Agricultural & Applied Economics: Inside Ag Econ
Promotion and Tenure Guidelines and Criteria
Approved – December 7, 2004
This document is intended to guide candidates and evaluators of those candidates
toward successful outcomes of the promotion and tenure process in the UGA Department
of Agricultural and Applied Economics (AAEC). Specific criteria for promotion
and tenure within AAEC are outlined in this document. The starting point
for understanding this process, the rules of operation, and the basic guidelines,
criteria and documentation required for all candidates are given in the current
version of the UGA Guidelines for Appointment, Promotion and Tenure (the “red” book). This
document is meant to be in addition to information provided in the red book,
to clarify and make more specific what is expected of candidates in AAEC to successfully
be promoted and/or tenured.
Certain expectations apply to all candidates regardless of appointment. All
candidates should be evaluated against their job assignments, as documented by
the department head. Evaluation relative to job assignment includes consideration
of the percentage of time assigned to each of the three missions (teaching, research,
and service), and the particular job responsibilities assigned (specific courses,
research areas, extension responsibilities, etc.). Every faculty member
is expected to participate in Departmental, College, University activities and/or
committees as well as provide appropriate service to the University, professional
groups, and society at large. All faculty members are expected to secure
external funding as a tool which fosters excellence in their scholarly programs. Success
in securing funding should be followed by demonstrated success of the funded
program. AAEC feels that both competitive and non-competitive grants are
important achievements. Competitive funding can be a sign of high quality
research ideas, while non-competitive funding can signal a strong reputation
in that area. In all three missions (teaching, research, and service),
advancing a scholarly program in the candidate’s areas of responsibility
is the central achievement to be evaluated.
Split appointments are the norm in AAEC with faculty time split between two of
the three areas of research, teaching and service. When evaluating candidates
for promotion and tenure using the guidelines and criteria below, a faculty member’s
assigned time in each area must be given due consideration, as should the appointment
mix. Whenever a candidate has even a small appointment in research, teaching
or extension, the candidate must demonstrate an active Research, Extension (Service)
or Teaching program and not simply a budgetary appointment of convenience.
Contributions to Teaching
The Standard
Effectiveness in teaching is reflected by motivating students to become proficient in their understanding and application of economics and related areas covered in AAEC courses. Such effectiveness will be determined through the development of a teaching portfolio consisting of the sources listed in the University’s appointment, promotion, and tenure guidelines. Within these guidelines, AAEC strongly encourages documentation in Categories 3 (Effectiveness shown by student evaluation and accomplishments), 4 (Effectiveness shown by peer evaluation of expertise in instruction), and 9 (Successful integration of teaching and research or teaching and service in ways that benefit students) for demonstrating a minimum level of excellence and teaching scholarship.
Documentation
To document effectiveness shown by student evaluation and accomplishments, a candidate is expected to show accomplishments particularly in items 3a (student teaching evaluations) and 3g (effective direction of graduate study) from the UGA Guidelines. For demonstrating effectiveness shown by peer evaluation of expertise in instruction, a candidate should include documentation along the lines of item 4a (peer evaluations) and may augment this with honors or special recognitions for teaching accomplishments. Course reviews by the department head with input from the undergraduate coordinator, graduate coordinator, or qualified senior faculty reviewers appointed by the head, as well as information developed from interviews with students, may also be used for documenting effectiveness. To show successful integration of teaching and research or teaching and service in ways that benefit students (category 9 – integration of teaching and research or service), a candidate should document the development of a scholarly program which funnels current research discoveries and real-world applications into the classroom, including service activities.
- Promotion to Associate and Full Professor: No difference in standards is deemed necessary for different ranks of promotion.
- Tenure: All of the above with additional documentation addressing the University’s “continuing and long-range need for what the candidate for tenure may be expected to do” and likeliness that the candidate will continue to be an active and productive scholar over the long period time that tenure supposes (UGA Guidelines, page 38).
Contributions to Research
The Standard
For the purposes of promotion and tenure, The UGA Guidelines for Appointment,
Promotion and Tenure specify (page 7) that “a faculty member must demonstrate
excellence in the faculty member’s area(s) of assignment”. With
respect to contributions to research, the Guidelines (page 17) specify that research
activities must demonstrate “high quality” that distinguishes between “routine” and “outstanding” as
judged by the candidate’s peers at The University of Georgia and elsewhere. The
Guidelines state that the principal standard should be “quality rather
than quantity.”
Quality and scholarship are paramount. Consistent with these Guidelines,
AAEC candidates for promotion and tenure with a research appointment must be
engaged in high quality research that contributes to an overall excellent level
of performance in the candidate’s area(s) of assignment. Some publication
of papers in top journals is stressed. The quality of journals can be documented
by methods such as inclusion of the journal in the social science citation index,
journal impact factors, or citations of the candidate’s published papers. Although
research activities should always be of high quality, the relative weight placed
on measurable research outputs (e.g., refereed journal articles) when evaluating
a candidate’s overall level of performance should be commensurate with
the candidate’s assigned percentage of time in research.
Documentation
The UGA Guidelines (pages 17-19) specify legitimate categories (or sources) of
research evidence. AAEC candidates for promotion and tenure should
consult this list and include documentation of all relevant categories in the
dossier. AAEC candidates should place their primary emphasis on documentation
of evidence for Category 1 (“Research and/or scholarly publications”). Other
categories considered important include Category 5 (“Funded projects, grants,
commissions and contracts) and Category 6 (“Presentation of research papers
before technical and professional meetings”). An equitable percentage
of journal articles published should have the candidate as the senior author
(e.g., about half of two-author papers, one-third of three-author papers, etc.). Papers
published with the candidate’s graduate students are traditionally counted
as senior authored papers when the graduate student’s name is placed first. Similarly,
at least some grant funding should include the candidate as PI or co-PI.
- Promotion
to Associate Professor: A starting point for promotion to associate professor
is evidence of progress to correct any negative reviews found in the Third-Year
Review. As indicated in the UGA Guidelines (page
24), candidates must demonstrate “clear and convincing evidence of emerging
stature as regional or national authorities unless their work assignments are
specifically at the local level”. AAEC considers refereed
publications to be the most important and widely-accepted indicator of this emerging
status as a regional or national authority. Publications will be evaluated
on content, contribution, and the quality and appropriateness of the journals
(or other outlets) relative to the candidate’s appointment and/or field
of study. The quality and appropriateness of journals should be documented
by the candidate and the external evaluators. Although publication emphasis should
always be on quality and contributions to a focused scholarly program, candidates
with higher research appointments are expected to demonstrate higher levels of
refereed journal article output commensurate with the assigned time in research. Selected
and invited presentations at regional and national professional meetings and
conferences, and both competitive and non-competitive extramural funding are
also important indicators of emerging status as a regional and national authority
or scholar.
2) Promotion to Professor: As indicated in the UGA Guidelines (page 24), candidates must demonstrate “clear and convincing evidence of high levels of attainment in the criteria appropriate to their work assignments and the missions of their units. Unless the candidates’ assignments are specifically regional, they should demonstrate national or international recognition in their fields and the likelihood of maintaining that stature.” The AAEC Department considers national-level refereed journal articles to be the most important and widely-accepted indicator of a national or international reputation as a scholar in their field. The quality and appropriateness of journals should be documented by the candidate and the external evaluators. For promotion to Professor, books and book chapters (especially invited chapters) may also be important indicators of national and international scholarly status. Selected and especially invited presentations at national and international professional meetings and conferences, and both competitive and non-competitive extramural funding, are also important indicators of national and international scholarly status. By this stage of a career, documentation of impact is highly desirable. Possible ways to document impact include: citation indices, evidence of others adopting research results, or other means of estimating or relating impact.
3) Tenure: All of the above with additional documentation addressing the University’s “continuing and long-range need for what the candidate for tenure may be expected to do” and likeliness that the candidate will continue to be an active and productive scholar over the long period time that tenure supposes (UGA Guidelines, page 38).
Contributions to Service (Extension)
The Standard
The UGA Guidelines for Appointment, Promotion, and Tenure (page 19) state that “Service to society refers to the function of applying academic expertise to the direct benefit of external audiences in support of unit and University missions.” Such service is further defined as “a direct application of knowledge to, and a substantive link with, significant human needs and societal problems, issues, and concerns.
Documentation
The UGA Guidelines for Appointment, Promotion, and Tenure on pages 20-22 lists activities which are evidence of an effective Service program. Consistent with the Guidelines and more specifically, candidates for promotion and tenure with an Extension appointment in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics should especially demonstrate the following:- Program Development. Evidence of recognizing clientele needs
within the state of Georgia and leadership in developing educational programs,
information, and applied research to address those needs.
- Visibility and Impact. Evidence of visibility and impact may
include but is not limited to meetings conducted, workshops and short-courses
developed, technical assistance and consultation, publications, newsletters,
web-based communications, slide presentations, computerized decision aids, popular
press articles, mass media, and in-service training provided for county Extension
agents and other professionals.
- Applied Research. Development of a published applied research program
that supports the Extension education program and meets the needs of Georgia
clientele. Outlets for applied research may include but not limited to Extension
and Departmental bulletins, research reports, abstracts, conference proceedings,
refereed journal articles or other peer reviewed publications, professional papers,
and papers given at industry conferences.
- Grants and Contracts. Ability to attract grant funds to develop and support Extension education programming and applied research.
Performance should be commensurate with the candidate’s area of responsibility and appointment.
- Promotion to Associate and Full Professor:
The Guidelines state the criteria for promotion to Associate Professor
as “clear and convincing evidence of emerging stature as a regional or
national authority unless their work assignment is specifically at the local
or state level.” (page 24) AAEC also recognizes that some Extension
faculty have commodity-specific duties. Therefore, what is considered “regional” and “national” should
be in consideration of the commodity, if applicable.
The Guidelines state the criteria for promotion to Professor as “clear and convincing evidence of high levels of attainment in the criteria appropriate to their work assignments and mission of their units. Unless the candidate’s assignment is specifically regional, he/she should demonstrate national or international recognition in their fields and the likelihood of maintaining that stature” (p 24). For promotion to Full Professor, evidence of performance since promotion to Associate Professor should demonstrate clear evidence of national recognition (an increased record of accomplishment recognized on a national scale) and clear evidence of excellence in his/her area of responsibility.
Indicators of regional and national recognition in the context of Extension (Service) may include:- invited presentations at meetings or conferences of industry and commodity organizations
- papers or abstracts published in conference proceedings
- participation and leadership in regional and national Extension program development included conferences, meetings, symposia, and educational materials
- participation and leadership in applied research
- invited articles and citations in popular press and industry outlets
- publication in peer reviewed journals including those of other disciplines or other peer reviewed publications
- invited presentations before professional societies
- awards and special recognitions for Extension (Service) programs and contributions
- grant funding with an increased trend as the PI on projects.
- Tenure:
Tenure is based on “the University's continuing and long-range need for
what the candidate for tenure may be expected to do” and "whether
or not candidates are likely to continue to be active and productive scholars
over the extended period of time that tenure supposes." (Guidelines,
page 38)