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Section
II: SACS Core Requirement
II-8. The number of full-time faculty members is adequate
to support the mission of the institution. The institution has adequate
faculty resources to ensure the quality and integrity of its academic
programs.
JUDGMENT OF COMPLIANCE
Yes, East Tennessee State University is able
to provide a portfolio of evidence supporting compliance.
STATEMENT OF RATIONALE FOR JUDGMENT OF COMPLIANCE
At East Tennessee State University, the number of full-time
faculty is sufficient to support the diversity of our mission, including
research, creative activities, and service, and to ensure the quality
and oversight of our educational programs. For the purposes of this standard,
we have defined adequacy of faculty resources to encompass
both the availability of a sufficient number of faculty and a sufficient
amount of faculty time to support the institution's mission (ETSU Mission)
and the needs of its degree programs. The institution's current performance
levels in executing its mission and in maintaining its degree programs
indicate our success in meeting sufficiency in these areas (SACS Standard
IV-11, IV-12; University Profile System, Academic Departments, Program
Coordinators). In addition, a number of effective processes ensure
that adjustments of human resources are made to meet the changing needs
of the institution, as determined by our mission and strategic goals.
Assessment of the adequacy of faculty resources
(i.e., both number and time allocation of faculty) at ETSU is based on
the principle that standards of the discipline are paramount. At ETSU,
graduate and undergraduate programs not subject to accreditation review
are subjected to academic program review. Guidelines for these reviews
(ETSU Academic Program Reviews; Tennessee Higher Education Commission,
Performance Funding Program) follow those for accreditation reviews
in requiring consideration of the adequacy of faculty resources. Thus,
standards pertaining to the adequacy of faculty resources are assessed
in accordance with the specific instructional, research, and service demands
of each program and best practices for the discipline (ETSU Performance
Funding Annual Report; ETSU Accreditation). In addition, faculty
at ETSU are subject to a number of on-going evaluation processes that
ensure administrative opportunity to assess the extent of faculty engagement
with our mission, and that provides the institution with data to assess
the allocation of faculty resources. These results are then complemented
by an annual review of faculty workloads that ensures that the varying
conditions and opportunities that affect a faculty members' distribution
of efforts among teaching, research, service, and administration are considered
in the overall strategic plan of the university. The current status of
these assessments and processes are, as follows:
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The institution is one of the most highly accredited universities
in the region. All 54 of the 54 programs eligible for accreditation
currently are accredited (ETSU Performance Funding Annual Report;
SACS Standard IV-11; individual accreditation reports).
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Academic program reviews for nine graduate programs and 19 undergraduate
programs not subject to accreditation review have been completed during
the past five years (ETSU Performance Funding Annual Report; SACS
Standard IV-11). These reviews have either not identified faculty
resources as an issue, or have been used to assist a few programs
in addressing concerns about the adequacy of faculty and/or staff.
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The annual faculty evaluation process (faculty activity plan/report/evaluation;
SACS Standard IV-24) serves both formative and summative evaluation
purposes. Faculty members plan and report their activities related
to instruction, research/creative activities, service, and administrative
duties. The reported accomplishments of each faculty, with supporting
materials (e.g., results of student assessment of instruction), provide
a portfolio that is used by the faculty, department chair, and college
dean in evaluation of performance. Written comments on reports are
provided to each faculty by the chair and dean (ETSU Faculty Handbook,
Annual Evaluation of Faculty).
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The faculty evaluation process is complemented by a highly structured
tenure and promotion process (ETSU Faculty Handbook, Faculty Promotion,
Academic Tenure), which is utilized primarily for summative evaluation.
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Faculty teaching graduate courses or serving on graduate committees
must meet the requirements of graduate faculty membership (ETSU
Guidelines for Graduate Faculty Appointment; SACS Standard IV-23).
Membership status is reviewed on a periodic basis, which ensures that
faculty contributions in teaching, scholarship, service, and administration
is monitored and evaluated.
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The ETSU policy on faculty load (ETSU Faculty Handbook, Teaching
Load) recognizes that quality instruction is the primary goal
of the university, but also governs the teaching load of faculty to
ensure that faculty have time to devote to service, scholarship, and
advising. Faculty workload reports are reviewed every semester at
various administrative levels to ensure that adequate faculty time
is available to execute the institution's mission of quality instruction,
scholarship, and service. In programs where accreditation standards
are more prescriptive of faculty load than institutional standards,
accreditation standards are given precedence.
Longitudinal data on faculty resources are monitored
to maintain an accurate knowledge of the trends in the utilization of
faculty resources. For example, from 1996 through 1999 (the last year
for which data are currently published), adjusted full-time faculty FTEs
show that utilization has remained relatively unchanged (469 in 1996,
468 in 1999). During this same period, use of full-time faculty decreased
from 75% of total instruction in 1996 to 71% in 1999, while the use of
adjunct faculty (15% of total in 1996 to 17% in 1999) and teaching assistants
(5% of total in 1996 to 6% of total in 1999) increased slightly. Any
remaining percentages of total instruction in each of these years were
taught by "other"faculty, which typically refers to university
administrators teaching in their disciplines (ETSU Staffing Profile).
Processes to Support Changing
Needs
East Tennessee State University has proven internal
systems to monitor and ensure that faculty resources remain adequate to
accomplish the institution's mission and to provide quality academic programs.
These processes include:
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The curriculum development process (ETSU Curriculum Process
Manual; Liaison Committee on Medical Education Guidelines)
provides for careful evaluation of faculty resources required for
curriculum changes, prior to approval. Approval of curriculum changes
or additions is contingent upon availability of the necessary faculty
resources.
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Annually, all chairs and deans of undergraduate/graduate programs
present staffing plans to the ETSU Provost and Vice President for
Academic Affairs (ETSU Staffing Plans, Academic Affairs).
These plans consider the adequacy of faculty resources to deliver
each academic program and lead to allocation of faculty lines, adjunct
faculty funds, and program expansion or contraction. In addition,
ratios and trends of full-time to part-time faculty within programs,
faculty credit hour production within programs, and average class
sizes are considered. In the ETSU Division of Health Sciences, similar
annual staffing discussions and decisions take place among the department
chairs, deans, and vice president for health sciences (ETSU Staffing
Plans, Health Affairs).
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For undergraduate programs, an ETSU Undergraduate Advisement Task
Force developed guidelines to ensure an adequate distribution of faculty
to advisees (Report of the ETSU Undergraduate Advisement Task Force).
Department chairs, college deans, the director of the advising resources
career center, and the provost/academic vice president monitor advising
ratios across the university. Additional staff assistance (e.g.,
professional advisors, graduate assistants) has been provided to those
programs or departments in which faculty advising loads exceeded the
recommended limits, including most recently, the ETSU colleges of
Education, Business, and Arts and Sciences (SACS Standard IV-9).
Analysis of longitudinal trends in the utilization of
faculty time shows only minor shifts in emphasis among the various components
of ETSU's mission during the past five years (ETSU Staffing Profile).
The data provided from adjusted full-time faculty FTEs show slight decreases
in faculty time dedicated to instruction (66% in 1996, 65% in 1999) and
service (14.3% in 1996, 13% in 1999), while distribution to research (10.6%
vs. 11.1%), administration (6.1% vs. 7.1%), and advising (3% vs. 3.8%)
show slight increases.
Improvements Based on Analyses
A significant number of changes have been made in the
utilization of faculty resources over the past five years. These changes
have been based on data obtained from ongoing evaluations and procedures
designed to detect changing needs in the allocation of faculty resources.
In particular, ETSU routinely examines data on student
and community needs. The adequacy of faculty resources is considered
in all decisions to add new programs or to modify, expand, or terminate
existing programs. For example, consideration of student demand and availability
of faculty resources led the university to cancel two concentrations (Athletic
Training and Sport Management and Leisure Services) within the ETSU Department
of Physical Education and Exercise Science (Summary of Program Actions,
Office of Academic Affairs). Conversely, examples of programs that
have been benefited by such analyses over just the past year include the
following (Summary of Program Actions, Office of Academic Affairs):
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proposals for five new degree programs, including the Master of
Social Work, Bachelor of Applied Science, Bachelor of Science in Leisure
Management, Doctorate of Science in Nursing, and Doctorate of Audiology;
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expansion of the Associate Degree in Dental Hygiene to include
a fully web-based Bachelor of Science degree program;
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addition of five new concentrations, including Digital Multimedia
and Information Technology (College of Applied Science and Technology),
and Marketing Management, Integrated Marketing, and Food Marketing
concentrations in the Bachelor of Business Administration (College
of Business); and
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currently, the development of a Bachelor's Degree in International
Business, based on a partnering of the ETSU College of Business with
five international colleges and universities.
The outcomes of ETSU accreditation and academic program
reviews are integrated across the university to determine whether common
trends or difficulties may be rectified at the institutional level. Current
improvement initiatives that impact analyses of the use and development
of faculty resources at ETSU include the following:
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Multi-year course scheduling is currently under development to
ensure that sufficient sections of classes, scheduled at convenient
times, are available to enable students to complete their undergraduate
programs in four years, and their graduate programs within time periods
appropriate for each degree program. These schedules will assist
in ensuring the adequacy of faculty resources in long-term planning
and staffing reviews (ETSU Scheduling Task Force).
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National and peer institution benchmarks are useful to an institution
primarily as sources of comparative data. To increase access to such
data, ETSU is participating in the Delaware Cost Study, a nationwide
database shared among participating universities. Comparable data
on the needs for and use of faculty resources will provide additional
insights on regional and national trends and enhance the effectiveness
of ETSU's planning processes.
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The institution's participation in research and creative activities
has increased over the past five years, and includes increased emphasis
on support of community partnerships (ETSU Office of Research
and Sponsored Projects, Mission, Internal Support and Incentives
for Research at ETSU; ETSU Community Partnership Center; Kellogg Community
Partnerships). Among all Tennessee Board of Regents institutions,
ETSU is the leader in external funding with growth in sponsored programs
that has more than tripled in the past 10 years, from approximately
$11,000,000 to more than $33,000,000 (ETSU Fact Book; ETSU Office
of Research and Sponsored Programs, Activity Summary; SACS Standard
V-1). Funds provided by these projects for reimbursement of release
time from instruction for research, creative activities, and service.
The university planning process now includes greater recognition of
the contribution these projects provide to the research, scholarship,
and service missions of the university and the impact of these activities
on faculty resources, as evidenced by the recent addition of the vice
president for research on the ETSU Strategic Planning and Effectiveness
Committee.
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Most recently, we have recognized institutional increases in interdisciplinary
coursework, in distance education, and in the need for more web-based
instruction at ETSU. The impact of these increases and needs on faculty
resources will require careful study, and thus, this issue has been
identified as a new improvement opportunity at ETSU which will be
considered in the upcoming year.
DOCUMENTATION
SOURCE
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LOCATION
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ETSU Mission
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SACS Standard IV-11
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SACS Standard IV-12
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University Profile System, Academic Departments,
Program Coordinators
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ETSU Academic Program Reviews, Office of Outcomes
Assessment
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Tennessee Higher Education Commission, Performance
Funding Program
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ETSU Performance Funding Annual Report, 1999-2000
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ETSU Accreditation, Office of Outcomes Assessment
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SACS Standard IV-24
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ETSU Faculty Handbook, Section 2.2.1, Yearly
Faculty Evaluation Process
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ETSU Faculty Handbook, Section 2.4, Faculty
Promotion
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ETSU Faculty Handbook, Section 2.3, Academic
Tenure
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ETSU Guidelines for Graduate Faculty Appointment
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ETSU Faculty Handbook, Section 2.9, Teaching
Load
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ETSU Staffing Profile: Fall Semesters 1995-1999
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Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Planning,
204 Dossett Hall
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ETSU Curriculum Process Manual
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Liaison Committee on Medical Education Guidelines
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ETSU Staffing Plans, Academic Affairs
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Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic
Affairs, 202 Dossett Hall
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ETSU Staffing Plans, Health Affairs
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Office of the Vice President for Health Affairs
and Dean of Medicine, 112A Veterans Affairs Building 2
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Report of the ETSU Undergraduate Advisement
Task Force
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SACS Standard IV-9
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Summary of Program Actions, ETSU Office of
Academic Affairs
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Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic
Affairs, 202 Dossett Hall
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Scheduling Task Force
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ETSU Office of Research and Sponsored Programs,
Mission
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ETSU Office of Research and Sponsored Programs,
Internal Support and Incentives for Research at ETSU
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ETSU Community Partnership Center
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Kellogg Community Partnerships
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ETSU Fact Book
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ETSU Office of Research & Sponsored Programs,
Activity Summary
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SACS Standard V-1
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