1. GRADUATE FACULTY

    The integrity of graduate programs rests with the Graduate Faculty. The main responsibilities of the members of the Graduate Faculty are to teach graduate students effectively, to conduct scholarly research and creative work of high quality, to maintain proficiency in their discipline, to ensure that graduate programs in their discipline are relevant, and to direct the research and scholarly endeavors of graduate students.

1.01     The Graduate Faculty at Sam Houston State University will have two categories of membership: (1) Regular Member, and (2) Associate Member.

1.02     Regular Members of the Graduate Faculty are charged with the responsibility of serving as a major Professor of master’s and doctoral candidates, serving on thesis and dissertation committees in their areas of expertise, teaching advanced graduate courses as assigned by the department/school chair, and participating in all other aspects of the graduate program of the department/school and the university.

1.03     Associate Members of the Graduate Faculty are charged with the responsibility of participating in the graduate program in all ways except serving as a major Professor for doctoral candidates.

1.04     Regular Members and Associate Members of the Graduate Faculty are eligible for membership on the Graduate Council.

1.05     The names of appointees to the Graduate Faculty will be published in the University Graduate Catalogue.

2. REGULAR MEMBERSHIP ON THE GRADUATE FACULTY

2.01     The Regular Members of the Graduate Faculty at Sam Houston State University will be composed of approved professors, associate professors, and assistant professors with either terminal degrees or special academic credentials, who are tenured or in the tenure track, and the President of the University, the Vice President for Academic Affairs (VPAA), the Associate Vice Presidents whom the VPAA designates, the Director of Graduate Studies, the Director of the Newton Gresham Library, the deans of the colleges that are authorized to offer programs leading to graduate degrees, and other academic officials whom the president designates.

2.02     A Regular Member of the Graduate Faculty will be appointed for a six-year term, unless the individual’s academic appointment at the university is terminated.

2.03     Criteria for appointment and reappointment to regular membership in the Graduate Faculty will be developed within each college and will be subject to approval by the Vice President for Academic Affairs. Minimum criteria for appointment/reappointment should include several of the following:
 

• Possession of the highest earned degree in the candidate’s field or an exceptionally meritorious national reputation.

•  Recent scholarly achievement as evidenced by the publication of articles or books though scholarly, refereed journals or houses, grants and contracts received, and creative activities appropriate to the academic discipline.

•  Active participation in the exchange of ideas and contributions to the discipline at regional, national, and international levels.

•  Recognition of intellectual attainments and creative contributions by awards, prizes, and fellowships.

•  Editorial service such as serving as an editor or on the editorial board of scholarly journals or university presses, the editing of scholarly books, and the professional reviewing of manuscripts for scholarly journals and presses.

•  Effective teaching of graduate courses.

•  Planning and direction of programs of graduate students including the direction of theses or dissertations.

    In judging the fitness of an applicant for regular membership on the Graduate Faculty, no single criterion should be used. The primary consideration is whether the faculty member is now an active and productive scholar and an effective teacher at the graduate level.

2.04     During the hiring process for faculty at the rank of Associate Professor or Professor, a department/school chair may request that the individual be awarded Regular Membership on the Graduate Faculty. If the written request is approved by the academic dean and the Director of Graduate Studies, Regular Membership will begin the date of employment.

3. ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIP ON THE GRADUATE FACULTY

3.01     Associate membership on the Graduate Faculty is reserved for newly appointed tenure-track faculty at the rank of Assistant Professor, senior faculty who are teaching under the early retirement option who in exceptional cases are needed to teach graduate courses, or visiting, non-tenure track faculty who meet college criteria for graduate faculty status.

3.02     An Associate Member of the Graduate Faculty will be appointed for a term not to exceed two years or the duration of visiting status, whichever is less.

3.03     An Assistant Professor who is an Associate Member of the Graduate Faculty may be reappointed for a second two-year term. The associate membership in the Graduate Faculty is revoked if the faculty member fails to earn regular membership by the end of the fourth year of the academic appointment.

4. PROCEDURES FOR APPOINTMENT/REAPPOINTMENT TO THE GRADUATE FACULTY

4.01     Each college will develop a statement outlining the minimum requirements for appointment to the Graduate Faculty at each level of membership. The Graduate Council will review all of the recommended minimum appointment criteria submitted by each college to ensure a modicum of standardization of appointment requirements across the university.

4.02     Each college will develop an internal procedure for nominating faculty for appointment to the Graduate Faculty. Nominations and approval of nominees to each category of the Graduate Faculty will be based upon evidence of competencies that are judged to be essential to successful performance at the designated level of membership.

4.03     The academic dean of the college will be responsible for reviewing the nomination dossier for each candidate for the Graduate Faculty. The academic dean will forward his/her recommendation for appointment of each candidate to the Director of Graduate Studies.

4.04     The Director of Graduate Studies will appoint each faculty member to the Graduate Faculty at each level of membership with an informational copy to the Vice President for Academic Affairs.

4.05     All appointments to the Graduate Faculty will be subject to review by the appropriate department/school chair, academic dean, and the Director of Graduate Studies every two years so as to coincide with the printing of the Graduate Catalogue.

5. TEMPORARY APPOINTMENT TO GRADUATE FACULTY

5.01     In exceptional cases, a department/school chair may request that a nonmember of the Graduate Faculty be appointed to teach a specific graduate-level course. The person nominated for such an appointment must possess a high level of competence in the subject area either through education or experience.

5.02     Such an appointment will be valid for a single semester or summer and will be subject to the approval of the academic dean.

5.03     The department/school chair must submit the form, “Request for Permission to Allow a Nonmember of the Graduate Faculty to Teach a Graduate Course,” for action by the academic dean. Online form at: http://www.shsu.edu/~vaf_www/forms/index.html.

This revised policy becomes effective September 1, 2002.
 
 
 

APPROVED:                 /s/            JAMES F. GAERTNER

                            President

DATE:                July 16, 2002