NCATE/BOT Institutional Report

Previous | Index | Next

Standard 5: Faculty Qualifications, Performance, and Development

College of Education and Human Development faculty, through both collaborative and individual efforts, meet the challenge to integrate scholarship, teaching, service, and professional development in support of the goal to prepare highly qualified candidates. Development and implementation of the conceptual framework has brought further focus to this challenge.

College organization assures effective coordination of faculty effort (professional education faculty, clinical faculty, cooperating teachers, and related faculty from across the University). An associate dean is responsible for leadership of faculty effort in professional education programs, and is a member of the college’s management team. A review of the organizational chart indicates the administrative commitment to coordination of that effort in the college. Also, the Council on Teacher Education (CTE) acts as a representative body to develop, review, implement, and communicate policies and procedures regarding initial and advanced educator preparation. Communication of the conceptual framework to all necessary faculty, for example, is assured as a result of this structure.

Authority for oversight of faculty qualifications is shared by the University and the college dean’s office, though it is concentrated in individual academic departments. As expected at a major institution, University and college policies provide a structure to guide faculty hiring, promotion, and tenure, thus ensuring that faculty hold terminal degrees or professional certification, and that they demonstrate excellence in teaching, scholarship, professional development, and service (see college policies, workload guidelines and faculty handbook). The University also publishes a separate faculty handbook. Departmental policies and procedures are aligned with those of the University and college as a way to focus faculty effort even more within the specific discipline. Key sources of guidance in this effort include student evaluations, departmental evaluations, and even external evaluations such as the unit reviews by the Minnesota Board of Teaching (BOT) and NCATE.

Faculty participation in development of the conceptual framework, faculty governance, and initiatives to focus on continuous improvement (e.g., the college’s strategic plan, compact) allow faculty to influence the process that guides their efforts. The requirement to engage in the multiple roles of teaching, scholarship, and service is an important challenge for college faculty. Faculty are successful in these efforts and recognized for teaching courses based on best practices, obtaining research funding for currently needed research, and using the resulting scholarship to inform their own teaching and service. In Minnesota, the college fills a unique niche as the only state institution whose faculty mission is “to generate knowledge about teaching, learning, and human development and to apply that knowledge to improve education and development for all individuals” (college mission statement ).

Element 1: Qualified Faculty

Faculty qualifications are closely managed through the policies and practices of the University, college, and departments. Clear expectations about credentials and dedication to teaching, research scholarship, and service are communicated and evaluated. This section is divided into a description of professional education faculty and school faculty.

Professional education faculty
Within the category of professional education faculty, the college distinguishes between non tenure-track and tenure-track:

• Non-tenure track faculty roles may include a primary or combined focus on teaching, research support, administration, advising, and/or supervision.
• Tenure-track regular faculty engage in teaching, research, and service.

The following chart outlines the particular organization of the college’s professional education faculty structure:

Table 5.1 Professional faculty organization

Non-tenure track faculty
Non-tenure track professional education faculty are separated into two categories:

1.) Professional and Administrative (P & A); and, 2.) Graduate Assistants.

1. Professional and Administrative (P & A):  Consistent with NCATE’s definition, this would include higher education clinical faculty, instructors, advisers, and administrators with regular University appointments. Possessing degrees appropriate to their roles, they have also demonstrated that they possess special expertise for their assignment through related professional credentials. A definition of P & A staff (academic staff) is provided by the University Regents:

A complete, parallel set of policies and procedures apply to P & A faculty; they may be found at the college’s Web site. Some college instructors, administrators, and almost all clinical faculty fall into the P & A category. Vitae of P & A staff indicate the special expertise that qualifies them for their assignments as a result of their degrees, experience in schools, and content knowledge. Table 5.2 provides an overview of degrees earned.

Table 5.2 Highest educational degree earned by P & A professional education faculty and staff 2004-05

 A. Higher education clinical faculty:  Clinical faculty who supervise field experiences typically hold a P & A appointment. The overall count of teaching licenses for clinical faculty indicates that 84.5% have held one or more teaching licenses; furthermore, 83.5% have at least one year of P-12 teaching experience (see Measures of Teacher Quality in Minnesota (MTQM) data). A review of individual vitae provides indicators from numerous sources of contemporary professional experience in school (e.g., consulting, participation in workshops, collaborations). (See Tables 5.6 and 5.7.)

B. Professional advisers:  The college ensures that certain advising roles are staffed by full-time professional advisers, particularly in roles that support admission and graduation advising. See Standard 6 for a detailed explanation of their role in the college.

C. Lecturers and teaching specialists: Table 5.4 provides data about the number of non-tenured P & A lecturers and teaching specialists. Policy information regarding the employment and qualifications of lecturers and teaching specialists may be found at this link.

D. Administrators:  Key administrative roles are filled by highly qualified professional education faculty to support programs. Examples of such appointments include the associate dean for undergraduate and professional education, the associate director of student and professional services, and the coordinators of clinical experiences, program review, and multicultural programs.

2. Graduate assistants:  As is the case at most institutions, graduate assistants engage in advising, research, and teaching roles under the supervision of faculty and staff. Data is contained in Table 5.4 about those whose primary responsibility is teaching. Policy information regarding the employment and qualifications of graduate assistants may be found at this link.

Tenured and tenure-track faculty
For tenured and tenure-track faculty, the tenure process is a key component guiding their work; both probationary (i.e., non-tenured) and tenured faculty are provided with guidelines to ensure their success in implementing the mission of the college. These faculty are expected to possess appropriate level doctoral degrees. 

Table 5.3 Highest educational degree earned by tenure/tenure-track professional education faculty 2004-05

Review of faculty vitae provide further evidence of the qualifications of tenure-track professional education faculty. One consideration important to the college in terms of tenure-track faculty qualifications, aligned with the conceptual framework, is the goal to ensure diversity among the ranks. During the last five years at least 25% of new faculty hires were faculty of color; the anticipated faculty for 2005-06 includes 15% faculty of color. The impact of this aspect of faculty qualifications not only addresses issues of diversity related to faculty, but impacts candidate preparation. Furthermore, commitment to the value of diversity also has a practical impact on faculty efforts in terms of the themes of inquiry, research, and reflection and lifelong learning and professional development. For example, one of the college’s strategic goals is to be a nationally recognized site for research and innovative teacher education in urban educational settings. A full discussion of the college’s success in this regard is described in Standard 4.

Tenured/tenure-track and non-tenured teaching faculty
A breakdown of the classification of professional education teaching faculty follows:

Table 5.4 Academic rank of professional education faculty who teach 2004-05

Faculty effort may, to some degree, be measured by generation of student credit hours. Extensive data about student credit hours and related information may be found at this link.

School faculty (cooperating teachers)
School-based faculty working with student teachers must meet qualifications outlined in the Cooperating Teacher Handbook, based on Minnesota Board of Teaching requirements. A survey first completed in 2004-05 of cooperating teachers indicated the following:

• Average years of teaching experience: 16.6
• Range of years: 4.5 – 36 years
• All are licensed for the assignment
• 139 of 142 cooperating teachers who responded to the survey are currently tenured by their school district

The ability to model certain dispositions is critical to the effectiveness of school faculty (and clinical faculty as well); an outline of recommended dispositions for participants in college programs may be found at this link.

The Council on Teacher Education has developed a set of criteria to serve as a basis for the selection of cooperating teachers within each program area and to bring consistency to the clinical experiences. These criteria include the use of: experienced and tenured teachers, committed professionals, reflective practitioners, flexible curriculum planners, and knowledgeable professionals. Additional data about the role of school faculty may be found in Standard 3.

Element 2: Modeling Best Professional Practices in Teaching

Faculty are expected by their departments, the college, and the University to be excellent teachers and to model the best practices in their instruction of new teachers and in-service educators seeking advanced preparation. These expectations are formally outlined and communicated. In teaching their courses, professional education faculty also define for themselves and their students what it means to be an excellent educator, based on their extensive experience and scholarship. On-going feedback, reflection, and research ensure that faculty keep up to date and continuously improve their own instruction and teaching about teaching.

Tenure and tenure-track faculty are expected to spend no less than 40% of their time on instructional activities (workload guidelines). Faculty are hired on the basis of demonstrated and in-depth knowledge of their fields and ability to teach. Evaluations of effective teaching are part of promotion and tenure requirements, and are based on administrator, peer, and student evaluations. A review of faculty vitae provides the most comprehensive picture of the extensive qualifications for faculty that support, directly or indirectly, best practices in teaching. These include indicators such as: degrees earned, school and post-secondary teaching experience, awards for teaching, scholarship in related pedagogical topics, and professional development to enhance teaching skills. Tables 5.6 and 5.7 in this section provide information quantifying faculty effort as evidenced in their vitae.

In addition to departmental resources, faculty also may gain assistance with their teaching through the University’s Center for Teaching and Learning. A number of the college’s faculty participate in the center by providing training and assistance to other University faculty as a result of their specialized knowledge about pedagogy.

Evaluation of faculty teaching is focused at the departmental level and carried out according to particular guidelines and expectations of that department. See Element 6 below for a complete explanation of the faculty evaluation process. Student feedback on the quality of faculty instruction is the basis for departmental evaluations of teaching effectiveness, and is required by the college and University. Each course taught by each faculty person each semester is evaluated and the results are formally reviewed by the department chair. This is required by University policy.

The Student Evaluation of Teaching (SET) service is a University effort to systematically collect candidate feedback about faculty instruction. A college summary of student responses to the following questions indicates their rating of faculty using five indicators (using a scale of 1-7; 1-3 being poor, 4-5 being satisfactory; and, 6-7 being exceptional). University data is included for comparison purposes.

Table 5.5 Mean student evaluation of CEHD and University faculty instruction 2004-05 using 1-7 scale

Professional faculty employ a variety of instructional strategies in courses they teach. Guided by their scholarship, experience, the conceptual framework, course requirements, current professional issues, and standards of the profession, they develop courses that present current and comprehensive information. As appropriate, they use a wide range of instructional strategies, methods, and assessments, as evidenced in course syllabi. Survey results of 37 possible instructional strategies, methods, and assessments document the wide range of best practices employed by faculty. It is important to note that a high percentage of faculty report using key best and emerging teaching practices: Among instructors in professional education courses, 76.9% use cooperative learning strategies, 71.5% employ problem-solving activities, and 45.2% use case studies.

In addition, a review of the syllabi reveals that faculty have used the conceptual framework in guiding their course development, and their specific mention within a course syllabus intentionally communicates to candidates the importance of the framework as a guiding principle.

The discussion about the use of technology as a tool in effective education is one to which faculty pay a great deal of attention. Data from a survey of college faculty indicates a wide range of instructional technology tools are employed by faculty in instruction. Notably, instructors in professional education courses employ online and Web-based tools in coursework with regularity. Among instructors in professional education courses, 25.8% use chatrooms or online discussion threads, 57% use Web assignments and resources, and 46.2% employ Web course management systems, such as WebCT or Blackboard.com.

As a resource for faculty, a related program in the college, Learning Technologies, provides an additional source of scholarly research and information for faculty and candidates as well. At a basic level, faculty have access to quality technology in the college, as well as available information and training resources through the CEHD Technology Enhanced Learning (TELS) initiative. Looking forward, the strategic plan for the college includes (among other goals related to faculty qualifications) a goal to further increase the use of digital technology in teaching and learning (Goal 8.2). Evidence of current best practices in using technology for instruction may also be found in faculty vitae.

Awards and opportunities for professional development in teaching (see below) are a component of the overall effort to encourage faculty excellence in teaching. The faculty handbook provides information regarding policies and procedures. A large variety of awards exists through both the college and University. The college’s primary teaching awards are the Distinguished Teaching Award and the Robert H. Beck Faculty Teaching Award. As might be expected, faculty also receive recognition for their teaching and other scholarship from external organizations.

Another indicator of the excellence of teaching is the nine endowed chairs that exist in the college; faculty who serve in these positions are recognized for their teaching excellence (among other roles). The endowed chairs represent the following areas: educational assessment and measurement, educational leadership, reading, child development, adult career development, exercises science and health development, women in exercise science and sport, and advancement of teaching and learning.

Element 3: Modeling Best Professional Practices in Scholarship

The University is considered to be a “Research One” university, “in which each faculty member is expected to develop and be active in a line of inquiry related to significant educational issues.” This designation, by the National Research Council is an indication that college’s faculty have met a set of quality standards.

Dedication of faculty to research scholarship is supported by the Office of Research Development in the college, led by the associate dean for research. Resources, procedures, and policies to guide faculty effort are located at the office’s Web site. The concept of scholarship and research is imbedded in the college’s mission, and is considered equal in importance relative to teaching. The interplay between teaching and scholarship provides faculty a challenge, but one which creates a special opportunity to apply the results of research to practice. The conceptual framework guides faculty in this challenge by identifying three key themes that are most critical to creation of an effective professional education program.

Within the integrated expectations for faculty effort, engagement in scholarly research is required to be at least 40% of effort. As explained earlier, faculty policies and procedures are developed and implemented with the requirement that the knowledge generated through scholarly research is applied through teaching and service. A snapshot of evidence provided by an analysis of tenured or tenure-track faculty vitae in terms of papers published, books, etc. is summarized below:

Table 5.6 Faculty scholarship 2000-05

Partial evidence of scholarship effort can also be found in the record of successful applications for grant research. A link to the college’s internal proposal and award reporting data tracks the success of faculty in obtaining funding to support research scholarship. A related site on grants and awards provides similar information in a public-friendly format. The college consistently ranks in the top five of all faculty at the University in their success at obtaining grants for research which results in scholarship. An effort to merge faculty scholarship and service can be found on the college’s Web site which includes a guide to college expertise, where the community can learn about faculty scholarship and initiate requests for more information and assistance. A similar intent is accomplished by the dissemination to the community, both in hard copy and electronically, of the results of faculty scholarship in the form of the ResearchWorks publications. The distribution of this publication includes targeted mailing lists to educators and policy makers.

Clinical higher education faculty work closely with faculty engaged in scholarship by initiating research, thus benefiting through this relationship. Participation in studies, sharing through colloquia, participation in workshops, reading research journals, papers, and books, and conversations with colleagues are means by which information is shared and reflected upon. Similarly, school faculty (cooperating teachers) value the relationship with the college’s clinical experiences program because it offers an opportunity to share learning with college faculty engaged in teaching and research in their teaching field.

Element 4: Modeling Best Professional Practices in Service

The workload guidelines for faculty specify that faculty must spend at least 10% of their time on service and outreach activities. This figure might be somewhat misleading, because service activities are also integrated into faculty teaching and research scholarship activities. In the narrowest sense, the workload guidelines require faculty to serve on internal committees or as department chairs, and hold formal offices in professional organizations. Faculty are expected to include these activities as part of their yearly work plan (see college or individual department handbooks), and are evaluated on the basis of service activities.

In the broader sense of “service,” faculty in the college participate in outreach or service activities which are related to the particular discipline in which they practice. This varies according to the level of candidates served (initial licensure or advanced). While a review of faculty vitae provides specific examples, an analysis provides the following aggregated summary of certain categories of service:

Table 5.7 Faculty service 2000-05

Delivery of courses to in-service educators through the Continuing and Professional Studies (CPS) office is particularly focused on serving the needs of in-service educators. CPS provides college-wide leadership for the development and delivery of credit and non-credit continuing professional studies programs within dynamic learning environments. CPS is committed to furthering leading-edge educational reform, and to providing practicing educators with knowledge and information that is relevant to practice. Faculty use their own departmental semester course offerings (especially summer courses) to offer needed learning to in-service educators; CPS offers opportunities for faculty to provide customized, cutting edge, and relevant learning to educators.

One unique and highly successful means by which college faculty offer their services to the community is through the college’s special centers, which focus on the dissemination of learning and research. Links to the Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement (CAREI) and the Institute on Community Integration (ICI) illustrate two primary resources through which college faculty serve education practitioners and the community with research scholarship and information.

In addition, each unit carries out service to the community through a variety of centers, labs, programs, facilities, etc. Links to the various departments describe those service structures.

Further evidence of the participation of faculty in community outreach is located on the college’s Web site, as a means for the community to obtain information about possible resources and contacts.

Element 5: Collaboration

As a large and diverse community, the college faculty relies on the existing structures, particularly at the department level, to facilitate their collaboration and recognize the value of sharing learning across departments. Where appropriate, interdisciplinary efforts across the college are initiated and carried out in support of individual faculty teaching and research scholarship activities. Workload guidelines for faculty begin with a statement that the guidelines are “also intended to promote collaborative [emphasis added] teaching, research, service, and other activities that enhance the mission, quality, and productivity of the college and its departments within the University” (p. 1). Thus, both internally and externally, college faculty engage in activities that leverage collaboration to improve their wo

Examples of these collaborative activities include the following: 

• The Council on Teacher Education (CTE) is the primary institutional vehicle for ensuring discussion about preparation of teachers, education policy matters, coordination of procedures, the conceptual framework, and the application of faculty scholarship to continuous improvement. The membership of the CTE advisory board includes school partners to ensure participation of community perspectives in steering the work of the teacher education programs.
• The Advanced Programs Representative Committee brings consistency across programs through discussion of common themes, decisions regarding application of the conceptual framework, and support for program improvement. The director of Continuing Professional Studies (CPS), the office responsible for ensuring that the college provides coursework and professional development opportunities to practicing professionals, is a member of this committee.
• College committees:  The Committee on Civic Engagement and Service is one example of a faculty-initiated steering group to focus internal efforts that result in both internal and external collaborations.
• Patrick Henry High School in Minneapolis is a “Professional Practice School” working in partnership with college faculty to provide collaborative professional development for teachers and administrators. An article from the college’s community publication, Link, describes the variety of collaborations that exist between Patrick Henry High School and the college.
• The Center for Applied Research in Educational Improvement (CAREI) sponsors an assembly in collaboration with Minnesota school districts whose purpose “is to keep communication open and the Minnesota education community informed of the latest issues and needs.” 

In 2003-04, a survey conducted in response to legislation provided evidence of faculty collaboration with P-12 partners. CEHD data from the MTQM survey provides quantitative evidence that faculty collaborate with P-12 schools, other units within the University, and other education organizations.

Element 4 (Service) provides information that can also be considered evidence of collaborative efforts; in addition, many additional examples of collaborative efforts can be found at the Web sites for each college department and center.

Element 6: Unit Evaluation of Professional Education Faculty Performance

Annual evaluations of probationary and tenured faculty are required to be completed by the department chair in the specific academic unit in which they are housed, according to University policy for tenure-track faculty. Specific criteria for recommendation and promotion to associate professor can be found in the policies and procedures for each unit of the college (or, if departments do not have their own guidelines, college guidelines serve as the default framework) as well as the criteria for tenured faculty who complete an annual post-tenure review. As stated in the workload guidelines, the annual merit review of tenured faculty is the “primary vehicle for providing feedback to tenured faculty members on their contributions to the department and the college.” The dean reviews all the departmental evaluations and signs off after a review by the college’s Promotion and Tenure Committee. For example, the governing document for the Department of Curriculum and Instruction specifies the following for a post-tenure review:

“The purpose of conducting a post-tenure review, in addition to the fact that it is mandated by the University, is to provide support for tenured faculty in helping them define their goals related to research, teaching, and service and to assist them in achieving those goals in terms of their contributions to the overall improvement of the Department” (Procedures for the Annual Post-Tenure Review). Note the emphasis on research, teaching, and service.

General college guidelines regarding faculty performance can be found in the workload guidelines, college human resource materials, or college faculty handbook.

Clinical faculty and P & A are also annually reviewed. A description of the process is outlined in a section on performance appraisals published by the University’s Office of Human Resources.

Cooperating teachers are reviewed by the clinical faculty in each program area, and determinations about continuation of appointments are made at that level. On-going evaluations of the cooperating teachers are a priority of the clinical faculty as candidates are working with the schools in order to immediately address and solve any concerns.

Element 7: Unit Facilitation of Professional Development

Responsibility for development of professional education faculty is primarily located at the department level. New faculty are provided with a support committee to ensure that they have support in their new role. On-going support and funds are provided for all faculty through the department for appropriate activities. Appropriate professional development activities for faculty include fellowships, sabbaticals, career enrichment programs, workshops, seminars, conferences, travel, retreats, free tuition for University classes, funds for materials, employee assistance, etc. These are described in the college’s faculty handbook. A review of individual departmental handbooks describes the professional development policies and is available in the document room.

The dean’s office also supplements departmental efforts by providing a mentoring program and a series of seminars for new faculty. The seminars focus on the establishment of a research career at the University, and on the process of research development (proposal writing, proposal routing, and funding opportunities). The office conducts a series of seminars for faculty and P & A staff. These focus on proposal development, development of interdisciplinary efforts, and funding opportunities.

In addition, the college’s associate dean for academic affairs has budgets for faculty development, curriculum development, and technology-enhanced learning to supplement departmental support in these areas.

The University’s Center for Teaching and Learning is a central source of faculty professional assistance that provides development of teaching skills for faculty.

Previous | Index | Next