA) = .04
Advising (ca. 30 majors) = .04 per semester
Senior Assessment in Music (MUSC 64) = .5 x .04 = .02

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The following are sample examples of faculty load calculations for “academic only,” “applied only,” "academic/applied” and “ensemble only” faculty.

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Prof. Academic Only

Term 081 History of Baseball Music MUSC 4/844 3 cr [.12]
Term 081 Intro to Symphonic Study MUSC 846 2 cr [.08]
Term 081 How to Use Footnotes MUSC 888 1 cr [.04]
Term 081 Canines and Ocarinas MUSC 389 3 cr [.12]

Term 082 History of Football Music MUSC 4/845 3 cr [.12]
Term 082 Notation Review MUSC 847 3 cr [.12]

TOTAL [.36 +.24 = .60]

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Prof. Applied Only

Term 081 Applied Ocarina MUAP x44 -- 14 majors [.2333] 4 minors [.0333]
Term 081 Ocarina Lit&Ped MUSC 4/862x -- 4 students [.0664]
SUBTOTAL [.3330]

Term 082 Applied Ocarina MUAP x44 -- 14 majors [.2333] 4 minors [.0333]
SUBTOTAL [.2666]

TOTAL [.5996]

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Prof. Applied with diverse assignments

Term 081 Applied Pennywhistle MUAP x46 3 majors [.0498] 2 minors [.0166]
Term 081 Class Instr. Pennywhistle MUAP 244 (semester-long = 3 cr equiv.) [.12]
Term 081 Chamber Coaching MUAP 352 (one group) [.02]
Term 081 Notation I MUSC 144 (2 cr equiv) [.08]
Term 081 Notation I Lab MUSC 144A (1.33 cr equiv) [.0532]
SUBTOTAL [.3396]

Term 082 Applied Pennywhistle MUAP x46 3 majors [0.0498] no minors
Term 082 Class Instr. Pennywhistle MUAP 244 (semester-long = 3 cr equiv.) [.12]
Term 082 Notation II Lab (2 cr equiv.) [.08]
SUBTOTAL [.2498]

TOTAL [.5894]

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Prof. One Large Ensemble

Term 081 Accordion Ensemble MUDC 2/444 (5 cr equiv) [.20]
Term 081 Accordion Ens. Conducting MUSC 944 2 students [.0332]
Term 081 Accordion Ens. Literature MUSC 945D 2 students [.0332]
Term 081 Advanced Conducting MUED 374 (2 cr. equiv) [.08]
SUBTOTAL [.3464]

Term 082 Accordion Ensemble MUDC 2/444 (5 cr equiv) [.20]
Term 082 Accordion Ens. Conducting MUSC 944 1 sudent [.0166]
Term 082 Accordion Ens. Literature MUSC 945E 2 students [.0332]
SUBTOTAL [.2498]

 TOTAL [ .5962]

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