Texas Tech University is in partial compliance with Comprehensive Standard 3.7.1.

Texas Tech University has documented the qualifications of its faculty in the rosters that accompany this certification of compliance. The rosters include all faculty who taught courses for credit in fall semester 2003, spring semester 2004, and both summer sessions of 2004. These rosters are available as a pdf file at http://www.irim.ttu.edu/SACSFocusReport/Faculty/FacultyReportsList.htm.

Department of Chemistry has employed several chemistry lab teaching assistants who do not meet SACS minimum graduate credit hour standards for instructors of record. The Department of Chemistry states that these instructors are not responsible for awarding laboratory section grades, which are the responsibility of the instructor for the lecture course that corresponds with the respective laboratory section. However, the fact remains that the laboratory instructors are listed as instructors of record in the Texas Tech University course assignment system. Therefore, the Department of Chemistry is out of compliance with SACS Comprehensive Standard 3.7.1. The department has been informed of the situation and has indicated that it will bring itself into compliance in one of two ways: either it will insure that no student with fewer than 18 graduate hours of chemistry will be assigned responsibility for laboratory sections in the department or they will convert chemistry laboratory courses (introductory chemistry and organic chemistry) from the current 3 credit-hour lecture and 1 credit-hour laboratory section format to a 4 credit-hour course that would make the lecture instructor the instructor of record for the lecture and laboratory portions of the class.

Department of Animal Science reported an instructor of Livestock and Meat Judging with less than 18 graduate hours and justified the appointment on the basis of many years of professional livestock and meat judging experience. This individual meets SACS standards for “life experience”.

Department of Landscape Architecture reported an instructor with a Baccalaureate degree teaching a Landscape Architecture studio course. This appointment is justified on the basis of 15 years of teaching experience on the part of the instructor.

Department of Classical and Modern Languages and Literatures employs a number of language instructors with less than 18 hours of graduate course work. These individuals are all native speakers of the languages they teach and teach at the introductory level (first-year, second year). In most cases they have taken courses in teaching of their native language and are considered to be qualified to teach introductory level courses. Some of these people are teaching non-Western languages and are the most qualified people available to teach those particular languages (Turkish, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, etc.) In most cases, they are teaching introductory courses in Spanish, French, and Portuguese, and the justifications for so employing them involve graduate course work and/or degrees in related fields such as ESL, bilingual education, or Spanish linguistics. The Department of Classical and Romance Languages also employs some Fulbright sponsored teachers of Arabic and Turkish who lack graduate training in the language. These individuals have received special training to teach their native language and have passed through a rigorous Fulbright selection process. Finally the department employs two teachers of American Sign Language (ASL) who do not have graduate training. Both are certified ASL instructors and are qualified to teach the ASL courses to which they have been assigned.

Department of Mathematics and Statistics shows graduate student instructors of record for developmental mathematics courses with less than 18 graduate hours. These courses are designed for students who lack college-level mathematics skills and do not count toward graduation.

Theatre and Dance appointed three Baccalaureate level instructors to teach dance courses. These instructors all are experienced dancers with professional performance and choreography experience. They also have prior experience teaching dance and/or choreography.

The department of Art also hired five teachers of record with Bachelors only qualifications; however, these teachers are acceptable because of life experiences as noted in the faculty list for the Art department and in the narrative of the College of Visual and Performing Arts concerning Standard 3.7.1.

Architecture appointed four Baccalaureate level instructors to teach courses. Three of these are registered architects with relevant “real-world” experience, and one, an instructor in architectural delineation (art) has been active in local, regional, and national art competitions since 1977.

The Office of Extended Studies hired one Bachelor’s level instructor for Accounting, but this person is qualified via CPA and professional experience.

The Rawls College of Business Administration hired a Bachelor’s level Finance instructor who managed over 115 million dollars for over 700 clients at Merrill Lynch. 

Texas Tech University O.P. 32.02: Certification of Faculty Qualifications, available as a pdf file (http://www.depts.ttu.edu/opmanual/op32.02.pdf), quotes the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools standards for faculty qualifications from the 1998 Criteria for Accreditation. 

Texas Tech University requires faculty to have completed the terminal degree before assuming an initial appointment. For most this means a doctorate; however, for a few areas such as music performance, studio art, architecture, and social work, a master’s degree is considered to be the terminal degree. In exceptional cases, a faculty member in a discipline that requires the doctorate may be hired at dissertation stage, but always with the understanding that the doctorate is to be awarded soon after that person’s arrival on campus (See OP 32.28, Faculty Applicants Not Holding Doctoral Degrees in Departments/Areas Requiring the Doctorate, http://www.depts.ttu.edu/opmanual/OP32.28.pdf [a pdf file]) .

Texas Tech University has an operating policy governing review of vitae of prospective faculty (O.P. 32.27: Review of Vitae of Prospective Faculty http://www.depts.ttu.edu/opmanual/OP32.27.pdf). This policy is intended to insure that the university selects the best qualified faculty for open positions and that faculty selected for interview meet appropriate criteria for appointment. Vitae are reviewed at the department and forwarded to the college dean, who is responsible for insuring that the individual being considered for appointment meets the standards of the college and department. Appointments of individuals without a terminal degree must be justified to the dean and approved by the provost before permission is granted to schedule an interview.

Texas Tech University OP 64.03 gives the required qualifications for graduate students employed as course assistants and instructors (http://www.depts.ttu.edu/opmanual/OP64.03.pdf). According to this policy, part-time instructors, graduate part-time instructors, and other non-tenure track teachers are employed to teach undergraduate courses (generally at freshman or sophomore level) and also generally with appropriate supervision from experienced tenure track faculty members. Such teachers must meet SACS requirements for a minimum of 18 graduate hours in the teaching area. The designation teaching assistant is generally reserved for graduate students who have completed less than 18 hours of graduate work. Teaching assistants do not serve as instructors of record for courses, but they do assist qualified instructors with grading and other course-related activities.

Action Plan:

The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry will comply with SACS and university criteria for the minimum number of graduate credit hours required for a graduate student to be appointed as an instructor of record for a laboratory section.

SACS Off-Site Committee Finding: 

3.7.1     The institution employs competent faculty members qualified to accomplish the mission and goals of the institution.  When determining acceptable qualifications of its faculty, an institution gives primary consideration to the highest earned degree in the discipline in accordance with the guidelines listed below.  The institution also considers competence, effectiveness, and capacity, including, as appropriate, undergraduate and graduate degrees, related work experiences in the field, professional licensure and certifications, honors and awards, continuous documented excellence in teaching, or other demonstrated competencies and achievements that contribute to effective teaching and student learning outcomes. For all cases, the institution is responsible for justifying and documenting the qualifications of its faculty.     

___       Compliance
_X_      Non-compliance
___       Did not review 
 

Comments:   

The institution reports partial compliance. They propose potential solutions for the cases of non-compliance. Such solutions should not be to meet the requirement with a face lifting fix but to improve instruction in a transparent way.  For all non-graduate assistant instructors who do not have the terminal degree or 18 graduate hours in the discipline, the process to determine that they are qualified should be published, and the individual reasons for qualifying them should be on record.  No SACS Faculty Qualification form is provided by the Off-Site Committee because the institution is required to review its entire faculty.

 

TTU Response:

University 

The current OP64.03 has a clear emphasis on improving and maintaining quality of instruction, including not only item 2, “Qualifications,” but also item 3 “English Proficiency,” item 11 “Orientation and Training,” and item 12 “Evaluation and Supervision.” However, in response to the off-site committee’s recommendations, TTU has put into process a modification of its OP64.03 (“Graduate Students Employed as Teaching Assistants and Graduate Part-time Instructors,” http://www.depts.ttu.edu/opmanual/OP64.03.pdf), with current wording for OP64.03, 2.b: 

Any exceptions to the above policy must be for demonstrably valid reasons and be approved in advance by the graduate dean and the provost’s office. Each departmental unit will review the qualifications of all appointees at the time of appointment to ensure compliance with existing policies.  

To be replaced by the following (additional words in bold):

Any exceptions to the above policy must be for demonstrably valid reasons and be approved in advance by the graduate dean and the provost’s office. Each departmental unit will review the qualifications of all appointees at the time of appointment to ensure teaching proficiency and compliance with existing policies.  All justifications for exceptions will be kept on record. 

The addition of “teaching proficiency” to the qualifications will improve teaching in a transparent way, and the addition of the phrase “All justifications for exceptions will be kept on record” will satisfy the SACS off-site recommendation for documentation.  At the point of time of writing this response, the above changes are underway. 

Chemistry Department 

The main problem noted in the original TTU report was that one department (Chemistry) designated its laboratory supervisors incorrectly as instructors of record.   In response, this department changed the way that it designates instructors of record.  Various options for resolving this problem were considered at the departmental level.  At the November 11^th, 2004 Faculty Meeting for the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, there was a unanimous favorable vote for tenured and tenure-track faculty members listed as instructors of record for all chemistry/biochemistry instructional laboratories, effective with Fall Semester 2005. Using tenure-track and tenured faculty as instructors of record will enhance instruction as experienced faculty will be directly responsible for the students’ learning outcomes. 

As far as the qualifications of lab instructors who were listed as instructors of record in the past in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, the Department offers the following in the way of establishing appropriate qualification to ensure adequate learning outcomes: “The only courses that graduate students teach are instructional laboratories for undergraduate students.  A graduate student with less than 18 hours of graduate credit would be assigned to either a general chemistry or organic chemistry laboratory.  For the former, there is a weekly meeting of the teaching assistants for each of the four general chemistry laboratory courses with the Coordinator of General Chemistry Laboratories.  At such meetings, both the theory and techniques involved for the coming week’s experiments are discussed by the faculty member who serves as the Coordinator of General Chemistry Laboratories.  Attendance at these weekly meetings by the teaching assistants involved is mandatory.  For the organic chemistry laboratories, the procedure is the same except that the faculty member in charge of the weekly training sessions is the Coordinator of General Chemistry Laboratories for the teaching assistants involved with the three different organic chemistry laboratories.”