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Graduate Program

A graduate program includes all Graduate Faculty members who are appointed specifically to the faculty of that program by the Dean of the Graduate School. Any faculty member whose duties include teaching, thesis or dissertation supervision, or research supervision of CU Boulder graduate students must be appointed to the Graduate Faculty to ensure minimum standards of excellence in relation to graduate education.

Membership

Appointment to the Graduate Faculty of the Graduate School is based on uniform, minimum standards specified in the “Graduate School Rules.” There are two types of appointment: “regular” and “special.” As detailed below, regular appointment to the Graduate Faculty is limited to full-time faculty members of CU Boulder who hold the rank of assistant professor, associate professor, professor or any research professor title; special appointments may be granted to CU Boulder instructors or lecturers, to retired CU Boulder faculty, to faculty of any rank at other institutions, or to individuals beyond academia whose professional expertise is commensurate with CU Boulder standards.

In the case of a coordinated program between one or more University of Colorado campuses, the issue of Graduate Faculty appointment shall be addressed in the program MOU and agreed to by the graduate deans of each campus involved.

General Qualifications

In accordance with the “Assumed Practices” policy of the Higher Learning Commission, the Graduate School requires that members of the graduate faculty hold a doctoral degree or the terminal degree appropriate to the discipline and have a record of research, scholarship, or achievement appropriate for the graduate program.

“Tested experience” may substitute for the earned credential where the institution has determined that a faculty member is qualified based on experience determined to be equivalent to the terminal degree. Equivalent experience should be tested in that it “includes a breadth and depth of experience outside of the classroom in real-world situations relevant to the discipline,” and is not typically based on years of teaching experience. A unit that intends to use tested experience as a basis for requesting a GFA must have well-defined policies, procedures, and documentation that demonstrate when such experience is equivalent to a terminal degree and sufficient to determine that the faculty member has the expertise necessary to work with graduate students in their discipline, according to the . When making a request for exception based upon equivalent experience, the unit shall include all such information along with the request.

Review Process

Recommendations for membership in the Graduate Faculty are initiated by a department chair or program director. Any faculty member at CU Boulder may request that his/her credentials as a candidate for membership on the Graduate Faculty be reviewed. The recommendation is reviewed by the chair of the department prior to submission to the Dean of the Graduate School for consideration. The Dean of the Graduate School approves or disapproves appointments to the Graduate Faculty. If the action contemplated varies from recommendations, the Dean of the Graduate School and graduate program members discuss the issue in an attempt to reconcile the differences. Appeals of decisions made by the Dean of the Graduate School are forwarded to the Executive Advisory Council for action.

Regular Graduate Faculty Appointment

The term of appointment for regular members of the graduate faculty is for a maximum of seven years. For untenured faculty, the length of the graduate faculty appointment corresponds to the length of the faculty member’s appointment in the department. Members of the Graduate Faculty may be reappointed any number of times.

Additional Qualifications

Regular membership on the Graduate Faculty is generally limited to full-time faculty members of CU Boulder who hold the rank of assistant professor, associate professor or professor, as well as any research professor title. The quality of graduate teaching, thesis supervision, research and creative work is central to the decision.

Criteria

The criteria applied in evaluating applications for regular membership include:

• Evidence of continuing scholarship—defined as a broad and inclusive concept that includes research and/or creative work and related inquiries and activities that lead to the development and application of knowledge
• Evidence of continuing teaching competency, especially as demonstrated in graduate level courses and in thesis or dissertation supervision
• When evidence of continuing scholarship or teaching competency is not clear, the department chair or program director must document equivalent professional competence

Privileges

The appointment of a faculty member as a regular member of the Graduate Faculty means the faculty member may:

• Teach graduate courses*
• Serve on graduate examining committees as chair or member, including serving as a member of a committee in another CU Boulder unit*
• Serve as outside member for a student’s committee in another CU Boulder unit*
• Participate in program activities for the specific program(s) for which the faculty member was appointed
• Vote on issues before the Graduate Faculty
• Participate in meetings and committees of the Graduate School in accordance with the CU Boulder “Graduate School Rules”

*The responsibility for certifying faculty members on regular Graduate Faculty appointments to teach particular courses or to supervise theses or dissertations in a particular area rests with the department chair or dean (where appropriate) of the approved degree program in which the course is taught or the thesis or dissertation is to be completed.

Special Graduate Faculty Appointment

The appointment of a special member to the Graduate Faculty is for a maximum of three years. Such appointments may be renewed upon recommendation by the department chair or program director and re-approval by the Dean of the Graduate School.

Additional Qualifications

The classification of special membership in the Graduate Faculty is intended for individuals who are not full-time members of the CU Boulder faculty, for retired faculty, or for faculty members who are full-time members of the CU Boulder faculty but do not meet the qualifications outlined for regular membership in the Graduate Faculty.

Graduate students are not eligible for Graduate Faculty appointments. They may be granted “special” Graduate Faculty appointments only in very exceptional circumstances.

Criteria

The criteria to be applied in evaluating applications for special membership include:

• Evidence of continuing scholarship—defined as a broad and inclusive concept that includes research and/or creative work and related inquiries and activities that lead to the development and application of knowledge
• Evidence of continuing teaching competency, especially as demonstrated in graduate level courses and in thesis or dissertation supervision
• When evidence of continuing scholarship or teaching competency is not clear, the department chair or program director must document equivalent professional competence

Privileges

A special member of the Graduate Faculty may fulfill only designated roles and duties as specified by the department chair or program director and approved by the Dean of the Graduate School. These roles and duties may include:

• Teaching graduate courses (may be broad or limited to specific courses)
• Serving on graduate examining committees as a member (may be broad or limited to specific students)
• Participating in program activities for the specific program(s) for which the faculty member is appointed
• Serve as outside member on committees

They may not vote on issues before the Graduate Faculty.

Revocation of Regular or Special Graduate Faculty Appointment

The status of a regular or special member may be revoked for cause upon a majority vote of the Graduate Faculty of the member’s graduate program. This recommendation must then be approved by the Executive Advisory Council and the Dean of the Graduate School. For the purposes of these Graduate School Rules, revocation for cause through this process does not include unprofessional conduct.

In accordance with the Academic Affairs policy and procedures regarding Professional Rights and Responsibilities of Faculty Members and Roles and Professional Responsibilities of Academic Leaders (PRR), any concerns about a Graduate Faculty member’s unprofessional conduct must be reviewed and determined by the faculty member’s Supervising Administrator, and any proposed sanction that includes modification to or revocation of a graduate faculty appointment can only be determined by the Dean of the Graduate School, in accordance with the processes and procedures defined by the PRR.

Meetings of the Graduate Faculty

Graduate School business is normally conducted by the Dean of the Graduate School, the Graduate School staff, and the Executive Advisory Committee; however, special meetings may be called at any time on twenty-four hours notice by the Dean of the Graduate School, or upon filing with the Dean of the Graduate School a petition signed by fifteen members of the Graduate Faculty. The petition must set forth in full the reason for calling the meeting. The members present at such a meeting constitute a quorum. The meetings are conducted in accord with “Robert’s Rules of Order.”

Last updated July 2023