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49 Curry has prioritized hiring credentialed, competitive full‐time faculty. The faculty have played a central role in this process by: • Identifying needs for full‐time faculty hires as a regular part of the annual departmental self‐evaluation and planning process, connected to delivery of learning outcomes, programmatic, and College goals. An example is the 2010 hiring of a new Mathematics instructor based on the need to increase full‐time faculty involvement in early sequence mathematics; similarly, the growing field of multimedia journalism was prioritized through the establishment of a 2010 full‐time faculty line in Multimedia Journalism within the Communication Department. • Improving the hiring process by developing a set of guidelines and standards that have been updated annually. The offices of Human Resources, the Academic Dean, and the Faculty Chairs, Coordinators, and Directors all contributed to authoring these guidelines, which supplement basic procedures and stipulations of criteria for appointment by rank in the CBA, with clear and consistent expectations for statements of criteria, candidate evaluation protocols, handling of applicant materials, interview processes, communications, and follow‐up. cxiii Recent searches have increasingly drawn a strong application pool nationally (six of the 12 new full‐time faculty hired in fall 2010 and 2011 relocated from another part of the country), and have yielded highly qualified and experienced faculty with impressive credentials. Each has provided evidence of strong commitment to the institutional mission and a strong fit with the College’s identified academic program needs. Successful searches, along with attainment of doctoral degrees by existing faculty, have resulted in an overall increase in the proportion of full‐time faculty with terminal degrees; that percentage rose from 64.5% in Fall 2006, to 66.9% in Fall 2009, to 73% in Fall 2011. With additional full‐time faculty currently pursuing doctoral degrees, as well as anticipated new hires, the proportion of fully credentialed full‐time faculty should continue to rise. In addition to the focus on full‐time hiring, the College has streamlined and made more transparent the processes for part‐time faculty hiring. Open part‐time positions are now routinely posted online using the College’s Interview Exchange resource. cxiv All part‐time faculty are initially hired at the Associate Lecturer rank; departments evaluate their performance before they are eligible for promotion to the Lecturer rank. As of Fall 2011, 32% of part‐time faculty teach in the two pre‐professional programs where the presence of clinical/field‐based faculty is most integral to the curriculum: Nursing (53 part‐time) and Education (41 part‐time). Through “embedded practitioners,” students in Nursing and Education receive hands‐on practical experience, on‐site supervision, as well as context‐specific mentoring and guidance. External professional accreditation bodies in Nursing and Education maintain their own standards for participation by full‐ and part‐time faculty in clinical and field supervision; in all cases, Curry adheres to such standards. The faculty at Curry College are dedicated to the College’s mission, committed to academic quality, and highly engaged, both with students on a day‐to‐day basis and with strategic Curry College 2012 Self-Study Standard Five
50 initiatives to move the College forward through planned growth and development. In preprofessional programs, generally subject to external accreditation, the offering departments are rigorous in adhering to professional standards. The program planning and assessment process now in place for other programs and departments represents a major step in involving all faculty in the documentation and assessment of course‐ and program‐specific learning outcomes to inform ongoing curricular and instructional improvement. In addition, Curry faculty are heavily engaged in systematic curriculum innovation efforts through service on formal task forces (e.g., General Education, First Year) and newer “Curriculum Innovation Communities” described above, supporting the development and implementation of a revised college wide General Education curriculum and its coordination with related curricular expectations, practices and pedagogies across departments and disciplines. These are ambitious endeavors, and Curry faculty are committed to the work of defining “general education” such that it aligns with values that define the College’s purposes for all students, regardless of majors or fields of study. Given the challenges of integrating an increasing need for faculty participation in planning, assessment, curriculum renewal, and leadership with the primary teaching functions of the College, enhancing professional development opportunities has been key focus for Academic Affairs, as evidenced in both increased budgeting of funds and time (faculty, staff, and administrative support) for these important efforts. cxv Such investments include: • Support for faculty time for research, scholarship, curriculum development, major learning outcomes assessment projects, sabbaticals, and academic leadership through course releases and administrative time. The total allocation of funds to these functions has increased by 49% from FY 2007 to FY 2012. Over the same time period, outlays for sabbaticals and course releases for scholarship, research, and other professional projects increased by 133%. • Funds for conference travel, research support (equipment, materials, undergraduate research assistant time), publication costs, professional development programs, assessment, accreditation, and curriculum development efforts, via the Academic Dean’s Office, Faculty Fund for Professional Advancement, and Excellence in Teaching Committee. • Expenditures for replacement salaries for faculty leadership, in the form of assigned and release Time to chairs, coordinators, and directors of departments and programs, as well as committee chairs. The College has increased expenditures on faculty leadership in these forms by 36% from FY 2007 to FY 2012. • Hiring of an Administrative and Technology Assistant (new position as of Fall 2011), housed in the Faculty Center, to enhance instructional technology support for faculty. Interest and participation in relevant opportunities is clearly on the rise. While funds for release time and sabbaticals have been underutilized (e.g., fewer proposals for Research Track have been submitted than the number available in most of the years since its initiation in FY 2007), faculty are increasingly taking advantage of Assigned/Release Time to support both their own research and scholarship, along with assessment, curriculum development, and other projects benefitting students within academic areas and departments. Excellence in Teaching is Curry College 2012 Self-Study Standard Five
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Curry College Self-Study Report Jan
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ii III. Institutional Characteristi
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iv 12. List all programs accredited
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vi CHIEF INSTITUTIONAL OFFICERS Fun
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viii Academic Dean’s Office coord
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Page 23 and 24: 10 writing sequence xxv ; and stand
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Page 29 and 30: 16 policy and planning and peer fac
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Page 35 and 36: 22 NEASC visit in 2002, the organiz
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Page 39 and 40: 26 • MACJ: Police Career Incentiv
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Page 53 and 54: 40 • Develop a system to assess t
Page 55 and 56: 42 Standard Five: Faculty Descripti
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Page 67 and 68: 54 Standard Six: Students With a lo
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Page 77 and 78: 64 continue to hear from students o
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Page 81 and 82: 68 systematic oversight for what ar
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Page 85 and 86: 72 the Appraisal section. Students
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Page 89 and 90: 76 technological environment. The C
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Page 107 and 108: 94 Standard Eleven: Integrity Descr
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100 ix Mission Statement Survey in
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102 cvi First Year activities in wo
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