North Carolina State University
SACS Compliance Certification
August 15, 2003

Comprehensive Standards: Educational Programs 3.7.3 (faculty professional development)
The institution provides evidence of ongoing professional development of faculty as teachers, scholars, and practitioners

Compliance
North Carolina State University is in compliance with this standard.

Explanation
Evidence of ongoing professional development of faculty as teachers, scholars, and practitioners is compiled in several documents.  During the first year of appointment, a faculty member creates two documents in consultation with their department head: a Statement of Mutual Expectation and a Plan for Professional Development. 

The Statement of Mutual Expectation (SME) is a written description of the departmental context for the individual faculty member's accomplishments and the mutual expectations of the faculty member and the department regarding the role the faculty member will play in the intellectual life of the department, college, and university.  In short, the SME is the "what" of anticipated accomplishments.

In consultation with the department head, each faculty member also develops a Plan for Professional Development (PPD) that includes the goals of the faculty member and their relationship to the continuing development of the department and college and—where appropriate—to the goals of the university.

For new faculty, the PPD is developed during the first year of the appointment.  It is reviewed, updated, and changed periodically in light of new developments in the life of the faculty member, the profession, and the department and college in which the faculty member serves.

The PPD includes the following:

  • An outline of the self-improvement and leadership-development goals the faculty member seeks to reach
  • A statement on the relevancy of the self-improvement and leadership-development goals to the mission and plans of the department(s), college(s), or other unit(s) in which the faculty member serves
  • The mechanisms of self-improvement and leadership-development the faculty member expects to pursue
  • A timetable of approximate dates by which progress toward the goals can be expected
  • A description of the financial, space, equipment, office, clerical, technical, or other resources needed to fulfill the faculty member’s responsibilities as outlined in the SME, to accomplish the faculty member’s goals, and a description of plans for seeking those resources
  • A description of significant changes in the disciplinary focus, degree of specialization or diversification, and the mechanisms of collaboration with others within the department(s) and college(s) in which the faculty member is appointed and expects to interact in the future, both at NC State University and elsewhere 

The SME and the PPD form a written action plan and serve as the university’s evidence of ongoing professional development of its faculty.  They are required of all faculty, both on-campus and distance education.  

After implementation, evidence of professional development is included in annual Faculty Activity Reports and considered during evaluations of faculty performance.  The formats for these annual reports vary from college to college, making compilation of a university-wide summary difficult.  However, regular reports to the Board of Trustees provides evidence of one important form of professional development—off-campus scholarly assignments—and the figures indicate that 74 faculty members took leaves in 2000-01 and 65 took leaves in 2001-02.

Reference

NCSU Home --> Accreditation Home --> Compliance Reports --> Program 3.7.3


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