Criteria and Procedures for Promotion to Specific Ranks
- 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.
- 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. - 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. - 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.
- Research Assistant Professor
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.
- 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.