12.04.99.R0.02 Graduate Faculty Membership
Effective September 1, 1996
Revised April 2002
Reviewed by Graduate Council FY03
Revised March 2005
Revised February 8, 2007
Revised May 5, 2008
Supplements System Policy 12.04

1. Membership in the Graduate Faculty will be limited to full-time faculty who have the terminal degree or its equivalent. There will be two types of membership for Texas A&M University-Commerce faculty and two types of membership for visiting scholars:

a. Associate Graduate Faculty. At this level the member will be eligible to teach graduate courses, direct master's theses and serve on doctoral committees.

b. Senior Graduate Faculty. At this level the member will be eligible to teach graduate courses and direct master's theses and doctoral dissertations.

c. Associate Visiting Scholar. At this level the member will be eligible to teach graduate courses, direct master’s theses and serve on doctoral committees.

d. Senior Visiting Scholar. At this level the member will be eligible to teach graduate courses and direct master’s theses and doctoral dissertations.

2. Qualifications for Membership.

a. Associate Member

(1) possession of the highest earned terminal degree, or its equivalent, in the applicant's field of specialization;

(2) academic rank of assistant professor or above;

(3) a minimum of one year of full-time, university assignment, which included teaching graduate courses (two or more different courses or the same course two or more times);

(4) evidence of current activity and involvement in scholarly research and/or creative activity (comprised of a one-page abstract of current activity as well as evidence of this research, which could include working drafts of essays, raw data gathered, copies of creative activity in progress, letters of publication acceptance, etc.).

b. Senior Member

(1) possession of the highest earned terminal degree, or its equivalent, in the applicant's field of specialization;

(2) academic rank of associate professor or professor;

(3) A minimum of three years of full-time university assignment, which includes teaching graduate courses (two or more different courses or the same course two or more times), and, if applicable, service on thesis or dissertation committees;

(4) competence as a scholar, including research capability and/or creative activity as evidenced by publications, creative endeavors and thesis or dissertation supervision.

c. Visiting Scholar

The University will recognize the graduate faculty status that the visiting scholar holds at his/her home institution. Anyone not affiliated with an institution of higher education will be evaluated on an individual basis to determine Associate or Senior Visiting Scholar status.

3. Appointment to Graduate Faculty Membership.

a. Initiating Requests. Requests for either type of Graduate Faculty membership should be initiated by the head of the department in which the faculty member serves or may be initiated by the faculty member. Applications will be provided by the Dean for Graduate Studies and Research.

b. Selection of Graduate Faculty. All requests will initially go to the department head who will call a meeting of the Graduate Faculty of the department for a recommendation. Then the recommendations of the department head and the Graduate Faculty members will be forwarded through the college dean, graduate dean and Graduate Council Committee on Graduate Faculty, all of whom will make recommendations, to the Graduate Council. All recommendations will be made available to the Graduate Council, who will make the decision as to the type of membership, if any, that will be granted. Any appeal of the Council decision will be made directly to the Graduate Council, with final appeal being made to the Provost and Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs.

c. Exceptions. Requests for temporary exceptions to teach graduate courses and/or serve on thesis or dissertation committees by nongraduate faculty members will originate with the department head. The request will then be forwarded to the dean of the applicant's college and to the Dean for Graduate Studies and Research who will use discretion in approving temporary appointments. This information will be submitted to the Graduate Council but will not require Council action except in such cases as is deemed necessary. The Dean for Graduate Studies and Research will keep on file by department the academic training and expertise of each nongraduate faculty member assigned to teach graduate courses.

4. Review of Graduate Faculty Membership.

a. Each Graduate Faculty member's scholarly research, creative activity and involvement in the discipline and graduate education will be reviewed by the Graduate Council every six years. The purpose of such review is to determine if the faculty member's current Graduate Faculty status is appropriate and warranted.

b. Any years during a full-time administrative appointment will not be counted as part of the six-year period subject to review.

c. The review process will be the same as for the initial selection process (Section 3b); however, the options open to the Council are more numerous and include:

(1) approve continued membership in the current status for six years,

(2) change the status of a senior member to associate member,

(3) refuse to approve any level of Graduate Faculty, or

(4) provide a three-year provisional term at the current level.

If the last option [b.(4)] is chosen, the faculty member must be reviewed again after three years and either approved for a regular six-year membership, changed in status or dropped from Graduate Faculty membership. Graduate Faculty whose status is terminated may, after one calendar year, reapply for graduate status.

References: Prior ETSU Policy B-72; revised November 12, 1996; revised November 2001; revised April 2002; revised March 2005; Procedure A12.05

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CONTACT FOR INTERPRETATION: Dean for Graduate Studies and Research