Approved: March 14, 2019
Monitor: Vice President for Academic Affairs
The specialized content of courses in graduate programs requires faculty members with a high degree of experience, scholarship, and academic preparation. Nomination and selection as members of the Graduate Faculty ensure that faculty members meet these expectations.
There are three categories of participation in teaching the graduate curriculum. These include Graduate Faculty, Associate Graduate Faculty and Adjunct Graduate Faculty.
Graduate Faculty status is reserved for tenured/tenure track faculty and selected administrative appointments. Graduate Faculty status is extended for a period of five years with the opportunity for renewal. Members of the Graduate Faculty are expected to offer all of the courses and experiences required to assure the quality of each graduate program.
Associate Graduate Faculty membership provides criteria for participation in graduate education by tenure track faculty who lack a terminal degree, annually contracted faculty including those who lack a terminal degree; administrators without faculty rank or Graduate Faculty membership who lack a terminal degree, and staff without faculty rank with a terminal degree or staff members who may lack a terminal degree. Associate Membership is offered on a temporary basis from one to three years. Associate Members assure that graduate candidates currently enrolled in the program will meet the requirements for the degree program.
Adjunct Graduate Faculty membership provides criteria for participation in graduate education by non-EIU employees. Non-employees are required when specific expertise required for graduate study is not currently available from among the existing Graduate Faculty. Adjunct membership is offered from one to three years so that candidates pursuing their specialized area of study may complete their degree programs.
Designation: The Graduate Faculty is responsible for comprehensive delivery of all aspects of the graduate curriculum. Members of the Graduate Faculty are so designated because the specialized content of courses in advanced programs requires faculty with a high degree of specialization and competence as evidenced by their formal academic preparation and by their commitment to scholarship, research, and professional practice.
To be eligible for nomination, a faculty member must meet the following Faculty Rank, Teaching/Research/Creative Activity, and Degree Criteria:
Administrative Appointments: The Graduate Faculty shall include the President of the University, the Vice President for Academic Affairs, the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs, the Dean of the Graduate School, the Deans of the Colleges, and the Chairpersons and Graduate Coordinators of the departments that offer graduate degree and certificate programs, contingent upon holding the appropriate terminal degree.
Staff Appointments: Staff without faculty rank are not eligible for Graduate Faculty appointment.
Nomination: The Department Graduate Committee or Coordinator and Department Chair nominate faculty who meet the eligibility requirements for Graduate Faculty Membership to the College Dean and the Dean of the Graduate School.
Membership: The Dean of the Graduate School is responsible for assigning Graduate Faculty status.
Length: Graduate Faculty members serve five year terms.
Renewal: Graduate Faculty members must submit applications for renewal every five years. Renewal parallels the process used for initial membership.
Denial of Membership: Graduate Faculty status will be denied when the Teaching/Research/Creative Activity Criteria are not met. Denial may include the inability to provide evidence of continuing to achieve teaching excellence, inability to continue to participate in research/creative activity, or engaging in research and related professional conduct that is not compliant with institutional policies on the conduct of research/creative activity.
Duties: The Graduate Faculty is responsible for the development, execution, and review of graduate programs, and through its representatives on the Council on Graduate Studies, recommends policy on all graduate matters to the university administration. A Graduate Faculty appointment is approval to perform all of the following duties:
Teach graduate level courses
Serve on a degree candidate's committee or committees
Serve as an advisor to a graduate candidate
Serve as chair of a graduate candidate's committee
Serve on the Council on Graduate Studies and University-wide graduate committees
Vote, where appropriate, in deliberations of the Graduate Faculty and for elections of members to the Council on Graduate Studies.
Terminal Degree Definitions: For the purpose of this policy, a terminal degree shall be defined as the earned doctorate in the appropriate discipline, except as noted below:
College of Liberal Arts & Sciences: The earned doctorate in the appropriate discipline with the following exceptions:
College of Education: The earned doctorate in the appropriate discipline.
College of Health and Human Services: The earned doctorate in the appropriate discipline with the following exception:
Lumpkin College of Business and Technology: The earned doctorate in the appropriate discipline with the following exception:
The highest appropriate degree as specified above must be earned from a regionally accredited institution in an academic area appropriate to the department or unit. Appropriate equivalent degrees may be considered for approval through a petition to the Council on Graduate Studies.
Designation: Associate Graduate Faculty Members may teach, on a temporary basis, a graduate level course or courses when, due to sabbatical or other reasons, the designated member of the Graduate Faculty is not available. Associate Graduate Faculty Membership is available to tenure track faculty, annually contracted faculty, or EIU employees who do not hold faculty rank but have the terminal degree or meet the tested experience exception.
To be eligible for nomination, an EIU employee must meet the following Rank, Research/Creative Activity, and Degree Criteria:
Graduate Faculty Status in Exceptional Situations: Tested experience exceptions may apply. Any exceptions to the tested experience exception must have approval of the Vice President for Academic Affairs.
Administrative Appointments: Administrators without faculty rank who are not Graduate Faculty may be nominated for Associate Graduate Faculty Membership if they meet the Research/Creative Activity and Degree Eligibility Requirements or tested experience exception.
Staff Appointments: Staff without faculty rank may be nominated for Associate Graduate Faculty Membership if they meet the Research/Creative Activity and Degree Eligibility Requirements or tested experience exception.
Nomination: The Department Graduate Committee or Coordinator and Department Chair nominate faculty who meet the eligibility requirements for Associate Graduate Faculty Membership to the College Dean and the Dean of the Graduate School. At the time of nomination, the Department must document that the designated member of the Graduate Faculty is not available to teach the designated course or courses during the specified term or year; therefore an Associate Member is needed.
Membership: The Dean of the Graduate School is responsible for assigning Graduate Faculty status.
Length: Associate Graduate Faculty Members may be nominated to serve a one, two, or three-year term(s) depending on the needs of the program.
Renewal: Associate Graduate Faculty Members must submit an application for renewal at the conclusion of the appointment period. Renewal parallels the process for initial membership.
Denial of Membership: Graduate Faculty status will be denied when the Teaching/Research/Creative Activity Criteria are not met. Denial may include the inability to provide evidence of continuing to achieve teaching excellence, inability to continue to participate in research/creative activity, or engaging in research and related professional conduct that is not compliant with institutional policies on the conduct of research/creative activity.
Duties & Limitations: Associate Graduate Faculty Members are permitted to teach a specific graduate level course or courses. Associate Graduate Faculty may not serve on committees, serve as a primary advisor, serve as committee chair, serve on the Council on Graduate Studies, or vote or deliberate in matters related to the Council. Waiver of these policies to permit additional duties for the associate graduate faculty member may be requested through the Dean of the Graduate School and the Council on Graduate Studies.
Designation: Adjunct Graduate Faculty Members may teach or serve on a graduate candidate's committee when expertise is required and not currently available from among the existing Graduate Faculty.
To be eligible for nomination, an individual must meet the following Employment, Expertise, and Degree Criteria:
Graduate Faculty Status in Exceptional Situations: In lieu of the Terminal Degree Criteria, tested experience exceptions may apply. The use of tested experience should be coupled with advanced experience in the profession, specialized licensure, clinical training, and/or considerable post-graduate work beyond the master's degree to the greatest extent possible. Any exceptions to the tested experience exception must have approval of the Vice President for Academic Affairs.
Administrative Appointments: Not applicable to Adjunct Membership
Staff Appointments: Not applicable to Adjunct Membership
Nomination: The Department Graduate Committee or Coordinator and Department Chair nominate faculty who meet the eligibility requirements for Associate Graduate Faculty Membership to the College Dean and the Dean of the Graduate School. At the time of nomination, the Department must document that expertise required for the course, courses, or committee is not available from among the existing members of the Graduate Faculty during the specified term or year; therefore an Adjunct Member is needed. Adjunct Faculty will not be approved when qualified Graduate Faculty Members are available.
Membership: The Dean of the Graduate School is responsible for assigning Graduate Faculty status.
Length: Adjunct Graduate Faculty Members may be nominated to serve a one, two, or three-year term(s) depending on the needs of the program.
Renewal: Graduate Faculty members submit an application for renewal at the conclusion of the appointment period. Renewal parallels the process used for initial membership.
Denial of Membership: Graduate Faculty status will be denied when the Expertise Criteria are not met. Denial may include evidence that the Adjunct Member is unable to provide the level of expertise required to assure program or committee quality.
Duties & Limitations: Adjunct Graduate Faculty Members are permitted to teach a specific graduate level course or courses or to serve on a graduate candidate's thesis, examination, or advisory committee for a specific term or year. Adjunct Graduate Faculty may not serve as the candidate's primary advisor, as a committee chair, as a member of the Council on Graduate Studies, or vote or deliberate in matters related to the Council.
Finally, membership in the Graduate Faculty (Regular, Associate, or Adjunct) is separate and distinct from faculty appointments per se. Faculty appointments are governed by the EIU-UPI agreement and this policy does not supersede the agreement's definitions of the faculty or faculty appointments.