Faculty Qualifications and Sufficiency Criteria

Criteria for Faculty Qualifications and Participating and Supporting Faculty

[Revised on Sept. 2024]

1. Criteria for Faculty Qualifications. 2020 AACSB Standard 3 describes four categories of faculty qualifications - Scholarly Academic (SA), Practice Academic (PA), Scholarly Practitioner (SP), and Instructional Practitioner (IP). The Schmidthorst College of Business (“College”) at Bowling Green State University is committed to meeting the guideline that our instructional faculty, at both the departmental and college level, must be at least 40% SA and 90% SA, PA, SP, and IP.

Standard 3.1: The College maintains and strategically deploys sufficient participating and supporting faculty who collectively demonstrate significant academic and professional engagement that, in turn, supports high-quality outcomes consistent with the school’s mission.

Standard 3.2: Faculty are qualified through initial academic or professional preparation and sustain currency and relevancy appropriate to their classification, as follows: Scholarly Academic (SA), Practice Academic (PA), Scholarly Practitioner (SP), or Instructional Practitioner (IP). Otherwise, faculty members are classified as Additional Faculty (A).

1.1 Scholarly Academic (SA) Qualified Faculty.

1.1.1 Initial qualification. To achieve Scholarly Academic status in the College, a faculty member must, at a minimum, meet the following criteria:

• A doctoral or other terminal degree related to the discipline. Examples include PhD or DBA in business or a closely-related business discipline; a graduate degree in law (LLM) and/or taxation (MST) or Master in Accounting with taxation experience for those teaching taxation; and a law degree (LLM, or JD) for those teaching courses or modules related to law or aspects related to the legal environment of business (e.g., ethics, sustainability, etc.). Deviations from this must be consistent with descriptions provided in AACSB standards; and
• Demonstrate relevance through intellectual contributions in scholarly research.

A newly appointed doctoral faculty member will be considered SA for up to five years after degree completion. Doctoral students who are ABD (have successfully defended their proposals) are SA qualified as long as they continue to make satisfactory progress toward completing their degree for maximum of three years after achieving the ABD status. When the ABD faculty member completes the doctoral degree while on faculty, the person will be considered SA for up to five years after degree completion.

1.1.2 Maintenance of Qualification. To maintain the SA status, the faculty member will meet the following criteria:

• A minimum of two ABS ranked [1]peer-reviewed journal articles or three ABS ranked peer-reviewed journal articles for those approved for teaching and/or dissertation advising in the Doctorate in Organization Development and Change (DODC) and the PhD in Data Science programs within the last rolling five years in a discipline related to or utilizing knowledge/expertise of the person­­’s teaching assignment. Articles in predatory journals are not counted. At least one peer-reviewed journal article must be at ABS 2 or higher[2].  One peer-reviewed scholarly book may be substituted for an article provided that it is related to the discipline for which the author is academically qualified; and,
  
  
• Demonstrate other intellectual contributions within the last rolling five years which may include, but are not limited to the following:
  • Refereed or non-refereed journal articles and monographs
  • Scholarly books which are peer reviewed or course textbooks
  • Peer-reviewed chapters in scholarly books
  • Paper presentations at academic or professional meetings*
  • Regional, national, or international proceedings*
  • Published cases
  • Instructional software
  • Achieve or maintain professional licensure or certification
  • Journal editorships, associate and department editors, and special issue editors
  • Referee for peer-reviewed journal(s) and conference(s)
  • Externally funded research grant(s) related to the area of teaching
  • Holding officer/board positions in professional organizations

*You may not double count proceedings and presentations.

1.2  Practice Academic (PA) Qualified Faculty.

1.2.1 Initial Qualification. To achieve Practice Academic status in the College, a faculty member must, at a minimum, meet the following criteria: [Note: normally, PA status applies to faculty members who augment their initial preparation as academic scholars with development and engagement activities that involve substantive linkages to practice, consulting, other forms of professional engagement, etc., based on the faculty members’ earlier work as an SA faculty member].

• A doctoral or other terminal degree related to the field of teaching. Examples include PhD or DBA in business or a closely-related business discipline; a graduate degree in law (LLM) and/or taxation (MST) for those teaching taxation or Master in Accounting with taxation experience; and a law degree (LLM, or JD) for those teaching courses or modules related to law or aspects related to the legal environment of business (e.g., ethics, sustainability, etc.). Deviations from this must be consistent with descriptions provided in AACSB standards. 
• Demonstrates relevance through sustained relationships with business via consulting or other significant professional, technical, or managerial experiences in the teaching discipline.

1.2.2 Maintenance of the PA Status. A faculty member may undertake a variety of professional engagement activities to maintain their Practice Academic status. Although not intended to be an exhaustive list, a faculty member is expected to demonstrate substantive and continuing engagement in either one activity from Category A or two or more activities from Category B:

Category A:

• At least 40 hours/year of documented consulting activities and a total of 300 hours over the accreditation period
• At least 40 hours/year of working with an organization with responsibilities in the area of teaching (faculty externship) and a total of 300 hours over the accreditation period.
• At least 40 hours/year of documented significant responsibilities in an outside business relevant to your teaching discipline and a total of 300 hours over the accreditation period.
• At least 20 hours of CPE per year continuing professional education experience and a total of 150 hours over the accreditation period (CPE – activities that place you in direct contact with business professionals, focus on the practice in your teaching discipline, or executive education programs in the teaching discipline)

Category B:

• Acquiring professional licensure or certification relevant to your teaching discipline
• Intellectual contribution with at least two peer-reviewed presentations
• One publication in peer-reviewed practitioner/scholarly journals
• At least 20 hours per year in a leadership role in business professional associations, non-profit or for-profit board of directors
• Serve on at least one AACSB Peer Review Team over five years

1.3 Scholarly Practitioner (SP) Qualified Faculty.

1.3.1 Initial Qualification. To achieve Scholarly Practitioner qualified status at the College, a faculty member must generally meet the following criteria:

• A graduate degree in a discipline related to the field of teaching; 
• Significant professional, technical, or managerial experience in the discipline related to the teaching assignment; at a minimum, significant experience is interpreted as at least five years of duties and responsibilities at the exempt level (according to FLSA standards); and  
• Engage in scholarly research in the teaching discipline.

1.3.2  Maintenance of the SP Status. A faculty member may undertake a variety of scholarly activities to maintain their Scholarly Practitioner status. Although not intended to be an exhaustive list, these activities would include the following:

• A minimum of one ABS ranked peer-reviewed journal article within the last rolling five years in a discipline related to the person’s teaching assignment; one scholarly book may be substituted for an article provided that it is related to the discipline for which the author is academically qualified; and
• Demonstrate intellectual contribution within the last rolling five years which may include, but are not limited to the following:
  • Refereed or non-refereed journal articles
  • Peer-reviewed scholarly books
  • Peer-reviewed chapters in scholarly books
  • Paper presentations at academic or professional meetings*
  • Regional, national, or international proceedings*
  • Published cases
  • Instructional software
  • Achieve professional licensure or certification
  • Journal editorships
  • Referee for a peer-reviewed journal
  • Working, consulting, training, presenting seminars, etc., at relevant business organizations
  • Attending and actively participating in professional meetings and conferences in the teaching discipline
  • Attending and completing executive education programs in the teaching discipline.

*You may not double count proceedings and presentations.

1.4  Instructional Practitioner (IP) Qualified Faculty.

1.4.1 Initial Qualification. To achieve Instructor Practitioner qualified status at the College, a faculty member must generally meet the following criteria:

• A graduate degree in a discipline related to the field of teaching, and,
• Significant professional, technical, or managerial experience in the discipline related to the teaching assignment; at a minimum, significant experience is interpreted as at least five years of duties and responsibilities at the exempt level (according to FLSA standards)

In limited cases, initial IP status may be appropriate for individuals without master's degrees if the depth, duration, sophistication, and complexity of their professional experience at the time of hiring outweigh their lack of master's degree qualifications. However, this is not the normal situation and a case will need to be made to support this position.

1.4.2 Maintenance of the IP Status. Generally, to maintain Instructional Practitioner status, a faculty member must demonstrate ongoing and substantive professional development through either A or B during the past five years:

Category A:

• At least 40 hours/year of documented consulting activities and a total of 300 hours over the accreditation period
• At least 40 hours/year of working with an organization with responsibilities in the area of teaching (faculty externship) and a total of 300 hours over the accreditation period
• At least 40 hours/year of documented significant responsibilities in an outside business relevant to your teaching discipline and a total of 300 hours over the accreditation period.
• At least 20 hours of CPE per year continuing professional education experience and a total of 150 hours over the accreditation period (CPE – activities that place you in direct contact with business professionals, focus on the practice in your teaching discipline, or executive education programs in the teaching discipline) 

Category B:

• Acquiring professional licensure or certification relevant to your teaching discipline
• Intellectual contribution with at least two peer reviewed presentations
• One publication in peer reviewed practitioner/scholarly journals
• At least 20 hours per year in a leadership role in business professional associations, non-profit or for-profit board of directors
• Serve on at least one AACSB Peer Review Team over five years

1.5 Academic Administrators. 

1.5.1 Maintenance of Faculty Qualification for Academic Administrators. A doctoral faculty who becomes an administrator must be an SA or a PA at the time of the appointment. To maintain the SA status, the faculty administrator will meet the following criteria during his/her tenure as an administrator:

• A minimum of one peer-reviewed journal article within the last rolling five years in a discipline related to or utilizing knowledge/expertise of the person’s teaching assignment; and,
• Demonstrate other intellectual contributions in areas listed in Section 1.1.2 above. 

If a faculty administrator fails to maintain SA status during his/her tenure as an administrator, he/she may be re-classified as PA, if the faculty administrator meets at least 50% of the PA maintenance standards as defined in Section 1.2.2 above. If a doctoral faculty is a PA at the time of appointment, to maintain the PA status during his/her tenure as an administrator, he/she must meet at least 50% of the PA maintenance standards as defined in Section 1.2.2 above.

If an IP faculty is appointed as a faculty administrator, he/she must maintain IP status by meeting at least 50% of the IP maintenance standards as defined in Section 1.4.2 above.

If an external doctoral faculty is hired as a faculty administrator, he/she must meet either SA or PA status, as defined in this document at the time of appointment. If an external non-doctoral faculty is hired as a faculty administrator, he/she must meet either SP or IP status, as defined in this document at the time of appointment. To maintain the status, he/she must meet the standards as defined in this section.

Academic administrators who return to full-time faculty status will retain their faculty qualifications during their tenure as an administrator for a period of 3 years. To retain this status after the three-year period, they must satisfy the faculty qualifications as specified in Sections 1.1 – 1.4 above.

1.6 Transitioning Between Categories. Though current AACSB standards allow faculty to transition between qualification categories over time as his/her career profile changes, any transition between categories must be consistent with the strategic direction of the department and College. For example, an SA full professor who develops a consulting practice may transition from SA to PA as long as the consulting experiences are consistent with the teaching discipline and the department’s needs are met with the transition. Any faculty member wishing to transition to a different qualification category must collaborate with his/her department chair to develop a transition plan which details the intellectual and professional experiences that will be completed to justify the newly qualified status. The department chair and the Dean must approve the transition plan as movement between categories may impact the overall standards compliance of the College.

1.7 Faculty Status Qualification Procedure. The faculty qualification is assessed over a rolling 5-year period by the dean's office. The faculty qualification status will be evaluated based upon their intellectual contributions and or professional activities in the discipline.  The department chair will monitor each faculty member’s progress annually and in consultation with the Dean’s office, and notify each faculty member of their progress. 

1.8 At-Risk and other Classifications. There are three different outcomes for all faculty: Qualified, Qualified-At Risk, and Additional Faculty. The “Additional Faculty” designation suggests the faculty member has not maintained the qualifications deemed appropriate by the College. The SA-At Risk designation indicates that while the faculty member is currently meeting the standards, they have intellectual contributions that will roll off within the next two years and would cause the qualified status to convert to “Additional.” The SP-At Risk, PA-At Risk, and IP-At Risk designations indicate that while the faculty member is currently meeting the standards, they have not made sufficient progress in maintaining qualifications during the most recent review period. The Qualified-At Risk designation is intended to ensure the faculty member is aware of their current standing and is planning appropriately for future academic success. All faculty members with an At Risk designation must complete a professional development plan in conjunction the department chair. Because SP, PA, and IP faculty are expected to maintain their qualifications on an annual basis, any break in sufficient activity for a period of one year would result in At-Risk designation. A full-time SP, IP, or PA faculty member is eligible for the At-Risk designation for up to two years. If sufficient improvement in professional activities is not made after two years, the faculty will switch to Additional. Faculty whose qualifications are “Additional” will have their workload adjusted as per the Schmidthorst Business College Workload Policy.

2.      Participating and Supporting Faculty.

Standard 3.1: The school maintains and strategically deploys sufficient participating and supporting faculty who collectively demonstrate significant academic and professional engagement that, in turn, supports high-quality outcomes consistent with the school’s mission.

2.1 Participating Faculty. AACSB defines a participating faculty member as one who, “actively and deeply engages in the activities of the school in matters beyond direct teaching responsibilities.  Such matters might include policy decisions, advising, research, and service commitments.”  AACSB Standard 3 further stresses that participating faculty are those whom the school would consider as a long-term faculty member and that part-time versus full-time status is not the deciding factor, whether the school has tenure policies.

To be considered a participating faculty member at the College, a faculty member serve on one or more departmental, college, or university committees and be involved in at least one of the following activities:

• Engages in curricular review and development 
• Supervises internships and/or independent studies 
• Provides academic or career advising
• Advises student organizations 
• Actively participates in assessment and assurance of learning processes

Committee participation is required each academic year. Participating faculty must be involved in least one of the other activities listed above each academic year. The quality and quantity of such activities will be assessed each year by the department chair. All faculty members will be reviewed annually for their Participating or Supporting Status. Should it be determined that the appropriate or sufficient participating activities had not been completed to maintain the Participating Status, the faculty member will have one year to complete such activities or risk the loss of Participating Status and be relegated to Supporting status. 

Typically, all full-time faculty in the College participate in the academic life of the College through participation in one or more of the above activities.  Part-time/adjunct and visiting faculty are rarely considered as participating unless circumstances justify an exception.

2.2 Supporting faculty. Faculty who do not meet the criteria associated with Participating Faculty, are considered to be Supporting Faculty.