ARTP Department of Communication Studies

 

Confidentiality of Personnel Deliberations

Composition of Departmental Personnel Committees (Probationary and Temporary Appointment, Retention, Tenure, and Promotion, and Evaluation of Temporary, Probationary and Tenured Faculty)

Composition of Departmental Personnel Committees

The department annually elects 3 personnel committees.

The probationary and tenured faculty members of the department or equivalent unit shall elect a peer review committee(s) of tenured faculty members. When there are insufficient eligible members to serve on the peer committee, the department shall elect members from a related academic discipline(s).

(The Committees, as a whole, must take responsibility for the following tasks: Probationary Appointment; Temporary Appointment; Retention, Tenure and Promotion; Range Elevation; Evaluation of Temporary Faculty; Evaluation of Probationary Faculty; Evaluation of Tenured Faculty (Post-Tenure review); Evaluation for Request to Emeritus status; and Collaboration on the Development of Individual Professional Plans. It is required that each unit indicate below which Committee is responsible for each of these tasks.)

Committee Titles and Responsibilities	Number of Members (at least 3; all tenured full time) (Indicate if must be (full) professor rank)	Number of Alternates (1 or more; all tenured full-time)* (Indicate if must be (full) professor rank)
Committee A Review for appointment and promotion those faculty members at (or to be appointed at) the Associate Professor or Professor Rank and are technically eligible for retention, tenure and/or promotion or Emeritus status; Shall collaborate in the development of Individual Professional Plans. Consider all part-time faculty for Retention and Range Elevation	3 Full Professors	1 Full Professor
Committee B Review for appointment, retention, tenure and promotion those faculty members at (or to be appointed at) the Assistant Professor Rank or lower and are technically eligible for retention, tenure and/or promotion.	3 Associate or Full Professors	1 Associate or Full Professor
Faculty Search Committee Elected on a search-by-search basis, advisory to the Chair and the Dean on temporary and probationary appointments	3 Associate or Full Professors (1 Probationary faculty may be elected)	1 Associate or Full Professor

 

Eligibility for Committee Service and Balloting

Additional:

1. Each year the Department will decide by written ballot or electronic ballot whether or not the Department Chair will be a voting member of Committee A and/or Committee B. This determination will be made prior to the selection of the members of Committees A and B.

2. Committees A and B shall be elected in the Spring of each year, and shall begin service the subsequent Fall semester through the following Spring semester. There shall be two separate elections for the Committees: the election of Committee B must be completed and the results announced before the election of Committee A.

3. Department Personnel and Appointment Committees are elected in the Spring semester by paper or electronic ballot. Ballots shall contain the names of all eligible members of the Department who are in residence on campus any time during the tenure of the Committee. The Chair is eligible to serve if elected to the committee. If there are insufficient nominees from within the department, the Department's Faculty Affairs Committee will find eligible nominees from closely related disciplines.

4. Faculty will not serve on both A and B in the same review cycle.

5. It shall be the responsibility of the Department Chair to monitor the Calendar and call the first meeting. Subsequent deadlines shall be the responsibility of the Committee Chairs.

6. It is the responsibility of the Department Chair to publish to the Department the deadlines for all written testimony.

Recruitment of Probationary Faculty

Appointment of Probationary Faculty

Personnel Action Files

Individualized Professional Plans

Eligibility for Tenure and Promotion

Area of Specialization	Terminal Degree
All areas of specialization	Ph.D.

 

Evaluation of Permanent Instructional Faculty

Additional:

Category B: Activities considered appropriate as "scholarly and creative activities" for the discipline are:

• Academic and scholarly contributions to the faculty member's profession and field, that are externally evaluated and published or formally accepted for publication such as research, critical essays and analyses, books, publications, published reviews, translations, papers, articles, journals, poetry and theoretical speculations.
• Innovative use of computers and computer methods, textbooks, and original teaching or testing materials which are adopted for professional and/or instructional use outside the faculty member's department/division.
• Inventions, design and innovations that have been favorably evaluated by authorities outside the University.
• Creation, exhibition, performance or publication in the arts or literature. Producing and directing events in the performing arts, including visual arts, music, dance, and theatre, beyond normal instructional duties.
• Film or video production, including directing, producing, videography, cinematography or lighting for film, television or video. Production executive positions such as production designer or production manager. Video design for stage production. Postproduction editing. Any of these positions held either individually or collaboratively as in co-writer, co-producer, etc. Related electronic media work, including web design, interactive, DVD or CD-ROM. Animation, traditional or computer, including life drawing studies, character design, layout, storyboards, background or character paintings, 3-D modeling lighting, texture mapping and effects. Electronic graphic design. Design for film/video related print media.
• Screenwriting: including a short or feature length script, fiction or nonfiction, treatments, step outlines, script development, rewriting assignments, doctoring or consulting on film/video projects; film critiques/reviews, interviews (written, audio or video) performed by faculty member.
• Soundtracks, audio recordings, music production, CDs; performance on radio and/or television as well as the internet; hosting, writing, and creating programs for video, CD, DVD, and audiotape.
• Broadcast or distribution of significant work by media--either print or electronic.
• Performances, presentations or exhibitions, curation, film festival organization or participation, broadcast credits, awards.
• Web-based or electronic publications will be considered as substantive contribution in one of two levels: (1) in refereed or juried on-line journals as scholarship and (2) as innovative/creative teaching in which course materials are posted on the internet for instructional use.
• Presentations before meetings of scholarly and professional societies, and presentations as an invited authority in the faculty member's field before significant scholarly and professional audiences.
• Participation of activities of scholarly or professional societies beyond mere membership, such as elective office, fellowship status, committee membership, receipt of special awards, organization of symposia and chairing of conference sessions.
• Receipt of fellowships or other subsidies for the pursuit of research or study, and significant commissions in the creative arts.
• Holding significant special appointments such as visiting professorships, lectureships, or consultant assignments in other academic, scholarly, professional, or governmental institutions, and editing of scholarly or professional publications.
• Professional practice that utilizes the faculty member's academic expertise in a manner that results in an advancement of the field.
• Receipt of grants or contracts employing faculty member's skills and reputation in the field.

1. A department recommendation shall include an evaluation of publications and other professional activities. The recommendation may include, but is not limited to, the following: merit of the work; the candidate's program of research; and the nature and scope of professional activities.
2. A department recommendation shall include evaluation of University, community and related service.

3. Members of the faculty under review shall be observed at least once each RTP cycle by a colleague, tenured or above the rank of the candidate. The observer shall meet with the candidate to discuss the written draft of the review prior to submitting the report for inclusion in the candidate's permanent personnel file. Candidates will be given a copy of the final report and will have ten days in which to file a written response that will also be included in the permanent file.

Committee Procedures

Review of Faculty Holding Joint Appointments and of Faculty Active in Interdisciplinary Programs

Additional:

Ad Hoc Faculty Committees, advisory to the chair, shall be elected on a case-by-case basis to consider requests for joint appointment.

Student Consultation in Academic Personnel Processes

Additional:

Part-time and probationary tenure track faculty must conduct student opinion surveys for all classes taught. Tenured faculty may elect to have student evaluations one semester per year in rotation, or may request a different pattern, as negotiated with the Department Chair, unless they are only teaching one course per semester. In that case they will need to have student opinion surveys in more than one semester.

Oral Testimony

Role of Department/Division/School Chair or Director

Appointment of Temporary Faculty

Evaluation of Temporary Faculty

Additional:

1. Evaluation of temporary faculty is based on instructional performance, taking into account student evaluations, course GP A, syllabi, tests, and class materials, and those contributions in Categories B and C that reflect on instruction.
2. Classroom Observations
   1. It is normal for instructors to be visited at least once a year by members of the Part-time Review Committee (PTRC) (or its designee) for the purpose of observing teaching effectiveness. Class observations are normally part of the evidence to justify range elevation.
   2. Pre-Observation Contact:

3. Those conducting the observations of part time faculty should provide an objective and detailed description of the activities that occur in a classroom. The description should make it possible for PTRC to evaluate the following factors:

• instructor's preparation and mastery of content;
• goals/objectives of the session and their relation to the design of the course as a whole;
• how time is used/managed;
• description of specific techniques and methodologies employed;
• instructor's manner and its apparent effect
• sense of the atmosphere or learning environment created;
• evidence of interest/attentiveness/preparation/involvement of students.

4. The report should include assessment and, when appropriate, commendation of the instructor's strengths. The report should also include, when appropriate, suggestions for improvement. The primary purpose of the observation should be to help improve instruction. Nevertheless, the report is also part of a personnel file used to determine retention, rehiring, and occasionally dismissal. The observer or PTRC may choose to provide a summary comment (such as excellent, good, satisfactory, unsatisfactory, etc.), but no such summary comment is required.
5. The report of the observation shall be given to the department chair who shall present it to the instructor. The instructor will then have ten days to submit a rebuttal statement.

1. The instructor will provide a supplemental file containing course materials that will enable PTRC to evaluate both teaching effectiveness and currency in the field. In all cases, the instructor should provide a copy of the course syllabus and samples of assignments and instructional handouts that will enable PTRC to evaluate:

• course organization and design
• course congruence with Department and University policies and procedures
• appropriateness of assignments
• likely effectiveness of assignments
• a sense of the tone of the course
• the instructor's professionalism

2. In addition, instructors may include copies of sample student papers that they have marked and graded. These will be evaluated in terms of the appropriateness and usefulness of the instructor's responses.

Consideration for Three-Year Appointments

Consideration for Range Elevation

Additional:

The criteria for range elevation for full- and part-time temporary faculty in the Department of Communication Studies are 1) a sustained record of outstanding teaching performance at Cal State L.A., and 2) evidence of significant professional accomplishment and (3) important contributions to the university/community.

Examples of professional contributions include the following:

1. earning an advanced academic degree other than that held at the point of the faculty member's initial appointment or previous range elevation and in a field relevant to the faculty member's teaching assignment'
2. academic, scholarly or creative contributions to the faculty member's profession and field, that are externally evaluated and published or formally accepted for publication such as research, critical essays, films, screen plays, animation, television/radio programs and analyses, and theoretical speculations;
3. textbooks and original teaching or testing materials or innovative use of computers and computer methods which are adopted for professional and/or instructional use outside the faculty member's department/division;
4. presentations or publication in communication studies, film studies, critical studies, etc. based on the faculty members areas of specialty and the area of service to the department.
5. presentations before meetings of scholarly, professional, and creative/artistic societies, and presentations as an invited authority in the faculty member's fields before significant audiences'
6. participation in activities of scholarly, professional and creative/artistic societies beyond mere membership, such as elective office, fellowship status, committee membership, receipt or special awards, organization of symposia, and chairing of conference sessions;
7. receipt of fellowships or other subsidies for the pursuit of research, fieldwork, or study in the faculty member's field;
8. holding significant special appointments such as editing of scholarly or professional publications

Examples of contributions to the university/community include:

1. contributing to academic governance such as membership and participation in the activities of department/division, school, university, and system committees, and service in administrative capacities;
2. participating in any student organization or engaging in any service to schools and/or the community or engaging in other activities which bring positive recognition to the faculty member and to the University;
3. delivering speeches, conducting colloquia, or otherwise conveying information about the faculty member's scholarship, profession, field and university community groups; organizing and engaging in significant university, school and department/division activities which improve the education environment and/or student or faculty life, such as organizing retreats, conferences, or orientations.

Review of Department Personnel Procedures