Appendix B: Conditions and benefits of faculty service: Non-Tenure-Track

Recruitment of Faculty

The selection of individuals to serve on the George Fox University faculty is crucial to the life of the university. In addition to the usual academic qualifications, George Fox teachers are expected to have a personal commitment to Jesus Christ and daily living that conforms to current Statement of Faith and Community Lifestyle Statement applicable to the Faculty of George Fox University.

Responsibility for negotiating with prospective faculty members lies with the Provost with the assistance of the Dean. The Dean reports vacancies to the Provost, prepares a suggested position announcement for submission to the Provost, and assists in the screening of applicants. The Dean answers inquiries and mails position announcements. All vacancies or new positions require a national search, except by permission of the Provost. Search committees are appointed by the Dean and should include members from the department conducting the search and at least one faculty member from outside the department conducting the search.

Upon the invitation of the Dean, prospective faculty members may visit the campus to confer with search committees, and others as requested, to teach classes and to become acquainted with the campus and community. A copy of the Faculty Handbook should be made available to prospects. After a search process, the Provost may recommend employment of a prospective faculty member to the President. The President extends a contract to the person to be employed. This contract becomes an agreement only when it has been signed by both the President and the new faculty member.

 All new faculty must agree as a condition of employment to participate in the faculty orientation program designed to acquaint new faculty members with the expectations of the university.

Guidelines for the Appointment of Faculty

• The President of the university appoints non-tenure-track faculty in accordance with the procedures outlined in the Faculty Handbook.
• Non-tenure-track faculty appointments shall be made only for programs which have been established by the Board of Trustees and for positions which are within the annual budget of the university as established by the Board of Trustees.
• The university does not discriminate against any candidate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, sex, age, disability or any other status to the extent protected by applicable nondiscrimination laws.

NOTE: The use of the phrase "to the extent protected by applicable nondiscrimination law" is the correct statement of the legal obligation of George Fox University. George Fox does not waive its right to assert that nondiscrimination laws are not applicable to a particular situation or alternately that to apply nondiscrimination laws to George Fox in a particular situation would be an unconstitutional infringement of the religious and associational rights of this church- directed institution. 

Standards for the Appointment of Non-Tenure-Track Faculty

Candidates for non-tenure track positions generally should:

• Have a personal commitment to Jesus Christ and daily living that conforms to the current Statement of Faith and Community Lifestyle Statement applicable to the Faculty of George Fox University.
• Embrace the mission of George Fox University.
• Hold the appropriate degree for the position and/or relevant professional experience.
• Demonstrate a commitment to the integration of Christian faith and learning.
• Have a record of teaching [or training] effectiveness, professionalism and concern for students, other faculty, and community members as persons.
• Demonstrate a commitment to academic excellence and the maintenance of high academic standards.

The Effective Faculty Member: A George Fox University Profile

Expectations of All Faculty Members

• Be committed to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
• Signify general agreement with and daily living that conforms to the current Statement of Faith and Community Lifestyle Statement applicable to the Faculty of George Fox University.
• Support the mission of George Fox University.
• Provide evidence of continuing professional development, flexibility and breadth of interests necessary for effective service in a liberal arts university.

Expectations of Faculty in Non-Tenure-Track Positions

Certain positions at the university require unique skills and practices relevant to the specific mission of the department but are not tenure-track. These require a significant commitment to teaching or professional activities that replaces traditional scholarship. To be hired and renewed year by year, faculty members in a non-tenure-track position should hold the appropriate degree or credentials, including relevant professional experience; meet the expectations of teaching faculty as applicable; meet expectations as to service, namely, participate in professional organizations, participate actively in church, provide service for their community, the university, and their church; fulfill other tasks specified in the contract; and meet high expectations for their profession. Fulfillment of these expectations should be addressed and demonstrated in a Faculty Growth Plan.

Teaching

Each faculty member is expected to:

• Create a classroom or educational environment that promotes engaged learning and academic excellence.
• Demonstrate the relevance of Christian faith with the discipline of study.
• Demonstrate respect and appreciation for students, other faculty, and community members.
• Communicate clearly and accurately in the classroom.
• Know the appropriate field, and keep up to date in one’s discipline.
• Demonstrate enthusiasm for the subject matter and establish a culture of learning.
• Make a continuing study of and implement effective pedagogical methods and materials in the appropriate field.

Effective teaching is characterized by the following:

• Self-awareness and adaptation. The faculty member needs to be aware of his or her strengths and weaknesses and develop in a Faculty Growth Plan an approach to instruction that recognizes these.
• Student awareness and adaptation. The faculty member should be able to recognize differences in student needs and abilities and reasonably adapt to these differences.
• Mentoring relationships. Effective faculty members develop mentoring relationships that extend beyond the classroom or educational environment.
• Demonstrated effectiveness. The effectiveness of the faculty member in the areas of curriculum, instruction, and assessment should be demonstrable through faculty evaluation and evaluation of student learning.

Professional Activities

Professional activities include:

• Consulting outside the university with businesses, professional organizations, or government agencies
• Workshops for businesses and professional organizations
• Networking with businesses, professional organizations, and public-benefit organizations and recruiting activities

The following activities may also become part of a growth plan and therefore count as professional activities.

• Presentations at professional meetings, business organizations, government agencies
• Establishing new cohort sites
• Development of new programs and/or courses
• Publishing in academic journals or professional magazines, e.g., for the business, social science, or technology sectors

Service

Faculty members are expected to take the opportunity to serve beyond their load-credit assignments. Recipients of their service may include their departments, their professional disciplines, the university, the communities in which they live, and the broader Christian church.

Service is variegated. The faculty member may participate in a broad variety of service activities. Some opportunities may be within the faculty member’s academic discipline; others may stand outside the member’s professional expertise.

Service is intentional. Like professional activities and teaching, service should be a part of the faculty member’s growth plan. However, service is by nature a response to need, the agenda of specific activities necessarily remains fluid.

Service is documented. The faculty member should document service. Minimally, service activities should be documented by self-reporting in the review portfolio; when possible, activities should be documented as well by external confirmation.

Service is sustained. Service is an integral part of the faculty member’s life within her or his communities. Careful documentation, therefore, should reveal a sustained pattern of service.

Clarification: Employment outside the university, continuing education, and career preparation generally are not considered service. Any expectations of such activities contributing to service must be negotiated in advance with the Provost.

Non-Tenure track Ranks Defined

Non-tenure track faculty are differentiated by whether their positions are: (1) contracted by course or by credit load; and (2) temporary or continuing.

Adjunct Faculty

Contract Length and Load

• Adjunct faculty are contracted by course and may continue in their employment for an unspecified length of time, though there is no guarantee of continuing employment beyond the contracted semester. Course contracts are issued every semester.
• Adjunct faculty are generally contracted to teach a maximum 9 credit hours per semester. This is the maximum load allowed in total, across all programs and colleges, not within a given program.

Ranks

• Adjunct Instructor: A master’s degree and relevant professional experience required. In specific cases, individuals with a bachelor’s degree may teach at the undergraduate level if they have specific experience germane to the course subject.
• Senior Adjunct Instructor: A master’s degree and relevant professional experience required plus a minimum of 30 credits hours taught for at least five consecutive years at George Fox. Promotion to Senior Adjunct Instructor is done at the discretion of the Dean, in consultation with the Provost, and may not carry it with it an increase in compensation.

Visiting Faculty

Contract Length and Load

• Visiting faculty positions are temporary, and may range in contract length from one semester to three years. Standard teaching load for visiting faculty ranges from 12-30 credits per year, depending on the nature of the position, and is specified at the time of hire. Involvement in scholarship and institutional service depend on the length and nature of the contract and are specified at the time of hire.

Ranks

• Promotions in rank during the contract are not considered, but faculty who are hired into continuing positions may have time served in the visiting position credited toward promotion and tenure timelines.
• Instructor: Master’s degree and relevant professional experience.
• Assistant Professor: Doctoral or accepted terminal degree in an appropriate field required or the master’s degree and five years of relevant professional experience.
• Associate Professor: Doctoral or accepted terminal degree in an appropriate field required plus seven years of successful full-time teaching experience. The faculty member will have a record of excellent teaching, outstanding professional activity as defined above, and outstanding service to the community, church, and university.
• Professor: Doctoral or accepted terminal degree in an appropriate field required plus ten years of successful full-time teaching experience. The faculty member will have a record of excellent teaching, outstanding professional activity as defined above, and outstanding service to the community, church, and university.

Continuing Faculty

Contract Length and Load

Some faculty are hired into non-tenure-track positions, but these positions are understood to be continuing rather than temporary, and individuals in these positions are considered full members of the faculty. Individuals in these positions are hired on renewable contracts that vary in length from one year to three years. Employment is not guaranteed beyond the length of the current contract, though renewal is expected unless the faculty member is given notice by March 1 that the contract will not be renewed for the following academic year. Continuing non-tenure-track faculty are typically expected to be actively involved in either teaching and service (with minimal involvement in scholarship) or teaching and scholarship/practice (with minimal involvement in service, typically only at the department level). Standard teaching load ranges from 12-30 FTE credits, depending on the nature of the position, and is specified at the time of hire.

Ranks

Non-tenure-track continuing faculty have different performance expectations than other faculty and therefore will need to meet different promotion standards for existing ranks. Because faculty rank is connected to faculty salary, the following system is designed to recognize non-tenure track faculty achievement and subsequently result in salary improvement. For any promotion, generally at least three of the qualifying years of experience should have been at George Fox University.

• Instructor: A master’s degree and relevant professional experience required.
• Assistant Professor: Doctoral or accepted terminal degree in an appropriate field required or the master’s degree and five years of relevant professional experience.
• Associate Professor: Doctoral or accepted terminal degree in an appropriate field and five years of successful full-time teaching experience or master’s degree and seven years of successful full- time teaching experience. The faculty member will have a record of excellent teaching, outstanding professional activity as defined above, and outstanding service to the community, church, and university.
• Professor: Doctoral or accepted terminal degree in an appropriate field required plus ten years of successful full-time teaching experience. The faculty member will have a record of excellent teaching, outstanding professional activity as defined above, and outstanding service to the community, church, and university.

Clinical Faculty

The descriptor "clinical" is used for faculty members who provide primarily practical instruction and application of applied knowledge. Clinical faculty have specialized training and experience in a professional field. While these faculty teach, their primary activity, or area of instruction, is applied knowledge, clinical teaching, supervision of field experience/practicum, and/or clinical direction. Clinical faculty members are primarily contracted for teaching and service. Rank is determined by academic achievement, professional accomplishments, leadership in her or his profession, significant involvement in professional organizations, and demonstrated effectiveness.