Graduate Faculty Categories and Nominations Procedures

Overview

Graduate faculty are responsible for developing and implementing high-quality graduate programs that serve to stimulate research, innovation, and the sharing of ideas, and to provide advanced professional instruction and training. As a result, the members of the graduate faculty have special privileges and duties within graduate education, such as their roles in graduate student advising, mentorship, teaching, and committee membership related to theses, dissertations and other culminating projects. Graduate faculty appointments are initiated for faculty with job responsibilities tied to graduate education upon initial hire to Boise State University, or for faculty whose job responsibilities evolve to include activities related to graduate education.

The Graduate College appoints individuals to the graduate faculty based upon employment status and assigned responsibilities. All members of the graduate faculty must possess a graduate degree at the time of appointment.

Appointment Criteria and Procedures

Graduate Faculty

Any full-time faculty member with a terminal degree within their discipline and with assigned responsibilities associated with graduate education may be nominated and appointed to the Regular Graduate Faculty. This nomination will typically be made at the time of hire but can also be made when a faculty member’s job responsibilities evolve to include activities related to graduate education. Faculty eligible for nomination to the Regular Graduate Faculty includes, but is not limited to, tenured and tenure-track faculty, endowed chairs, clinical faculty, research faculty, and lecturer faculty. Regular Graduate Faculty are appointed by the Dean of the Graduate College for an initial period of no more than six years. The Department Chair/Program Director (or equivalent) will submit a request directly to the Dean of the Graduate College. The request must include a completed Graduate Faculty Nomination form with the required attachments as outlined by the Graduate College. Regular Graduate Faculty appointments are renewable for as long as the faculty member is employed by Boise State and meets the expectations set forth by this policy.

Affiliate Graduate Faculty

Any Boise State University employee (either full- or part-time) with a terminal degree in their discipline, full-time Boise State faculty without a terminal degree in their discipline, and full-time faculty employed at another higher education institution may be recommended for appointment to the Affiliate Graduate Faculty for an initial period of no more than three years. The Department Chair, Program Director (or equivalent) will submit a Graduate Faculty Nomination form to the Graduate Council justifying the appointment, accompanied by the individual’s curriculum vitae. Once approved by the Graduate Council, the nomination will be forwarded to the Dean of the Graduate College for final approval. Affiliate Graduate Faculty appointments are renewable for as long as the individual meets the expectations set forth by this policy.

Adjunct Graduate Faculty

Individuals with appropriate degrees or experience in a given discipline may be recommended for appointment to the Adjunct Graduate Faculty for an initial period of no more than three years. The Department Chair, Program Director (or equivalent) will submit a Graduate Faculty Nomination form to the Graduate Council justifying the appointment, accompanied by the individual’s curriculum vitae. Once approved by the Graduate Council, the nomination will be forwarded to the Dean of the Graduate College for final approval. Adjunct Graduate Faculty appointments are renewable for as long as the individual meets the expectations set forth by this policy.

Emeriti Graduate Faculty

Emeriti faculty members who were appointed to the Regular Graduate Faculty prior to retirement may be retained as Emeriti Graduate Faculty for no more than three years. Emeriti Graduate Faculty appointments will automatically be made once the qualifying individual receives Emeriti status and approval from the appropriate department/program. Emeriti Graduate Faculty appointments are not renewable.

Privileges and Duties

Teaching

To teach graduate-level courses, one must be a member of the graduate faculty. Undergraduate courses that are dual-listed with graduate courses are considered graduate-level courses. Continuing education courses are not considered to be graduate-level courses for the purpose of this policy.

Program Signing Authority

To hold program signing authority for a graduate program, one must be a member of the graduate faculty and a full-time employee at Boise State University.

Committee Membership

To serve as a committee member on a master’s or doctoral committee one must be a member of the graduate faculty with training and experience aligned with the student’s needs.

Committee Chair

To serve as a Supervisory Committee chair (or co-chair) one must be a current full-time employee of Boise State University, be a current member of the Graduate Faculty, and be endorsed by the associated program. Endorsements may be made for master’s (thesis option) supervisory committees, doctoral-only supervisory committees, or both types of supervisory committees. Application for an endorsement originates at the department/program that offers the degree(s) that the Supervisory Committee chair will supervise and is reviewed by the Graduate Council prior to final review by the Dean of the Graduate College.

Graduate Faculty Representative

Only those individuals with a Regular Graduate Faculty appointment are eligible to serve as a Graduate Faculty Representative (GFR).

Voting

Only those individuals with a Regular Graduate Faculty appointment are eligible to vote on policies and procedures related to graduate education at Boise State University.