VCOM Faculty Handbook

The entry level assignment in research, teaching, and/or clinical practice must be in a subject area appropriate to their teaching and research education and experience and must be a health sciences terminal degree in their educational field. Additional faculty who are included in this category are those employed by VCOM and who hold a Master’s degree or a terminal degree in nursing, athletic training, physical therapy, or other inter-professional degree appropriate to the content being taught and must have endorsement by the Associate Dean and the Campus Dean. Assistant Professor Appointment or promotion to the rank of Assistant Professor requires a doctoral-level degree in a subject area appropriate to their expertise and is considered an entry level rank for teaching for those faculty who hold a doctoral degree. The rank is appropriate for newly graduate physicians entering a teaching or research career rather than a clinical practice occupation. The rank is also appropriate for VCOM employed fellows and residents who are in an academic residency program and have commitments in research and teaching. The title appropriate for clinical fellows and post-doctoral biomedical fellows and new faculty upon entry to their first academic position. The faculty member must hold a doctoral level degree (D.O., M.D., Ph.D., DVM, PsychD, PharmD, DRPH, EdD) at the time of entry to this position. The Committee will consider the teaching contributions, research, and service (includes research, clinical teaching responsibilities, and on campus teaching) collectively to determine when to move from initial appointment of Assistant Professor to Associate Professor. The APT Committee may also consider awarding the rank of Assistant Professor to those who hold a Master’s degree as the appropriate terminal degree in their field, and who have provided sustained teaching, research, and service to the College for a period of five years or greater. As VCOM teaches students at the doctoral level, accreditation requires the APT Committee to send a letter of recommendation to the Campus Dean for the appointment and the Campus Dean must endorse the faculty member as eligible and proficient to teach at the doctoral level as proven by sustained teaching performance and by appropriate degree for the subject matter. For those with a Master’s degree, the rank of Assistant Professor is the highest appointment that may be awarded. Appointment at the Assistant Professor level is reserved for candidates who have the potential and qualifications to make a sustained contribution to the academic mission of VCOM and who are assigned to an academic discipline or department to perform teaching and/or research. Associate Professor Candidates for the rank of Associate Professor will typically have completed four years of academic teaching, research and service experience at the Assistant Professor level to be eligible for the promotion to the rank of Associate Professor for their fifth year. For promotion to Associate Professor, the Assistant Professor must demonstrate positive performance over the four years as an Assistant Professor which is consistently positive or improving in the areas of teaching and research and scholarly activity, and in service to the College. In this rank the faculty with clinical teaching as a part of their duties must also be considered for clinical accomplishment and achievement. Scholarly activity and professional service should be recognized at the College level and when representing the College at the state or national level. Publications from clinical expertise that contribute to the body of scientific knowledge are considered as well as scholarly activity related to research. Promotion to the rank of Associate Professor requires evidence of sustained college service on committees and other areas of service. Faculty members who are assigned significant research time/duties must show progress in research and scholarly activity; however, accomplishments are not anticipated to be at the level of those required for promotion to Professor.

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