The African Studies Program (ASP) will follow Indiana University (IU) and School of Global and International Studies (SGIS) policies regarding promotion and reappointment of Non-‐Tenure Track faculty. Promotion to or reappointment as Senior Lecturer is contingent on demonstrating excellence in teaching and satisfactory contributions in service.
Excellence in teaching is defined by:
- Development of clear course syllabi
- Professional classroom management and constructive engagement with students
- Learning outcomes for students that are appropriate to university and national standards, such as ACTFL
- Enrollments in a range of language levels, especially beginning and intermediate levels
- Evidence of pedagogical innovation and improvement over time
- Development of high quality instructional materials
- Awards to the instructor for pedagogy and to the instructor’s students for language learning
- Professional development, including participation in pedagogy workshops and/or conferences as well as professional certification of language instructional skills
Satisfactory service is as defined by:
- Participation in committee work for the ASP and SGIS
- Participation in outreach activities as requested by the program’s director or associate director.
- Participation in the academic programming and intellectual life of the ASP
- Provision of service to the profession or community
The procedure for conducting the promotion or reappointment review will conform to IU and SGIS policies. The ASP director will form an ad hoc Promotion Review Committee (PRC) or Reappointment Review Committee (RRC) to evaluate the candidate. The PRC or RRC will consist of five members: the ASP’s African Languages Coordinator, a member of the ASP’s Undergraduate Affairs Committee, two members of the ASP’s affiliated faculty selected by the ASP’s Executive Committee, and one additional member of the ASP’s affiliated faculty selected by the ASP director; at least one member of the committee should be a Senior Lecturer, if possible. The PRC or RRC will evaluate all materials submitted by the candidate, hold a confidential vote on the question of promotion or reappointment and on the quality of teaching and service, and write a report that conveys the committee’s evaluation and its confidential vote. The ASP director will review the applicant’s materials and make a separate recommendation.
The candidate’s dossier of materials for promotion or reappointment consideration should include:
- A personal statement of teaching philosophy that discusses the pedagogical approaches used by the candidate, reflects on teaching successes and challenges, describes the candidate’s published work on teaching, describes curricular innovations, and discusses the evidence used evaluating for learning outcomes and teaching success
- A curriculum vitae
- Evidence of teaching leadership and recognition, such as competitive grants, awards, and certifications
- A list of all courses taught for the ASP and their enrollments
- Copies of all course syllabi as well as representative supplementary materials (assignments, examinations, grading rubrics, etc.)
- Evidence of the quantity and quality of classroom teaching (eg, list of enrollments in all courses taught for the ASP; summaries of standardized quantitative student course evaluations, including reports on the mandatory questions on the Online Course Questionnaire Copies and earlier BEST documentation; and evidence of student learning outcomes)
- Copies of peer and tenured faculty observations of teaching
- Solicited and unsolicited letters and emails from students, colleagues, and others regarding teaching
- Evidence of service activities
Promotion to the rank of Senior Lecturer will adhere to relevant IU and SGIS policies. In the event of non-reappointment or appointment termination of a Lecturer or Senior Lecturer, the ASP will conform to relevant IU and SGIS policies.