Faculty Qualifications and Sufficiency Criteria

Criteria for Faculty Qualifications and Participating and Supporting Faculty

[Revised on 1/28/2021]

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 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.

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 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; 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 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 peer-reviewed journal articles or three peer-reviewed journal articles for those approved for teaching and/or dissertation advising in the Doctorate in Organization Development and Change (DODC) program within the last five years in a discipline related to or utilizing knowledge/expertise of 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 other intellectual contributions within the last five years which may include, but are not limited to the following:
    • Refereed or non-refereed journal articles and monographs
    • Scholarly books or course textbooks
    • 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
    • Referee for peer-reviewed journal(s) and conference(s)
    • 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; 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 two or more of the following activities:

  • At least 60 hours of consulting activities resulting in reports
  • At least 40 hours of faculty externships
  • At least managerial responsibilities in an outside business relevant to area of teaching
  • Intellectual contribution with at least two presentations and/or one publication in practitioner/scholarly journals
  • Serving on at least one board of directors
  • At least two continuing professional education experiences
  • Participating in at least two professional events that focus on the practice of business, management, and related issues
  • Participating in at least two activities that place faculty in direct contact with business or other organizational leaders
  • At least two media hits related area of teaching
  • Attending and completing at least two executive education programs in the teaching discipline
  • Attending and actively participating in at least two professional meetings and conferences in the teaching discipline
  • At least 40 hours of participation in business professional associations

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;
  • Professional experience significant in duration and level of responsibility current at the time of hiring or acquired during the faculty member’s career; 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 peer-reviewed journal article within the last 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 five years which may include, but are not limited to the following:
    • Refereed or non-refereed journal articles
    • Scholarly books
    • 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,
  • Professional experience significant in duration and level of responsibility current at the time of hiring or acquired during the faculty member’s career.

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:

A: Meet one of the following related to primary area of teaching:

  • At least 100 hours expended in attaining or maintaining professional certifications or degrees
  • At least 200 hours expended in running a small business enterprise
  • Continued professional employment
  • At least 100 hours of consulting or other work (e.g., expert witness) requiring expertise
  • Being a paid member on at least one for-profit board or in leadership position on at least one non-profit board

or,

B: Show significant involvement in two or more of the activities listed below related to primary area of teaching:

  • At least one invited professional public speaking engagement
  • At least one publicly available academic program or at least two course proposals
  • Development of at least one technical report or at least two project reports
  • At least 40 hours of faculty externships
  • At least one development or at least two presentations of executive education programs
  • At least 40 hours of participation in business professional associations and societies
  • At least 40 hours of service on non-profit boards of directors
  • At least one documented continuing professional education experiences
  • At least one documented professional certifications
  • Participating in at least two professional events that focus on the practice of business, management, or related issues
  • Participating in at least two activities that place faculty in direct contact with business or other organizational leaders
  • At least two media hits related to area of teaching

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 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 be notified of each faculty member’s progress in maintaining his/her qualified status, which will be communicated to the faculty member.

The assessed faculty qualification status can be any one of the two – Qualified and Additional.  The “Additional” designation suggests the faculty member has not maintained the qualifications deemed appropriate by the College. Generally, tenured and tenure-track faculty (TTF) are expected to be either SA or PA. Non-tenure-track faculty (QRF) may also be SA or PA but are generally expected to be SP or IP. If a TTF/QRF faculty member becomes “Additional”, he/she must consult with the department chair to create a professional development plan that addresses the scholarship or practice skills needed to re-attain full faculty qualifications.  In addition he/she may forfeit the opportunity to pursue additional compensation granting assignments and/or release times within the college as instructed by the department chair. Those assignments may be reinstated as soon as the “Additional” status is converted to “Qualified.”  A TTF/QRF member designated as “Additional” will be assigned additional course(s) per academic year.  The teaching assignment may be reduced to the original teaching load in the semester following the re-attainment of “Qualified” status.  NOTE:  The “Additional” designation does not exclude the faculty member from being selected for a Summer Research Grant.  Note that for full-time faculty, regardless of tenure eligibility, all faculty must have an At Risk period prior to converting to “Additional” status.

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 3further 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 their position with the school is considered their principal employment, and 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.

Updated: 06/24/2021 01:20PM