3.7.1  

The institution employs competent faculty members qualified to accomplish the mission and goals of the institution.  When determining acceptable qualifications of its faculty, an institution gives primary consideration to the highest earned degree in the discipline in accordance with the guidelines listed below.  The institution also considers competence, effectiveness, and capacity, including, as appropriate, undergraduate and graduate degrees, related work experiences in the field, professional licensure and certifications, honors and awards, continuous documented excellence in teaching, or other demonstrated competencies and achievements that contribute to effective teaching and student learning outcomes.  For all cases, the institution is responsible for justifying and documenting the qualifications of its faculty.

RATIONALE FOR COMPLIANCE JUDGMENT

Nashville State Technical Community College (NSCC) is in compliance with this standard.  The process for hiring full-time tenure track or term contract faculty [1] is described in the NSCC Affirmative Action Plan and required forms for a Search Plan are available in Public Folders [2].  The faculty hiring process is referenced in the Faculty and Staff Handbook [3].  Qualifications are the same for all faculty members teaching college-level classes, whether they are on- or off-campus, full- or part-time, teaching online or on-ground.  Increasingly, faculty positions are advertised electronically and applications increasingly come from these sources.  All faculty candidates submit a Nashville State application for employment [4].  Searches for full-time faculty positions are monitored through Human Resources and carried out by the instructional area deans.  Applications for adjunct faculty positions are forwarded directly to the deans.

The Human Resources Department maintains personnel files for all adjunct and full-time faculty members.  Each paper file contains a summary Credential Checklist form [5], which summarizes the qualifications of that individual.  With the development of the online roster, copies of that roster and portfolio will replace the Credential Checklist in the paper files.  The College has developed campus-based qualification guidelines for faculty teaching college-level courses [6], for faculty members who teaching Developmental Studies courses [7], and for instructors of English as a Second Language courses [8].  The developmental studies and ESOL courses are not college-level and do not count toward hours required for graduation.

NSCC uses the credential guidelines of the SACS Commission on Colleges as the primary basis for hiring faculty members to teach college-level courses.  Faculty qualifications and justification for hiring all faculty members during fall semester 2006 and spring semester 2007 are included in the online faculty roster [9].  For each faculty member, the academic credentials, any specialized certifications, qualifying experiences other than teaching, courses taught, and course outcomes are provided in the faculty roster.

Faculty members teaching General Education core courses are expected to have at least a Master’s degree with a minimum of 18 graduate hours in the teaching discipline.  In the college-level Arts and Sciences areas, there are few justifications other than the academic credentials. 

The historical mission of the College does, however, have significant impact on the qualifications of faculty members teaching in career/technical programs.  From 1970 until 2002, NSCC’s mission was limited to offering A.A.S. degrees and certificates.  In 2006, 79% of all credentials awarded by NSCC were in career programs.  Of the 491 associate degrees awarded, 52% were A.A.S. degrees. The primary goal of these programs is to prepare students for employment in a field related to their training, rather than for transfer to baccalaureate institutions.  NSCC considers Industry experience, special certifications, and employment history to be as important as academic credentials for faculty members teaching in career programs.  This is especially true for certificates, where students prepare for employment and/or upgrade their skills in one year or less.  Qualifications of faculty members who teach courses in the A.A.S. and technical certificate programs usually include justification based on work/professional experience in addition to academic credentials.  In a few areas, such as Music Technology, there are few academic programs available.  NSCC faculty members in these areas are qualified, but their qualifications may be based more on professional/industry experience than on academic experience.

Faculty from throughout the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) system may deliver a Regents Online Degree Program (RODP) course in which NSCC students are enrolled.  Personnel files for RODP faculty are maintained at TBR offices and their qualifications are available through the RODP faculty roster [10].