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Promotion to Associate Teaching Professor

Summary of the review process

Our Department conducts annual merit reviews of all faculty, following the guidelines specified in the University of Washington Faculty Code. Our own guidelines for appointment and promotion to the rank of Associate Teaching Professor are included here. Because we are a small department, we do not have a separate Promotion & Tenure review committee (thus, there is no separate review committee report). In the case of a faculty appointment, all eligible faculty act as the review body.

Criteria for promotion to the rank of Associate Teaching Professor

The standards and criteria for promotions used in the Department of Aeronautics & Astronautics (AA) are the same as those contained in section 24-34.B of the University of Washington Faculty Code and Governance. The qualifications cited for promotion to the rank of Associate Teaching Professor are described in item 3 of that section:

3. Appointment to one of the ranks in Subsection A above with a teaching title requires qualifications corresponding to those prescribed for that rank, with primary emphasis upon teaching. Such an appointment requires completion of professional training appropriate to the teaching, scholarship, and service requirements of the position. Appropriate degree requirements shall be determined for each position by the college, school, or campus making the appointment. Tenure is not acquired under teaching appointments.

Teaching professor, associate teaching professor, and assistant teaching professor appointments are term appointments for periods not to exceed the limits specified in Section 24-41. The question of their renewal shall be considered by the voting faculty who are superior in academic rank to the person being considered and are faculty of the department (or undepartmentalized college or school) in which the appointments are held, except that the voting faculty at rank of professor shall consider whether to recommend renewal or non-renewal of the appointment of a teaching professor. Such consideration shall be conducted in accord with the provisions of Section 24-53.

Teaching professors, associate teaching professors, and assistant teaching professors are eligible for appointment to the graduate faculty, and are eligible to act as principal investigators for grants and contracts.

b) Appointment with the title of associate teaching professor requires extensive training, competence, and experience in the discipline.

4. Individuals appointed to one of the titles in Section 1–3 above may demonstrate their scholarship in a variety of ways (Section 24-32), including but not limited to: introduction of new knowledge or methods into course content; creation or use of innovative pedagogical methods; development of new courses, curricula, or course materials; participation in professional conferences; evidence of student performance; receipt of grants or awards; contributions to interdisciplinary teaching; participation and leadership in professional associations; or significant outreach to professionals at other educational institutions. While they may choose to do so through publication, such publication shall not be required.

Activities under the categories of teaching, research, and service are interpreted by A&A in accordance with section 24-32, 24-54 and 24-57 of the UW Faculty Code. The application of the University criteria by the department is described below for promotions to the rank of Associate Teaching Professor.

Promotion from Assistant Teaching Professor to Associate Teaching Professor

Candidates for promotion to Associate Teaching Professor are expected to have a demonstrated sustained success in teaching. Their contributions in educational innovation must be significant and recognized by students, colleagues, and peers. Further, they should have a sustained record of mentoring and/or advising students. In addition, in accordance with Section 24-32, A of the UW Faculty Code, the College of Engineering recognizes that “Scholarship, the essence of effective teaching and research, is the obligation of all members of the faculty.” The College of Engineering recognizes that research scholarship and teaching scholarship are distinct activities. Within each of these categories the College of Engineering’s specific expectations are as follows:

1. Teaching

  • A principal measure of teaching effectiveness is performance in the classroom. Candidates for promotion to Associate Teaching Professor should have a record of effective classroom teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels, as evidenced by student and peer evaluations. The record should include courses central to the undergraduate program as well as subject matter unique to his/her specific qualifications (typically graduate courses).
  • Individual instruction is recognized as an important aspect of the overall teaching responsibilities of a faculty member. Consequently, an evaluation of the teaching record of a candidate for promotion to Associate Teaching Professor should include a measure of his/her effectiveness in the areas of academic advising, career counseling and the mentoring of undergraduate and graduate students. The candidate must have demonstrated effectiveness in mentoring and supervising the research of graduate students at the M.S. and Ph.D. levels.
  • The evaluation of teaching performance may also include contributions to the program in the form of new courses, innovative teaching methods, writing textbooks, development of teaching materials and curriculum development.

2. Research

  • Individuals appointed to one of the titles in Section 1–3 above may demonstrate their scholarship in a variety of ways (Section 24-32), including but not limited to: introduction of new knowledge or methods into course content; creation or use of innovative pedagogical methods; development of new courses, curricula, or course materials; participation in professional conferences; evidence of student performance; receipt of grants or awards; contributions to interdisciplinary teaching; participation and leadership in professional associations; or significant outreach to professionals at other educational institutions. While they may choose to do so through publication, such publication shall not be required.
  • Additionally, wide-ranging contributions to scholarship and research should be taken into account, specifically not limiting it to the scholarship of teaching and learning only. Further examples might include curricular development, study abroad programs, or advising and mentoring of students. This list is not exhaustive and shall serve to guide faculty as they identify ways to structure their various teaching activities. Additionally, departments must recognize this obligation and work collaboratively with the teaching faculty to enable pursuit of scholarly work.
  • Within the College of Engineering, teaching faculty of all ranks are frequently involved in the direction of existing programs and/or development of new programs. These activities are important for the success of the College, and vary in requirements and workload.

3. Service

  • In addition to instructional responsibilities, the regular duties of a teaching faculty member in the College of Engineering will include some amount of service activities. It is recognized that there will be substantial variance in the types and amount of service activities between (and even within) academic units.
  • Departments are expected to clearly define the fraction of FTE a teaching faculty should spend on service and, ideally, identify some activities within the service load that may productively help teaching faculty build a portfolio of scholarly activities in their progression to reappointment and promotion.