"NEW" Criteria for Promotion of Fixed-Term Professorial: Professor of Practice - Optional for 2025-26 Cycle; Required for 2026-27 Cycle
Professor (Practice) is a fixed term paid appointment with primary duties in professionally related instruction and service and an expectation of scholarship as defined in the position description. Ranks are Assistant Professor (Practice), Associate Professor (Practice), and Professor (Practice), in ascending order (ref: UAOSU CBA).
Unless granted credit for prior service, bargaining unit members in the Fixed-Term Professorial categories are eligible for promotion when both of the following conditions are met: at least six years have elapsed since their initial hire date or last promotion, and they have accumulated a minimum of 4.5 FTE years in service since their initial hire date or last promotion (ref: UAOSU CBA).
Use these Fixed-term eligibility calculators for (9-month) faculty or (12-month) faculty.
At each promotion juncture, fixed-term faculty who have achieved promotion in rank are eligible for multi-year contracts. For further information, see the Academic Appointment Guidelines.
In all cases, promotion is granted for achievement, not for years in rank, and should be based on accomplishments and excellence in the duties described in the employee’s position description.
PROMOTION CRITERIA
Promotion to the rank of Associate Professor of Practice is based on evidence of the candidate’s:
- High level of effectiveness in teaching and education including formal and informal community-based or-engaged instruction, advising, and other assigned duties;
- Achievement in scholarship and creative activity that contributes to the body of knowledge or its application and dissemination in the candidate’s field(s) of expertise;
- Appropriate level and balance of institutional, community, and professional service.
Promotion to the rank of Professor of Practice is based on evidence of the candidate’s:
- Sustained high level of effectiveness in teaching and education including formal and informal community-based or-engaged instruction, advising, and other assigned duties;
- Sustained achievement in scholarship and creative activity that contributes to the body of knowledge or its application and dissemination, in the candidate’s field(s) of expertise;
- Exemplary levels of institutional, community, and professional service, and an appropriate balance between them.
The criteria for Teaching, Advising, and Other Assignments provides guidelines for documenting and evaluating achievement in these areas. The Quality Teaching Framework, endorsed by the Faculty Senate in 2021, highlights elements of quality teaching valued at OSU and may be a useful guide for delivering and communicating effective teaching.
Criteria for Promotion: Associate Professor of Practice & Professor of Practice (these guidelines will not be used after the 2025-26 P&T Cycle)
I. General Purpose
The purpose of these guidelines is to provide criteria and procedures for evaluation and promotion of professor of practice faculty at Oregon State University. These guidelines serve to define and differentiate practice-track faculty appointments from the traditional academic (tenure) track. These guidelines are consistent with the Promotion and Tenure Guidelines of Oregon State University, particularly as they relate to promotion, and will be implemented in conjunction with those guidelines. These guidelines should not be interpreted to alter the provisions of OSU policies on fixed term appointments.
II. Academic Positions
This document defines the responsibilities of professor of practice faculty at Oregon State University and serves to provide guidance to such faculty in assessing the appropriateness of their activities. The scope of responsibilities outlined in the mission statement of Oregon State University dictates that the faculty be comprised of individuals with widely varying activities and responsibilities to fulfill the mission of the University.
In recognition of this, Oregon State University recognizes several faculty categories. Each category is created to be unique to the responsibilities and expectations of faculty within, but nothing in this document is to imply a hierarchy of importance between tenure-track and practice-track faculty.
Professor of Practice Track Faculty
As a Land Grant university, Oregon State University has as part of its mission the conduct of locally/regionally meaningful education, research, and community outreach and engagement. OSU’s deep collaboration with the communities it serves has earned it the Community Engagement designation by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Achieving the land-grant mission requires that some faculty be excellent educators and practitioners who can also effectively translate research to application in or with communities. Faculty members with significant responsibility for non-traditional education or community outcomes may be defined as professors of practice, and position titles include Assistant Professor of Practice, Associate Professor of Practice, and Professor of Practice. The practice- track classification is not limited to faculty members with an Extension assignment, nor should all Extension assignments be in this track. It is to be used only for faculty members whose primary work assignments are in professionally related community education and service, though scholarship and university service are also expected. Development of an independent research program is not essential though this may be appropriate in some instances, and most scholarship activities are expected to contribute to effective educational program delivery and research application at local or regional levels. Professor of Practice faculty members are not eligible for tenure, but are eligible for extended fixed-term contracts at the Associate and Full Professor ranks.
III. Procedures for Initial Appointment of Professor of Practice Faculty
The process for identifying and evaluating candidates for initial appointment to Professor of Practice positions will follow the same faculty search committee procedures as for traditional academic (tenure) track appointments. Announcements and position descriptions will clearly state the nature of the position.
Professor of Practice faculty appointments are fixed term at the assistant rank but are eligible for extended fixed term contracts at Associate and Full Professor levels. Reappointment is at the discretion of the department head, dean, or equivalent.
Candidates for appointment or promotion to the rank of Assistant Professor of Practice and above are expected to demonstrate a balance of accomplishment and competence in community-related practice, teaching and educational development, scholarship, and service to the institution and profession. They should be knowledgeable in their field and establish a local, regional or national reputation as making significant contributions appropriate to the rank and discipline.
IV. Annual Evaluation, Mid-Term Review and Promotion of Professors of Practice
Faculty members in the Professor of Practice ranks will be evaluated annually by their academic unit leader and their immediate supervisor, unless the latter is the academic unit leader. The evaluation will include an assessment of the individual’s involvement in educational programs, research programs, student advising, scholarly activities, service contributions and other duties as defined in their position description. Mid-term (three-year) reviews shall be conducted following the procedures outlined for tenure-track faculty. When a faculty member wishes to be considered for promotion (typically at the five year mark for those entering the system as assistant professors), he or she will submit a dossier, and the department head (or equivalent) will forward the request to the unit Promotion and Tenure Committee and ask for its evaluation of the faculty member’s progress. The Promotion and Tenure Committee will recommend whether or not to promote. Reviews and recommendations at the college and university levels will follow procedures established by the Oregon State University Promotion and Tenure Guidelines as applicable to promotions. The Provost will make the final decision on whether or not to promote.
It is expected that promotion from associate to professorial rank will follow the same general timeframes as for tenure-line faculty. Promotion to the rank of Professor is based upon evidence of the candidate's distinction in performance of assigned duties, documentable impact of educational programs and/or applied research findings; and exemplary service in the activity areas defined in their position description (local, regional, university, professional, etc.)
V. Professor of Practice Scholarship and Creative Work
All Oregon State University faculty members in the professorial ranks have a responsibility to engage in scholarly and creative work. Scholarly and creative work is understood to be intellectual work whose significance is validated by peers and which is communicated. In general, scholarly expectations for Professor of Practice faculty will be between 5 and 15% of the individual’s total position expectations. This level of scholarly expectation differs from tenure track faculty positions which have relatively larger scholarly expectations.
The appropriateness and importance of the type of scholarship will vary with the expectations of the position. The principle of peer review and recognition becomes increasingly important as the faculty member progresses through academic ranks. In the case of Professor of Practice faculty, emphasis is placed on peer recognition as a professional practitioner in community settings. Peer recognition results from scholarly accomplishments can take many forms. The order of examples is not intended to rank importance. Publication in peer-reviewed journals is the most traditional form of scholarship, but professor of practice-track publications might more commonly encompass description and evaluation of novel community-based professional practice or research application, program development and innovation, outcomes of innovative programs and/or services, definitive professional practice reviews, or case reports among others. Authorship of extension publications, local or regional “practice” publications, book chapters, videotapes, other educational materials and electronic information delivery media is considered scholarly if it is either peer reviewed before dissemination or if there is evidence of its adoption and use by peers. Invited presentations, poster and podium presentations, and published abstracts at state and national levels are other examples of scholarship, provided that evidence of peer validation is provided. Documented impact due to local or regional adoption of practices developed through research activities is considered scholarship. Advising government agencies, industry, or professional groups are all considered evidence of scholarship. Authorship of a patent in the faculty member’s field is considered as evidence of creative scholarship.
Honorary degrees, awards recognizing community, professional and/or scientific achievements, and fellowship in national professional and/or scientific organizations are considered as evidence of peer recognition.