Final Question

Hiring

If you will remember from Lesson three, faculty salaries and benefits are the largest expense item in the university budget.  Then in Lesson four, when the Dean discussed faculty, he said that faculty were the most important asset of the university.  Later in that same lesson, we said that nothing affects students more than faculty. We also said that the hiring of the right faculty member is the best thing a university administrator can do and the hiring of the wrong faculty member is the worst thing a university administrator can do. Therefore, we have acknowledged the importance of faculty in the university.  Now let’s discuss how faculty is appointed.

The following is an excerpt from a Mississippi College policy on faculty appointment:

Contract offers for faculty appointment are issued by the President and subject to approval of the Board of Trustees.  The employment process preceding a recommendation to the President, and subsequently to the Board, will involve appropriate discussions among the Provost, dean and the head of the department and members of the faculty.  In almost every case the person to be recommended will have been brought to the campus for interviews with faculty in the department or school, the Provost, and the President.  In these interviews the aims and purposes of the university will be fully discussed, and the duties and responsibilities of the prospective faculty member will be clearly set forth.   Following appropriate discussion to determine the broadest possible consensus among the faculty members and academic administrators, the dean will send to the Provost, in writing, the name and qualifications of the person whom he/she recommends, and the Provost will make his/her own recommendation to the President.

As usual, standards play a part in the appointment of faculty.  The accreditor, Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on College’s (SACSCOC), has standards dealing with faculty as follows:

For each of its educational programs, the institution

1. Justifies and documents the qualifications of its faculty members. (Faculty qualifications)

2. Employs a sufficient number of full-time faculty members to ensure curriculum and program quality, integrity, and review. (Program faculty)

3. Assigns appropriate responsibility for program coordination. (Program coordination)

SACSCOC has a policy concerning faculty credentials which reads:

When an institution defines faculty qualifications using faculty credentials, institutions should use the following as credential guidelines:

· Faculty teaching general education courses at the undergraduate level: doctorate or master’s degree in the teaching discipline or master’s degree with a concentration in the teaching discipline (a minimum of 18 graduate semester hours in the teaching discipline).

· Faculty teaching associate degree courses designed for transfer to a baccalaureate degree: doctorate or master’s degree in the teaching discipline or master’s degree with a concentration in the teaching discipline (a minimum of 18 graduate semester hours in the teaching discipline).

· Faculty teaching associate degree courses not designed for transfer to the baccalaureate degree: bachelor’s degree in the teaching discipline, or associate’s degree and demonstrated competencies in the teaching discipline.

· Faculty teaching baccalaureate courses: doctorate or master’s degree in the teaching discipline or master’s degree with a concentration in the teaching discipline (minimum of 18 graduate semester hours in the teaching discipline).

· Faculty teaching graduate and post-baccalaureate course work: earned doctorate/terminal degree in the teaching discipline or a related discipline.

· Graduate teaching assistants: master’s in the teaching discipline or 18 graduate semester hours in the teaching discipline, direct supervision by a faculty member experienced in the teaching discipline, regular in-service training, and planned and periodic evaluations.

[Approved: College Delegate Assembly, December 2006 Updated for Revised Principles: April 2018]

As delineated above, faculty teaching graduate courses should hold the terminal degree in the field. Usually the PhD (Doctorate in Philosophy) is considered the preferred terminal degree. In some cases, the masters degree is considered the terminal degree in the field. This would normally be the professional accreditor who would designate this to be best practice. 

In determining acceptable qualifications of its faculty, the Mississippi College (MC) gives primary consideration to the highest degree earned in the discipline (Policy 3.01 Initial Appointment of Employees). MC consistently has over 75 percent of its faculty who hold the Ph.D. or equivalent terminal degree (see Key Performance Indicator, line 50). While the Ph.D. is the most prominent terminal degree among Mississippi College faculty, in accord with common standards in several fields, other degrees are considered terminal:

· The Juris Doctorate (J.D.) is considered the terminal professional degree by law schools and practitioners throughout the American Bar Association (ABA) and the Association of American Law Schools (AALS).

· The Doctorate in Education (Ed.D.) is considered the terminal degree by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP).

· The Master of Fine Arts is widely recognized as the terminal degree in programs which emphasize professional practice (e.g., visual arts, theatre performance, set design, etc.). Degree requirements for the M.F.A. typically require two years of full-time graduate study, with a minimum of 60 semester hours.

· The Master of Fine Arts in Interior Design or Interior Architecture, Master of Architecture, and Master of Interior Design are considered terminal degrees in the field of Interior Design according to the Interior Design Educators Council (IDEC).

· The Master of Social Work is considered the terminal degree by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE).

· Mississippi College implemented a Physician Assistant Program, with the charter class beginning the Summer of 2011. In accord with the Physician Assistant Education Association, the University recognizes the professional master’s degree as the terminal credential. All faculty in the P.A. program hold either the professional master’s in physician assistant studies or the appropriate doctoral credentials in a health science field.

Faculty Qualifications are of vital importance, not the least of which is the accreditation of the college or university depends on faculty having the appropriate credentials. For SACSCOC, the standard is 6.2.a (faculty qualifications). Its interpretation follows:

Exceptions can be made using the following documentation:

· appropriately related work experiences in the field

· professional licensure and certifications related to the teaching assignment

· honors and awards

· continuing professional development

· relevant peer-reviewed publications

· continuous documented excellence in teaching