The purpose of the graduate faculty in the College of Human Environmental Sciences is to set standards for graduate work and to provide graduate instruction in the college. There are three categories of graduate faculty membership: Full, Associate, and Affiliate. Only graduate faculty may teach courses numbered 500 and above. Only Full or Associate members may chair thesis and program/examining committees. Only Full members of the Graduate Faculty may chair doctoral dissertations.
It is the responsibility of Full and Associate Members of the graduate faculty to elect its representative(s) to the Graduate Council, who acts for the faculty in matters relating to graduate work.
Standards for Graduate Faculty Membership
I. Full Membership – Candidates must:
A. Hold a doctorate or other terminal degree in athletic training, apparel/textiles, consumer sciences, health science, human development/family studies, interior design, human nutrition, hospitality management, sport management, or an appropriate degree in an allied discipline.
B. Hold the rank of Assistant, Associate, or Full Professor in a full-time, tenure-track position.
C. Demonstrate ability and continuing interest in the graduate program and in research or scholarly creative activity. Candidates must show a strong, continuing record of excellence in at least two of the following areas:
1. Quality supervision of graduate student research, as shown by successful completion of degree requirements.
2. Active participation on graduate thesis and dissertation committees.
3. Development and/or quality teaching of graduate courses.
4. Mentoring activities, such as collaborating with students on joint publications and conference papers, etc.
5. Active participation in graduate program administration or graduate committee activities.
D. Show evidence of a consistent record of productive research, publication, or other scholarly activity. Evidence of refereed publication is required (at least two refereed publications, or equivalent scholarly creative activities, within the last five years), plus at least one of the following:
1. Research funding.
2. Refereed research presentations at professional meetings.
3. Review of papers for journals and/or research proposals for funding agencies.
4. Research-related professional activities (e.g., chair session for professional meeting, hold editorial position, etc.)
II. Associate Membership – Candidates must:
A. Hold a doctorate or other terminal degree in athletic training, apparel/textiles, consumer sciences, health science, human development/family studies, interior design, human nutrition, hospitality management, sport management, or an appropriate degree in an allied discipline.
B. Hold the rank of Assistant, Associate, or Full Professor in a full-time position.
C. Demonstrate ability and continuing interest in the graduate program and in research or scholarly creative activity. Candidates must show strength in at least one area:
1. Quality supervision of graduate student research, as shown by successful completion of degree requirements.
2. Active participation on graduate thesis and dissertation committees.
3. Development and/or quality teaching of graduate courses.
4. Mentoring activities, such as collaborating with students on joint publications and conference papers, etc.
5. Active participation in graduate program administration or graduate committee activities.
D. Show evidence of research activity in the form of publications or other scholarly activity. Evidence must include at least one of the following:
1. Publications (at least one refereed publication, or equivalent creative activities, within the last five years).
2. Research funding.
3. Refereed research presentations at professional meetings.
4. Review of papers for journals and/or research proposals for funding agencies.
5. Development of scholarly, creative materials that contribute to knowledge in their discipline.
6. Research-related professional activities (e.g., chair session for professional meeting, hold editorial position, etc.)
III. Affiliate Membership – Affiliate membership may be extended to well-qualified individuals, who do not satisfy the above criteria, to perform specific functions for specific time periods, not to exceed three calendar years. A faculty member can be recommended for Affiliate graduate faculty membership by the department chairperson or the Dean of the College of Human Environmental Sciences under any of the following circumstances:
A. Faculty member has not yet obtained the Ph.D.
B. Faculty member does not hold a full-time or tenure-track position.
C. Faculty member does not have an active research program as outlined in the Full/Associate guidelines but holds expertise in an area valuable for graduate instruction.
D. Faculty member has lost graduate faculty membership but must continue to supervise existing graduate students until degree completion.
Graduate Faculty Appointment Process
The department chair will send the dean of the college a current curriculum vitae for the candidate as well as an appointment request for either, Full, Associate, or Affiliate graduate faculty status. In the case of a request for Affiliate status, that request should address the specific functions the person will be performing that require Affiliate status. The dean of the college reviews the request and if the dean approves, forwards the request to the dean of the Graduate School.
Graduate Faculty Appointment of Faculty in Administrative Roles
Faculty currently in administrative appointments or who are returning to the faculty from such appointments, are eligible for Full or Associate membership on the graduate faculty. They would show, at minimum, promise of satisfying the appropriate College and University membership criteria. The individual’s record of teaching, research, and graduate mentorship from before becoming an administrator should be considered.
Graduate Faculty Appointment of Retired Faculty
After a graduate faculty member retires, the graduate faculty member may need to continue to serve as a chair or member of students’ thesis or dissertation committees and/or to perform other specific functions. For this reason, members of the graduate faculty are automatically permitted to retain the graduate faculty status that they hold upon retirement, for up to three years after retirement. After that point, retired graduate faculty members may be appointed as Affiliate members of the graduate faculty for this purpose and/or to perform other specific functions. The nomination and appointment procedures for these Affiliate appointments are the same as those adopted by the College and the University.
Graduate Faculty Appointment in Multiple Departments
To accommodate the full breadth of UA’s expertise as well as to facilitate the establishment of interdepartmental and/or interdisciplinary student committees, it is permissible that individuals be appointed as Full or Associate graduate faculty in multiple departments, to teach graduate courses, and/or serve on graduate thesis/dissertation committees. The appointment process follows the regular Graduate Faculty Appointment Procedure, with the department chair initiating the request for an appointment. The type of appointment will depend on each College’s criteria and their regular appointment procedures. In cases in which the faculty member has no contractual effort assigned in the department in which the Full or Associate appointment is requested, the chair’s request for an appointment must include confirmation that the request is supported by the chair(s) of the faculty member’s home department(s).
Secondary graduate faculty appointments are initiated by the secondary department and with the approval of the home department. For Affiliate graduate faculty members appointed in multiple departments, secondary graduate faculty appointments expire at the same time as the graduate faculty appointment of the home department, and can be renewed concurrently with the home department renewal, if initiated by the secondary department and with the approval of the home department.
Graduate Faculty Appointment in UA System
UA has several graduate programs that operate jointly with the University of Alabama Huntsville and/or the University of Alabama-Birmingham. For these programs, faculty or research staff who have been approved for graduate faculty status at their home institution may be nominated as joint graduate faculty at The University of Alabama. In order that our joint graduate programs may operate seamlessly, these faculty shall exercise all the rights and privileges of a UA member of the graduate faculty at the corresponding level (e.g., Full joint graduate faculty members may direct doctoral committees at UA). The nomination process for joint graduate faculty shall follow the same procedures as outlined above for UA faculty and staff.
Terms of Appointment
Once appointed, Full and Associate graduate faculty membership is continuing as long as the graduate faculty member continues to meet the standards described above.
Affiliate graduate faculty membership is extended to address a specific need, and therefore is not to exceed three calendar years. However, this status can be renewed with appropriate justification by the department chairperson.
Annual Review Process
Faculty with Full or Associate graduate faculty status will be reviewed by the department chairperson within the context of the annual faculty review process to evaluate whether criteria for maintaining that status are being met. Faculty members will be notified by the chairperson if they receive a “not met” during the annual review process.
Reduction of Graduate Faculty Status
A member of the graduate faculty in the College of Human Environmental Sciences may have their graduate faculty status modified if they fail to meet the College’s Qualifications for Graduate Faculty Status at the level they are currently appointed.
The department chair would provide at least two consecutive previous years of notification to the faculty member of their not meeting graduate faculty qualifications at their current level before proceeding with a recommendation to the Dean to reduce the faculty member’s graduate faculty status (e.g. move Full to Associate/Affiliate, or Associate to Affiliate). The dean would consider the recommendation and make a recommendation to the Graduate School if they are in agreement with the chairperson’s recommendation. The recommendation would then be acted upon by the Dean of the Graduate School, the Provost, or the President.
Faculty may request to have their previous status restored at such time as the issues related to the earlier status reduction have been resolved. The process would be the same as for the initial appointment to the Graduate Faculty.
Revocation of Graduate Faculty Status
A member of the graduate faculty in the College of Human Environmental Sciences may have their graduate faculty status revoked if they fail to meet the College’s Qualifications for Graduate Faculty Status at any level. Revocation may occur when a faculty member fails to consistently fulfill the responsibilities of a member of the Graduate Faculty to teach graduate student(s) effectively, in a civil, professionally appropriate manner, to do scholarly research and creative work of high quality or remain active in the practice of the profession, and to reliably direct the research/professional development of graduate student(s) so that they progress toward graduation in a timely manner appropriate to the field.
Generally, the department chair would provide at least two previous years of notification to the faculty member of their not meeting graduate faculty qualifications before proceeding with recommendation to the Dean to revoke the faculty member’s graduate faculty status. However, egregious failure to perform the appropriate responsibilities could result in consideration of revocation of graduate faculty status in a shorter time period. The Dean would consider the recommendation and make a recommendation to the Graduate School if they are in agreement with the chairperson’s recommendation. The recommendation would then be acted upon by the Dean of the Graduate School, the Provost, or the President.
In exceptional cases, revocation of graduate faculty status may also be initiated by the Dean of the College, the Dean of the Graduate School, the Provost, or the President.
Faculty may request to be reinstated to the Graduate Faculty at such time as the issues related to the earlier revocation have been resolved. The process would be the same as for the initial appointment to the Graduate Faculty.
Procedure for Appealing the Decision of the Dean
The candidate must be informed of any recommendation to reduce or revoke graduate faculty status made at the departmental and college level, and have an opportunity to supply an explanatory or rebuttal statement. Any such statement by the candidate must become a part of the application and is reviewed by the department chair or dean as applicable.
1. Following this review the candidate will be informed of the results and the application will be forwarded for review at the next stage.
2. The candidate may terminate the review process at any stage by requesting that his or her application be withdrawn from consideration.
