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Omnibus Guidelines for Appointments and Reappointments of Term Faculty and Appointments of Continuing Appointment Faculty  

June 30, 2023

Term and continuing faculty appointments fundamentally enrich American University’s mission “to advance knowledge, foster intellectual curiosity, build community, and empower lives of purpose, service, and leadership.” Appointments and reappointments of term faculty and appointments of continuing appointment faculty are contingent on the faculty member demonstrating relevant qualifications and satisfactory performance; on sufficient budget and enrollments; and on the faculty member’s fit with other needs of the teaching or academic unit (Faculty Manual, section 12). All teaching or academic units are required to establish standards and expectations of faculty applying for faculty actions in accordance with the “General Criteria for Evaluation of Faculty” (Faculty Manual, section 16).  

These Omnibus Guidelines for Appointments and Reappointments of Term Faculty and Appointments of Continuing Appointment Faculty at American University (hereafter, “Omnibus Guidelines”) contain values-based criteria for assessing faculty actions for term and continuing appointment faculty in the professorial lecturer and non-tenure-track professor sequences. These guidelines were reviewed by the Senate Committee on Faculty Actions (CFA) in June 2023 and approved by the Office of the Provost on June 29, 2023, for use by any teaching or academic unit that chooses to adopt them. Any inconsistency between these guidelines and the AU Faculty Manual shall be resolved by giving precedence to the Faculty Manual.  

Following a statement of values in Part I of these Omnibus Guidelines, Part II provides definitions of excellence in teaching, currency in the field, and meaningful service, including a non-exhaustive list of examples of how term and continuing appointment faculty can demonstrate achievements in each area. Part III presents criteria for term reappointment and continuing appointment. Part IV provides instructions for appointments and promotions of term and continuing appointment faculty in the professorial lecturer and non-tenure professor sequences.  

I. VALUES-BASED FACULTY ACTIONS 
 

American University is committed to equity in faculty actions. All faculty appointments, reappointments, and promotions must support the university’s mission by demonstrating AU’s commitment to the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion, as expressed in AU’s Plan for Inclusive Excellence (2018 and 2021), as amended, and the ethos and culture of inquiry, as articulated in the Faculty Senate’s Statement of Values on Free Expression (May 2022), as amended.  

Every faculty action presents an opportunity to acknowledge and reward the full range of a colleague’s achievements. Faculty reviewers are encouraged to recognize multiple pathways taken by candidates to achieve excellence in all areas of their work. Substantive weight should be given in faculty reviews to cross-disciplinary and community-based accomplishments and contributions to diversity, equity, and inclusion in teaching and activities associated with service and currency in the field.  

II. STANDARDS of EXCELLENCE 

Term and continuing appointment faculty at American University are expected to “demonstrate excellent teaching/primary responsibilities, currency in the field and/or across fields, and evidence of a willingness to provide appropriate levels of service to the university and the professional community” (Faculty Manual, section 16). In addition, the university expects all faculty members, as “members of the learned profession responsible for educating the community … to exhibit civility, collegiality, and respect for different points of view in the academic community” (Faculty Manual, sections 10 and 16). Failure to model these core values is considered unsatisfactory performance and grounds for denying term reappointment, continuing appointment, or promotion. 

1. Teaching 

Teaching excellence is defined by the Faculty Manual (section 16.a) as enabling students “to acquire knowledge, develop critical thinking skills, and become active participants in the learning process….” All faculty are expected to be actively engaged in the classroom and to assess student performance fairly, constructively, and in a timely manner. Excellence in teaching requires awareness of and respect for the diverse backgrounds, identities, and intellectual needs of students. Excellent teachers at American University provide all students with equitable opportunities for participation and academic success through inclusive approaches to curriculum, pedagogy, and mentoring. Teaching that does not achieve AU teaching excellence standards, as detailed in these guidelines, is considered unsatisfactory performance.  

Teaching portfolios provide multiple types of evidence for assessing teaching performance beyond student evaluations. Each teaching portfolio must include five components:  

1. Narrative written by the candidate providing an overview of teaching goals, challenges, and achievements, including engagement with students beyond the classroom and any new curricular initiatives; 

2. Results of one or more self-assessment exercises (e.g., an annotated syllabus, a written self-evaluation of a class video or of teaching outside the classroom); 

3. Results of one or more peer reviews of teaching (e.g., based on a colleague’s assessment of teaching materials or observation of a live or videotaped class); 

4. Student assessment of teaching other than numeric SET scores (e.g., narrative comments from SETs, results of a student-led focus group or debriefing session, classroom observation by committee of students not enrolled in the faculty member’s class); and  

5. Summary of SET numeric scores provided by the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment (customarily weighted no more than 50 percent of the portfolio).  

Faculty reviewers evaluating a candidate’s teaching portfolio as part of a file for action are expected to view teaching performance holistically and in the context of the candidate’s rank, years of teaching experience, sizes and types of courses taught, and course modalities. Detailed information about teaching portfolios is available on the “Faculty Resources” page of the dean of faculty’s website. 

Faculty teaching portfolios may demonstrate teaching excellence in a variety of ways including, for example: 

• clear articulation of learning outcomes and course goals, up-to-date course content, and other markers of quality syllabi and course design;  

• creation of inclusive classrooms, including pedagogical practices that are sensitive to biases and encourage diverse viewpoints;  

• adherence to evaluation procedures that accurately reflect student accomplishments;  

• evidence of rigor in courses; 

• innovative use of classroom formats or technologies in existing courses, including development of new online and hybrid courses;  

• innovative use of regularly scheduled office hours to support course learning outcomes; 

• incorporation of diverse or under-represented authors and perspectives, cross-disciplinary content, community-based content, other forms of experiential learning, and open education resources into courses; 

• initiatives to help underserved or under-resourced students overcome barriers of participation; 

• effective teaching in more than one language; and 

• effective supervision of independent studies, internships, theses, dissertations, and field projects. 

Activity related to “student engagement” and support for students’ “achievement outside the classroom” is an important area for demonstrating teaching excellence (Faculty Manual, section 16.a). Examples include: 

• assisting participants in academic competitions; 

• initiatives to encourage student scholarship and collaborate with students on research, professional, or creative outputs; 

• initiatives to support community service work by or with students; and 

• providing opportunities for students to advocate and instigate change that increases educational equity and access. 

Teaching development activities and contributions to the larger teaching enterprise offer additional routes for demonstrating teaching excellence, including: 

• participation in teaching conferences as presenter or attendee; 

• participation in teaching-related training as leader or participant, including DEI workshops and seminars; 

• development of new curricular initiatives;  

• efforts to test new teaching methods, including those that make contributions to the scholarship of teaching and learning; 

• coordination of courses across sections; and 

• coordination with AU Abroad for course equivalency. 

In teaching units that offer a wide range of course types—including large classes, seminars (both graduate and undergraduate), online courses, and independent studies—the ability to achieve teaching excellence across such a range will be considered a plus. So, too, where applicable, will be the ability to teach courses in multiple subdisciplines. 

Receipt of awards, honors, or other forms of recognition related to teaching and student engagement provides clear evidence of teaching excellence. These distinctions should be highlighted in the faculty member’s application file.   

Faculty are encouraged to practice self-reflection about inclusive excellence in teaching, pursue teaching development opportunities at AU and off-campus, and include these activities in their application files. 

2. Currency in the Field 

Currency in the field typically means staying up to date with developments in one’s professional and/or scholarly area(s). The university recognizes that many term and continuing appointment faculty conduct research, publish, and contribute to the scholarly profile of the university, while some also practice professionally. Some participate in the scholarship of teaching and learning, and many innovate pedagogically. Many also contribute to the development of diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism practices that build community, collaboration, and civil discourse within their fields, disciplines, or areas of practice.  

Any of the above activities provides evidence of currency. The Faculty Manual (section 16.a) encourages such activity because faculty are better equipped to help students “acquire knowledge, develop critical thinking skills, and become active participants in the learning process” to the extent that they themselves “remain current in their field.”   

The currency-in-the-field portion of an application file provides an opportunity for term and continuing appointment faculty to report what they have been doing to maintain their intellectual and professional capital and stay engaged in their field(s) of expertise.  

Candidates for term reappointment, continuing appointment, and/or promotion within these categories should explain how the activities described in the currency portion of their files enrich their teaching and student advising and mentoring. Faculty reviewers are expected to view the candidate’s currency-related activities holistically and in the context of the candidate’s rank and years of academic and/or professional experience. 

The list below illustrates a few of the many ways to demonstrate currency in the field. 

Research and Scholarship Activities: 

• Publishing in peer-reviewed outlets, including electronic journals and platforms, and especially open-access electronic outlets that enable wider dissemination and use of findings; 

• Presenting research in public-facing venues; 

• Developing new cases, databases, or experiments with open-access sharing where possible;  

• Engaging with the academic field (e.g., manuscript review, editorial work, panel participation, conference participation); 

• Developing or applying methods that increase diversity, equity, and inclusion in the field of study or creative practice, including methods that expand opportunities for participation and agency by groups that are the subjects of research and those whose lives may be affected by research results; 

• Scholarly focus on traditionally overlooked topics that fill important gaps in the knowledge base; 

• Research and scholarly activity with demonstrated public impact; and 

• Pursuing grant development and other avenues of external funding. 

Professional Practice and Public Engagement: 

• Giving briefings, conducting trainings, and engaging with external organizations in the public, private, and non-profit sectors, with attention to reaching diverse and historically underrepresented audiences; 

• Engaging in public outreach and education (e.g., talks, lectures, panels, etc.), with attention to reaching diverse and historically underrepresented audiences; 

• Performing consulting or contract work; 

• Media publications and appearances (e.g., op-eds, blogs, interviews, podcasts); 

• Testimony at legislative or other hearings, contributions to public comments on policy proposals, and related activities with public impact; 

• Product development; and 

• Patent development. 

Teaching: 

• Updating syllabi to incorporate new scholarship, including diverse authors and perspectives, and/or to address new developments in the field, as appropriate; 

• Developing pedagogical innovations that include new course development and new instructional modalities that encourage broader student access and engagement and/or more effectively address different needs of students; 

• Participating in training in the field of teaching, including attendance at teaching-focused conferences, workshops, and seminars; and 

• Publishing and/or presenting teaching materials and pedagogy, with attention to reaching diverse and historically underrepresented audiences. 

3. Service 

The rights and privileges associated with faculty membership evoke a responsibility for service. In fulfillment of these responsibilities, all term and continuing appointment faculty are expected to engage in meaningful service to their teaching units, academic units, or the university as a whole (Faculty Manual, section 16.b). Such internal service should be done at levels appropriate to a faculty member’s rank and years at AU. 

According to the Faculty Manual section on “Service” (section 16.b), “engagement in the university community” includes ”mentoring and advising of students” and “participation in major campus-wide events, such as commencement.” Examples of mentoring, advising, and participation include:  

• advising students on academics; 

• advising students on professional development, networking, and placement; 

• mentoring of vulnerable, underrepresented student populations; 

• mentoring students for prestigious awards; and 

• active attendance at recruitment events, events for new students, faculty-student functions, convocations, commencements, and many other community-building occasions. 

Additional internal service opportunities include work on committees at the teaching-unit, academic-unit, or university level. Committee work, including chairing of committees, is vital to maintaining basic functions of all units and the university. At the university level, faculty may seek election to the Faculty Senate and/or Senate committees or serve on various ad hoc task forces and working groups established in partnership with the Faculty Senate to address specific topics.  

Service also may include less formal, and often less visible, contributions to campus climate, culture, and community, which come in many different forms. The 2020 AU Equity Task Force Report (p. 7) included the following non-exhaustive examples of equity-minded and DEI-attentive internal service: 

• Participating in initiatives to recruit and mentor faculty, staff, and students from underrepresented groups; 

• Serving as faculty advisor for underrepresented student groups; 

• Working on processes, policies, and tools that promote equitable and inclusive practices within one’s teaching or academic unit or across AU, including revising search committee criteria, job descriptions, and evaluative criteria and evaluating proposed curricula changes, etc.; 

• Working on events to promote a diversity of perspectives and ideas; 

• Participating in workshops aimed at facilitating community discussions about DEI issues; 

• Representing the teaching unit, academic unit, or university at community events; and 

• Efforts by faculty in elected roles to represent the breadth of their constituents by gathering diverse perspectives from colleagues and AU community members. 

Term faculty in their first three years at AU begin with internal service assignments mostly at the teaching unit or academic unit level. As term and continuing appointment faculty accumulate years of employment at AU and attain higher ranks, their service contributions are expected to expand accordingly. Term and continuing appointment faculty at the rank of Hurst senior professorial lecturer or professor will exhibit leadership in service that helps build a culture of inclusive and engaged academic citizenship throughout the teaching unit, academic unit, and university. 

External service refers to service to one’s discipline or profession or to organizations outside of AU.  

III. CRITERIA for TERM REAPPOINTMENT and CONTINUING APPOINTMENT 
 

The following criteria articulate the university’s expectations at each stage of what the Faculty Manual (section 15.b) refers to as “the normal progression” for eligible faculty from single-year term contracts to a three-year term contract to a continuing appointment. This progression and the corresponding standards are detailed below.  

 A. One-Year Term Reappointment 
 

Term faculty typically join AU on a one-year contract, with opportunities for reappointment to two additional one-year contracts contingent on the faculty member demonstrating relevant qualifications and satisfactory performance; on sufficient budget and enrollments; and on the faculty member’s fit with other needs of the teaching or academic unit (Faculty Manual, section 12). 

Term faculty applying for one-year term reappointment at American University are expected to have: 

1. Made progress toward building a record of teaching excellence (defined in II.A above), as displayed in a teaching portfolio; 

2. Developed plans for, and made initial efforts toward, maintaining currency in their field(s) (defined in II.B above); 

3. Provided teaching-unit-level service (defined in II.C above) appropriate to rank and years of service at AU; 

4. Maintained a campus presence that reflects a commitment to connecting with students and to the university community; and 

5. Demonstrated civility, collegiality, equity-mindedness, and respect for diverse perspectives and voices in all areas of their work.

B. Three-Year Term Reappointment 
 

Reappointment after three one-year contracts is normally for a three-year term. In rare cases, deans may recommend different lengths of term, subject to approval from the dean of faculty. Three-year term reappointments are contingent on the faculty demonstrating relevant qualifications and satisfactory performance; on sufficient budget and enrollments; and on the faculty member’s fit with other needs of the teaching or academic unit (Faculty Manual, section 12).   

Term faculty applying for a three-year term reappointment at American University are expected to have: 

1. Attained a record of teaching excellence (defined in II.A above), as displayed in a teaching portfolio; 

2. Articulated (in the teaching narrative) a set of goals for improving their teaching craft; 

3. Demonstrated efforts to fulfill their plan for maintaining currency in their field(s) (defined in II.B above); 

4. Provided internal service (defined in II.C above) appropriate to their rank and years of service at AU;  

5. Maintained a campus presence that reflects a commitment to connecting with students and to the university community; and 

6. Demonstrated civility, collegiality, equity-mindedness, and respect for diverse perspectives and voices in all areas of their work. 

C. Continuing Appointment 

Under the normal progression, term faculty may apply for continuing appointment in their sixth year of full-time service at American University. (See Faculty Manual, section 15.b, for information about crediting of prior service.) Approvals of continuing appointments are contingent on the faculty member demonstrating relevant qualifications and satisfactory performance; on sufficient budget and enrollments; and on the faculty member’s fit with other needs of the teaching or academic unit (Faculty Manual, section 12).   

Term faculty applying for continuing appointment at American University are expected to have: 

1. Attained a record of teaching excellence (defined in II.A above) and demonstrated continuous commitment to teaching development, as displayed in a teaching portfolio; 

2. Articulated (in the teaching narrative) a set of goals for increasing their teaching mastery;  

3. Shown evidence of progressive activity over time to maintain currency in their field(s) (defined in II.B above); 

4. Accumulated a record of meaningful internal service (defined in II.C above) at the teaching-unit level and above, appropriate to rank;  

5. Maintained a campus presence that reflects a commitment to connecting with students and to the university community; and  

6. Demonstrated civility, collegiality, equity-mindedness, and respect for diverse perspectives and voices in all areas of their work. 

IV. RANK-BASED CRITERIA for APPOINTMENT and PROMOTION 

Rank-specific performance expectations for term and continuing appointment faculty in the professorial lecturer promotion sequence and the non-tenure-track professor promotion sequence are provided in the Faculty Manual. Candidates for promotion in either sequence may include a wide variety of activities in their application files as evidence of excellent teaching, currency in the field, and meaningful service. Part II (above) provides details, including examples of activities that demonstrate equity-mindedness, inclusion, and appreciation for diversity. 

Faculty reviewers of promotion files are encouraged to recognize and value multiple pathways to academic excellence, which includes giving substantive weight to candidates’ contributions to diversity, equity, inclusion, anti-racism, and the ethos and culture of inquiry in teaching, service, and activities related to currency in the field (including scholarship, where relevant).