standard V – faculty
SUMMARY
The UAB School of Optometry meets and often exceeds
“Standard V – Faculty” delineated in sections 5.1 to 5.5. The number and
qualifications of faculty are sufficient to meet the stated mission of the
program; systems are in place to facilitate faculty participation in the
governance of the program; the faculty are allocated adequate time and
resources to engage in activities that maintain and enhance their
qualifications; there are faculty evaluation processes that establish goals and
assess performance of each faculty member; and there are published policies and
procedures for faculty recruitment, promotion, tenure, academic assignments and
responsibilities, sabbaticals, reporting relationships, grievance, and
benefits. There were no significant problems noted by the self-study committee
regarding this portion of the ACOE Self-Study.
5.1 The number and qualifications of faculty
members must be sufficient to meet the stated mission and goals of the program.
Examples of Evidence:
·
Description of faculty rank classifications (i.e.,
associate, assistant, professor, clinical associate, etc.) with description of
expected workload and expected contributions
·
Census of the faculty by classification
·
Description of significant changes in faculty census and
student-faculty ratio over the accreditation period
·
Workload formula and implementation grid by semester
(reference link to section 5.5)
·
List of faculty teaching responsibilities
Faculty
classifications within the School of Optometry are governed by the ranks used
by the University. The faculty ranks and
criteria are defined in section 2.4 of the UAB Faculty Handbook. It states:
2.4 Faculty Ranks and Related Criteria
UAB uses the following designations of
rank for its faculty. The general criteria for appointment or promotion to each
rank are described in this section. Note that the faculty titles listed herein
may be used for tenure-earning or tenured faculty as described below, and each
faculty rank may be used with or without descriptors for non-tenure-earning
faculty under the terms described in Section 2.3.2.
The
Specific Ranks used by the School of Optometry are:
2.4.2 Assistant Professor
Appointment as an Assistant Professor
usually requires a terminal degree and potential to make significant academic
contributions. Appointments to this rank may be tenure-earning or
non-tenure-earning.
2.4.3
Associate Professor
Associate Professor is a rank that
usually requires a terminal degree and service as an Assistant Professor for at
least three years at UAB or equivalent service elsewhere. Associate Professors
may be tenured, tenure-earning, or non-tenure-earning. The individual holding
this rank should have demonstrated the ability to make significant
contributions in academic duties. Such contributions should be of high quality
and should be nationally recognized. Further, the individual should show
promise of continued professional growth.
2.4.4
Professor
Professor is the highest academic rank
granted at UAB except for a limited number of university professors,
distinguished professors, or endowed professorships. Individuals holding this
rank may be tenured, tenure-earning, or non-tenure-earning. The rank of Professor
requires the demonstration of nationally recognized excellence in the conduct
of academic duties. The rank of Professor usually requires academic service as
an Associate Professor for at least three years at UAB or equivalent service
elsewhere.
In addition, the School uses “clinical,
research and adjunct” descriptors when appropriate to more clearly identify
specific non-tenure-earning faculty members.
Number
of Faculty by Rank: (Total
faculty = 55*)
Percentage of Faculty by Rank:
*Adjunct faculty are not included since they are
uncompensated/volunteer status.
The faculty census
has remained consistent throughout this accreditation period. However, the
student census and student/faculty ratio have both increased slightly over the
past few years. The most significant
increase in the total number of students has occurred this year (2008). For the first time in recent history, all
four classes have 40 or more students with the second year class the largest at
47. In prior years, it was not uncommon
for class size to decrease by 10-12% prior to graduation. A decrease is usually due to students
repeating a year (for academic or personal reasons), dropping out or dismissal. In 2006, the decision was made to increase
the number of students admitted to the program. The reason for the increase was
three-fold. First, the applicant pool was very strong; second, it is hoped that
through normal attrition we will be able to graduate at least 40 students per
year; and finally, the economic climate necessitated finding sources for stable
funding. Increasing the class size by
even 3 or 4 students helped to provide stable tuition revenue.
Student/Faculty Ratios
|
Year (as of 9/1) |
Total Students |
Full-Time Faculty |
Part-time Faculty/FTE |
Student/Faculty Ratio |
|
2003 |
158 |
45 |
12/3.35 |
3.3 :
1 |
|
2004 |
158 |
46 |
9/3.32 |
3.2 :
1 |
|
2005 |
163 |
43 |
10/3 |
3.5 :
1 |
|
2006 |
163 |
45 |
9/2.8 |
3.4 :
1 |
|
2007 |
165 |
45 |
8/3 |
3.4 :
1 |
|
2008 |
176 |
46 |
9/3.7 |
3.5 :
1 |
5.1.1
Faculty members
must hold an earned terminal degree or first professional degree from an
institution accredited by a recognized agency or its foreign equivalent or have
certification or licensure related to their primary instructional assignment.
Examples of Evidence:
·
List of faculty members with abbreviated biographies and
teaching responsibilities
·
List of faculty members outside of optometry who instruct
in the professional program
·
Copies of faculty CVs (on-site)
·
Description of process to verify faculty credentials
A list of optometry
faculty showing department affiliation, degrees and links to their web pages
can be found at http://main.uab.edu/Sites/optometry/people/faculty/. Faculty web pages include descriptions of teaching,
scholarly activity, publications and other relevant information. All faculty within the
School of Optometry hold either an O.D. or Ph.D. degree. In May 2004, in preparation for the SACS
accreditation visit, the University instructed each unit on campus to begin the
process of verifying faculty credentials. By November 2004, the School of
Optometry had completed the process. An
original transcript from the institution where each faculty member received his
or her terminal degree is on file in the School’s Administration and Finance
Office.
In addition, letters to
faculty hired after 2004 include the following statement in the official
“Letter of Offer.”
“As
a requirement of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools accreditation
process, an official copy of your transcript must be provided to the University
of Alabama at Birmingham.”
The procedure for
credentialing of faculty is university-wide.
Non-optometry
faculty who instruct in the professional and have primary appointments in a
department outside of optometry, have been credentialed by that department. During
the 2008-09 academic year there are 73 non-optometry faculty scheduled to
participate in the professional program.
Their involvement ranges from extensive (Basic Health Science Courses)
to limited (one-time lectures).
The School’s Professional Program reviews the
credentials of all faculty to determine their appropriateness to teach the
course to which they are assigned.
5.2 A system must
be in place to enable faculty participation in the governance of the program.
Examples of Evidence:
·
A list of school committees
and membership
·
Schedule of
school/departmental faculty meetings in past two years
·
Minutes of faculty meetings in past two years (on-site)
·
Faculty charter, bylaws, contract, standard operating
procedure, etc.
·
Description of faculty committee structure, membership
objectives, reporting procedures
·
Meeting schedules and minutes(on-site)
·
Evidence of governance issues resolved or identified by the
faculty process (i.e. agendas, minutes, formal letters, white papers, votes)
Faculty in the School of Optometry do not have a formal charter or bylaws. They are under the umbrella of the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Each faculty member signs a contract prepared by the department making the official offer. Contracts for each faculty member are available in the School’s Office of Administration and Finance. Operating policies and procedures are published in the UAB Faculty Handbook. In addition, each department has established faculty guidelines entitled: “Guidelines for Promotion, Evaluation of Teaching, Scholarship, and Service, and Emeritus Status in the Department of Optometry” and the “Faculty Handbook and Policies, Department of Vision Sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham.” Both documents are written to comply with the University’s policies and procedures contained in the UAB Faculty Handbook.
Overall responsibility for governance of the Professional Program is given to the Executive Committee and Dean. Membership in the Executive Committee is limited to the Dean, Chairs of the Department of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Chief of Staff and the Directors of the School’s two university-wide centers. However, it should be noted that in matters specifically related to decisions involving the curriculum, admissions and academic policies, and student issues are made by the Chairs and Chief of Staff with recommendation to the Dean. The faculty committees within the School are the School of Optometry Faculty Affairs Committee (SOFAC), Optometry Faculty Advisory Committee (OFAC) and Vision Science Faculty Advisory Committee (VSFAC).
SOFAC Charge – “To consider and make
recommendations to the Dean on faculty personnel actions whenever School level
review is required; to present general advice and recommendations on faculty or
other policy matters to the Dean.” This Committee provides the final
review of faculty promotion and tenure packets prior to submission to the
Provost. They are also responsible for
handling all school-wide faculty elections.
OFAC Charge – “To consider and make recommendations to the Chair on faculty personnel actions; to present general advice and recommendations on faculty matters to the Chair; to ensure adequate faculty personnel procedures; to function at the discretion of the Chair as a Promotion and Tenure Committee as defined in the written policies of the Department of Optometry.” OFAC also assists the Chair with the hiring of new faculty and the evaluation of faculty performance by review of the Annual Faculty Updates.
VSFAC Charge – “To consider and make recommendations to the Chair on faculty personnel actions including annual faculty evaluations; to present general advice and recommendations on faculty matters to the Chair; and to ensure adequate faculty personnel procedures.” VSFAC functions in the Department of Vision Sciences as OFAC does in Optometry. This Committee assists the Chair with faculty performance reviews and as a Promotion and Tenure Committee.
In addition, UAB has a university-wide Faculty Senate that represents the interests of all UAB faculty members. The Senate has a constitution and bylaws governing their authority, membership, structure and responsibilities.
“The Senate is the representative body for the UAB faculty in the university’s constituent units.” Each constituent unit elects a specific number of senators (and an equal number of alternates) based on the number of faculty within that unit. The School of Optometry has two senators and two alternates. Each senator and alternate serves a two-year term. SOFAC oversees faculty-wide elections within the School – including selection of senators. The current senators representing optometry are Drs. Adam Gordon and Michael Loop. Alternates are Drs. Melanie Sivley and John Classé. Terms for Drs. Gordon and Sivley expire in May 2009. Drs. Loop and Classé will serve through May 2010.
“The Senate’s authority derives from the faculty. Its purpose is to represent faculty viewpoints on matters of general interest and concern, to the faculty and the University, to the President, and to advise the President, other administrative officers of the university, and members of the Board of Trustees on such matters.” The Senate meets monthly and publishes the minutes of those meetings on their website.
Governance
issues within the School are handled in the same manner as grievances. The
faculty member first seeks a solution through his or her Department Chair or
the Dean. If unable to obtain a satisfactory resolution at the school level,
the faculty member may then file a written grievance with the Provost. The Provost
reviews the written complaint and determines a course of action. The complete grievance procedure is addressed
in Section 2.9 and Appendix A of the UAB Faculty Handbook.
There is a university-wide Grievance Committee with elected representatives from each unit on campus. Whenever the Provost determines that a review by the Committee is appropriate, three members are chosen from the entire Committee and appointed along with a facilitator from the Provost’s Office. Selection of the three Committee members may be random or based on the expertise of a member to evaluate/investigate the complaint. The grievant is allowed to accept or reject each Committee member. The Grievance panel publishes a report of their findings which are distributed to the Provost, the grievant and the accused parties. The Provost is responsible for acting on the recommendation of the panel. The grievant has the right to file a formal appeal with the President if he or she is not satisfied with the panel’s recommendation. Official documents associated with the process are maintained in the Office of the Provost and are confidential. Since the last ACOE accreditation site visit, three letters of grievance were sent to the Provost by a faculty member. In the first two instances, the matter was handled by the Provost without empanelling a committee and there was no formal notification to the School. The third remains under review. Copies of the correspondence were provided by the grievant and are on file in the Office of the Dean.
The School has approximately 20 additional Committees that have faculty as members. Each individual is encouraged to participate as a member of at least one Committee. Committees cover a wide variety of functions from admissions, to academic review, to serving in an advisory capacity. Some Committees meet on a regular basis while others meet periodically as needed. Committee minutes are available on site.
Faculty meetings are held regularly in each Department. The minutes of these meetings are available for review on site. Combined faculty meetings are held a minimum of once a year. These meetings are generally for a specific purpose or presentation.
Faculty Meeting Dates 2007 - 2008:
|
Department of Optometry |
Department
of Vision Sciences |
School of Optometry
(Combined Departments) |
|
February 28, 2007 |
February 20, 2007 |
February 28, 2007 |
|
May 21, 2007 |
May 21, 2007 |
May 21, 2007 |
|
August 23, 2007 |
September 17, 2007 |
November 20, 2007 |
|
November 20, 2007 |
January 28, 2008 |
February 19, 2008 |
|
February 19, 2008 |
March
26, 2008 |
August 21, 2008 |
|
May 20, 2008 |
|
November 18, 2008 |
|
August 21, 2008 |
|
|
|
November 18, 2008 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Self Study 2008 School Survey Outcomes
In the Self Study Survey, all
school stakeholders, including faculty, staff and students, were asked about
the extent to which they felt they were able to participate in governance of
the program. Results of these survey
questions are presented in the Standard IV Report.
5.3 The faculty
must be allocated adequate time and resources to enhance their skills and
leadership abilities in education, service, research and scholarly activity.
Examples of Evidence:
·
Description of how faculty work load is determined
·
Description of faculty development programs
·
Faculty technology support
·
Sabbatical policies
·
Description of orientation and mentoring programs
Workload: Teaching assignments are published each academic term in the School of Optometry’s teaching schedule, and committee assignments are published on an annual basis. The Director of the Professional Program is responsible for the development and distribution of the program’s teaching schedule. The Director coordinates these assignments with the Chair of the Department of Vision Sciences and the Chair of the Curriculum Committee. Consideration is given to each faculty member’s responsibilities to research, scholarship and service activities. Division of workload is addressed in each faculty member’s individual contract. As a general rule, tenure-track faculty members are allowed 1/3 time for teaching, 1/3 time for scholarly activities, and 1/3 time for service activities. These loads are adjusted per faculty member each academic term depending on the faculty member’s level of commitment in the three areas of faculty endeavor. Tenured and tenure-earning faculty are expected to place more emphasis on research and scholarly activity, while non-tenure earning faculty members are expected to place less emphasis on scholarship with correspondingly more emphasis on teaching and service.
Development: The UAB School of Optometry is committed to assisting in the development of faculty in the areas of teaching, research and service. To this end, the Departments, School, University and profession provide a number of opportunities that faculty can take advantage of to assist their development in these areas. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the faculty to utilize opportunities made available and to work in conjunction with a faculty mentor and/or the Chair of the Department to achieve established goals in each of these areas.
Development opportunities are available to faculty through the Departments of Optometry and Vision Sciences, the School, the University and optometric associations. They are detailed in the document entitled “Faculty Development Program.”
Fulltime faculty, who are licensed practitioners, are given the opportunity to maintain their clinical skills by participating in the School’s faculty practice, University Optometric Group (UOG). Currently 11 clinical faculty are involved in UOG. Participation in clinical research allows faculty members to become knowledgeable about emerging clinical techniques and products that will become valuable learning objectives of optometry and post-graduate continuing education courses. Indeed, teaching assignments, service activities, and scholarly expertise for faculty members are matched in terms of topic or area of interest.
Resources/support: The resources to which faculty members have access to help accomplish their mission and enhance their qualifications are ample. These include the ability to create educational programs with the help of the UAB Office of Instructional Technology, the Lister Hill (Health Sciences) and Sterne (General) Libraries; special continuing education efforts, audience response system technology, telephone conferencing, instruction on how to computerize courses (Blackboard/Vista) and increased interaction with students and faculty both in the School and across campus. There is a Computer and Data Resources (CADRE) team of 5.0 FTE staff positions within the School of Optometry that provides each faculty office and laboratory with computer services via Ethernet and wireless connections. There are an additional 14.5 FTE staff positions in the Department of Optometry and 5.0 FTE staff positions in the Department of Vision Sciences that provide administrative support. There are 24.0 FTE laboratory positions in the Department of Vision Sciences that help faculty members fulfill their scholarship roles, and that are paid from research grants or contracts. There are 3.0 staff positions in the Department of Optometry and 1.0 in the Clinic involved in conducting clinical research that are paid primarily from grant or contract funds. A “Distinguished Lecturer” seminar program is maintained by the Department of Vision Sciences, a “Visiting Scholars” program is maintained by the Vision Science Research Center, and the “Clinical Visiting Scholars” program is offered by the Department of Optometry. These programs bring in outside speakers on topics of current scholarly interest. Funds for a limited amount of travel for each faculty member (1-2 trips each) are set-aside on an annual basis in the form of a Professional Development Fund (PDF). These funds are also available to assist in paying for books, equipment, software or other optometry-related expenses. In addition, licensure fees and professional liability insurance fees for each clinical faculty member are paid by the Department of Optometry.
The ability to maintain and enhance faculty qualifications is further promoted by the location of the UAB School of Optometry in a major academic health center and a major University. The Vision Science Research Center (VSRC) houses a Molecular Biology and Physiology Module, Machine Shop, and Electronics & Computer Module that are accessible to optometry and vision sciences faculty who are VSRC members.
A sabbatical leave can be requested by a tenured or tenure-earning faculty member with six years or more of full-time service. The request is submitted in writing to his or her department Chair six months prior to the leave date and must include a written plan of activities for the period of the sabbatical. The UAB policy for sabbaticals is addressed in Section 7.4 of the UAB Faculty Handbook.
New faculty orientation is administered by UAB’s Department of Human Resource Management. UAB now offers three Orientation Programs from which a new hire can choose:
1. Classroom – Live instructor led – offered each Monday
2. Online
3. Blended – combination of online and classroom
Mentoring Opportunities: New faculty members hired into the Department of Optometry have historically been highly motivated to provide teaching, research, and service to the School, University and profession of optometry. Clinical faculty members have been well prepared to provide clinical care by virtue of having completed a contemporary residency program in one of the optometric specialties. Often these new clinicians have had some teaching experience by working with professional program optometry students during the course of residency education. There has typically been less experience in the classroom setting or in the laboratory environment.
To assist junior faculty in developing effective programs of teaching and scholarship, the Department of Optometry developed, in 2004, a Junior Faculty Mentor Coordinating Committee, through which all Assistant Professors were offered counseling and mentoring to assist them in launching a career in optometric education and research. Each Assistant Professor was assigned to a specific committee member who, in turn, acted as a mentor “coordinator” to assure that the faculty member received appropriate guidance and counsel in the formative years of his/her career. This program proved to be too rigid and did not meet the needs of the junior faculty. The program has been revised to more effectively attract mentors who can directly influence the faculty member’s career development. Mentors are selected by each faculty member based on personality characteristics, past achievements or interests that are shared with the Assistant Professor, or other attributes that support a close linkage between the junior faculty member and his/her mentor. The expectation is that progress toward promotion will occur more quickly through this enhanced mentoring process than would have occurred otherwise. Visible professional growth should lead, in turn, to maintenance of faculty morale and motivation for continued success.
The Departments of Optometry and Vision Sciences have instituted peer reviews of teaching for junior faculty by more experienced teachers, such as those who have received the UAB President’s Award for Teaching, or the Chair. The faculty routinely provides peer assistance with grant applications both in writing and experimental design. The faculty routinely provides peer assistance with manuscript preparation by reading drafts of manuscripts for clarity and providing feedback. Prior to national meetings, faculty attend practice sessions for platform or poster presentation providing helpful feedback during these sessions.
Self Study 2008 School Survey Outcomes (relating to 5.3)
Faculty were asked to rate their perception of “workload” and “emphasis on publishing for tenure-seeking faculty” on a different scale from the standard “Strongly agree” through “Strongly disagree” used for the majority of survey questions. This was designed to gauge the direction of any departure from “appropriate.” The scoring system is shown below in parentheses and totals 15 (to match the 1-2-3-4-5 scoring system). Raw data from all surveys are accessible from the link below.
1. “The workload for faculty is:”
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2. “The emphasis on publishing
for tenure-seeking faculty in my department is:”
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Additional
survey questions were based on the standard format, with mean score based on
the following scale: Strongly Agree = 5,
Agree = 4, Neutral = 3, Disagree = 2, Strongly Disagree = 1, Cannot Make a
Judgment = omitted. Mean scores for each
question are shown in the table below.
|
Not surprisingly, faculty who felt their workload was not ideal considered it to be too high. However, no faculty considered their workload overly burdensome (“much too high”). Faculty also considered the emphasis placed on publishing for tenure-seeking faculty to be appropriate.
Consistent with the perception of a greater than ideal
workload, faculty were least positive about the amount of time they had for
research and scholarly activities. However, faculty agreed that the school supports their professional
development and involvement in professional organizations, and that each
department’s emphasis on research did not adversely affect their teaching. Faculty members agreed, but with less
enthusiasm, that junior faculty receive adequate support for their career
development.
5.4 The program must use a faculty evaluation process that
establishes goals and assesses performance of each faculty member.
Examples of Evidence:
·
Faculty
Evaluation Template – Department of Optometry
·
Faculty
Evaluation Template – Department of Vision Sciences
Faculty members are evaluated annually in terms of teaching, scholarship, and service by the Department Chairs with input by their respective advisory committees. Each department uses a template for annual faculty reports that details productivity in the areas of teaching, scholarship, and service. Teaching is evaluated by consideration of the faculty member’s annual productivity report, student opinion, and peer analysis among those on the advisory committee. Scholarship and service are evaluated on the basis of the annual report and peer analysis among those on the committee. The Department Cprovide annual feedback to faculty members on the results of the annual productivity assessments. A description of the Faculty Evaluation Process is attached.
Faculty members are also evaluated periodically for promotion and tenure. These evaluations are performed by the Department Chairs and Dean, with review by the respective advisory committees, and are more thorough than the annual evaluations. Periodic evaluations are in the areas of Teaching, Scholarship, and Service, and are conducted according to written guidelines in the UAB Faculty Handbook and within the optometry and vision sciences departments. In the Department of Optometry, guidelines are published in the “Guidelines for Promotion, Evaluation of Teaching, Scholarship, and Service, and Emeritus Status in the Department of Optometry.” In the Department of Vision Sciences, guidelines are published in the “Faculty Handbook and Policies, Department of Vision Sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham.” Such documents contain the goals to be achieved by each faculty member in the areas of Teaching, Scholarship, and Service, depending on the faculty member’s rank and tenure-earning status.
Each faculty member is, therefore, evaluated on an annual basis for productivity and on a periodic basis for promotion. Goals are stated in written guidelines of the faculty member’s respective department, in the UAB Faculty Handbook, and are communicated to the faculty member through annual and periodic feedback by the Department Chairs.
Self Study 2008 School Survey
Outcomes (relating to 5.4)
Mean score based on the following scale: Strongly Agree = 5, Agree = 4, Neutral = 3,
Disagree = 2, Strongly Disagree = 1, Cannot Make a Judgment = omitted. Mean scores for each question are shown in
the table below.
|
Faculty
Survey Question |
Mean Score |
|
Performance
expectations for faculty are clearly defined |
4.04 |
|
Faculty
performance review procedures are clearly defined |
4.03 |
|
Faculty
performance review processes are appropriate. |
3.73 |
|
Student
evaluations of teaching help me improve the quality of my teaching. |
3.69 |
Faculty appear to be satisfied with their performance expectations and procedures, while the review process is not quite as well accepted. Student evaluations of teaching are perceived as positive, but not as useful in improving an instructor’s quality of teaching as would be ideal.
5.5 The
program must follow published policies and procedures for faculty recruitment
and retention, promotion, tenure (where it exists), academic assignments and
responsibilities, sabbaticals, reporting relationships, grievance, and
benefits.
Examples of Evidence:
·
Workload policy
·
Organizational chart
·
Procedure and policy manuals
The School is committed to recruiting excellent faculty members. The need for new positions or the necessity of filling vacated faculty positions is identified by the departmental advisory committees, with input from the faculty, and then communicated to the Department Chairs. Approval to fill a faculty position is then sought from the Dean. With this approval, the Department Chairs with the assistance of their respective faculty advisory committees recruit regular faculty based on the Department’s specific requirements.
Academic assignments and responsibilities are made by the respective Department Chairs in consultation with the Dean. Annual and periodic reporting requirements regarding evaluations of the faculty were previously discussed in Standard 5.4 of this report.
Policies and procedures for promotion, tenure, academic responsibilities, sabbaticals, grievance, and some benefits are contained in the “UAB Faculty Handbook, Guidelines for Promotion, Evaluation of Teaching, Scholarship, and Service, and Emeritus Status in the Department of Optometry” and the “Faculty Handbook and Policies, Department of Vision Sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham.”
Self Study 2008 School Survey
Outcomes (relating to 5.5)
Mean score based on the following scale: Strongly Agree = 5, Agree = 4, Neutral = 3,
Disagree = 2, Strongly Disagree = 1, Cannot Make a Judgment = omitted. Mean scores for each question are shown in
the table below.
|
Faculty
Survey Question |
Mean Score |
|
The
policy on faculty promotion and tenure is clear |
3.96 |
|
The
process for promotion is appropriate |
3.88 |
|
The
process for achieving tenure is appropriate |
3.89 |
|
The
process for recruitment of qualified faculty is effective |
3.11 |
|
My
teaching assignments are appropriate for my interests and expertise |
4.41 |
|
There is
a clear policy on conflict of interest |
4.15 |
|
There is
a clear policy on conflict of commitment |
3.70 |
Faculty indicate that they generally support the process for promotion and tenure without being overly enthusiastic. While appropriate procedures are used for recruitment of qualified faculty, the UABSO faculty indicate that they have concerns about this process. Faculty clearly indicate that they are given the opportunity to teach in an appropriate area of the program. The term, “conflict of commitment” has only recently received more attention at the university administration level. Several recent speakers at UABSO faculty meetings addressed this topic and the reason it has become more prominent. It is anticipated that, as a result of these meetings, the faculty will become more familiar with the policy on “conflict of commitment.”
Standard V: List of Hyperlinked Documents and Pages
|
Document/Page |
Hyperlink |
Reference in Report |
|
UAB Faculty Handbook |
5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4 |
|
|
UABSO Faculty |
http://main.uab.edu/Sites/optometry/people/faculty/
and Optometry Faculty
List |
5.1.1 |
|
UABSO-affiliated
faculty (not appointed) |
5.1.1 |
|
|
UABSO Committees and Memberships |
5.2 |
|
|
Department of Optometry Guidelines for Promotion and Evaluation |
5.2, 5.4, 5.5 |
|
|
Department of Vision Sciences Faculty Handbook and Policies |
Faculty
Handbook and Policies, Department of Vision Sciences, University of Alabama
at Birmingham |
5.2, 5.4, 5.5 |
|
Position Descriptions for Key Administrators |
Overall
responsibility for governance of the Professional Program |
5.2 |
|
UAB Faculty Senate |
5.2 |
|
|
UAB Faculty Handbook Appendix A (Grievance Procedures) |
Appendix A of UAB Faculty Handbook |
5.2 |
|
UABSO Faculty Development Program |
5.3 |
|
|
UAB Orientation Programs |
5.3 |
|
|
Faculty Evaluation Template – Department of Optometry |
5.4 |
|
|
Faculty Evaluation Template – Department of Vision Sciences |
5.4 |
|
|
Faculty Evaluation Process |
5.4 |
|
|
2008 Self Study Survey Data |
5.3, 5.4, 5.5 |