I. Purpose
Anne Arundel Community College (“College”) establishes this Promotion of Part-Time Faculty Procedure (“Procedure”) to provide for the recognition of sustained contributions by Part-Time Faculty to the academic programs through the process of promotion to a higher part-time faculty rank.
II. Scope and Applicability
A. This Procedure applies to all applications for promotion of Part-Time Faculty submitted after August 16, 2023.
B. This Procedure applies to Part-Time Faculty Members, as defined below, who have a sustained record of teaching and are eligible for promotion to the next rank, either for Lecturer II or Lecturer III.
C. This Procedure does not apply to full-time faculty.
D. Special Term Contract Faculty, as defined below, may apply for promotion as a Part-Time Faculty Member as set forth below, but such promotion will only be effective upon the Special Term Contract Faculty returning to Part-Time Faculty status.
E. Noncredit Faculty, as defined below, are generally excluded from this Procedure; however, if a Noncredit Faculty member has taught at the Collegiate Level, as defined below, the Noncredit Faculty Member may apply for promotion as a Part-Time Faculty Member with respect to the faculty load hours that were taught at the Collegiate Level.
III. Definitions
A. All capitalized terms in this Procedure have the following meanings:
1. Academic Semester means the Fall and Spring semesters.
2. Application Package means the documents set forth in the Application Package Section below.
3. AVPL means the Associate Vice President for Learning and Academic Affairs.
4. Business Day is any day which is not a Saturday or Sunday or day that the College is closed, such as holidays, spring break, winter break, or other day that the College announces that it is closed.
5. Certification Form means the application form titled Part-Time Faculty Certification of Minimum Eligibility for Promotion.
6. Noncredit Courses are classes that are not offered at the Collegiate Level.
7. Noncredit Faculty are faculty who are employed on a course-by-course basis to teach Noncredit Courses as demand requires, with the arrangement made by Written assignment.
8. Collegiate Level means courses for which students receive academic credit and Developmental Courses, but does not include Noncredit Courses.
9. Course Materials means a representative set of materials used for teaching and learning in the classroom used during the period of service being reviewed that have been selected, prepared, and/or uniquely modified by the Faculty Member, including but not limited to, syllabi, lesson plans, examinations, assignments, projects, handouts, rubrics, assessments, feedback instruments, course presentations, multimedia resources, and so on.
10. Developmental Courses are zero-credit, pre-college level courses or credit equivalent English Language Learning courses designed to help a student improve skills and prepare for college-level classes.
11. Duties of Part-Time Faculty are described in Section VI of the College Manual and include: reporting duties, management of faculty absences from class, administration of final examinations, availability for student conferences, and management of decorum in the classroom.
12. Part-Time Faculty or Part-Time Faculty Members are those employed to teach courses at the Collegiate Level on a course-by-course basis as demand requires, with the arrangement to be made by Written assignment.
13. Professional Record Form means a document used to record and continuously update the Part-Time Faculty Member’s activities, accomplishments, achievements, and efforts made towards continuous improvement.
14. Rank means the title of Part-time Faculty as set forth in Section VI of the College Manual.
15. Special Term Contract Faculty are those who are employed pursuant to a Written contract for an academic semester or an academic year to teach at the College for more than the faculty load hour limits of Part-Time Faculty.
16. Supervisor means the Assistant Dean, Director, or designee, such as the Adjunct Faculty Coordinator or Academic Chair, to whom the Faculty Member directly reports.
17. Written or in writing means in the form of a letter, document, email, or electronic communication or transmission.
IV. Review of Minimum Qualifications
A. A Part-Time Faculty Member may apply for promotion to the next Rank when the Part-Time Faculty Member has met all of the minimum initial qualifications for that Rank as set forth in Section VI of the College Manual (“Minimum Qualifications”).
B. Part-Time Faculty serving as Special Term Contract Faculty or Noncredit Faculty may apply for promotion in their capacity as Part-Time Faculty if the Part-Time Faculty Member meets all of the Minimum Qualifications for a Part-time Faculty Rank; however, the promotion will be effective only after the special contract expires and/or when a Part-Time Faculty assignment is issued in writing.
C. For purposes of determining whether a Part-Time Faculty Member has met the Minimum Qualifications for Rank, only faculty load hours for courses taught by the Part-Time Faculty Member at the Collegiate Level shall be considered as set forth in Section VI of the College Manual.
D. The Part-Time Faculty Member shall provide written notification to their Supervisor if the Part-Time Faculty Member wishes to apply for promotion by September 1 for a Fall semester application and by February 1 for a Spring semester application.
E. The Supervisor and Dean shall work with the Part-Time Faculty Member to gather information necessary to complete the Certification Form. The Dean will send the completed form to the AVPL for review no later than September 8 for a Fall semester application and February 8 for a Spring semester application.
F. No later than September 15 for a Fall semester application or February 15 for a Spring semester application the AVPL will review the Certification Form and transcripts and other documentation in the Part-Time Faculty Member’s record to verify that the Part-Time Faculty Member has met the Minimum Qualifications, and if so, will approve and sign the Certification Form and send a copy to the Part-Time Faculty Member, the Dean, and the Supervisor.
G. If the AVPL determines that the Part-Time Faculty Member has not met the Minimum Qualifications, the AVPL will notify the Part-Time Faculty Member, the Supervisor, and the Dean in writing that the Part-Time Faculty Member is not eligible for promotion for failure to meet the Minimum Qualifications by the deadline.
H. The AVPL will maintain a copy of the Certification Form and any notice sent to the Part-Time Faculty Member.
V. Classroom Observation
The Supervisor is responsible for conducting a classroom observation of a Part-Time Faculty Member who seeks promotion and completing the departmental classroom observation form or if there is not a departmental form, the Classroom Observation Form.
VI. Application Package
A. By October 15 for a Fall semester application and March 15 for a Spring semester application, the Part-Time Faculty Member must submit the following information to the Supervisor:
1. Completed Professional Record Form; and
2. Course Materials.
B. Part-Time Faculty who are applying for promotion are required to submit the above information in the ePortfolio in the College’s learning management system.
C. The Part-Time Faculty Member will notify the Supervisor in writing that the above materials are ready for review.
D. By November 15 for a Fall semester application or April 30 for a Spring semester application, the Supervisor will provide an Application Package to the Dean in writing, which will include the following:
1. A link to the Part-Time Faculty Member’s ePortfolio;
2. A departmental classroom observation form, or, if there is not a departmental form, the Classroom Observation Form completed by the Supervisor;
3. A completed Summary Narrative Form, which includes an evaluation by the Supervisor of the following (as more fully defined and described in Section VI of the Manual):
a. The Part-Time Faculty Member’s teaching effectiveness;
b. The Part-Time Faculty Member’s student opinion forms as follows:
i. If the Part-Time Faculty Member has taught less than fifteen (15) faculty load hours at the College and is applying for a promotion to Lecturer II, all student opinion forms for courses taught at the College must be submitted;
ii. If the Part-Time Faculty Member has taught at least fifteen (15) faculty load hours at the College and is applying for promotion to Lecturer II, the student opinion forms for the most recent fifteen (15) faculty load hours taught at the College; or
iii. If the Part-Time Faculty Member is applying for promotion to Lecturer III, the student opinion forms for the most recent twenty-four (24) faculty load hours taught at the College.
c. The Part-Time Faculty Member’s Course Materials;
d. The Part-Time Faculty Member’s Professional Record Form; and
e. The Part-time Faculty Member’s performance of Duties.
4. A letter of recommendation that summarizes the Supervisor’s reason(s) for recommending or not recommending promotion of the Part-Time Faculty Member.
E. By December 15 for a Fall semester application or May 30 for a Spring semester application, the Dean will review the Application Package and make a Formal Recommendation to the AVPL that summarizes the Dean’s reason(s) for recommending or not recommending promotion of the Part-Time Faculty Member to the AVPL.
VII. Promotion
A. By January 5 for a Fall semester application or June 15 for a Spring semester application, the AVPL or designee will review the Formal Recommendation and decide whether to approve the promotion.
1. If the AVPL approves the promotion of the Part-Time Faculty Member, the AVPL will notify the Part-Time Faculty Member, the Dean, and the Supervisor in writing, and the promotion will become effective at the beginning of the next Academic Semester.
2. If the AVPL does not approve the promotion of the Part-Time Faculty Member, the AVPL will notify the Part-Time Faculty Member, the Dean, and the Supervisor in writing and provide the reasons for not approving the promotion.
B. If approved for promotion, the AVPL or designee will update the Part-Time Faculty Member’s Rank in the system of record to reflect the promotion.
C. In approving the promotion of Part-Time Faculty, the College makes no representations or guarantees of future course assignments.
VIII. Deadlines
If any deadline stated in this Procedure falls on a weekend or a day on which the College is closed, the deadline will be extended to the next Business Day.
IX. Records
A. The Certification Form and notice of approval or disapproval will become part of the Part-Time Faculty Member’s evaluation materials file portion of the personnel file and are confidential.
B. The Part-Time Faculty Member will be provided access to their personnel file upon request.
C. The Application Package will be maintained in accordance with the College’s document retention schedule, as outlined in Section VI of the College Manual.
D. All Forms described in this Procedure must be approved by the Provost/Vice President for Learning for use in Part-Time Faculty promotion process.
Procedure Title: Promotion of Part-Time Faculty Procedure
Policy Category: Faculty Affairs
Policy Owner: Provost/Vice President of Learning
Policy Administrator: Associate Vice President of Learning and Academic Affairs
Contact Information: Dr. Tina Smith; 410-777-2776; ksmith56@aacc.edu
Approval Date: June 5, 2023
Effective Date: August 16, 2023
History: Interim Procedure approved on August 1, 2022
Applies to: Part-Time Faculty applying for promotion
Related Policies: N/A
Related Procedures: N/A
Forms/Guidelines:
Relevant Laws: N/A