Standards for the Evaluation of Scholarship
All Faculty of the College are expected to seek excellence in scholarly activity and submit such activity for peer review. Indicators on which the assessment of the quality of scholarly activity is based are provided in Table 1.
Indicators of the quality of a Faculty member’s research and creative activity include the quality and quantity of presentations, exhibitions, installations and published work as well as the Faculty member’s success in obtaining extramural funds. All Faculty members in the College are expected to produce and sustain a record of scholarly activity.
To achieve “excellent” in the category of scholarship at the time a Faculty member stands for tenure and promotion, the candidate should meet the expectations as outlined in Table 1.
Within this context, during each annual reappointment review, each Faculty member who seeks tenure or promotion is obligated to provide evidence supporting his/her scholarly record. This obligation will be met by providing specific information about the significance and impact of presentations, exhibitions and installations, scholarly publications, and other scholarly activities. In addition, the candidate shall provide evidence of the peer review of the scholarly activities including, but not limited to, exhibition reviews, design reviews, awards, or peer review board membership and policies by the scholarly press, journal, or conference. Creative work that is published or included in books, design journals, magazines and newspapers, shall be considered significant in the tenure review process.
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Table 1. Evaluation Components for Assessment of Scholarship for Tenure and Promotion
Scholarship
Definition
Accomplishments Corresponding to the Assessment Score
Excellent
Nationally/Internationally recognized research program, and/or body of creative activity
Demonstrated record of publications,1 grants2, and/or exhibitions and installations, invited presentations, research-related service to federal/state organizations, awards, recognition from professional or scholarly societies3
Very Good
Emerging nationally
recognized research program, and/or body of creative activity
Demonstrated record of publications, “seed” grants, exhibitions, installations and presentations at scholarly meetings and conferences
Good
Active research program and/or body of creative activity
Some peer-reviewed publications or “seed” grants, some exhibitions, installations or presentations at scholarly meetings and conferences
Weak
Limited research program and/or body of creative activity
Occasional publications, exhibitions, installations or scholarly presentations
Poor
No research program and/or body of creative activity
No publications, exhibitions, installations, presentations, or grants
Note: definitions in footnotes below refer to the meaning of “publications,” “grants,” and “recognition” throughout Table 1.
1Publications include: papers in peer-reviewed journals of recognized quality, books, and book chapters. Evaluation of publication record will include an assessment of quality and impact on the field as well as quantity. Papers of exceptional length, impact and quality are given particular consideration.
2“Grants” refers to extramural funding where the role of the Faculty member in securing the funding is clearly demonstrated and which are of sufficient magnitude to support research at a level and duration appropriate for the discipline, including, as appropriate, funds for supplies, materials and personnel (graduate students, and if needed, research technicians). “Seed Grants” are extramural grants that are intended to initiate research projects and not of sufficient magnitude to fully support research at a level and duration appropriate for the discipline or are intramural grants. "Seed Grants" should be designed to lead to successful applications for “Grants.” Grantsmanship should be commensurate with the field of research with the recognition that the dollar amount of awards varies among fields.
3Recognitions from scientific, artistic and scholarly societies include, for example, election to office, editorial board membership, editorship, etc. Service to federal/state institutions includes service on federal proposal panels, site visits, and other research related activities.