College Bylaws

College of Arts & Letters

Michigan State University

Bylaws last updated January 30, 2024.

1. THE FACULTY

1.1.   Composition of the Faculty

1.1.1.     The regular faculty of the College of Arts and Letters shall consist of all persons appointed in the College under the rules of tenure and holding the rank of professor, associate professor, or assistant professor, or as further defined in the Bylaws for Academic Governance-Michigan State University.

1.1.1.1.    The jointly appointed tenure-system faculty of the College of Arts & Letters shall consist of all persons appointed to two Departments in the College (or between the College of Arts & Letters and another college, holding a majority appointment in CAL) as a faculty member under the rules of tenure and holding the rank of professor, associate professor, or assistant professor or as further defined in the Bylaws for Academic Governance-Michigan State University, whose responsibilities are clearly defined in each person’s Memorandum of Understanding (refer to the CAL Memorandum of Understanding Guidelines for Tenure-system Faculty with Joint Appointments and Assignments).

1.1.1.2.    The jointly assigned tenure-system faculty of the College of Arts & Letters shall consist of all persons appointed in one Department and assigned to one Program or Center as a faculty member under the rules of tenure and holding the rank of professor, associate professor, or assistant professor or as further defined in the Bylaws for Academic Governance-Michigan State University, whose responsibilities are clearly defined in each person’s Memorandum of Understanding (refer to the CAL Memorandum of Understanding Guidelines for Tenure-system Faculty with Joint Appointments and Assignments).

1.1.2.      The fixed-term faculty of the College of Arts and Letters shall consist of all persons holding the rank of professor, associate professor, assistant professor, or instructor, but not appointed under the rules of tenure, as defined in the Bylaws for Academic Governance-Michigan State University.

1.1.3.     The academic specialist faculty of the College of Arts and Letters shall consist of all persons holding the rank of academic specialist, academic specialist-continuing, or senior academic specialist, but not appointed under the rules of tenure, or as further defined in the Bylaws for Academic Governance-Michigan State University.

1.1.4.     Other faculty shall be those persons designated as visiting professors, adjunct professors, or professors emeriti.

1.2.       Voting Faculty

1.2.1.     The voting faculty in College matters shall consist of all College faculty and academic staff who serve under a full-time appointment in the College and who are engaged in the academic activities of the University. The voting faculty in Department matters shall be determined by those units’ bylaws.

1.2.2.     A faculty member jointly appointed in two or more Departments or Colleges may vote only once in a given election. In elections voted upon by two or more units the faculty member shall vote in that unit which has primary responsibility for initiating personnel action, with respect to that faculty member.

1.3.       Faculty Meetings

1.3.1.      A College meeting shall normally be held at least twice during each academic year. Additional ordinary meetings of the College may be called by the Dean, the College Advisory Council, petition to the Dean by ten percent of the voting faculty of the College, or petition by at least fifty students enrolled in the College of Arts and Letters as defined in 2.1.2.

1.3.2.     Announcement

1.3.2.1.      The Dean shall email to each member of the faculty and to each eligible voting student member notice at least one week prior to an ordinary meeting, along with an agenda for the meeting.

1.3.3.     Special Meetings

1.3.3.1.      Should a situation require immediate action any of those who may call an ordinary meeting may call a special meeting by providing in writing the agenda of the meeting and an appropriate explanation of the situation, delivered electronically via email or in hardcopy to the office or campus mailbox of each qualified voting member of the College at least two working days prior to the meeting. Actions taken at special meetings shall be only those on the agenda described in the notice. Written minutes of a special meeting shall be delivered electronically to the email address or by hardcopy to the office or campus mailbox of each qualified voting member within five working days after that meeting.

1.3.4.       Conduct of Meeting

1.3.4.1.    Thirty percent of the qualified voting members of the College shall constitute a quorum for the conduct of business of both ordinary and special meetings.

1.3.4.2.    The Dean of the College or their designate shall preside at all College meetings.

1.3.4.3.    Conduct of business at College meetings shall follow the revised Robert’s Rules of Order, except as modified by a vote of the College. A parliamentarian shall be designated for each meeting by the chairperson.

1.3.4.4.    An email ballot may be called for any agenda item by a simple majority vote. If a quorum is not present at the meeting then all voting must be by email vote. All email ballots must be sent out, accompanied by the minutes of the meeting, within one week of the meeting and a deadline set for the return of the ballot(s).

1.3.4.5.    The secretary of the College Advisory Council, as defined in 3.2.3.1, shall serve as secretary of meetings of the College and shall distribute the minutes of each meeting to all qualified voting members in the College within two weeks after the meeting.

1.3.4.6.    In consultation with the Chair of the College Advisory Council, the Dean shall place on the agenda any items concerning matters of policy or position requiring faculty action. Except in cases of special meetings, only those items that are listed on the agenda that was distributed at least one week in advance of the meeting may be acted on.

1.3.4.7.    Items may be placed on the agenda of meetings by the Dean, the College Advisory Council, petition by 10% of the voting faculty of the College, or petition by at least fifty students enrolled in Arts and Letters as defined in 2.1.2.

2. THE STUDENTS

2.1.     Student Constituency of the College

2.1.1.       The student constituency of the College for the purpose of selecting student representatives from the College to University committees shall be all currently enrolled students who have declared with the Registrar a major or major preference (in the case of lower division students) in an academic program administered in the College. A person who has enrolled for two consecutive semesters may retain student status for one semester when not enrolled, if the person has not been awarded a degree, or enrolled as a degree candidate at another college or university, or been withdrawn or recessed by the University.

2.1.2.       Those students who are enrolled as candidates for graduate degrees or as candidates for graduate-professional degrees shall be deemed graduate students.

2.1.3.       All other students shall be deemed undergraduate students.

2.1.4.       The student constituency for purposes other than that specified above shall be all students who have declared a major or major preference in an academic program of the College.

2.1.5.       All students serving on College standing committees; two students selected by each Department, preferably one graduate and one undergraduate, from Department standing committees; and one undergraduate and one graduate student from the degree-granting Interdepartmental and Interdisciplinary Programs shall automatically be voting members at College meetings, except on matters reserved to faculty by the current Bylaws for Academic Governance-Michigan State University.

2.2.     Student Participation in Academic Governance

2.2.1.         Student participation in College academic governance bodies shall in all cases be the same as faculty participation, except as reserved. In accordance with the Bylaws for Academic Governance-Michigan State University, the reserved matters in which only faculty may participate are:

2.2.1.1.        Policy concerning salary, leaves, insurance, retirement and fringe benefits of faculty.

2.2.1.2.        Decisions concerning the appointment, salary, reappointment, promotion, tenure or dismissal of individual faculty members.

2.2.1.2.1.       Evidence from students regarding the teaching performance of faculty shall be considered in decisions concerning the above matters.

2.2.1.3.        Matters affecting the professional responsibility of the faculty to establish and maintain the intellectual authority of the University.

3. COLLEGE ORGANIZATION

The College includes Departments, Interdepartmental and Interdisciplinary Programs, Research Centers, Museums, the Center for Integrative Studies in Arts and Humanities and its Administration.

3.1.       Administration of the College

3.1.1.        The College’s administrative officers are the Dean, Associate and Assistant Deans, and the Department chairpersons or directors of programs. The duties, responsibilities, and powers of these officers and the procedures for appointment and review of appointment shall be as specified in the Bylaws for Academic Governance-Michigan State University.

3.1.2.        The Dean is responsible for the educational, research/creative, and service programs of the College. This responsibility includes budgetary matters, physical facilities and personnel matters in their jurisdiction, taking into account the advisory procedures of the College.

3.1.3.        The College Advisory Council of the College shall have shared responsibility with the Provost to determine procedures for the selection of the Dean to be nominated by the Provost.

3.1.4.       The selection of assistant and associate College administrators to be nominated to the Provost shall be the responsibility of the Dean, who shall consult the College Advisory Council.

3.1.5.        The Dean of the College shall be subject to regular review at intervals not to exceed five years.

3.1.5.1.        The College Advisory Council shall have shared responsibility with the Provost to determine procedures for the review of the Dean. It is recommended that the procedure developed should include solicitation of faculty input and interviews with the chairpersons and directors by the Provost.

3.1.5.2.        There is no limit, other than the limit imposed by the University rules on retirement from administrative positions, on the number of times an individual may be continued in the position of Dean.

3.1.5.3.        At any time during the term of office the appointment of a Dean, as Dean, may be terminated either by resignation or by action of the Board of Trustees upon recommendation of the President and Provost.

3.1.6.        The Dean shall participate in academic governance as part of their administrative responsibility. This participation shall include those responsibilities listed in the Bylaws for Academic Governance-Michigan State University.

3.2.       College Advisory Council

3.2.1.        Composition

3.2.1.1.      To ensure that the overall academic interests of the College are represented, the College Advisory Council shall be composed of:

3.2.1.1.1.        One faculty member from each Department with vote.

3.2.1.1.2.        One member selected each year by the elected faculty members of the College Advisory Council from among the College representatives to the University Council, who will serve ex officio, without vote.

3.2.1.1.3.        One academic specialist or non-tenure-stream faculty member assigned to a non-department unit with vote. 

3.2.1.1.4.        One staff member representative selected from College staff with vote.

3.2.1.1.5.        The Dean, who may also appoint an Associate or Assistant Dean at their discretion. They shall serve ex officio, without vote.

3.2.1.1.6.        Two undergraduate students with voting rights, except in the nomination, election, or appointment of a faculty member to College or Council, and the elected Faculty Senate and University Council.

3.2.1.1.7.        Two graduate students with voting rights, except in the nomination, election, or appointment of a faculty member to College or University committees, the College Advisory Council, and the elected Faculty Senate and University Council.

3.2.2.        Functions

3.2.2.1.      The College Advisory Council shall serve as a deliberative body for faculty and students to participate in the policy- making of the College.

3.2.2.2.      The College Advisory Council shall serve as a deliberative body which recommends policies to the Dean.

3.2.2.3.      The College Advisory Council shall establish, as the need arises, a process of faculty review before any action is taken to create, alter, dissolve, discontinue, disband, or downgrade an academic Department, Program, or Center.

3.2.2.4.      The College Advisory Council shall act as an agency through which individual faculty or students may initiate action in the academic governance of the College; it may refer such matter to an appropriate College committee, and shall receive reports as required from College representatives to University committees.

3.2.2.5.      The College Advisory Council shall advise and consult with the Dean on problems concerning the welfare of the College.

3.2.2.6.        The College Advisory Council shall have delegated authority to supervise and conduct all faculty elections at the College level, including the election of College representatives to the Faculty Senate and University Council of the University.

3.2.2.7.        The College Advisory Council shall name replacements to the Faculty Senate and University Council of the University when an elected faculty representative is unable to serve for a period of one academic semester or more.

3.2.2.8.        The College Advisory Council shall have shared responsibility with the Dean in determining the time, date and place of all College faculty meetings.

3.2.2.9.        The College Advisory Council shall have shared responsibility with the Dean in preparing the agenda and meetings.

3.2.2.10.      The College Advisory Council shall consult with the Dean on the replacement and appointment of Associate and Assistant Deans.

3.2.3.      Procedures

3.2.3.1.        The College Advisory Council shall determine its own operating rules and procedures and annually elect a chairperson and a secretary from its voting membership at the first meeting of the fall semester.

3.2.3.2.        The College Advisory Council shall meet as often as required to perform its duties, but no less than four times in each academic semester, except summer session.

3.2.3.3.        Meetings may be called by the Dean, the College Advisory Council chairperson or by petition of at least one-third of the voting members to the College Advisory Council chairperson.

3.2.3.4.        The minutes of the College Advisory Council meetings shall be published and distributed to all members of the faculty and the student representatives within ten days of approval.

3.2.4.      Elections

3.2.4.1.        Elections for faculty representatives to the College Advisory Council shall take place in the spring semester as determined by and in units.

3.2.4.1.1.     Any voting faculty as defined in 1.2 shall be eligible for election to the College Advisory Council.

3.2.4.2.        Elections for the academic specialist or non-tenure-stream faculty member assigned to a non-department unit shall take place in the spring semester using procedures agreed upon by academic specialists and non-tenure-stream faculty assigned to a non-department unit. 

3.2.4.3.        Elections for the staff representative to the College Advisory Council shall take place in the spring semester using procedures agreed upon by the staff.

3.2.4.4.        Student representatives shall be elected to the College Advisory Council using the procedures agreed upon by the student constituency.

3.2.4.4.1.     Any student, as defined in sections 2.1.2. and 2.1.3. of these bylaws, shall be eligible for election to the College Advisory Council.

3.2.4.5.        Elected faculty members of the College Advisory Council shall serve two-year terms. No faculty member of the College Advisory Council shall serve more than two consecutive terms.

3.2.4.6.        Elected academic specialist or non-tenure-stream faculty members assigned to a non-department unit shall serve two-year terms. No representative shall serve more than two consecutive terms. 

3.2.4.7.        Elected staff members of the College Advisory Council shall serve a two-year term. No staff member of the College Advisory Council shall serve more than two consecutive terms.

3.2.4.8.        Student members shall serve one-year terms.

3.2.4.9.        All terms of office shall commence at the beginning of the fall semester.

3.2.4.10.      Any faculty vacancy occurring during a term of office shall be filled for the remainder of the unexpired term. A vacancy shall occur by resignation or when a College Advisory Council member is absent, or expects to be absent, for a period of two months or more. The replacement shall be selected by the Department of the resigning representative. The replacement is eligible for reelection after the replacement term expires. Such appointed members of the College Advisory Council shall serve without restriction to the number of consecutive terms served.

3.2.4.11.      Any academic specialist or non-tenure-stream faculty member assigned to a non-department unit vacancy occurring during a term of office shall be filled for the remainder of the unexpired term. A vacancy shall occur by resignation or when a College Advisory Council member is absent, or expects to be absent, for a period of two months or more. The replacement shall be selected by a special election using procedures agreed upon by academic specialists and non-tenure-stream faculty assigned to a non-department unit. The replacement is eligible for reelection after the replacement term expires.

3.2.4.12.     Any staff vacancy occurring during a term of office shall be filled as provided for in section 3.2.4.3.

3.2.4.13.      Any student vacancy occurring during a term of office shall be filled as provided for in section 3.2.4.4.

3.3.         Standing Committees of the College Advisory Council

3.3.1.       The Standing Committees of the College Advisory Council shall be the College Curriculum Committee and the College Graduate Council.

3.3.2.       College Curriculum Committee

3.3.2.1.        Functions

3.3.2.1.1.       The College Curriculum Committee shall review and evaluate College educational policies, including those governing pedagogy and educational objectives, and bring before the College any issues that might, in the opinion of this Committee, require deliberation by the College faculty as a whole.

3.3.2.1.2.       The College Curriculum Committee shall serve as the College curriculum committee for all undergraduate courses and programs.

3.3.2.1.3.       The College Curriculum Committee shall deal with problems presented to it or issues defined within the Committee as a result of its concern for curricular matters inside and outside the College.

3.3.2.1.4.       In consultation with the faculty of the Departments, the College Curriculum Committee shall decide on the establishment and elimination of courses and curricula within the College.

3.3.2.2.          Composition

3.3.2.2.1.     To ensure representation of the diverse academic interests of the College the College Curriculum Committee shall be composed of:

3.3.2.2.1.1.         One voting faculty member as defined in section 1.2, selected by each Department offering courses in the College.

3.3.2.2.1.2.         Two voting undergraduate student representatives and two voting graduate student representatives.

3.3.2.2.1.3.         Ex officio members, without vote, consisting of the Dean and the appropriate Associate or Assistant Dean and any faculty members from the College serving on the University Committee on Curriculum.

3.3.2.3.          Procedures

3.3.2.3.1.     The Committee shall determine its own operating rules and procedures.

3.3.2.3.2.     Its chairperson shall be elected from among its members at the first meeting of the academic year. The chairperson shall be elected to serve a one year term.

3.3.2.3.3.     The Committee shall meet at least once during each of the fall and spring semesters.

3.3.2.3.4.     The Committee shall meet on the call of the chairperson or on petition by half of its members.

3.3.2.3.5.     The chairperson shall report the activities of the Committee at the spring meeting of the College.

3.3.2.3.6.     The Committee shall report its activities to the College faculty through its minutes and make an annual report to the College Advisory Council.

3.3.2.4.          Eligibility

3.3.2.4.1.     All voting members of the faculty of the College shall be eligible for election, with the following exceptions:

3.3.2.4.1.1.       Members of the College Advisory Council and other standing committees of the College with a remaining term of office longer than six months.

3.3.2.4.1.2.       The Dean, Associate and Assistant Deans, and Department chairpersons.

3.3.2.4.1.3.       No voting faculty member shall serve more than two consecutive terms.

3.3.2.4.2.     Undergraduate majors in Arts and Letters in good academic standing shall be eligible for the undergraduate student seats.

3.3.2.4.3.     Graduate students in the College of Arts and Letters in good academic standing shall be eligible for the graduate student seats.

3.3.2.5.        Terms of Office

3.3.2.5.1.     Voting faculty members shall serve two-year terms, with one-half of the members elected each year.

3.3.2.5.2.     The undergraduate and graduate student representatives shall serve one-year terms.

3.3.2.5.3.     Terms of office shall commence at the beginning of the fall semester following election.

3.3.2.5.4.     A vacancy occurring during a term of office shall be filled for the remainder of the unexpired term. The replacement of a faculty member shall be made by the Department concerned. The replacement of an undergraduate student or graduate student shall be made by the respective group naming the representative. A vacancy shall occur by resignation or when a committee member expects to be unable to serve for a period of two months or more.

3.3.2.6.          Elections

3.3.2.6.1.     Each Department offering undergraduate courses in the College of Arts and Letters shall determine its own methods of selecting its representatives.

3.3.2.6.2.     The election of faculty representatives shall take place during the spring semester of the academic year under the auspices of the College Advisory Council.

3.3.2.6.3.     Undergraduate student members of the College Curriculum Committee shall be chosen in accordance with the Bylaws for Academic Governance-Michigan State University.

3.3.3.       College Graduate Council

3.3.3.1.          Composition

3.3.3.1.1.       To ensure representation of the diverse academic interests of the College, the College Graduate Council shall be composed of:

3.3.3.1.1.1.     One voting faculty representative as defined in section 1.2 from each Department or extra-Departmental Program with a graduate degree program.

3.3.3.1.1.2.     A representative from the Center for Integrative Studies in Arts and Humanities, ex officio without vote, and one representative without vote from among the degree granting programs of the College that do not offer graduate degrees, both selected by the Dean.

3.3.3.1.1.3.     The representatives of the College on the University Committee on Graduate Studies, ex officio without vote.

3.3.3.1.1.4.     The College Associate or Assistant Dean for Graduate Studies and Research. ex officio without vote,

3.3.3.1.1.5.     Two Graduate student representatives who shall be chosen in an election to be organized in Spring Semester each year by the office of the Dean.  A call for nominations will be drawn from, and subsequent balloting limited to, the graduate student constituency.

3.3.3.2.          Functions

3.3.3.2.1.         The College Graduate Council shall be the legislative and policy-making organ of the College in all matters dealing with graduate work.

3.3.3.2.2.        In consultation with the faculty of the Departments, the College Graduate Council shall make decisions on existing and proposed graduate programs and courses within the College.

3.3.3.3.          Procedures

3.3.3.3.1.         The Council shall determine its own operating rules and procedures.

3.3.3.3.2.         The Council shall select its own chairperson at the first meeting of the academic year. The chairperson shall be elected to a one-year term.

3.3.3.3.3.         The Council shall meet on the call of the graduate chairperson or on petition by half of its members.

3.3.3.3.4.         The chairperson shall report the activities of the Council at the spring meeting of the College.

3.3.3.3.5.         The Council shall report its activities to the College faculty through minutes and shall make an annual report to the College Advisory Council.

3.3.3.4.          Eligibility

3.3.3.4.1.         Any voting faculty member of the Departments and extra-Departmental Programs offering a graduate degree is eligible for selection to the Graduate Council, with the exception of the Dean, Associate and Assistant Deans. This selection is subject to provisions enumerated in Department and extra- Departmental Program policies.

3.3.3.4.2.         The graduate student representatives must be enrolled in an advanced degree program within the College of Arts and Letters and in good academic standing.

3.3.3.5.        Terms of Office

3.3.3.5.1.         Faculty representatives shall serve terms of office according to individual Department and extra- Departmental program policies.

3.3.3.5.2.         The graduate student representatives shall serve a one-year term, to commence at the beginning of the fall semester.

3.3.3.5.3.         A faculty vacancy occurring on the Council during a term of office shall be filled for the remainder of the unexpired term. A faculty vacancy shall occur by resignation or when a Council member is absent or expects to be absent for a period of two months or more. The replacements shall be selected by the Department or extra- Departmental program of the resigning representative.

3.3.3.5.4.         Any student vacancy occurring during a term of office shall be filled as provided for in the Bylaws for Academic Governance-Michigan State University.

3.3.3.6.        Selection

3.3.3.6.1.         When a faculty representative is about to finish a term of office, the relevant Department or extra- Departmental program shall select its representative in accordance with its policies.

3.4.         Standing Committees Advisory to the Dean

3.4.1.       College Reappointment, Promotion, and Tenure Committee

3.4.1.1.        Function

3.4.1.1.1.        The College Reappointment, Promotion, and Tenure Committee (RPT) acts in an advisory capacity to the Dean. It shall review the dossiers of all candidates for reappointment, promotion, and tenure according to the criteria for reappointment, promotion, and tenure set forth in the MSU Faculty Handbook in the section entitled “Appointment, Reappointment, Tenure and Promotion Recommendations,” and in accordance with the College of Arts & Letters Reappointment, Promotion and Tenure Guidelines as attached for reference to these bylaws. It shall also review matters of procedure in the relevant Department RPT process.

3.4.1.2.        Composition and Selection

3.4.1.2.1.        The Committee shall consist of five members holding the rank of associate professor with tenure or full professor, but the Dean, Associate or Assistant Deans, and Department chairpersons and directors shall be ineligible to serve on the Committee. Four members will be elected by the College faculty and one member appointed by the Dean. No Department shall have more than one of its members on the Committee at any given time, both Arts (AAH and THR) and Letters (all other departments) shall be represented on the committee, and the majority of the Committee shall be composed of members holding the rank of full professor.

3.4.1.2.2.        Elected Committee members shall serve two-year terms. To provide continuity on the Committee, the terms of Committee members shall be staggered.

3.4.1.2.3.        Elections for the following year’s Committee shall be no later than November 15. Each Department of the College that does not have a continuing representative on the Committee shall nominate one tenured faculty member. From this list of nominees, the CAC shall select four for the final ballot, three of whom shall hold the rank of full professor. From this list of four tenured members, persons appointed in the College under the rules of tenure and holding the rank of professor, associate professor, or assistant professor shall elect two individuals to serve on the committee.  

3.4.1.3.      Procedures

3.4.1.3.1.         Each year’s Reappointment, Promotion, and Tenure Committee shall be called into session at the beginning of the spring semester by the Dean. After consultation with the Dean, the Committee shall determine its own operating and reporting procedures.

3.4.1.3.2.        At the initial meeting of each year’s Committee the Committee shall elect a chairperson from among its members and shall then meet upon the call of the chairperson.

3.4.1.3.3.        Deliberations and discussions of the Committee shall be confidential. If clarification is required concerning a nominee’s credentials or a policy of a Department, the chair of the Committee shall gather information through the chair or director of the Department making the nomination.

3.4.1.3.4.        In each case, the Committee shall make a recommendation to the Dean. Each recommendation shall include a) a statement that the candidate be reappointed or not, promoted or not, and/or tenured or not, and b) an assessment of the candidate’s research/creative work, teaching and service.

3.4.1.3.5.        At the end of each academic year the Committee shall report to the CAC on the Committee’s own activities and procedures and on matters regarding the reappointment, promotion, and tenure process at the Department or College level.

3.4.1.4.      Reappointment, Promotion, and Tenure Dossier

3.4.1.4.1.        In order to make its recommendation to the Dean the Committee shall have access to:

3.4.1.4.1.1.       All the materials submitted by the candidate to their Department RPT committee.

3.4.1.4.1.2.       All outside letters of recommendation submitted by the Department as part of the candidate’s reappointment, promotion, and tenure materials.

3.4.1.4.1.3.       The report of the Department RPT committee regarding the candidate.

3.4.1.4.1.4.       The letter of recommendation submitted by the chairperson or director of the Department in which the tenure.

3.4.2.       College Non-Tenure Stream Promotion Review Committee

3.4.2.1.        Function

3.4.2.1.1.        The College Non-Tenure Stream Promotion Review Committee acts in an advisory capacity to the Dean. It shall review the dossiers of all candidates for Senior Instructor, Associate Professor-Fixed-Term, Full Professor-Fixed Term, and all review stages in the Academic Specialist Continuing System (Probationary Review, Review and Awarding of Continuing Status, Senior Academic Specialist) set forth in the MSU Faculty Handbook section on the promotion of fixed-term faculty and the MSU Academic Specialist Handbook in the section entitled “5.3 Reappointment, Continuing Appointment, and Promotion,” and in accordance with the College of Arts & Letters Guidelines concerning the promotion of fixed-term faculty and academic specialist review in the continuing system. It shall also review matters of procedure in the relevant unit non-tenure stream promotion review process. 

3.4.2.2.        Composition and Selection

3.4.2.2.1.        The Committee shall consist of five members holding the rank of Senior Instructor, Associate or Full Professor-Fixed Term, Senior or Continuing Academic Specialist. The Dean, Associate or Assistant Deans, and Department chairpersons and directors shall be ineligible to serve on the Committee. Four members will be elected by the College fixed-term faculty and academic staff and one member appointed by the Dean. No Department, Center, or the Dean’s Office shall have more than one of its members on the Committee at any given time, both Arts (AAHD and THR) and Letters (all other departments) shall be represented on the committee. There shall be at least two fixed-term faculty (Senior Instructor, Associate or Full Professor-Fixed Term) and at least two academic specialists (Senior or Continuing Academic Specialist). If a promotion to Full Professor-Fixed Term or Senior Continuing Academic Specialist is under consideration, then at least one member of the committee must hold that corresponding respective rank.

3.4.2.2.2.        Elected Committee members shall serve two-year terms. To provide continuity on the Committee, the terms of Committee members shall be staggered. 

3.4.2.2.3.        Elections for the following year’s Committee shall be no later than November 15. Each Department, Center, or the Dean’s Office of the College that does not have a continuing representative on the Committee shall nominate one member of the faculty or academic staff. From this list of nominees, the CAC shall select four for the final ballot. From this list of four members of the faculty or academic staff, persons appointed in the College as full-time, non-tenure stream faculty or academic staff shall elect two individuals to serve on the committee. 

3.4.2.3.          Procedures 

3.4.2.3.1.      Each year’s Non-tenure Stream Promotion Review Committee shall be called into session at the beginning of the spring semester by the Dean. After consultation with the Dean, the Committee shall elect a chair and determine its own operating and reporting procedures. 

3.4.2.3.2.       Deliberations and discussions of the Committee shall be confidential. If clarification is required concerning a candidate’s credentials or a policy of a Unit, the chair of the Committee shall gather information through the respective unit chair or director. 

3.4.2.3.3.       In each case, the Committee shall make a recommendation to the Dean. Each recommendation shall include a) a statement that the candidate be reappointed or not, promoted or not, and b) an assessment of the candidate’s work as defined in their job description. 

3.4.2.3.4.       At the end of each academic year the Committee shall report to the CAC on the Committee’s own activities and procedures and on matters regarding the non-tenure stream and academic specialist promotion process at the Unit or College level. 

3.4.2.4.        Reappointment and Promotion Dossier 

3.4.2.4.1.       In order to make its recommendation to the Dean the Committee shall have access to: 

3.4.2.4.2.       All the materials submitted by the candidate to their respective unit review committee. 

3.4.2.4.3.      Any and all outside letters of recommendation submitted by the unit as part of the candidate’s reappointment and promotion materials. 

3.4.2.4.4.      The report of the Unit Review committee regarding the candidate. 

3.4.2.4.5.      The letter of recommendation submitted by the chairperson or director of the Unit in which the majority of the appointment is held.  

• College Inclusive Practices Committee

 

3.4.3.1.          Function

3.4.3.1.1.       The College Inclusive Practices Committee shall work with departments, programs, centers, and the administration of the College to sustain inclusive practices as part of the core work of the College across all areas of endeavor, including teaching, scholarship, service, governance, leadership, professional development, and administration.

3.4.3.1.2.       The Committee shall support full participation in the activities of the college by a diverse cohort of faculty, staff, and students, where diversity encompasses, but is not limited to: rank or appointment type; area of artistic or scholarly endeavor with the arts and letters; identity and individual characteristics noted in the MSU Anti-Discrimination Policy.

3.4.3.2.        Composition

3.4.3.2.1.       To ensure representation of the diverse academic interests of the College, the Committee shall be composed of:

3.4.3.2.1.1.       One faculty member selected by each Department in the College.

3.4.3.2.1.2.       One faculty member selected by the Centers and Programs of the College.

3.4.3.2.1.3.       One fixed-term faculty member considered a voting member of the College.

3.4.3.2.1.4.       One academic specialist considered a voting member of the College.

3.4.3.2.1.5        One staff member representative.

3.4.3.2.1.6.       One undergraduate student representative.

3.4.3.2.1.7.       One graduate student representative.

3.4.3.2.1.8.       One member appointed by the dean, if deemed necessary, to ensure appropriate balances of rank and appointment types.

3.4.3.2.1.9.       Ex officio members without vote will include: the Dean or his/her Associate or Assistant Dean; the Associate Dean for Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement; the Faculty Excellence Advocate; and the IDEA coordinator.

3.4.3.3.          Procedures

3.4.3.3.1.         The Committee shall determine its own operating rules and procedures.

3.4.3.3.2.         Its chairperson shall be elected from among its members at the first meeting of the academic year. The chairperson shall be elected to serve a one-year term.

3.4.3.3.3.         The Committee shall meet at least once during each of the fall and spring semesters.

3.4.3.3.4.         The Committee shall meet on the call of the Dean, the Committee chairperson, or by petition of at least one-third of the voting members of the committee to the Committee chairperson.

3.4.3.3.5.         The Committee shall report its activities to the College faculty through its minutes, a written annual report to the College Advisory Council, and a report by its chairperson at the Spring College Meeting.

3.4.3.4.        Terms of Office

3.4.3.4.1.         Faculty committee members shall serve two-year terms, with one-half of the members selected each year. No faculty member shall serve more than two consecutive terms.

3.4.3.4.2.         The elected staff member representative shall serve a two-year term. No staff member shall serve more than two consecutive terms.

3.4.3.4.3.         The undergraduate and graduate student representatives shall serve one-year terms.

3.4.3.4.4.         Student representatives shall be elected to the College Inclusive Practices Committee in an election to be organized by the Office of the Dean in the Spring semester each year. A call for nominations will be drawn from, and subsequent balloting limited to, the undergraduate or graduate student constituency to be represented.

3.4.3.4.5.         Other representatives shall be elected using the procedures agreed upon by their constituency.

3.4.4.           Dean’s Arts Advisory Committee

3.4.4.1.        Function

3.4.4.1.1.     The Dean’s Arts Advisory Committee (DAAC) acts in an advisory capacity to the Dean. It shall proactively develop arts initiatives, suggest and support arts programming, and create strategic arts benchmarks for the College. The DAAC will act as a conduit to gather existing and suggested ideas for arts-related programming and curricula within and for the College, as well as recommend University-level arts-related programming and curricula to the College. The DAAC shall work with the Dean to identify potential funding and collaborative resources, to consider national and international trends in cross-disciplinary artistic endeavors, and to create sustainable and recognized opportunities that would situate the College and University as a leader in artistic projects. 

3.4.4.2.        Composition and Selection

3.4.4.2.1.     The Committee shall consist of seven practicing artists from Departments, Centers, and Programs across the College of Arts and Letters. A practicing artist is someone who is primarily involved in creative production.

3.4.4.2.2.     Five members will be elected by the College faculty and two members appointed by the Dean. Artists (including staff) of any rank or academic category are eligible with the following exceptions: 

• Members of the College Advisory Council and other standing committees of the College with a remaining term of office longer than six months. 
• The Dean, Associate and Assistant Deans, and Department chairpersons. 

3.4.4.2.3.       No more than two artists from the same Department, Center, or Program may serve at the same time.

3.4.4.2.4.       One graduate and one undergraduate student artist will also be selected by the committee to participate on the committee.

3.4.4.2.5.       Candidates for the committee are nominated by departments in accordance with unit procedures following a college call for members. Department nominees shall submit a one-page letter of intent and current CV to CAC for possible placement on a college-wide ballot.  

Elections for the following year’s Committee shall be no later than the last day of March. Each Department of the College that does not have continuing representatives on the Committee may nominate up to two members and those departments with one continuing member may nominate one member. From this list of nominees, the CAC shall select the final ballot.

3.4.4.3.        Terms of Office

3.4.4.3.1.     Elected Committee members shall serve two-year terms. To provide continuity on the Committee, the terms of Committee members shall be staggered.

3.4.4.3.2.     Committee members may serve two consecutive terms.  

3.4.4.4.        Procedures

3.4.4.4.1.       The committee shall elect a Chair and Secretary annually.  

3.4.4.4.2.       The Committee shall determine its own operating rules and procedures.

3.4.4.4.3.       The Committee shall meet monthly during each of the fall and spring semesters.

3.4.4.4.4.       The Committee shall meet on the call of the Dean, the Committee chairperson, or by petition of at least one-third of the voting members of the committee to the Committee chairperson.

3.4.4.4.5.       The Committee shall report its activities to the College faculty through its minutes, a written annual report to the College Advisory Council, and a report by its chairperson at the Spring College Meeting.

3.5.         Special Committees

3.5.1.       Special committees may be established by the Dean, by the College Advisory Council, or by a majority vote of the College faculty.

3.6.         Grievance and Hearing Procedures

3.6.1.         Faculty

3.6.1.1.        The College of Arts and Letters follows the Faculty Grievance Policy published in the Faculty Handbook and approved by the Board of Trustees for resolving employment related disputes that arise between faculty or academic staff and administrators. The formal procedures described there are intended to be used only when matters cannot be resolved informally.

3.6.2.         Students

3.6.2.1.        The student grievance procedure shall be in accord with the procedures detailed in the document titled “Student Rights and Responsibilities,” and, in the case of graduate students, in the publication titled “Graduate Student Rights and Responsibilities.”

3.7.         Faculty Salary Adjustments

3.7.1.       The Dean shall publicize criteria and procedures for all salary adjustments.

3.7.2.       Chairpersons and directors shall publicize criteria and procedures for all salary adjustments.

4. DEPARTMENT ORGANIZATION

4.1.         Definition

4.1.1.       The Department is the basic administrative unit of teaching, research, service, outreach and engagement within the College.

4.2.         Chairperson or Director

4.2.1.       The appointment, duties, and responsibilities of a Department chairperson or director shall be in accordance with the Bylaws for Academic Governance-Michigan State University.

4.2.2.       The chairperson or director shall be reviewed at regular intervals not to exceed five years. In this process, the Department faculty shall have shared responsibility with the Dean on procedures for review.

4.3.         Faculty

4.3.1        The faculty of each Department shall prepare a set of Department bylaws, which shall be accepted by majority vote of the eligible voting faculty. Once approved, a copy of the Department bylaws shall be placed on file in the Office of the Dean.

4.3.2.       Department bylaws shall be consistent with the bylaws of the University and those of the College of Arts and Letters.

4.3.3.       The Department bylaws shall provide for the election of one or more committees to advise the Department chairperson or director on Department matters, including promotion, appointments, and the elaboration and operation of programs within the Department.

5. THE UNIVERSITY COUNCIL OF THE UNIVERSITY

5.1.         Composition

The composition of the University Council of the University is established in the Bylaws for Academic Governance-Michigan State University. The method for determining the number of Council representatives from each College is established in the Bylaws for Academic Governance-Michigan State University.

6. STANDING COMMITTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY COUNCIL

6.1.         List of Standing Committees

The standing committees of the University Council are established in the Bylaws for Academic Governance-Michigan State University, and are as follows:

University Committee on Undergraduate Education
University Committee on Graduate Studies
University Committee on Curriculum
University Committee on Faculty Tenure
University Committee on Faculty Affairs
University Committee on Student Affairs
University Committee on Academic Governance

Only in the case of the first five of the above-named standing committees does the College participate in the selection of members.

6.2.         Selection of Representatives from the College

6.2.1.        Faculty representatives

6.2.1.1.    Terms of office

6.2.1.1.1.       In accordance with the Bylaws for Academic Governance-Michigan State University, the term of office of elected Arts and Letters faculty members on standing committees of the University shall be two years.

6.2.1.1.2.       Terms of offices shall begin on August 16 and shall terminate on August 15.

6.2.1.1.3.       No person may serve as a voting member of more than one University standing committee at a time.

6.2.1.1.4.       No elected faculty member of a University standing committee shall serve more than two consecutive terms on the same University standing committee.

6.2.1.2.    Elections

6.2.1.2.1.       No later than January 10 the College Advisory Council shall distribute to the Departments a list of the faculty positions on the standing committees of the University which will become vacant the following August 15.

6.2.1.2.2.       Not later than February 1, each Department of the College shall select, in accordance with its bylaws, one faculty candidate for each of the standing committees of the University on which an Arts and Letters position will become vacant on August 15.

6.2.1.2.3.       These nominees shall be submitted to the College Advisory Council, which shall select from the list two candidates for each Arts and Letters position.

6.2.1.2.4.       The names of these candidates shall be submitted by ballot through the campus mail or e-mail to the voting faculty of the College, who shall vote for one member for each position to become vacant. Election shall be by a majority of votes cast.

6.2.1.2.5.       If an elected faculty member of a University committee is unable to fill their office for a semester or longer a replacement shall be appointed by the College Advisory Council.

6.2.2.        Student Representatives
Student representatives on University standing committees shall be chosen according to the Bylaws for Academic Governance- Michigan State University.

7. DISTRIBUTION, INTERPRETATION, REVIEW, AND AMENDMENTS

7.1.         Distribution
The Dean shall distribute these bylaws to all current and new members of the faculty, and they shall be posted on the College of Arts and Letters website. 

7.2.         Interpretation
The College Advisory Council shall be the final authority concerning the interpretation of these bylaws.

7.3.         Review
The College Advisory Council shall review these bylaws at intervals not to exceed five years.

7.4.         Amendments
Amendments to these bylaws shall be adopted upon approval by two-thirds of those voting on a mailed or an emailed ballot following an ordinary College meeting at which the amendment was discussed and at which the email ballot was approved by a majority of those present and voting. Minutes of the meeting must accompany ballots when the letters are sent out.

APPENDICES:

1. College of Arts & Letters Reappointment, Promotion and Tenure Guidelines
2. College of Arts & Letters Memorandum of Understanding and Annual Review Guidelines for Tenure-system Faculty with Joint Appointments and Assignments in CAL

APPENDIX 1

College of Arts & Letters
Reappointment, Promotion, and Tenure Guidelines

This document first addresses guidelines that apply to all tenure-system faculty in the College of Arts & Letters, and continues by addressing guidelines specific to tenure-system faculty jointly appointed or assigned within CAL.

GENERAL GUIDELINES

The personnel review process begins no later than the end of Spring semester of the academic year preceding the formal review. The unit administrator, “Chairperson,” but henceforth, in this document, “Chair” informs the candidate for personnel action that the process will take place during the following academic year. The Chair reviews the promotion and tenure criteria and the review process with the candidate, and begins the preparation of the dossier.

External Review Letters

A key element in the tenure and promotion review process (and an optional element in cases of reappointments) is peer review by means of external referee letters. The College of Arts and Letters complies with the October 25, 2011 Reappointment, Promotion, and Tenure Toolkit, which specifies, “a minimum of 4 external letters are solicited. External referees must be professionally capable to evaluate the candidate’s scholarly work objectively and to comment on its significance in the discipline” (9).

The purpose of the external letters is to help evaluate the quality, significance, and impact of the candidate’s research in regard to both the specific research area and the discipline(s) overall, and to help the review committees in evaluating the candidate’s stature. Thus, letters will be obtained from a range of knowledgeable individuals with the objective of evaluating the specifics of the candidate’s research, its broader disciplinary (and/or interdisciplinary) impact, and, if applicable, scholarship of teaching and learning impact.

All of these individuals will be independent of the candidate (e.g., not be former graduate or postdoctoral advisors of the candidate) and have no personal interest in the outcome of the review. All letters for tenure or promotion to associate professor will be from individuals at the rank of tenured associate professor or higher; all letters for promotion to full professor will be from individuals at the rank of tenured full professor (or equivalent) at peer institutions.

Prior to the solicitation of letters from the referees, each candidate can provide a short list to the Chair that includes potential referees who should not be contacted because of conflicts of interest that would preclude a fair and unbiased professional review of the dossier materials.

Half of the external referee letters will be requested from prominent scholars or artists in the relevant field based on a list developed by the candidate. The other half of the referee letters will be requested from prominent scholars or artists on a list developed by the Chair. Letters should be solicited from the external referees no later than July 1 of the summer preceding the fall semester review; contacts with external referees are preferably made before the end of the spring semester preceding the review year. External reviews should be solicited by the Chair by means of a letter (or letter format) that has been approved by the Dean of the College. All letters soliciting evaluations relative to promotion and tenure recommendations will include the MSU statement on confidentiality and a request to disclose any potential conflicts of interest.

The Chair will assure that each candidate has at least four external review letters; all review letters solicited by the Chair that are received will be included in the dossier. No unsolicited letters will be included in any part of the dossier, nor will review committees or administrators read them. To the extent defensible under Michigan law, the identity of external referees is not revealed to the candidates being reviewed, and only faculty members of duly constituted review committees and relevant administrators will read the referee letters.

Candidate Dossier

As the review process begins (but no later than the end of the spring semester prior to the review year), the candidate submits to the Chair a self-evaluation of 3-5 pages addressing research/creative activity, teaching, and service. The self-evaluation forms an important part of the dossier; it should specifically address the candidate’s accomplishments to date in light of the unit’s and the University’s criteria for reappointment, promotion, and/or tenure.

At this time the candidate should also provide the Chair an up-to-date curriculum vitae, including complete bibliographical information on all publications and explanation of any works listed prior to publication (e.g. the exact status of any manuscript listed as “in press,” “forthcoming,” “under revision,” etc.). These, plus sample publications if relevant, and the University and unit promotion and/or tenure criteria, are sent to the referees. Other information and materials may be sent as well, according to general unit practice.

The candidate’s dossier for review at the unit level includes the self-evaluation, the curriculum vitae, the external referee letters, sample publications and/or creative works, teaching evaluations and/or portfolios, documents supportive of quality outreach, as relevant, and any other materials required by University guidelines, the unit bylaws, or solicited by the Chair. Once the dossier is assembled, no additional material is added to it, except as indicated below or unless specifically requested by the chair, dean, or provost.

Review Process

The dossier is first reviewed by the duly constituted departmental personnel review committee or committees. Committee recommendations are advisory to the Chair. Committee recommendations to the Chair should be in writing and include both the recommended personnel action and an explanation of how the committee arrived at the recommendation (i.e. a discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of the materials in the dossier and the case in general with respect to the criteria). All faculty members of the committee(s) should indicate, by signature, that the recommendation letter is a fair representation of the committee sentiment. If there is a minority or dissenting viewpoint, the letter(s) should so indicate. The letter(s) then become part of the candidate’s dossier.

The Chair then reviews the dossier, and makes a recommendation to the Dean. If the Chair is recommending support of reappointment, promotion, and/or tenure, the Chair writes a letter to the Dean that explains reasons for agreeing or disagreeing with the unit review committee(s), provides interpretative commentary about both the candidate’s accomplishments and the referee letters, and explains (either in the letter, or in supplemental materials) how and why the particular referees were chosen. The dossier that is forwarded to the Dean contains the University-required Form D, all received referee letters, the candidate’s self-evaluation and curriculum vitae, the unit review committee(s) letter(s), a summary statement about the candidate’s teaching evaluations and teaching accomplishments, and the unit’s RPT criteria. If the Dean or the College RPT committee requires further information or materials, the Chair will be contacted.

If the Chair is not recommending in favor of the personnel action, and if the candidate is being reviewed in a mandatory review year, the dossier is forwarded to the College. If the Chair is recommending against the personnel action in an optional review year, the candidate is informed and it is the candidate’s prerogative to either withdraw the dossier from further consideration or have it forwarded to the College for review. 

Once a dossier is forwarded to the Office of the Dean, the Chair will notify the candidate what action was recommended by the unit committee(s) and what the Chair has recommended.

The College RPT committee makes an advisory recommendation to the Dean on all major personnel actions (reappointment, promotion, and tenure) in the College. The Committee shall consist of five members holding the rank of associate professor with tenure or full professor, but the Dean, Associate or Assistant Deans, and Department chairpersons and directors shall be ineligible to serve on the Committee. Four members will be elected by the College faculty and one member appointed by the Dean. No Department shall have more than one of its members on the Committee at any given time, both Arts (AAHD and THR) and Letters (all other departments) shall be represented on the committee, and the majority of the Committee shall be composed of members holding the rank of full professor. (Please refer to the College of Arts and Letters Bylaws, Sec. 3.4.1) 

Once a candidate’s dossier has been forwarded to the Office of the Dean, the duly constituted College RPT committee begins its review. Prior to reviewing unit recommendations for reappointment and promotion, the College RPT committee reviews (1) the unit and college criteria for reappointment or promotion and (2) the university policies and procedures regarding the RPT process. The committee meets independently of the Dean and reviews each candidate’s dossier with respect to the College criteria for the relevant personnel action.

Review Criteria

In reviewing each candidate’s dossier according to college criteria, the RPT committee will be mindful of the College’s continuing objective to improve its faculty with each personnel recommendation. The committee will also be mindful of supporting procedural due process. Any concerns about potential breach of due process will be communicated to the Dean. A member of the committee from the candidate’s home unit, or any member who is involved in collaborative work with the candidate, may participate in committee discussions about the candidate, but must recuse themselves from the vote. All deliberations of the committee are held in strict confidence, although questions may be directed to the Chair about individual candidates, and the Dean may be consulted if necessary. A positive recommendation for reappointment, promotion, and/or tenure may ensue once it is determined that the applicable position is to be retained.

College criteria:

In the absence of specifically adopted guidelines to the contrary, the College criteria for personnel actions are drawn from the University’s standards.

For reappointment, as well as for promotion and/or tenure, the candidate must provide solid evidence of consistent and persistent professional improvement and effectiveness at Michigan State University and in the College of Arts and Letters sufficient to demonstrate the promise of continued professional achievement and growth for the remainder of the individual’s academic career. Evidence of actual and/or potential competitiveness for positions at other Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC) Universities, or comparable peers, is the appropriate measure of promise. In other words, achievement and performance levels must be competitive with faculties of leading research-intensive, land-grant, AAU universities of international scope (MSU’s peers).

A recommendation for promotion from assistant professor to associate professor in the tenure system must be based on several years of sustained, outstanding achievements in education and scholarship across the mission. These achievements must be consistent with performance levels expected for promotion to associate professor at peer institutions, and there must be a sufficiently long period in rank prior to the promotion as to provide a firm basis in actual performance for predicting long-term capacity for the achievement and maintenance of national stature and enduring high quality professional achievement. A recommendation for tenure for an individual appointed initially as associate professor on a probationary basis will be made if the individual has achieved the same level of promise (as the successful assistant professor promoted to associate professor with tenure) based on professional accomplishments.

A recommendation for promotion from associate professor to professor in the tenure system must be based on several years of sustained, outstanding achievements in education and scholarship across the mission. These achievements must be consistent with performance levels expected for promotion to professor at peer institutions, and there must be a sufficiently long period in rank prior to the promotion as to provide a firm basis in actual performance to permit endorsement of the individual as an expert or artist of national stature and to predict continuous, long-term, high quality professional achievement.

After full review of each candidate dossier, the college RPT committee makes a recommendation to the Dean. The committee recommendation on each case will be submitted to the Dean in the form of a letter, signed by each member of the committee who has participated in the review. As per the Reappointment, Promotion, and Tenure Toolkit, “the Dean meets with the College RPT committee and discusses each recommendation from the committee” (22).

All recommendations are understood to be advisory to the Provost until a final personnel action is taken.

The Dean, in submitting a recommendation to the Provost on each personnel action, will consider the RPT committee’s recommendation letter and will include an explanation for accepting or disagreeing with the recommendation. Information regarding unit and college evaluation criteria and expectations are included with the Dean’s recommendation in the Provost’s Office. The Dean, via the Chair, will inform each candidate of the action recommended by the committee and by the Dean. The Dean will also report to the committee whether they have agreed or disagreed with its recommendations. Consistent with University policy, any negative outcome of a personnel review (for reappointment, promotion and/or tenure) will be explained to the candidate in writing.

GUIDELINES SPECIFIC TO JOINTLY APPOINTED OR ASSIGNED FACULTY

Each tenure-system faculty member with a joint appointment or assignment within CAL, regardless of percentage of appointment or assignment, must have a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to further supplement and clarify agreements outlined in their offer letter. (Please refer to the College of Arts & Letters Memorandum of Understanding and Annual Review Guidelines for Tenure-system Faculty with Joint Appointments and Assignments in CAL.)

A candidate will be recommended for renewal, tenure, or promotion only when it is in the best interest of the University, when the totality of the record is consistent with renewal or promotion, and when there is a high level of performance under the expectations as outlined in the MoU.

All faculty members with majority appointments or assignments in CAL will be evaluated according to the criteria and procedures specified in the bylaws/RPT guidelines of the CAL unit in which they have their majority appointment or assignment.

Each CAL department will use its own standard weighting scheme for accomplishments in teaching, research, and service for faculty jointly appointed or assigned, bearing in mind the fraction of the overall appointment that resides in the minority appointment unit.

Procedures for RPT review supplementing the General Guidelines included above:

• The candidate will submit one Dossier.
• The candidate’s most recently negotiated joint appointment or assignment MoU will be included in the Dossier.
• A summative evaluation of the candidate’s overall contributions to the minority unit will be provided by the Chair or Director of that unit to the Chair of the majority unit and the associated RPT committee for consideration in the departmental reappointment and tenure review.
• The majority unit will follow the following RPT Committee guidelines:

RPT Committee: For faculty with a majority appointment in one CAL department and a minority appointment or assignment in another CAL unit, the make-up of the RPT Committee will follow the guidelines for the majority department, but include one representative from the minority unit. This representative will be chosen jointly by the majority department Chair and the minority unit’s Chair or Director. The minority unit committee member will have the same participatory and voting rights as the other RPT committee members from the majority unit. The nature of the candidate’s appointment, including any MoUs, will be shared with the RPT Committee.

RPT External Evaluators: For faculty with a majority appointment in one CAL department and a minority appointment or assignment in another CAL unit, external evaluations are a critical component of the reviews for tenure, promotion to associate professor, and promotion to professor, but are not utilized for the third-year reappointment.

The referees will be informed of the nature of the joint appointment or assignment, the particulars of the candidate’s appointment or assignment and expectations, and the criteria for the review. If the candidate’s research portfolio includes interdisciplinary work, then the referees will be chosen such that their combined expertise spans all of the relevant fields.

The candidate will submit the names of potential referees, from which the majority CAL Chair and the minority unit Chair or Director will jointly choose a minimum of two; all of these will meet the criteria of rank and independence described above. The CAL unit leaders will then jointly add additional names not suggested by the candidate to make up the full list of those to be asked for letters; the candidate will not be told the identities of any of the individuals on the final list. The final number of letters received from referees chosen by the CAL unit leaders will match or exceed the number received from individuals suggested by the Candidate.

These guidelines were developed and adopted during Spring, 1999. They will guide College personnel actions until revised or replaced.

First Revised 4/15/2008    

Second revision for review by CAC on 12/14/2012    
Second revision reviewed and accepted by CAC on 1/12/2012

Third revision reviewed and accepted by CAL on 5/17/18

APPENDIX 2

College of Arts & Letters Memorandum of Understanding and Annual Review Guidelines for Tenure-system Faculty with Joint Appointments and Assignments in CAL

The character of scholarly contributions and the appropriate benchmarks for evaluating them (e.g., average grant size, typical rate of publication) vary among disciplines. Hence, for each CAL faculty member with a joint appointment or assignment, regardless of percentage of appointment or assignment, at the time of hiring (or the time of appointment or assignment), each relevant CAL unit involved in the position will establish specific criteria for third-year renewal of appointment, promotion to associate professor with tenure, and promotion to professor.

These various criteria will be communicated to the individuals through a memorandum of understanding (MoU); please refer to the CAL MoU checklist. The MoU is used to further supplement and clarify agreements outlined in an offer letter, and the recommended process is that:

• At the start of each joint appointment or assignment, an MoU will be written in consultation with the majority unit Chair, the minority unit Chair or Director, and the faculty member with the joint appointment or assignment.
• The MoU will be written in conjunction with the drafting of the faculty member’s initial work plan so that the work plan is in line with the MoU.
• The annual review process is critical in establishing evaluation of and documentation of progress toward reappointment, promotion and tenure. For the purposes of annual review:
• One dossier will be submitted by the jointly appointed or assigned faculty member.
• The majority unit Chair will make the current work plan of the faculty member available to the minority unit Chair or Director.
• The minority unit Chair or Director will write a yearly letter of evaluation of the faculty member and submit it for review by the majority unit annual review committee.
• In addition, for those faculty members who are pre-tenure, the minority unit Chair or Director will meet with the majority unit Chair on a yearly basis to discuss the contents of this letter and the faculty member’s current work plan prior to the chair’s yearly meeting with the faculty member and writing of the annual review letter.
• The MoU will be reviewed in the second, third, and fifth years by a joint meeting of these three parties. Each time the MoU review will also include a review of the work plan to ensure that the work plan is in line with the MoU. If changes are necessary, then the existing MoU will be revised with the approval of all three parties.
  • The meeting in the second year is designed to ensure that the initial MoU continues to clearly outline the nature and expectations of the joint appointment and provide an opportunity for any needed adjustments to be made.
  • The review in the third year is designed to review the accomplishments of the faculty member as they prepare to go through the reappointment process and look forward to any needed adjustments that would be contingent upon a successful reappointment.
  • The review in the fifth year has a similar function to the third year as the faculty prepares to go through the RPT process.
• After tenure, the MoU will be reviewed every third year by a joint meeting of the three parties.
• The faculty member also has the ability to call a face-to-face meeting with the majority appointment unit chair and the minority unit chair or director should they feel the need to discuss the MoU at any time.

APPENDIX 3

College of Arts & Letters Guidelines for Promotion of Fixed Term System Faculty from Instructor to Senior Instructor, Assistant to Associate Professor, or from Associate Professor to Full Professor

This document specifies the criteria and procedures used by the College of Arts & Letters (CAL) and its affiliated units in reviewing applications for fixed term system faculty promotion. It follows the university policy on the Promotion of Fixed Term Faculty, which can be found at: https://www.hr.msu.edu/policies-procedures/faculty-academic-staff/faculty-handbook/fixed-term_promotion.html. It also follows the College of Arts & Letters bylaws, which can be found here: https://cal.msu.edu/faculty/college-bylaws/  

The promotion of fixed-term faculty will be based solely on an evaluation of the duties and responsibilities specified in the candidate’s appointment and position description. A fixed-term faculty member must have received an MA or degree equivalent or a BFA with 3-5 years of professional experience to hold the rank of instructor fixed-term or a PhD or MFA to hold the rank of assistant professor fixed-term. 

It is recommended (but not required) that candidates for fixed-term faculty promotion consider attaining UNTF Designation B status before being considered for promotion, as this process will provide them with valuable experience in assembling a dossier and receiving feedback on that dossier.

The promotion criteria used by the College of Arts & Letters and its affiliated units may be in the areas of teaching, research/creative activity, and/or service/outreach corresponding to the relevant position workload percentages. The successful candidate for a fixed-term faculty promotion is expected to have demonstrated rank-appropriate excellence in intellectual leadership in the areas of their assignment.

In the absence of specifically adopted guidelines to the contrary, the promotion criteria used by the College of Arts & Letters are drawn from the University’s standards. 

A recommendation for promotion from instructor to senior instructor fixed-term must be based on at least six years of sustained, outstanding achievements in the areas of teaching, research/creative activity, administration, and/or service/outreach corresponding to the relevant position workload percentages and should provide a firm basis in actual performance for predicting long-term capacity for the achievement and maintenance of enduring high-quality professional achievement.

A recommendation for promotion from assistant professor to associate professor fixed-term must be based on at least six years of sustained, outstanding achievements in the areas of teaching, research/creative activity, administration, and/or service/outreach corresponding to the relevant position workload percentages and should provide a firm basis in actual performance for predicting long-term capacity for the achievement and maintenance of enduring high-quality professional achievement.

A recommendation for promotion from associate professor to professor fixed-term must be based on sustained, outstanding achievements in the areas of teaching, research/creative activity, administration, and/or service/outreach corresponding to the relevant position workload percentages. There must be a sufficiently long period in rank, typically the equivalent of six years, prior to the promotion, so as to provide a firm basis in actual performance to permit endorsement of the individual as an expert or artist of national stature and to predict continuous, long-term, high quality professional achievement.

The procedures that the College of Arts & Letters and its affiliated units will use for reviewing promotion are as follows. 

1. Each year, during the required annual performance review, unit administrators should discuss with eligible fixed-term faculty the criteria for promotion in rank, the faculty member’s progress toward promotion, and discuss whether they wish to seek promotion in the coming academic year. The administrator shall provide a written copy of this review to the faculty member. Each fixed-term faculty member eligible for promotion will be informed by the unit administrator in January of the previous year of the university promotion schedule. If the faculty member elects to seek promotion, the applicant will submit a dossier of all pertinent information related to their record and achievements that support reappointment by the end of the spring semester for review the following academic year. 
2. If the faculty member elects to seek promotion, the unit administrator must prepare a description of the candidate’s assignment including, for example, the percentage of the appointment devoted to research/creative activities, teaching, and/or service/outreach. This description will form part of the promotion review portfolio and will be distributed to all individuals of the unit’s review committee who evaluate the candidate’s materials.
3. At least one fixed-term faculty member should be included in the review of the candidate at the unit level. The College suggests that the fixed-term faculty member on the unit review committee hold the rank of associate or full professor rank if such an individual is available; if not, the College suggests, an academic specialist with continuing status from the unit or from another unit and selected in consultation with the unit administrator. If the candidate is being reviewed for full professor fixed-term, then the College suggests that the unit review committee include at least one Full professor fixed-term or senior academic specialist. If the candidate has a joint appointment or assignment, the members of the review committee should represent various units in which the candidate has an assignment.
4. A review committee chair shall be named from among the committee members by the unit chair/director. The unit chair/director is responsible for making sure that the committee members receive the candidate’s review dossier and for giving the committee its charge. The committee chair is responsible for scheduling any meetings subsequent to the charge meeting. In addition, the review committee chair drafts the committee recommendation letter to the unit chair/director. This is done in collaboration with the other committee members and all members sign the final draft. All review materials and committee discussions remain confidential during and after the review itself. 
5. If teaching is an activity in the candidate’s assignment, the College suggests that the unit assemble a Teaching Review Committee or create a subcommittee of the Promotion Review Committee. Members of this committee are responsible for observing two classes taught by the instructor in the given review period, meeting with the candidate to discuss the observations after they have occurred, and providing written feedback on the course observations to the Promotion Review Committee. If the candidate has been observed in the past year as part of an annual review process, this may count as one of the observations. If the candidate teaches online or hybrid courses, then at least one member of the committee should have advanced experience in teaching online or hybrid courses as well in order to help with the evaluation of these courses. If the candidate has a joint appointment or assignment, the members of the teaching review committee or subcommittee should represent various units in which courses are taught. 
6. In preparing materials for the review portfolio, the candidate is required to provide information or documents related to the activities that are part of their assignment, using the Form on Progress and Excellence (Recommendation for Reappointment, Promotion, and Tenure Form) as a guide. Please note that a dossier has a limited number of pages that can be forwarded to the Provost’s level. Any additional materials can be included in a clearly labeled appendix that will not be forwarded to the Provost’s Office. MSU guidelines specify that these materials must include: 
   1. Form on Progress and Excellence (Recommendation for Reappointment, Promotions, and Tenure Form) 
   2. A current curriculum vitae. 
   3. A self-evaluation of 3-5 pages about accomplishments during the reporting period, detailing the leadership activities undertaken in the areas where they have duties (teaching, research/creative activity, administration, and/or service/outreach). If, for instance, teaching is an assigned duty, this would include a reflective teaching statement, showing ongoing development of effective instructional practices with examples. 
   4. Evidence of excellence in performing assigned duties, for example, significance, impact, and innovation of instructional activities, research/creative activities, a representative sample of scholarly or creative work, professional development, service, outreach, curriculum development, program coordination, or administrative activities. This should be a representative sample of the candidate’s best work, and the candidate should reference these in their above narrative to provide context. 
   5. The candidate must provide the unit with a Teaching Portfolio that mustinclude the following items: 
      • Course syllabi and instructional materials for the period under review, such as heuristics, activities, multimedia learning materials, projects, assignments, etc., consistent with the unit’s pedagogical aims. 
      • Unit-approved Student Instructional Ratings Forms (or online equivalent) for all classes taught (every course, every section, every semester) in the past six years to the unit review committee for analysis. (The College advises that reviewers should not afford undue weight to these SIRS forms and similar student evaluations. They should not be used as the sole source of data, but rather as one indicator of many in the portfolio.) 
      • If applicable, evidence of undergraduate and/or graduate student mentoring, including service on exam and thesis/dissertation committees, advising, curriculum development, and professional development.
   6. External Letters for Review: The purpose of the external review is to be evaluative of the faculty member’s dossier for promotion to senior instructor, or associate to full professor fixed-term. External reviews are required to ensure that individuals recommended have an achievement and performance level that is comparable with high level performance in their functional area(s) and position.
      
      In all cases, four review letters must be included. For promotion from instructor to senior instructor, three letters must be external to the unit from the College or University following the established peer review process, and a fourth can be internal to the unit. For promotion to associate professor fixed-term, two letters must be external to the university following the established peer review process, a third can be external to the unit from the College or University and a fourth internal to the unit. For promotion to professor fixed-term, three letters must be external to the University following the established peer review process and the fourth must be external to the unit. Letters should follow the established peer review process and/or demonstrate recognition by peers and colleagues both within the University and/or regionally or (inter)nationally whenever possible.
      
      External letters of reviews should be from leading professionals/scholars in the relevant discipline external to the unit, college, or institution. As a general rule, an external reviewer should be a leader in their respective functional area(s). External referees must be professionally capable to evaluate the candidate’s dossier objectively and to comment on its significance. All of these individuals will be independent of the candidate (e.g. not be former graduate or postdoctoral advisors of the candidate) and have no personal interest in the outcome of the review. All letters must come from individuals who hold a rank above the candidate’s current rank or an experienced professional equivalent. Half of the external referee letters will be requested on a list developed by the candidate. The other half of the referee letters will be requested on a list developed by the unit administrator. Prior to the solicitation of letters from the referees who should not be contacted because of conflicts of interest that would preclude a fair and unbiased professional review of the dossier materials.
      
      The unit administrator does the initial outreach to the reviewers and should provide a description of the faculty member’s position/assignment that are being asked to evaluate (for example, the percentage of appointment devoted to the functional area(s) they are being asked to assess) for the referee to make an appropriate assessment of performance.
      
      The candidate is not informed of those individuals who provide letters of evaluation. (See also “Confidentiality of Letters of Reference for Reappointment, Promotions, and Tenure Recommendations” in the Faculty Handbook: https://hr.msu.edu/policies-procedures/faculty-academic-staff/faculty-handbook/confidentiality_ref-letters.html.)
   7. Some other guidelines for unit administrators to help with the variety of workload types: If research/creative activity is an assigned duty, at least one or more letters (depending on percentage of workload) external to MSU should be obtained evaluating said activity. In other cases, if the faculty member has worked with other partners external to the unit, whether in teaching, service, or outreach, a letter should come from one of those MSU or community or equivalent partners. A letter might also come from an officer or member of a scholarly pedagogical organization or artistic/professional institution where the faculty member has been especially active. If the faculty member is engaged in creative scholarly activity or outreach, at least two letters should come from full-time referees at institutions of higher education.
   8. Units should review the promotion materials focusing onlyon their assigned duty categories. If a unit does not have an existing review system, then the supervisor must consult with the Associate Dean for Academic Personnel and Administration. 
   9. The faculty member must have the opportunity to confer with the faculty review committee before a recommendation is made. 
   10. The review committee will submit in writing to the unit administrator recommendations for personnel action and reasons for its decision. Minority opinion, if any, will be noted, and a minority report may be included. All members of the unit promotion review committee will sign the recommendations. Unit administrators should notify candidates of the recommendation and that their dossier has been forwarded to the College.
   11. Promotion recommendations for fixed-term faculty must be sent to the College Dean by January 15 of a given year, submitting the Form on Progress and Excellence (Recommendation for Reappointment, Promotion, and Tenure Form) and supporting materials relevant for the assigned duties as described above. The unit supervisor must include copies of the written annual reviews of the candidate during the reporting period. This recommendation should provide an analysis of the candidate’s performance in their assigned duties, as well as the leadership activities in which they have been involved.
   12. The College Dean will consult with the College Review committee and make a final recommendation to the Office of the Provost, according to the timetable for the academic year in question. 

College Deadlines for Promotion 

• January the year prior to evaluation: Notification of eligibility. 
• May 15 the year prior to evaluation: Dossier due to Chair/Unit Admin to send for external review.
• October-December of evaluation year: Unit review committee charge (depending on due date of external letters). 
• January 15 of evaluation year: Unit review due to the College Dean. 
• March 15 of evaluation year: College-level committee review due to the Dean. 
• May 1 of evaluation year: Dossiers with Dean’s recommendation due to Academic Human Resources. 

 
Teaching Review Committee General Practices 

The Teaching Review Committee (or Subcommittee) should use the following general process in assessing the candidate’s teaching performance:

• Meet with the individual to discuss course syllabi, assignments, philosophy of teaching, and methodologies and strategies. Prior to this meeting, the individual will provide the Teaching Review Committee (or Subcommittee) with a teaching portfolio (as described in item 6e of this document). 
• Set two agreed-upon dates during one (preferably the fall) semester for classroom visitations when at least two of the three committee members can be present; the candidate can request additional visitations if they so desire. For evaluation of virtual or asynchronous courses, instructors should give evaluators access to the asynchronous course site in D2L. 
• Meet with the candidate after the classroom visitations or asynchronous module visits are completed for discussion, questions, clarifications, and feedback. 
• Write a committee report focusing on: 
  • organization and presentation of concepts, skills, and reading and discussion materials; 
  • interaction with students; and 
  • effective and productive use of class period in relation to instructional objectives. 
• Submit a draft of the report to the candidate, who shall have the opportunity to respond to it in person or in writing, in order to make relevant comments regarding points of substance, emphasis, or neglect. 
• Submit a revised and final report to the unit promotion review committee. 

Teaching review committees (or subcommittees) should restrict their reports to the substance of the teaching and instruction according to the areas identified above and to the course and instructional materials made available to them. Committee members should also recognize a diversity of instructional methodologies and strategies that can be used to reach common curricular goals. The Teaching Review Committee’s deliberations are to remain confidential within the Teaching Review Committee and the chair may consult the unit head as needed.

Teaching Portfolio Materials 

The Teaching Portfolio may also include select examples of the following that are representative of the candidate’s best work: 

• Examples of student papers and projects. 
• Evidence of effective formative and summative commentary on student papers and projects. 
• Letters of commendation written by colleagues or peers. 
• Reflective statements or learning narratives written by students. 
• Honors or awards. 
• Evidence of course and curriculum development. 
• Evidence of participation in professional development workshops, seminars, and/or activities. 
• Evidence of teacher-research. 
• Evidence of work in the instruction and mentoring of other teachers as well as program and TA coordination. 
• Evidence of outreach, including outreach instruction, which might include credit-bearing courses offered off-campus; noncredit-bearing seminars, workshops, conferences, exhibits, and performances related to teaching. 
• Evidence of instructional materials and activities particular to online or distance education; such materials should be reviewed in the media for which they were intended. 

 

Research/Creative Activity (https://hr.msu.edu/_resources/pdf/academic-specialist-handbook/acad_spec_man.pdf)

The fixed-term faculty member appointed in this functional area facilitates scholarly research and creative activity of a national and international stature appropriate for a premier land-grant, AAU university. These individuals must perform a lead role on research and creative projects, including developing grant proposals and/or directing the research/creative project with the designation as (co-)principal investigator or investigator, and/or in performing position responsibilities. Individuals in this category typically: 

• promote an appropriate climate for creativity/diversity in the research or creative activity setting; 
• promote and adhere to intellectual and scholarly honesty; 
• conduct independent research or creativity activity as a (co-)principal investigator or is involved in joint research/creative projects on a (co-principal) investigator basis; 
• may participate in, manage, operate, and/or maintain instrumental facilities, laboratories, computer systems or bureaus conducting research and/or providing service to a wider audience of researchers or artists within the unit, the University, external agencies, or the general research community; 
• contribute significantly to the design and execution of experiments and research/creative projects; 
• analyze and interpret data; 
• contribute directly and indirectly to the research and creative activity goals and efforts of the unit and/or other University units, external agencies or other external clients; 
• may consult with, collaborate with, supervise, train and otherwise support faculty, students, and other clients in the pursuit of research and creative endeavors; 
• attract and manage, both individually or in concert with others, resources, i.e., people, funding, materials, etc., necessary to the operation of the individual research or creative project or the research/creative support facility; 
• author (or co-author) books, manuscripts, reports and other scholarly instruments reflecting the output of individual research/creative projects and/or research/creative service facilities; 
• may serve on graduate student guidance committees; 
• present seminars, lectures, papers, posters, etc.; 
• present performances, productions, exhibits, events, and/or showings 
• may serve as reviewer, editor for journals or other publications; 
• may serve as a consultant in the professional field; 
• play a key role in securing funding for research/creative activities and equipment; 
• is well known and respected outside of Michigan State University and has established a sustained record of important contributions to research proposals, reports, papers, monographs, books or other publications, performances, productions, exhibits, events, and/or showings. 

Service/Outreach 

The fixed-term faculty member appointed in this functional area facilitates service/outreach activities of state, regional, and national stature appropriate for a premier land-grant university. While the service/outreach mission of this University originated in the area of agriculture and the mechanic arts, this emphasis now has broadened to encompass fields such as health, human relations, business, communications, education and government, and extends to urban and international settings. The individual appointed in this category typically: 

• effects and promotes the transfer of information, knowledge and expertise from the University to the general public; 
• is committed to leadership and excellence in the delivery of technical and educational information and knowledge to off-campus clienteles; 
• promotes an appropriate climate for diversity in the service/outreach settings; 
• develops independent projects/programs or is involved in projects directed by others; 
• consults with, collaborates with, supervises, trains and otherwise supports faculty, students and other clientele in the development of service/outreach programs; 
• may manage, consult, direct, operate or maintain diagnostic facilities, laboratories, computer systems or bureaus conducting research, and/or providing services to external agencies and the general public; 
• authors resource materials, technical fact sheets, reports, manuals, computer programs, manuscripts, books and other educational publications on technology and/or applied research for distribution to the public; 
• presents non-credit seminars, lectures, workshops, training, etc. for off-campus client groups; 
• writes grants, individually and cooperatively, and manages resources, i.e., people, funding, materials, etc. necessary to carry out service/outreach programs and projects; 
• may serve as reviewer for grants and publications and/or editor for newsletters and other publications; 
• disseminates to students/professionals/clientele groups relevant research findings and technical information for practical application; 
• conduct needs assessment studies and applied research with the ability to work out appropriate solutions for the people and groups involved; 
• may be a liaison with, respond to requests from, and/or develop cooperative programs with other universities, agencies and organizations as well as the general public; 
• provides program leadership and coordination in the development, execution, monitoring, evaluation and reporting of service/outreach programs; 
• assumes significant roles in peer group organizations and professional societies; 
• obtains recognition within the University, college, professional groups. 

Administration 

An individual appointed in the fixed-term system may also serve in administrative roles. This may involve significant responsibilities in promoting and contributing to the efficient and effective management of the applicable unit or program with the related responsibility of attracting and managing resources, funding, material and/or people to achieve unit/program goals and to maintain administrative accountability. The individual with an appropriate assignment as an academic specialist in one or more of the three previously designated functional areas may be assigned such administrative duties with a relevant title in addition to designation as an academic specialist or senior academic specialist. Examples of such titles could be Assistant to the Dean/Chairperson/Director, Coordinator, plus other relevant academic administrative titles. As is the case for other academic unit administrators, as relevant, such administrative assignments may involve an annual appointment basis and the assignment of an administrative salary increment. 

APPENDIX 4

College of Arts & Letters Criteria and Procedures for Reappointment, Awarding of Continuing Appointment Status, and Promotion Review of Academic Specialists in the Continuing System

This document specifies the criteria and procedures used by the College of Arts & Letters (CAL) and its affiliated units in reviewing applications for Academic Specialist Reappointment and Promotion. It follows the university policy on the Reappointment and Promotion of Academic Specialists, which can be found here: https://hr.msu.edu/_resources/pdf/academic-specialist-handbook/acad_spec_man.pdf. It also follows the College bylaws, which can be found here: https://cal.msu.edu/faculty/college-bylaws/.

According to the Academic Specialist Handbook, each unit must establish appropriate procedures whereby academic specialists in the continuing system are approved for Reappointment, including the awarding of Continuing Appointment Status in the Academic Specialist Continuing System and/or promotion to Senior Academic Specialist. The candidate must have been approved for appointment in the Academic Specialist Continuing System. This document specifies the criteria and procedures used by the College of Arts & Letters and its affiliated units in reviewing applications for reappointment and/or promotion. Details on the University minimum requirements for this procedure are outlined here and in Appendix A of the Academic Specialist Handbook: https://www.hr.msu.edu/policies-procedures/faculty-academic-staff/academic-specialist-handbook/reapp_cont-app_promotion.html 

1. College criteria:

In the absence of specifically adopted guidelines to the contrary, the College criteria for academic specialist continuing system personnel actions are drawn from the University’s standards. 

Advancement is based on an individual’s responsibilities in a functional area(s) based on assigned duties and depends on an appropriately weighted assessment of that individual in each area of responsibility. No one individual is required to perform or excel in all areas. The initial or subsequent appointment description (the academic specialist position description form) defines the basic area(s) in which the individual should devote energy and attention in career progression.

Detailed descriptions of these areas are provided in the Academic Specialist Handbook – Appendix A and below. The unit administrator should consult with the candidate at the start of the appointment, in subsequent annual review meetings, and when the candidate is up for a major review to review the candidate’s specific job description.

Reappointment in Continuing System: A recommendation for reappointment in the continuing system is based on a review in the second year of the initial probation period that demonstrates achievements in the appointment area(s). The initial appointment is for a probationary period of three years and the candidate may be reappointed for an additional probationary period of three years. For reappointment, the candidate must provide satisfactory performance and consistent professional improvement and effectiveness at Michigan State University and in the College of Arts & Letters sufficient to demonstrate the promise of continued professional achievement and growth for the remainder of the individual’s career as an academic specialist.

Reappointment with Continuing Status: A recommendation for awarding continuing appointment status must be based on five years of sustained, outstanding achievements in the appointment areas. For reappointment, the candidate must provide solid evidence of consistent and persistent professional improvement and effectiveness at Michigan State University and in the College of Arts & Letters sufficient to demonstrate the promise of continued professional achievement and growth for the remainder of the individual’s career as an academic specialist.

Promotion to Senior Specialist: A recommendation for promotion to Senior Specialist must be based on several years of sustained, outstanding achievements beyond the awarding of continuing system status in the assigned functional duties. There must be a sufficiently long period in rank, typically the equivalent of five years prior to the promotion, for a review in the sixth year, so as to provide a firm basis in actual performance to permit endorsement of the individual through demonstration of intellectual leadership with major contributions made to unit and field within the University and/or as an expert or artist of national stature and to predict continuous, long-term, high quality professional achievement.

1. Procedures for review:

The procedures that the College of Arts & Letters (CAL) and its affiliated units will use for reviewing the reappointment of academic specialists, the awarding of continuing appointment status and promotion to senior academic specialist are as follows: 

1. Each year, during the required annual performance review, unit administrators should discuss with eligible academic specialists the criteria for review and the academic specialist’s progress in the context of the review timeline. The administrator shall provide a written copy of the annual review to the academic specialist. The administrator should also involve the individual in the drafting of any relevant memoranda of understanding (MoU) between units in the case of a joint appointment or joint assignment and provide a copy with the signature of all parties to the resulting MoU to the College and the individual, so that it may be included in their review materials. The reappointment review takes place in the second year of appointment in the continuing system and the review for continuing status takes place in the fifth year.
2. For each review, the unit administrator will prepare a description of the candidate’s assignment including the percentage of duties in assigned functional areas (i.e. any Academic Specialist Position forms associated with this position for the review period). This description will form part of the review portfolio and will be distributed to all individuals who evaluate the portfolio.
3. Candidates should assemble a dossier of scholarly achievements in all of their assigned function areas. Candidates submit their documentation to support consideration for reappointment, the awarding of continuing status, or promotion to their unit administrator. Candidates with joint appointments or assignments compile and submit only one dossier to the primary unit administrator.
   1. The dossier must include Academic Specialist Recommendation Form (Form on Progress and Excellence), a CV, and a self-evaluation of 3-5 pages addressing accomplishments during the reporting period , detailing leadership activities as reflected in their duty areas (Teaching, Research/Creative Activity, Advising, Curriculum Development, Service/Outreach and Administration). If, for instance, teaching is an assigned duty, this would include a reflective teaching statement, showing ongoing development of effective instructional practices with examples.
   2. Individuals may submit evidence to substantiate excellence in their relevant activities; for example significance, impact, and innovation of instructional activities, research/creative activities, a representative sample of scholarly or creative work, professional development, service, outreach, curriculum development, program coordination, or administrative activities. This should be a representative sample of the candidate’s best work, and the candidate should reference these in the above narrative to provide context.Please note that a dossier has a limited number of pages that can be forwarded to the Provost’s level. Any additional materials can be included in a clearly labeled appendix that will not be forwarded to the Provost’s Office.
   3. If the candidate has a percentage of duties assigned to teaching, the candidate must include a Teaching Portfolio in the dossier, which must include the following items:
      1. Syllabi and instructional materials for the period under review, such as heuristics, activities, multimedia learning materials, projects, assignments, etc., consistent with the unit’s pedagogical aims.
      2. Unit-approved Student Instructional Ratings Forms (or online equivalent) for all classes taught (every course, every section, every semester) to the unit review committee for analysis. (The College advises that reviewers should not afford undue weight to these SIRS forms and similar student evaluations. They should not be used as the sole source of data, but rather as one indicator of many in the portfolio.)

• If applicable, evidence of undergraduate and/or graduate student mentoring, including service on exam and thesis/dissertation committees, advising, curriculum development, and professional development.

4. Only in the case of a review to award continuing appointment status and/or promotion, does the unit need to seek four review letters. The candidate may suggest no more than half of the potential referee names to the unit administrator. The unit administrator should consult with any additional related unit administrator should the academic specialist hold a joint appointment or assignment. Three letters must be external to the unit or university. The letters should represent the relevant functional area(s) as outlined on the candidate’s academic specialist position description form. If the position is a joint appointment, the letters should be representative of the work done in both units.

In the case of promotion review to senior academic specialist, the recognition is based on external peer review.

In the case of review for awarding continuing appointment status and senior status, letters should follow the established peer review process and/or demonstrate recognition by peers and colleagues both within the University and regionally, nationally and internationally, whenever possible. External referees must be professionally capable to evaluate the candidate’s dossier objectively and to comment on its significance. All of these individuals will be independent of the candidate (e.g., not be former graduate or postdoctoral advisors or students of the candidate, not have co-published) and have no personal interest in the outcome of the review.

Whenever possible, letters should come from individuals who hold a rank above the candidate’s current rank or the professional equivalent. Two names may be suggested by the candidate and the candidate may request that 1-2 individuals not be asked. The candidate is not informed of those individuals who provide letters of evaluation. (See also “Confidentiality of Letters of Reference for Reappointment, Promotion, and Tenure Recommendations” in the Faculty Handbook: https://hr.msu.edu/policies-procedures/faculty-academic-staff/faculty-handbook/confidentiality_ref-letters.html). The unit administrator does the initial outreach to the reviewers and should provide a description of the faculty member’s position/assignment that are being asked to evaluate (for example, the percentage of appointment devoted to the functional area(s) they are being asked to assess) for the referee to make an appropriate assessment of performance.

5. Review Committee: A review committee shall be established to advise the primary unit administrator about the reappointment, awarding of continuing appointment status, or promotion to senior academic specialist.
   1. The review committee shall be composed of a minimum of three individuals knowledgeable about the position under review and the Academic Specialist Appointment System, and may include academic specialists or faculty members of other academic personnel systems (ie: tenure system or professors of practice above the equivalent rank). If the academic specialist is jointly appointed or assigned, the review committee should include at least one member from each additional unit. At least one academic specialist above the review rank must be on the committee.
   2. A review committee chair shall be named from among the committee members by the unit chair/director. The unit chair/director is responsible for making sure that the committee members receive the candidate’s review dossier and for giving the committee its charge. The committee chair is responsible for scheduling any meetings subsequent to the charge meeting. In addition, the review committee chair drafts the committee recommendation letter to the unit chair/director. This is done in collaboration with the other committee members and all members sign the final draft. All review materials and committee discussions remain confidential during and after the review itself.
   3. The committee will review the promotion materials focusing onlyon assigned duty categories (appropriately weighted). 
   4. The unit administrator shall provide the review committee with unit guidelines consistent with the Academic Specialist Handbook criteria and procedures; and direct the review committee to determine objectively the level of accomplishment and excellence in the relevant academic specialist function area(s) and duty assignments specified in the Specialist Position Description form.
   5. A current teaching observation is required for any candidate with teaching as a designated functional area. If the candidate teaches online or hybrid courses, then at least one member of the committee should have more extensive experience in teaching online or hybrid courses as well in order to help with the evaluation of these courses. (see below for teaching observation details)
   6. The individual under review must be provided an opportunity to confer with the review committee before it provides advice to the primary unit administrator.
6. The review committee will submit in writing to the unit administrator recommendations for personnel action and reasons for its decision. Minority opinion, if any, will be noted, and a minority report may be included. All members of the unit reappointment and promotion committee will sign the recommendations. Unit administrators should notify candidates of the recommendation and that their dossier has been forwarded to the College.
7. All recommendations must be sent to the College Dean by the announced deadline of a given year, submitting Academic Specialist Recommendation Form (Form on Progress and Excellence) and supporting materials relevant for the assigned duties as described above, and must include copies of the written annual reviews of the candidate during the reporting period. This recommendation should provide an analysis of the candidate’s performance in their assigned duties, as well as the leadership activities in which they have been involved. 
8. The College Dean will consult with the College Review committee and make a final recommendation to the Office of the Provost, according to the timetable for the academic year in question.
   
   

Suggested Timeline: Some units may choose to align the academic specialist review process with their other review promotion review processes, which would entail a materials submission deadline the previous spring. If the unit does not do this, then please follow the timeline below. All units must clearly communicate a materials submission deadline in advance, so as to allow the candidate enough time to gather materials and put the dossier together. 

• January the year prior to evaluation: Notification of eligibility.
• May 15 the year prior to evaluation: Dossier due to Chair/Unit Admin to send for external review.
• September 1 of evaluation year: Dossier due to Chair/Unit Admin if the review is for reappointment only (first probationary review).
• October-December of evaluation year: Unit review committee charge (depending on due date of external letters).
• February 1 of evaluation year: Unit review due to College Dean.
• March 15 of evaluation year: College-level committee review due to the Dean.
• May 1 of evaluation year: Dossiers with Dean’s recommendation due to Academic Human Resources.

Teaching Observation: if the candidate has a percentage of duties assigned to teaching, the College suggests conducting teaching observations. If regular teaching observations are well-documented and completed annually, the committee can review these in lieu of a separate observation.

1. The review committee will meet with the specialist in the fall to discuss course syllabi, assignments, philosophy of teaching, and methodologies and strategies. Prior to this meeting, the individual will provide the review committee with a teaching portfolio (as described in item Part II, 3:c of this document). The committee and the candidate will:
   1. Set two agreed-upon dates during one (preferably the fall) semester for classroom visitations when at least two of the three committee members can be present; the candidate can request additional visitations if they so desire.For evaluation of virtual or asynchronous courses, instructors should give evaluators access to the asynchronous course site in D2L.
   2. Meet with the candidate after the teaching observations or asynchronous module visits are completed for discussion, questions, clarifications, and feedback.
   3. Write a report focusing on:
      1. organization and presentation of concepts, skills, and reading and discussion materials;
      2. interaction with students; and

• effective and productive use of class period in relation to instructional objectives.

1. Submit a draft of the report to the candidate, who shall have the opportunity to respond to it in person or in writing, in order to make relevant comments regarding points of substance, emphasis, or neglect.
2. Submit a revised and final report to the primary unit administrator and the chair of the reappointment, continuing status, and promotion review committee. If there is a revision to the letter, the candidate shall be provided with a final copy of the report and shall sign and date a copy to be returned to the Department Chair. The candidate may request a conference with the Chair to discuss the report and may file a response to the report that will become part of the permanent record.

Characteristics and Responsibilities of the Academic Specialist (taken from Academic Specialist Handbook Appendix A) 

ADVISING  

The academic advising category includes individuals who provide advisement on course options and other academically related matters. These academic specialists have responsibilities in an academic department, school or college or in a unit that serves University-wide populations (e.g., Supportive Services, Undergraduate University Division, Honors College). These persons typically:

• provide advice on course and curriculum selection;
• monitor students’ programs;
• recommend certification for graduation;
• maintain contact with advisors in other units;
• provide incidental information on the relationship between course selection and career options;
• refer students, when necessary, to other units in the University for assistance with educational, career and personal concerns;
• participate in activities devoted to the retention of students within University programs;
• provide assistance and guidance to students reentering programs;
• may be involved in instructional activities associated with classes, labs and seminars;
• participate, as required by the unit, in professional development activities, both on and off campus, including conferences, workshops and seminars to enhance the ability and knowledge to perform as an advisor;
• participate in department/school, college and University level committees;
• make a significant professional contribution by making scholarly presentations: present papers, lectures or workshops on campus or beyond related to academic advising or training;
• assume leadership roles involving the coordination, supervision and training of new academic advisors.

Examples of materials that might be submitted as part of a dossier in support of the advising portion of a dossier include: workshop, conference, or any other presentation materials or publications (of all kinds related to advising), awards, materials developed in support of advising activities, materials developed in connection with any committee work, evidence of leadership in area, any other materials that are related to advising that would help the committee to understand the quality, scope, and breadth and depth of contributions in this area, evidence of collaborative work with other areas of the College or campus, evidence of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)-related work in this area, evidence of other leadership activities in this area. 

TEACHING

The academic specialist in this category is involved significantly in providing instruction for credit in classes, labs, seminars, practica and clinical settings. In general, the goals of any teacher should include the following: 

• to promote the intellectual maturation and honesty of the student;
• to promote the mastery of the material by the student;
• to provide appropriate testing and evaluation to allow the student to measure his or her mastery of the material;
• to promote the understanding by the student of how the material relates to the discipline, the profession, society, the world and the universe;
• to promote an appropriate climate for diversity in the classroom and other instructional settings;
• to increase the teacher’s mastery of the subject material and the level, breadth and depth of topics taught.

Specifically, the academic specialist or teacher may perform one or more of the following duties: 

• teach/assist in teaching credit courses involving classes, labs, seminars, lectures, demonstrations, etc.;
• supervise/train/evaluate students in a practicum or clinical setting;
  • supervise/train/evaluate teaching assistants and other instructional staff;
• provide continuity over time and assist in the resolution of inquiries and problems, especially in courses involving a large number of faculty and staff;
• participate actively and effectively in the development of curriculum and course content;
• consult with others within the University on matters such as advising and curricular development;
• provide cognitive area outreach to K-12 educational system;
• demonstrate leadership abilities, i.e.,
  • has influence on teaching programs and curriculum of the department, school or college;
  • may be the lead teacher in team teaching;
  • may supervise, train and evaluate other teachers.
• represent the academic unit in curriculum, instructional or governance issues;
• make scholarly contributions in relevant cognitive areas and/or in pedagogy;
• make significant contribution to the advancement of the profession and is so recognized by professional peers.

Examples of materials that might be submitted as part of a dossier in addition to the above specified portions of a Teaching Portfolio include: evidence of participation in high-impact, co-curricular activities, materials in support of Honors Options and other similar additional teaching responsibilities, teaching awards, materials in support of teaching related research or creative scholarship, workshop, or conference presentations whether on-campus or for professional organizations, materials related to committee service, materials developed in support of teaching or assessment, other similar teaching-related activities, evidence of collaborative work with other areas of the College or campus, evidence of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)-related work in this area, evidence of student mentoring whether online or in person, evidence of other leadership in area. 

CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT 

The curriculum development category includes individuals who plan courses or curricula. Usually such responsibilities are undertaken by individuals appointed in colleges, departments, and schools. These persons typically:

• participate and, as relevant, provide leadership in the planning and development of curricula, academic programs, and individual courses;
• participate in the development of instructional materials;
• evaluate research relating to impact of various curricula and instructional techniques on student learning;
• undertake literature reviews, compilation of bibliographies, and assist in gathering up-to-date information and analysis for inclusion in courses and academic programs;
• gather and evaluate curricula and course materials from other institutions to assist in curricula planning and development efforts;
• participate in the development and evaluation of student testing and the evaluation techniques and procedures;
• participate, as required by the unit, in professional development activities, both on and off campus, including conferences, workshops, and seminars to enhance abilities and knowledge in the area of curriculum development;
• make a professional contribution by making scholarly presentations: present papers, lectures, or workshops on campus or beyond related to curriculum development and planning;
• assume, as relevant, leadership roles involving the coordination, supervision, and training of curriculum development specialists;
• represent the unit and college in curriculum planning/development deliberation;
• participate in departmental/school, college and university-level committees.

Examples of materials that may be submitted as part of a dossier in the area of curriculum development may include: instructional or assessment materials that have been developed, evidence of participation in high-impact, co-curricular activities, awards, materials in support of teaching and learning related research or creative scholarship, workshop, or conference presentations whether on-campus or for professional organizations, materials related to committee service, other similar curriculum-related activities, evidence of collaborative work with other areas of the College or campus, evidence of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)-related work in this area, other evidence of leadership in area. 

RESEARCH 

The academic specialist appointed in this functional area facilitates scholarly research activity of a national and international stature appropriate for a premier land-grant, AAU university. These individuals perform as an independent investigator or in a lead role on research projects, including developing grant proposals and directing the research project with the designation as principal investigator, co-principal investigator or investigator, and/or in performing position responsibilities which require a terminal degree. Individuals in this category typically: 

• promote an appropriate climate for creativity/diversity in the research or creative activity setting; 
• promote and adhere to intellectual and scholarly honesty; 
• conduct independent research or creativity activity as a (co-)principal investigator or is involved in joint research/creative projects on a (co-principal) investigator basis; 
• may participate in, manage, operate, and/or maintain instrumental facilities, laboratories, computer systems or bureaus conducting research and/or providing service to a wider audience of researchers or artists within the unit, the University, external agencies, or the general research community; 
• contribute significantly to the design and execution of experiments and research/creative projects; 
• analyze and interpret data; 
• contribute directly and indirectly to the research and creative activity goals and efforts of the unit and/or other University units, external agencies or other external clients; 
• may consult with, collaborate with, supervise, train and otherwise support faculty, students, and other clients in the pursuit of research and creative endeavors; 
• attract and manage, both individually or in concert with others, resources, i.e., people, funding, materials, etc., necessary to the operation of the individual research or creative project or the research/creative support facility; 
• author (or co-author) books, manuscripts, reports and other scholarly instruments reflecting the output of individual research/creative projects and/or research/creative service facilities; 
• may serve on graduate student guidance committees; 
• present seminars, lectures, papers, posters,etc.; 
• present performances, productions, exhibits, events, and/or showings
• may serve as reviewer, editor for journals or other publications; 
• may serve as a consultant in the professional field; 
• play a key role in securing funding for research/creative activities and equipment; 
• is well known and respected outside of Michigan State University and has established a sustained record of important contributions to research proposals, reports, papers, monographs, books or other publications, performances, productions, exhibits, events, and/or showings. 

Examples of materials that may be submitted as part of a dossier in the area of curriculum development include: evidence of conducting and overseeing research /creative projects, of applying for internal or external funding/grant proposals, of publications, performances, productions, exhibits, events, and/or showings, and other related scholarly/creative activities from the evaluation period; evidence of participation in, organization of, or leading of research/creative activities (e.g., conferences, performances, exhibits) on or off campus, or in professional organizations and the general research community, evidence of student or faculty/academic staff support or mentoring, of laboratory supervision, of undergraduate or graduate committee service, of honors or awards. Additional materials that might be included are: evidence of outreach, including dissemination of research findings such as conference presentations, guest lectures, workshops, other, and pertinent creative or research-related outreach, evidence of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)-related work in this area, evidence of collaborative scholarly work with other areas of the College or campus, or other leadership in this area.

SERVICE/OUTREACH 

The academic specialist appointed in this functional area facilitates service/outreach activities of state, regional, and national stature appropriate for a premier land-grant university. While the service/outreach mission of this University originated in the area of agriculture and the mechanic arts, this emphasis now has broadened to encompass fields such as health, human relations, business, communications, education and government, and extends to urban and international settings. The individual appointed in this category typically: 

• effects and promotes the transfer of information, knowledge and expertise from the University to the general public; 
• is committed to leadership and excellence in the delivery of technical and educational information and knowledge to off-campus clienteles; 
• promotes an appropriate climate for diversity in the service/outreach settings; 
• develops independent projects/programs or is involved in projects directed by others; 
• consults with, collaborates with, supervises, trains and otherwise supports faculty, students and other clientele in the development of service/outreach programs; 
• may manage, consult, direct, operate or maintain diagnostic facilities, laboratories, computer systems or bureaus conducting research, and/or providing services to external agencies and the general public; 
• authors resource materials, technical fact sheets, reports, manuals, computer programs, manuscripts, books and other educational publications on technology and/or applied research for distribution to the public; 
• presents non-credit seminars, lectures, workshops, training, etc. for off-campus client groups; 
• writes grants, individually and cooperatively, and manages resources, i.e., people, funding, materials, etc. necessary to carry out service/outreach programs and projects; 
• may serve as reviewer for grants and publications and/or editor for newsletters and other publications; 
• disseminates to students/professionals/clientele groups relevant research findings and technical information for practical application; 
• conduct needs assessment studies and applied research with the ability to work out appropriate solutions for the people and groups involved; 
• may be a liaison with, respond to requests from, and/or develop cooperative programs with other universities, agencies and organizations as well as the general public; 
• provides program leadership and coordination in the development, execution, monitoring, evaluation and reporting of service/outreach programs; 
• assumes significant roles in peer group organizations and professional societies; 
• obtains recognition within the University, college, professional groups. 

Examples of materials that may be submitted as part of a dossier in the area of service/outreach may include: materials in support of service/outreach activities on-campus, in the local or regional areas or beyond, evidence of collaborative work with other areas of the College or campus that work in service/outreach, materials in support of service/outreach related research or creative scholarship, workshop, or conference presentations whether on-campus, in the community, or for professional organizations, materials related to committee service, evidence of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)-related work in this area, evidence of collaborative scholarly work with other areas of the College or campus, or other leadership in this area.

ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSIBILITY 

An individual appointed in the Academic Specialist Appointment System, in accordance with the Guidelines for Specialist Placements, may also serve in administrative roles related to their functional assignments as an academic specialist. This may involve significant responsibilities in promoting and contributing to the efficient and effective management of the applicable unit or program with the related responsibility of attracting and managing resources, funding, material and/or people to achieve unit/program goals and to maintain administrative accountability. The individual with an appropriate assignment as an academic specialist in one or more of the three previously designated functional areas may be assigned such administrative duties with a relevant title in addition to designation as an academic specialist or senior academic specialist. Examples of such titles could be Assistant to the Dean/Chairperson/Director, Coordinator, plus other relevant academic administrative titles. As is the case for other academic unit administrators, as relevant, such administrative assignments may involve an annual appointment basis and the assignment of an administrative salary increment. 

Examples of materials that may be submitted as part of a dossier in the area of administrative responsibility may include: evidence of supportive work on or leadership of new administrative initiatives, materials in support of related scholarship, workshop, or conference presentations whether on-campus, in the community, or for professional organizations, materials related to committee service, evidence of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)-related work in this area, evidence of collaborative administrative work with other areas of the College or campus, or other leadership in this area.