Appointment & Reappointment
Guidelines & Procedures
University of West Georgia Statutes
Article I. Section 2.C.2
The Graduate Faculty shall consist of the Dean of the Graduate School, those members of the General Faculty with the rank of assistant professor, associate professor and professor, who have been recommended for membership by the Committee on Graduate Studies and whose membership has been approved by the President. Requisites for membership shall normally be as follows: regular faculty status in a department offering graduate course work, earned doctorate or equivalent, rank of at least assistant professor, published works and/or recognized accomplishments in research and/or teaching, and approval of membership by the appropriate department chair, the Committee on the Graduate Studies and the President.
Graduate faculty status is a privilege granted to those faculty members at the University of West Georgia who have demonstrated by virtue of their training, contributions to scholarship, teaching and experience that they are qualified to be a part of the University’s graduate faculty. Members of the graduate faculty may: a) teach graduate courses; b) direct graduate-level research; c) supervise Master’s or Doctoral-level theses or dissertations; d) endorse and recommend graduate students for graduation who have completed the appropriate requirements; and e) serve on thesis, dissertation, or other graduate-level evaluation committees.
Recommendation For Graduate Faculty Status
Department chairs recommend faculty members for membership in the graduate faculty by completing the required “Request for Appointment in the Graduate Faculty” form (paper copies are available from the Graduate School Office; a printable form is also available through the Committee on Graduate Studies web page at http://www.westga.edu/~cogs) and supply appropriate supportive documents, including an up-to-date curriculum vitae. The Dean of the Graduate School then considers each faculty member’s materials and renders a decision for approval or disapproval. Should there be a question concerning the applicant’s recommendation, the Dean will forward the application and supporting materials to the Sub-Committee on Graduate Faculty Membership for its recommendation to the Committee on Graduate Studies for its decision. Faculty members receiving a negative recommendation from the Dean of the Graduate School, the Subcommittee on Graduate Faculty Membership, and the Committee on Graduate Studies may appeal to the Vice President for Academic Affairs.
All persons recommended for appointment to graduate faculty status must possess a terminal degree in field (normally the doctorate) and hold the rank of assistant professor or higher at the University of West Georgia (WebMBA faculty are fully qualified faculty at other University System of Georgia institutions who are excepted from this policy). Only full-time University of West Georgia faculty members are eligible for appointments to the Regular graduate faculty.
The Dean of the Graduate School, upon request by the department chair (with supporting documentation) and in consultation with the Committee on Graduate Studies, may appoint part-time, temporary faculty members, emeritus faculty members, or Visiting faculty members, on a semester or yearly basis. Faculty members designated as Lecturers or Senior Lecturers are not eligible for graduate faculty status since their positions were created for special instructional functions only. Departments/Colleges may institute levels of review other than those generally described in this document.
Graduate faculty members must meet the qualifications outlined in the University’s “Policies and Procedures for Tenure and Promotion.” UWG expects graduate faculty members to demonstrate competencies in three areas: (a) scholarly competence, (b) professional achievement, and (c) teaching competence. A letter from the chair of the faculty member’s department will validate teaching competence.
A faculty member must receive appointment to the graduate faculty before being eligible to teach graduate courses, serve as a chair or member of a thesis, project or dissertation committee, or to direct graduate research.
Post-Tenure Review of Regular Graduate Faculty
As part of the post-tenure review process (normally after five years in rank at UWG), department committees and/or chairs will evaluate tenured Regular graduate faculty members and will make a recommendation to the Dean of the Graduate School for reappointment to the graduate faculty. To be reappointed, faculty members must present evidence that they have continued and extended their scholarly activities, taught graduate courses, and maintained other credentials since their appointment to the graduate faculty. Faculty members may document these achievements through updated vitae and yearly evaluations, according to the appropriate College’s plan for professional growth and development. The department may reevaluate, for reinstatement on the graduate faculty, a faculty member whose achievements do not merit reappointment at the time of the post-tenure review. These faculty members will receive either no appointment or a Temporary appointment. The Graduate Dean may grant temporary appointments for one-year periods, not to exceed three years.
*Permission to Teach
Non tenure track full time faculty, part-time faculty and adjunct faculty may be reviewed for permission to teach graduate classes concurrent with (or after) official appointment to the UWG faculty. In order to receive permission to teach graduate classes, non-tenure track full-time faculty, part-time faculty and adjunct faculty must:
- Have some experience teaching graduate level classes or demonstrate a high potential for effective teaching at the graduate level as evidenced by undergraduate teaching record, scholarly activity or professional experience in a particular area related to the course or other assignment;
- Hold a terminal degree, or in unusual cases, have demonstrated exceptional scholarly activity or professional experience.
* Permission to teach and temporary appointments do not constitute graduate faculty status.
