Current through all regulations passed and filed through December 16, 2024
(A)
The instructor of record for all coursework carrying
academic credit at Kent state university will have a Kent state university
appointment. The instructor of record has primary responsibility for course
instruction, including the assignment of appropriate grades. In addition, all
individuals providing ongoing instruction or a significant portion of
instruction (twenty-five per cent or more) in a course will have a university
appointment as an instructor or graduate teaching assistant.
All instructors on Kent state
university appointment will be approved by the academic unit. This includes
full-time instructors whose primary appointment is on the Kent campus as well
as adjunct part-time instructors, who may teach at one or multiple campuses.
With respect to full-time instructors whose appointment will be in the regional
campus system, the relevant academic unit will assess basic qualifications in
the academic discipline, but the regional campus to which the fulltime
instructor will be primarily assigned has final say in the appointment.
Specific teaching assignments on the Kent campus will be made by the academic
unit. Specific teaching assignments on regional campuses will be made by the
regional campus offering the course.
(B)
Instructor
credentials. Qualified instructors are identified primarily by academic
credentials, but other factors, including but not limited to equivalent, tested
experience, are considered in determining whether an instructor is qualified. A
current curriculum vita, along with academic transcripts or other documents
verifying credentials, must be submitted prior to the hire for all instructor
positions. Any exceptions to the minimum requirements provided for herein must
be approved by the provost.
(1)
Academic credentials. Individuals who assume
responsibility for teaching courses at the university should meet the minimum
degree requirements in their field of instruction as specified in this
paragraph. Terminal degrees shall be verified during the hiring process as part
of the background check and prior to beginning instructional duties. The
minimum degree requirements for individuals with instructional responsibilities
are as follows:
(a)
Instructors that are solely responsible for teaching
graduate and post-baccalaureate course work: earned doctorate/terminal degree
or foreign degree equivalent in the teaching discipline or a related
discipline.
(b)
Instructors and graduate teaching assistants that are
solely responsible for teaching upper-level undergraduate course work (30 to
40,000 level):
(i)
Earned doctorate or terminal degree or foreign degree
equivalent in the teaching discipline or a related discipline,
(ii)
Master's degree
or foreign degree equivalent in the teaching discipline or a related
discipline, or
(iii)
At least thirty graduate credit hours in the teaching
discipline.
(c)
Instructors and graduate teaching assistants that are
solely responsible for teaching lower-level undergraduate course work (10 to
20,000 level):
(i)
Earned doctorate or terminal degree or foreign degree
equivalent in the teaching discipline or a related discipline,
(ii)
Master's degree
or foreign degree equivalent in the teaching discipline or a related
discipline, or
(iii)
At least eighteen graduate credit hours in the teaching
discipline. Graduate teaching assistants in this category must also have direct
supervision by a full-time faculty member experienced in the teaching
discipline, and must be given both in-service training and planned and periodic
evaluations.
(d)
Graduate teaching assistants with less than eighteen
graduate credit hours in the teaching discipline shall be able to:
(i)
Teach lab
sections or discussion/quiz sections connected to a parent class for which
there is a full-time faculty member experienced in the teaching field serving
as instructor of record and who will provide direct supervision, in-service
training, and planned and periodic evaluations of the graduate teaching
assistant, and
(ii)
Serve as sole instructor in undergraduate courses at
the 10,000 level that do not count toward the major in the teaching discipline
provided that they are directly supervised by a full-time faculty member
experienced in the teaching discipline, and are given both in-service training
and planned and periodic evaluations.
(2)
Tested
experience. For individuals who do not meet the minimum degree requirements,
academic units must provide a written explanation of the person's
qualifications in the area of instruction and explicit evidence of those
qualifications including, but not limited to:
(a)
Academic degrees
in related areas as documented on an official academic
transcript;
(b)
Documentation of relevant scholarly accomplishments,
relevant creative accomplishments, and/or relevant professional experience or
credentials; or
(c)
Appropriate coursework as documented on an official
academic transcript.
(3)
Academic units
are responsible for verifying and maintaining documentation of instructional
qualifications for all faculty and staff and for forwarding copies of this
documentation to the office of accreditation, assessment, and learning.
(a)
The unit
administrator and faculty advisory body of the academic unit will be solely
responsible for defining the terminal degree(s) for the
discipline.
(b)
The unit administrator and faculty advisory body of the
academic unit will be solely responsible for determining whether or not a
discipline other than the teaching discipline is sufficiently related to meet
the minimal degree requirement specified in paragraph (B)(1) of this
rule.
(c)
The unit administrator and faculty advisory body of the
academic unit will be solely responsible for determining whether or not a given
individual who lacks the minimal degree requirement meets the tested experience
requirement specified in paragraph (B)(2) of this rule.
(C)
Kent state university appointments. Instructional
appointments will specify the rank and/or title of the individual appointment
for the purposes of instruction and will note whether the appointment is
full-time or part-time, term or continuing, and if applicable, whether the
salary is from Kent state university operational funds or from another source.
Examples of such appointments include full-time tenure-track faculty, full-time
non-tenure-track faculty, adjunct part-time faculty, and graduate teaching
appointees.
(D)
Employment relationship. Except in instances where Kent
state university has established a formal relationship with an accredited
educational institution, a hospital or other health care organization, a
governmental agency, or where the university employs artists, actors or
musicians who are customarily represented by agents or artistic organizations,
the employment relationship between the university and individuals involved in
credit instruction will be direct.
(1)
Independent contractors. Only under rare and
extraordinary circumstances, and only after the prior approval of the
educational policies council and the provost, will Kent state university enter
into agreements that provide for third-party delivery of credit instruction in
accordance with the rule
3342-5-04.1 of the
Administrative Code. In these instances, the provisions in paragraphs (A), (B),
and (C) of this rule with regard to the processing of appointments will be
followed.
(2)
Agreements that provide for the third-party delivery of
credit instruction shall be reviewed by the appropriate academic unit prior to
renewal or extension beyond the original term.
Replaces: 3342-3-02