Promotion and Tenure Policy

Tenure and Promotion Guidelines
Department of Public Policy and Administration

College of = Social Science and Public Affairs

Date Approved: August 2005/Updated January 2006

SECTION I: TENURE AND PROMOTION POLICY

A. Introduction

In concert with disciplina= ry standards for teaching, research and service, the department, college and university mission statements guide the Public Policy and Administration Department’s expectations for tenure and promotion. Boise State University is a metropolitan university reflecting the character of Idaho’s capital city—a cen= ter of business, government, finance and technology—and serving the academic needs of the state through graduate and undergraduate programs, research and public service. To further th= is mission, the Department of Public Policy and Administration is committed to graduate education, scholarship and public service that melds core administrative competencies with public service values and respects the multiple disciplines that inform public administration. Decisions to tenure and to promote tenure track and tenured faculty who excel in these efforts are critical to= the Department. The following pol= icy guides the department in its assessment of a department faculty member̵= 7;s application for tenure and for promotion to either the rank of Associate or Full Professor.

Several principle= s inform this policy. The Department w= ill evaluate each faculty member applying for promotion and/or tenure according= to standards that are both high and fair.&nbs= p; The department expects that faculty members will demonstrate perform= ance in teaching, research, and service commensurate with standards at Boise State University. In addition, the unique nature of = public administration and related public policy education and scholarship requires proper consideration of the disciplinary nuances of public policy and public administration as demonstrated at peer programs and institutions in terms of integrated scholarship and teaching as well as applied research and communi= ty service.

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B. Eligibility and Proces= s

The department adheres to = College and University policies in evaluating promotion and/or tenure candidates. The relevant University policies a= re 5340-B and 5330-B, available online at http://www.boisestate.edu/. The relevant College policies are contained in FACULTY PROMOTION GUIDELINES and FACULTY TENURE PROCEDURES. In general, these processes requir= e the candidate to prepare an application package that includes evidence demonstrating the candidate’s achievement of all relevant decision criteria. This application pa= ckage, in combination with external reviews and department assessments, would serv= e as the candidate’s Tenure and/or Promotion Portfolio and would be forwar= ded through the appropriate university and college channels.

Those individuals listed as part of the MPA f= aculty nucleus according to Standard 5.1 of the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (MPA accrediting body) shall be eligible = for tenure and promotion within the Department of Public Policy & Administration.

Eligible faculty members could apply for tenu= re during their fifth year of service as Official Faculty and could be conside= red for promotion at that point. Eligible untenured faculty must apply for tenure no later than during the sixth year of eligible employment at Boise State University. Credit towards the required minimum years of service may be considered in accordance with university and college policy.

Those individuals listed as part of the MPA f= aculty nucleus (see above), and who have tenure and the rank of at least Associate Professor, shall be eligible to vote for the candidate’s promotion and tenure.
1. Those individuals listed as part of the MPA f= aculty nucleus according to Standard 5.1 of the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (MPA accrediting body) shall be eligible = for tenure and promotion within the Department of Public Policy & Administration.
  
  Faculty members eligible for consideration may apply for promotion to full professor after eight years of full-time experi= ence in an academic rank at an accredited institution of higher learning. However, as the assessment for pro= motion to full professor will emphasize accomplishments achieved AFTER promotion to Associate Professor, the department recommends application no earlier than = in a faculty member’s third full year as an Associate Professor at Boise S= tate University. Faculty members w= ho have been tenured and promoted to Associate Professor are not required to a= pply for promotion to Full Professor nor is such a promotion automatic.
  
  Those individuals listed as part of the MPA f= aculty nucleus (see above), and who have tenure and the rank of Full Professor, sh= all be eligible to vote for the candidate’s promotion and tenure.
  
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  C. Criteria for Tenure & Promotio= n
  1. Faculty in the Department of Public Policy and Administration maintain an active awareness= of the evolution of theoretical concepts underlying their specialty areas. In addition, faculty must be able = to effectively communicate the knowledge, skills, and values of public administration to ensure that graduates of the program have the competencies and ethical grounding necessary to discharge their responsibilities as publ= ic service practitioners. To accomplish this task, faculty scholarship and associated community service = are expected to integrate both the theory and practice of public and/or nonprof= it administration and public policy studies.&= nbsp; Graduate education in the Department of Public Policy and Administra= tion is designed to prepare students for professional administrative practice, primarily in the public and nonprofit sectors. While graduate programs in public = policy and public administration are founded in the study of politics, they also d= raw upon multiple disciplines and require an applied relationship with public, nonprofit and private sector practitioners, policy specialists and constitu= ents at the local, state and national levels.&n= bsp; Inherent in professional degree programs is the requirement that fac= ulty be recognized by the local, regional, and/or national communities for their willingness to serve in advisory/consultative roles, both formally and informally.
    1. Given College and University policy guidelines regarding promotion and tenure, the Public Pol= icy and Administration Department expects that candidates for the rank of Assoc= iate Professor of Public Policy and Administration with tenure will present evid= ence in the candidate’s application portfolio of the achievement of accomplishments such as, though not limited to:
      
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      ·        Excellence in teaching. Important indicators of excellence= in teaching include positive teaching evaluations from students (and, whenever applicable, peers), teaching awards, successful course development, active participation in student advising, and working with students completing ind= ependent research projects and theses.
      
      ·        Excellence in scholarship.   Two broad approaches to scholarship comprise the discipline of public administration with respect to scholarship: traditional peer-reviewed scholarship, and applied scholarship= . Candidates for Promotion and Tenure should have a solid base of peer-reviewed scholarship. This type of scholarship is characterized by an aim to advance theoretical and conceptual knowledge as = it relates to public administration. Policy research examines the development and implementation of public policy along with the integration of the citizenry in this process. Scholarship may involve rigorous investigation aimed at the discovery of new knowledge within the public pol= icy realm and evidence of such inquiry would include scholarly publications, fu= nded research, and presentations at professional meetings. In addition, scholarship may inclu= de contributions that draw meaningful connections between previously unrelated= topics, facts, or observations, such as cross-disciplinary synthesis or an integrat= ive framework within a discipline that results in a publication or presentation= in a suitable forum.
      
      Candidates for Pro= motion and Tenure may also emphasize applied scholarship in public policy and administration. Applied schol= arship adds to existing knowledge through the process of applying intellectual expertise to the solution of practical problems. Such applied and professionally re= lated scholarship may include work with community organizations or governmental a= gencies to address community problems or deficiencies. Products from such applied and community-based scholarship could range from program evaluations, opinion surveys, new administrative procedures, successful grant proposals, content-based seminars, workshops, invited presentations, provision of technical assistance, and process-focused interventions, some of which may = not always involve a written product. Although applied scholarship may be more difficult to assess than traditional approaches that can be measured by the number of and quality of peer-reviewed products, this form of scholarship serves a critical function= in public policy and administration. Thus, rigorous critique of applied research might include impact on = the agency and/or community, scope of the project, originality of design and methodology, generalizability of the results, connection to a broader literature and/or theoretical frame, and visibility gained for the research= er, department and college. It is the candidate’s responsibility to provi= de documentation to support such assessments.
      
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      ·        Excellence in service. Community service is considered particularly important given the urban mission of Boise State University. Community service should directly support the goals and mission of the university, college, and department. Local and regional service activit= ies build community-university relationships, result in student opportunities, = and often lead to applied scholarship. Service to the profession includes association leadership; journal editorships; reviewing articles, books, or grant proposals; guest lecturing; and other appropriate activities. All faculty members are expected to perform basic citizenship service within the University. Candid= ates should provide service to the university, the profession and the community through membership on department, college and university committees, as wel= l as participating whenever appropriate in student organization advising, assist= ing professional organizations through serving on editorial boards and/or revie= wing manuscripts for publication, and engaging in community activities.
      
      3. Criteria for Promotion to Full Pro= fessor
      
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      The Public Policy and Administration Department expects that candidates for the rank of Professor= of Public Policy and Administration will present evidence in the candidateR= 17;s application portfolio of the achievement of accomplishments BEYOND those considered in the candidate’s promotion to Associate Professor.
      
      ·        Excellence in teaching. Candidates should have a record of achievement in teaching (as described in Section I, C2) that establishes excellence in teaching across time. There should be a record of course development, mentoring of junior faculty members (when appropriate), and evidence of a continued effort to improve the department’s goal of providing a successful learning environment for students in the MPA program.
      
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      ·        Excellence in scholarship. Candidates should demonstrate scholarship as appropriate within the discipline of public administration (outlined in detail in Section I, C2 of these guidelines) and must contribu= te to the discipline via a coherent body of research and recognition of the candidate’s contributions in relevant state and national and/or international forums.
      
      ·        Excellence in service. Candidates should have a record of consistent service to the department, college, university, community, and profession as outlined in Section I, C2 of this policy. Candidates should also establish t= hat they have served in leadership positions, such as department chair, graduat= e or program director, committee chair, journal editor, or program director.
      
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      SECTIO= N II: TENURE AND PROMOTION EVALUATION AND APPLICATION        PROCEDURES
      
      A. Intro= duction
      
      The department considers the promotion to Ass= ociate Professor with tenure decision to be of sufficient importance that it annua= lly reviews tenure track faculty on their progress toward promotion and tenure. This mentoring tool provides an annual assessment of the department’s sense of how well e= ach tenure track faculty member is progressing toward promotion and tenure, and which, if any, areas require improvement.&= nbsp; Applications for promotion to Full Professor are assessed when forwa= rded by an eligible candidate.
      
      B. Promo= tion and Tenure Committee
      
      The Promotion and Tenure Committee will be co= mposed of all MPA faculty members as defined in Section I, B2 and B3. The Department Chair will appoint = one of the members of the Promotion and Tenure Committee to serve as the Chair of = the Promotion and Tenure Committee for a 1-year period of time (subject to renewal).
      
      C. Timel= ine and Process
      
      The evaluation process requ= ires the candidate to prepare an application package that includes evidence demonstrating the candidate’s achievement of all relevant decision criteria. The application pac= kage, when combined with external reviews and department assessments, would become the candidate’s Tenure and/or Promotion Portfolio and would be forwar= ded through the appropriate university and college channels.
      
      The specific components of = this package, along with a list of appropriate documentation, are detailed in the relevant guidelines/checklists developed by the College of Social Science a= nd Public Affairs.
      
      The Candidate will submit h= is or her application materials to the Chair of the Promotion and Tenure Committee. To these materials= , the Chair of the Promotion and Tenure Committee will add the assessments provid= ed by at least three external reviewers—solicited in accordance with col= lege policies. The application mat= erials generated by the candidate in combination with the external reviews will comprise the candidate’s Tenure and/or Promotion Portfolio (hereinaft= er referred to as the “Portfolio”). The Promotion and Tenure Committee= will consider the candidate’s Portfolio in terms of the criteria listed in Section I of these guidelines. The Promotion and Tenure Committee will vote upon whether the candidate meets t= he relevant criteria and will provide a summary of the committee’s deliberations to the Department Chair.&nbs= p; The Department Chair will assess the Portfolio in terms of the same criteria. The Chair will forw= ard the Portfolio along with his or her recommendation to the appropriate SSPA committee along with a copy of the tenure and promotion guidelines used in developing and assessing the Portfolio.