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) |
|---|---|---|
|
RTPA Personnel Committee All decisions regarding tenure, retention, and promotion of full-time tenured and tenure track faculty. Approval of |
The Director of the School and 2 elected Full-time Tenured Full Professors | 1 Full-time Tenured Full Professor. |
|
RTPB Personnel Committee Evaluation of part-time and temporary faculty and consideration of range elevation of part-time and temporary faculty |
3 Full-time Tenured Faculty Members | 1 Full-time Tenured Professor |
|
School Search Committee All decisions regarding the hiring of full, part-time, and temporary faculty |
3 Full-time Tenured Professors (1 Probationary Faculty member may be elected) |
1 Full-time Tenured Professor |
Additional:
For the RTP A Committee, the Director of the School will serve as a standing member of the committee and the remaining two members will be elected. All elected committee members will be elected by electronic ballot at the last faculty meeting each Spring Semester for the following academic year. The electronic ballot will be scored using the golf score method.
Eligibility for Committee Service and Balloting
Recruitment of Probationary Faculty
Additional:
Determination of the School's need for new faculty members will be made by the School Director, after consultation with the full-time faculty.
Appointment of Probationary Faculty
Personnel Action Files
Individualized Professional Plans
Eligibility for Tenure and Promotion
| Area of Specialization | Terminal Degree |
|---|---|
| Law | J.D. from an accredited institution |
|
Forensic Science/Criminalistics |
M.A. or M.S. in a natural science or related field from an accredited institution |
|
Criminal Justice |
Ph.D. in Criminal Justice or related field from an accredited institution |
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 field and profession that are externally evaluated/peer reviewed and published or formally accepted for publication. Contributions include: books, articles, chapters, research reports, scientific abstracts, critical and theoretical essays, and program evaluations.
- Research, evaluation, and training grant applications to university, public, and private funding organizations.
- Innovative use of computers and computer methods, textbooks, and original teaching or testing materials which are adopted for professional use outside the faculty member's school.
- Inventions, designs and innovations which have been favorably evaluated by authorities outside the University.
- 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.
- Receipt of fellowships or other subsidies for the pursuit of research or study in the faculty member's field.
- Participation in the activities of scholarly or professional societies beyond mere membership, such as elected office, fellowship status, committee membership, and receipt of special awards.
- 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 which he/she demonstrates is an advancement of the field.
Committee Procedures
Review of Faculty Holding Joint Appointments and of Faculty Active in Interdisciplinary Programs
Student Consultation in Academic Personnel Processes
Oral Testimony
Role of Department/Division/School Chair or Director
Appointment of Temporary Faculty
Evaluation of Temporary Faculty
Additional:
As indicated earlier, the RTP B committee will be responsible for reviewing all temporary faculty according to University procedures. All temporary faculty members under review will be required to have a peer observation in the classroom and to submit the following items to the committee for the period under review:
- Up-to-date vita
- For each course taught during the review period:
- Course Syllabus
- Samples of handouts and other teaching materials
- Samples of exams
Additionally, RTP B committee members will review student opinion survey results for classes taught during the review period. All temporary faculty members will be evaluated for their currency in the field based on the results of the peer observation in the classroom in combination with any other materials submitted by the faculty member (i.e., vita, recent publications, recent professional presentations, etc.).
Classroom Observations of Temporary Faculty
All temporary faculty members will have a peer observation in the classroom once a year. Peer observations will be completed by the Director, a member of the RTP B committee, or a designee of the RTP B committee. The results of the peer observation will be summarized and provided to the members of the RTP B committee for review and consideration. Peer observations will be based on the following criteria:
- Course Syllabus: Is syllabus in accordance with University policy, is it clear, and is it complete?
- Course Materials: Adequacy and appropriateness of textbooks, handouts and reading assignments
- Use of lnstructional Tools: Were the following appropriate for the particular course being taught: Use of blackboard, overheads, PowerPoint, and video and audio tapes
- Substantive Content of Lecture and Knowledge of Subject Matter -Is instructor knowledgeable in course content area?
- Teaching Effectiveness - Does Instructor deliver lecture material in a clear and understandable fashion
- Instructor-Student Rapport - Interaction between instructor and students before, during, and after class
- Overall Preparation and Organization of Course - Was instructor well prepared and material presented in organized fashion?
- Instructor's Evaluation of Students -Adequacy of criteria instructor will use in evaluating performance of students
- Overall Instructor Rating
Consideration for Three-Year Appointments
Consideration for Range Elevation
Additional:
Temporary faculty shall be evaluated using the standards of professional performance relevant to instructional performance. The Student Opinion Survey is required in all classes taught by probationary faculty, and temporary full-time and part-time faculty and will be considered in the evaluation. A peer observation of the faculty member in the classroom will also be required. The criteria used for the classroom evaluation is provided on page 17-3.
Additionally, the faculty member will be asked to submit evidence of other instructionally related activities (e.g., participation in course modification and curriculum development). For evaluation from B to C or C to D, temporary faculty will be required to submit the materials needed for the standard review (see Evaluation of Temporary Faculty), as well as materials that demonstrate his/her receipt of an advanced degree, publication of significant research, receipt of grants/funding, external recognition at the level of honors and awards from significant bodies, and/or any other materials that show significant contributions to the profession, School, and/or University.
Review of Department Personnel Procedures
REQUEST FOR APPROVAL OF A TERMINAL DEGREE OTHER THAN A DOCTORATE
Department: School of Criminal Justice and Criminalistics
Area of Specialization: Criminalistics
Terminal Degree: Master of Science OR Master of Arts
1. Why is this degree more relevant for this position than a doctorate?
The availability of doctorally trained individuals in the field of criminalistics/forensic science is extremely limited and the School needs the flexibility to attract, promote, tenure, and retain Masters-educated criminalistics/forensic scientists, who otherwise have all the qualities of doctorally trained individuals, in our program.
2. What is the availability of a doctorate in this field?
Nationwide, the American Academy of Forensics Sciences lists only six institutions that offer Ph.D. programs with a research emphasis in forensic science. Very few Ph.D. graduates have been produced by these institutions over the past fifteen years (less than ten), and most of these graduates have originated from a single institution (John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York). Consequently, there are extremely few individuals who have both doctoral level training and who also have the requisite crime laboratory experience to staff university programs in criminalistics/forensic science.
3. Does this degree provide a faculty member with the necessary background to do research, scholarly, or creative work in the University?
Yes, it does. Our experience has shown that there are exceptional individuals with M.A. or M.S. level training who have the requisite skills and ability to engage in research, scholarly, and creative work at the university level.
4. Is there a requirement of the specialized accrediting agency related to terminal degrees of faculty in the department? If so, what is that requirement?
No
5. What are the educational requirements for similar positions at comparable campuses? Please identify the campus and provide a copy of their relevant policies.
There are none.
FINAL COMMENTS
The Criminalistics Program of the School of Criminal Justice and Criminalistics requires a generalist in criminalistics and/or forensic science with an earned M.A. or M.S. Our curriculum requires individuals with substantial crime laboratory experience in the recognition, examination, reconstruction and interpretation of a wide variety of physical evidence using various analytical methods. Scientific evidence may involve everything from pattern evidence (bloodstain spatters and finger, shoe and tire prints), physiological fluids (blood, saliva, semen and perspiration), trace evidence (paint, glass, and fibers), to many other unknown substances (drugs, poisons and other materials). All of these materials may become central evidence in a criminal investigation.
Our curriculum also requires teaching and research faculty who are familiar with a variety of analytical instrumentation. This includes, for example, photography, microscopy, spectrophotometry, chromatography, serology, DNA extraction and analysis, and other scientific techniques. Graduates of our program must be familiar with the hands-on operation and scientific theory behind such methods. In addition to these laboratory science techniques, criminalistics faculty should also be versed in principles of crime laboratory management, ethics, quality assurance, and courtroom testimony. Individuals must also have the interpersonal skills to work with crime laboratory professionals, scientific societies and professional organizations. For all of the above reasons, we request that the requirement for a terminal doctoral degree be waived.