Diagnostic and Biological Sciences - The Office of Education at the Academic Health Center, University of Minnesota

The primary measure of excellence of an educational institution is the quality of its faculty. Therefore, the degree of foresight and wisdom employed in making faculty appointments and promotions and the granting of tenure will be the primary determinants of the distinction which a school achieves.

Within the School of Dentistry, the ultimate responsibility for recommending faculty members for appointment, promotion or indefinite tenure rests with the Dean. To discharge responsibility, the Dean should have the counsel of the department chairpersons and tenured faculty of the School. It is the responsibility of the faculty to participate in this process, to identify and reward scholars who demonstrate a commitment to the advancement and communication of knowledge and who show promise of pursuing productive academic careers.

Well-defined policies and procedures are essential to provide equity in this process. The following framework is provided for the systematic evaluation of candidates for indefinite tenure and promotion.

The specific mission of the School of Dentistry is consistent with the objectives of a land grant University and includes teaching, research and scholarly activities and discipline-related professional service as defined in Section 7.11 of the University of Minnesota Regulations Concerning Faculty Tenure and this departmental document. It is a major goal of the School of Dentistry to establish and maintain itself as an academic center of national and international excellence. The objectives the faculty have set to address its goals and mission include the following:

D. to serve patients by providing optimal care including preventive care, improved modes of health care delivery, patient counseling and education, and the best possible diagnostic and treatment services, particularly for those with unusual or difficult problems.

E. to serve the public by providing outreach programs of care, prevention and health education for special groups, and consultative and educational programs for the public, health practitioners and agencies in Minnesota, the United States and the international community.

The general methods and criteria for tenure are found in the University of Minnesota Regulations Concerning Faculty Tenure. New faculty should carefully read and understand this document, particularly Sections 5, 6, and 7. The General Rule Section 5.1 concerns those with probationary appointments and states that “the maximum period of probationary service of a faculty member is six academic years, whether consecutive or not. At the end of this six-year period, the faculty member must either be given a regular appointment with indefinite tenure or a one-year terminal appointment.” However, because of the time required for processing the applications for tenure, the actual decision to award indefinite tenure is made during the sixth year. Granting of indefinite tenure may be made prior to the expiration of the maximum period of probationary service.

The basis for awarding indefinite tenure is the determination that the achievements of an individual have demonstrated the individual's potential to continue to contribute significantly to the mission of the Department, the School of Dentistry and the University, and to its programs of teaching, research and service over the course of the faculty member's academic career (see Section 7.11 of the University of Minnesota Regulations Concerning Faculty Tenure). The primary criteria for demonstrating this potential are effectiveness in teaching and distinction in research. Outstanding discipline-related service contributions will also be taken into account where appropriate (see Section III.C.1.) as they are an integral part of the mission of the School of Dentistry. Activity in teaching, research, and service is expected of all candidates. Tenure review will be based on the percent of time allocated in their appointment to teaching, research and service because the relative contributions to each of these activities vary within different divisions of the School of Dentistry.

Teaching includes group and individual instruction in classrooms, clinics and laboratories with undergraduate, postgraduate and/or graduate students, instruction in continuing education programs, lectures at professional meetings, and mentoring student research projects. Credit is given for all educational effort, including efforts to upgrade the curriculum and provide unique educational opportunities. Our teaching role extends throughout Minnesota, the region and beyond. Tenure is reserved for candidates who demonstrate effectiveness in teaching. Effectiveness in teaching will be reviewed by (1) peer evaluations (which may include classroom visits and review of technical competence, notes, syllabi, handouts, examinations and other learning/teaching aids); (2) evidence that the individual attempts to improve teaching skills and performance when appropriate; and (3) student evaluations. Aspects of teaching that will be evaluated include the following:

1. Content - Information presented should be current and accurate, as determined by peers and the scientific information available. It should be pertinent to the discipline and complete so as to conform to the objectives of the overall curriculum.

2. Organization - Information should be presented in a logical sequence that is understandable to the student. The actual teaching methods are at the discretion of the faculty member. Multidisciplinary subject matter should be effectively coordinated.

4. Communication Skills - The ability to successfully convey information depends on verbal and written communication skills. These include, but are not limited to, proper and comprehensible use of language, enthusiasm and the pace of presentations.

5. Curriculum Development - This is a very positive endeavor for a candidate for new course development and/or participation in overall curriculum development. The candidate's role in these endeavors must be delineated.

6. Advising - Candidate should list numbers of advisees, if any, indicating clearly what role was played and to what end for the students, ex. Masters, Ph.D., resident research, undergraduate research, etc. For each advisee, the candidate should provide his/her publications, abstracts, presentations, and any other significant accomplishments or awards. Publications in a timely manner, and general progress towards a degree, will be considered. Candidate should also participate in review of other students via examining committees

Additional support may include: teaching or advising awards, copies of teaching materials developed, self-evaluation of teaching and advising effectiveness, additional student evaluations (optional).

Evaluation of a candidate's skill in teaching and mentoring will be based on a review of evidence provided during the candidate's probationary period. Each faculty member will be responsible for documentation of teaching effectiveness:

2. A spreadsheet or table representing teaching responsibilities. This should include detailed data on numbers of lectures per semester, year taught, title and level, format including lecture, clinic, lab, discussion, and seminar, the level of participation, including course direction and numbers of lectures.

Each faculty member will be expected to develop and demonstrate his/her ability as an investigator in ongoing projects (e.g. clinical, laboratory, behavioral or educational investigations). The research and scholarly accomplishments of each candidate for promotion and/or tenure will be reviewed annually by his/her departmental chairperson. This review with the candidate will include an assessment of progress toward fulfilling the requirements for promotion and/or tenure. Distinction in research and/or scholarly productivity must be apparent. For promotion and tenure, peers from the Department, University and other institutions will review the candidate's research and scholarly accomplishments.

The research performance of a candidate will be assessed by evaluation of the publications resulting from the research work. Publication of research results in recognized refereed journals provides clear evidence of scholarly activity. In multi-authored articles, collaborative programs, projects, or grants, the contribution of the individual under review should be specifically described and evaluated. While each faculty member will be expected to contribute to the literature in an ongoing manner, quality rather than quantity of publications also will take precedence in promotion and/or tenure decisions. Widely used textbook chapters, review articles and instructional materials are examples of scholarly activity which may be evidence of national and international recognition of the author's expertise in a field and will be given appropriate consideration when they are part, but not the total, or an individual's scholarly productivity. Similarly, case reports are complementary to an individual's scholarly activities but may not comprise the major extent of his/her scholarly endeavors.

Submission of grant applications demonstrates a willingness and determination to succeed in research and scholarly activity, and is expected of all regular faculty for tenure. Further evidence of research and scholarly accomplishments is also demonstrated by the ability to support these activities by obtaining competitive funding.

Faculty members in the Department are expected to provide professional service as part of their role in fulfilling the mission of the Department. This service may be in addition to their clinical teaching responsibilities and paramount to maintaining a sound teaching and research program. Outstanding discipline-related patient service will be recognized as an important contribution in promotion and tenure decisions, but alone will not be sufficient for granting of promotion and/or tenure.

Discipline-related patient service must be clearly outstanding, demonstrably effective, and offer skills not usually available in the local community of clinicians. National recognition as a clinician is expected of candidates primarily involved in discipline-related service activities. Outstanding discipline-related patient service will be peer evaluated for its impact in raising the quality and standards of care within the profession.

The quantity and quality of the candidate's service functions, such as participation in the governance of the School of Dentistry and the University, participation in professional organizations, state and federal agencies, and community health care projects will be taken into consideration.

Promotion to Associate Professor is usually associated with a decision concerning tenure. Granting of tenure commits the University to the faculty member in a contractual arrangement for an indefinite period subject to post-tenure review, and should be based on clear evidence of the capacity to contribute to the missions of the Department and the School of Dentistry in an original fashion throughout that career.

Professor is the highest academic rank attainable and is reserved for those individuals who demonstrate superior achievement in their field. Promotion to Professor will be based on evidence of advanced academic scholarship and maturity in teaching, distinction in research, outstanding discipline-related service where appropriate, and other service to the University, local and national/international community.

4. discipline-related patient service (where appropriate) must be clearly outstanding, nationally recognized, demonstrably effective and offer contributions not usually found in the local community of clinicians (see Section III.C.1).

5. other service activities are expected of all candidates (see Section III.C.2.). In contrast to lower ranks, candidates for promotion to Professor are expected to actively participate in governance activities of the Department, School or University. The quality of service in governance activities will be assessed by solicitation of written evaluations from Department and committee chairs.

The School of Dentistry complies with Procedures for Reviewing the Performance of Probationary Faculty as provided by Sections 16.3, 7.4, and 7.61 of the Regulations Concerning Faculty Tenure and distributed annually by the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs.

Diagnostic and Biological Sciences, Office of Education, Academic Health Center at the University of Minnesota