Statement of Purpose
Faculty, ranging from part-time and contingent instructors to tenured and tenure-track faculty, perform an essential function at UNLV: instruction, regardless of mode of instruction (i.e., in person, hybrid, online). As such, it is imperative to have university-wide standards for the credentials of all faculty, including part-time and contingent instructors who are sensitive to unit-level practices. The purpose of this policy is to require units to set field-specific minimum criteria for all part-time and contingent faculty teaching credit-bearing, undergraduate courses at UNLV, as is required by the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) Handbook (Title 4, Chapter 3, 42.4.a.1). This policy also clarifies the process by which units set standards and ask for exceptions to the requirement for minimum credentials, as specified by the relevant section of the NSHE Handbook.
Entities Affected by this Policy
All UNLV units that offer credit-bearing courses at UNLV and hire part-time or contingent undergraduate instructors are affected by this policy.
Who Should Read this Policy
Deans, Assistant/Associate Deans, Chairs/Directors, and all those responsible for hiring faculty who teach undergraduate courses at UNLV should read this policy.
Policy
As specified in the NSHE Handbook See Board of Regents Handbook, Title 4, Section 3.42.4 (a1) and required by the Northwest Commission of Colleges and Universities, UNLV is mandated to develop written standards for the minimum criteria required for part-time instructors. Further, under NSHE Title 4, Section 3.42.4 (a2), units are charged with putting in place written procedures for selecting part-time instructors that reflect the system and institution’s commitment to equal employment opportunity.
As such, academic units must develop, within one calendar year of this policy’s adoption, field-specific, written standards and procedures that indicate a) the minimum degree or credentials required for an instructor, and b) procedures by which instructors who lack those minimum requirements can demonstrate related competencies and achievements equivalent to a formal degree or credential. These written standards and procedures, must be approved by the Dean, and kept on file in the Dean’s Office. Similarly, all proof of credentials and/or supporting documentation must be filed in the Dean’s Office.
When mandating the level of degree or credentials necessary to teach a course, units will specify that the field must be directly relevant to the course. For instance, whereas someone with a Bachelor’s degree in Biology may be qualified to lead a lower-division biology laboratory section, this individual would not be an appropriate instructor for courses unrelated to life sciences, barring the demonstration of non-credential equivalencies. Graduate level instruction must follow the standards and guidelines set by the Graduate College for Graduate Faculty Status.
Units wishing to hire a part-time or contingent instructor without the minimum required degree or credentials must submit a signed Instructor Equivalency Appointment Request (IEAR) to the Dean, specifying the equivalencies that demonstrate the individual’s fitness to instruct the course(s).These IEARs must remain on file in the Dean’s Office.
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Definitions
- Credential
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A degree awarded by an accredited institution of higher education.
- Non-Credential Equivalencies
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Experience outside of a formal degree that may qualify an individual to teach a course, e.g., professional training or employment germane to the topic of the course(s).
- Part-Time Instructors
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Per NSHE Handbook, Title 4, Section 3.42.2, these are instructors (a) who are employed on a temporary, less than full-time basis, (b) who are neither tenured nor eligible for tenure, (c) whose responsibilities are primarily or exclusively in instructional programs, and (d) who are compensated on a per-course basis.
- Units
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Any unit, department, school or college that offers instruction.