Designation of Graduate Faculty
University Procedure 12.99.99.C3.01—Approved January 18, 2006

CRITERIA

1.1

Only faculty members who have attained graduate faculty status at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi may teach graduate level courses and serve on graduate committees.  The minimal criteria for attaining this status are listed below; however, an individual college may supplement these criteria with those more specific to the disciplines within the college.  The University requires graduate faculty members to meet the following criteria:

• Be tenured, or on tenure track
• Have a terminal degree in the faculty member's area/discipline or related field
• Be actively engaged in scholarship/creative activity as evidenced by peer-reviewed or externally validated intellectual contributions, including but not limited to publications, conference presentations, research/creative activity grants, artistic productions, performances or other forms of creative work

In exceptional cases, the College Dean in consultation with the Graduate Dean may grant graduate faculty status to qualified individuals to accommodate a special programmatic need.

In addition to meeting the above criteria, faculty members serving as chairs of doctoral committees are expected to have obtained visibility and recognition within their discipline, as demonstrated by substantial or sustained funded research, recent publications at the highest levels of their discipline, and/or leadership in professional organizations at the national and/or international level.

PROCESS

All requests to recruit and appoint full-time faculty members will originate with the Dean of the appropriate college and will be forwarded to the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs for review and approval. The request should include a written justification for the continuance of an existing position or the creation of a new position, a recommended rank and salary, and a recommended appointment date. The recommended rank should be commensurate with the qualifications and duties required for the position. Qualifications for each faculty rank are detailed in the Faculty Handbook. Exceptions to these qualifications may be made with the approval of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs when they are clearly in the best interest of the University.

Faculty members whose assignments include teaching graduate courses or serving on graduate committees must attain graduate faculty status by means of the following process. The department's designated body (department chairperson or review committee) will examine the credentials of candidates for graduate faculty status and provide their endorsement to the College Dean, who reviews the list and forwards the approved list to the Graduate Council. The Graduate Council reviews the candidate's credentials and forwards the recommended list to the Graduate Dean. The Graduate Dean grants or denies graduate faculty status.

To maintain this designation, the faculty member must undergo successful review every five years.  A graduate faculty member whose status expires may remain on a graduate student committee until the student completes his or her degree.  The Graduate Dean will maintain the official directory of graduate faculty.

3.

APPEAL

A faculty member who is denied graduate faculty status and who wishes to appeal the decision should submit a written request to the Graduate Dean for reconsideration of the decision.  The faculty member may request the support of the College Dean in the appeal.  The Graduate Dean will meet with the faculty member and, if requested by the faculty member, with the College Dean.  Following such discussions, the Graduate Dean will issue a written decision.  If the faculty member is dissatisfied with the decision, the faculty member may appeal in writing to the Provost.

Contact for Interpretation:  Associate Vice President for Research and Scholarly Activity and Graduate Dean