Promotion Criteria for Lecturer Ranks
Promotion Criteria for the Lecturer Ranks (PDF Version for download)
This document outlines the IU School of Liberal Arts’ criteria for promotion within the lecturer ranks. A candidate for promotion either from Lecturer to Senior Lecturer or from Senior Lecturer to Teaching Professor will be evaluated by the school criteria set forth below, as well as the more general criteria provided in the IUPUI Guidelines for Preparing and Reviewing Promotion and Tenure Dossiers and the more specific criteria approved by the candidate’s department.
Promotion is a recognition of past achievement and a sign of confidence that the individual is capable of greater responsibilities and accomplishments. The candidate seeking promotion in the lecturer ranks is required to show a record that is excellent in teaching and satisfactory in service. In accordance with university and campus policy, evaluation of a candidate’s record will take into account the mission of the candidate’s unit and the particular contributions to that mission that are expected of the candidate.
Promotion to Senior Lecturer is normally considered during the sixth year in rank as Lecturer, but promotion may be sought sooner or later than this time frame. Promotion to Teaching Professor may be sought at any time by a Senior Lecturer; as promotion is based on work done in rank, five years is the common (but not required) minimum length of time before advancement(1). One or more teaching related activities or achievements, properly documented(2), are expected when making the case for excellence in teaching, in conjunction with the specific criteria outlined below for each promotion rank.
For promotion to both Senior Lecturer and Teaching Professor these activities/achievements may include, but are not limited to: important contributions to the curriculum of the department, school, or campus; notable contributions in advising and mentoring; effective pedagogical innovations, including the effective use of technology; leadership in teaching; demonstrated impact on former students; significant participation in teaching workshops, panels, and conferences; the securing of, or participation in, grants for teaching-related projects; contribution to the success and retention of first-year students; outreach and impact on K-12 education; outreach to adult learners; contributions to the documentation and assessment of student learning; and/or pedagogical or disciplinary research or creative activity and its publication, presentation, or application in support of teaching.
Criteria for Promotion to Senior Lecturer
Excellent Performance in Teaching. In demonstrating teaching excellence, candidates must show convincing evidence that their performance in the classroom has been of high quality, as judged by departmental standards and evaluated in peer reviews, and that they have made important and documented contributions to student learning at the school and/or campus levels. Candidates must also show evidence of having shared teaching related ideas and/or activities locally or internally through administration, mentoring, publication, presentation or other means. Candidates are also required to provide: a teaching philosophy that is informed by best practices
and is reflective in nature, clearly showing continuous efforts to grow and improve professionally as a teacher; documentation of one or more influential and effective teaching-related activities/achievements (see above).
Satisfactory Performance in Service: In demonstrating satisfactory service, the candidate must show convincing evidence that the candidate’s service to the program, department, and/or school has been satisfactory in quality as well as in quantity. Service may include, but is not limited to, professional and university service, committee membership, and community work directly related to the candidate’s disciplinary expertise.
Criteria for Promotion to Teaching Professor
Excellent Performance in Teaching. Including the criteria outlined for promotion to Senior Lecturer, those seeking promotion to the rank of Teaching Professor also must successfully document:
• an ongoing commitment to highly effective, high-impact teaching practices and important contributions to student learning, whether in the classroom, online, or other instructional contexts.
• a record of positive contributions over several years to the teaching mission of the unit, campus, or university that is broad in scope, such as the advising and/or mentoring of students.
• a sustained commitment to professional development and pedagogical excellence, which is often documented by teaching or other appropriate awards, memberships in teaching colloquia, and/or fellowships (e.g., FACET or Mosaic).
• a record of disseminated scholarly work through administration, mentoring, publication, presentation or other means not only at the school and/or campus level but typically (although not necessarily) also beyond the campus – in local/regional/national professional organizations, the community and/or
Indiana University. Some form of peer review needs to be part of the documentation of scholarly work in teaching for promotion to Teaching Professor.
Satisfactory Performance in Service. The candidate must document a record of departmental, school, and/or campus committee involvement; some participation in professional organizations and/or service to outside groups is also expected.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
NOTES: (1) For a transition period through 2023-2024, each promotion case will be examined for a sustained record of excellence, regardless of the exact rank held at the time. (2) Proper documentation of effective teaching practices and contributions to student learning is required in order to show excellence in teaching.See Appendix for recommendations on the types of evidence that are most informative.
Appendix
Direct evidence of effective teaching practice is generally preferred, but indirect evidence is also informative and appropriate.
While not exhaustive, examples of evidence might include one or more of the following:
Direct Evidence
• Student ratings and comments
• Sample documents related to course preparation and planning of individual classes within a full course, for example:
(a) a comprehensive and relevant review of the literature related to the subject-matter (annotated bibliography); (b) outlines of the course contents; (c) annotated syllabi; (d) description of and rationale for print or electronic textbooks and other resources; (e) annotated copies of handouts and slides; (f) annotated sample class prep notes;
(g) evidence of effective instructional technology use; (h) design of specific learning strategies and activities, innovative techniques; (i) copies of test questionnaires, sample copies of students exams, essays, field work reports, creative works; (j) rationales for grade evaluation measures and tabulation of grades throughout a course
• Documentation of guest presentations and of one-on-one teaching (independent studies)
• Peer reviews of those documents alongside a report about direct classroom observations
• Reflective self-evaluations, correlated to student ratings and peer reviews
• Solicited reports by students and colleagues about the quality of the candidate’s mentorship
Indirect Evidence
• Teaching and other appropriate awards recognizing effectiveness
• Retrospective evaluations from former students
• Messages or letters received from students (solicited or unsolicited).
• Students’ success on the job market, on getting accepted in a graduate program, and suchlike
• Ratings in respect to teaching in annual reviews
• Learning outcome measures, inferred from student performance and “productivity,” and aggregated
• Evidence of participation in CTL and/or CSL workshops, seminars, professional meetings to improve teaching
• Evidence of participation in curriculum or course development, and of supervision of honors, master’s or PhD thesis.
Approved by Faculty Assembly March 6th, 2020.