The following College-specific document was developed in response to updates that the Graduate Council approved as part of its 2022 review and update of GCAC-101.
See GCAC-101 policy and procedures for more information on being nominated for graduate faculty status and approval to teach graduate level courses.
The Graduate Faculty Nominations and Elections Committee (GFNEC) for each college/school is charged with soliciting input, creating, and approving membership qualifications for Category P, Q, and R that interpret the Graduate Council policy GCAC-101.
The College-level ad hoc committee, composed of tenure and non-tenure track faculty and approved by College senior administration, interpreted the original Graduate School guidelines for Graduate Faculty Nominations and Approval to Teach to meet the specific needs of disciplines within the College of Agricultural Sciences in accordance to GCAC-101. Additional input was solicited from graduate program Directors of Graduate Studies as well as Program Heads and approved by College leadership before being submitted to the ad hoc Graduate Council committee charged with reviewing and recommending approval by the Graduate Council.
These guidelines will be reviewed and updated every four years by the GFNEC in consultation with graduate program leadership and then submitted to Graduate Council Committee on Academic Standards and the Dean of the Graduate School for approval as stated in Graduate Council policy GCAC-101.
Tenure-Line Faculty Member Nominations
Graduate Professional Education - Category P Membership
Approval of the nomination of a faculty member with a tenure-line appointment for membership in Category P of the Graduate Faculty of the Graduate School is pro forma, with review to assure that:
- information submitted is complete for inclusion in the Graduate Faculty database
- the correct form has been submitted for the correct category of membership and
- the individual's appointment at Penn State has begun (faculty members cannot be appointed to the Graduate Faculty prior to their start date at the University)
Graduate Research Education - Category R Membership
Approval of the nomination of a faculty member holding a PhD with a tenure-line appointment for membership in Category R of the Graduate Faculty of the Graduate School is pro forma, with review to assure that:
- information submitted is complete for inclusion in the Graduate Faculty database
- the correct form has been submitted for the correct category of membership and
- the individual's appointment at Penn State has begun (faculty members cannot be appointed to the Graduate Faculty prior to their start date at the University)
Non-Tenure-Line Faculty Member Nominations
Graduate Professional Education - Category P Membership
There are two subgroups in Category P:
- Category P-M. For individuals who participate in professional master's degree programs
- Category P-D. For individuals who participate in professional doctoral degree programs; such individuals may also participate in professional master's degree programs
Category P-M
Nominations for membership in Category P-M of the Graduate Faculty of the Graduate School for individuals not on a tenure-line appointment are reviewed for the following criteria as defined in policy GCAC-101 Graduate Faculty Membership:
- A full-time faculty appointment
- A master's degree
- Recent or ongoing professional experience relevant to the professional master's degree program field
- Alternatively, ongoing scholarly activity in the professional master's degree program field will qualify an individual for Category P-M
Category P-D
Nominations for membership in Category P-D of the Graduate Faculty of the Graduate School for individuals not on a tenure-line appointment are reviewed for the following criteria as defined in policy GCAC-101 Graduate Faculty Membership:
- A full-time faculty appointment
- A doctoral degree
- Recent or ongoing professional experience relevant to the professional doctoral degree program field
- Alternatively, ongoing scholarly activity in the professional doctoral degree program field will qualify an individual for Category P-D membership
Professional Experience Relevant to the Professional Degree Program Field as Defined by the College of Agricultural Sciences
The expectation of recent or ongoing professional experience relevant to the professional masters or doctoral degree program field derives from the fact that professional graduate degree programs prepare students for expert practice in the chosen field. Accordingly, with the recognition that fields evolve quickly, and with a goal of preparing our students to practice their chosen profession at a high level based on the education we provide, faculty members who will be fully engaged in professional degree programs should be intimately familiar with the current state of practice in the field. With the recognition that professional practice evolves quickly we generally expect professional experience to be within the last 3-5 years; individual graduate programs may have higher standards.
Illustrative examples of professional experience follow.
Note: The specific examples presented below are not intended to be exhaustive.
- Employment including self-employment
- Licensure or Certification
- Formal consulting activities
- Presentations at professional workshops or meetings
- Serving on professional advisory committees
- Participation in professional and industry networks/societies
- Demonstration of mentoring and professional development of others
An expectation of professional degree programs is that they incorporate new practices derived from new discoveries in their field of study; thus, individuals with ongoing scholarly work in the field can appropriately be approved to Category P membership. Such membership is particularly important when the scholarly work in the field is significantly in advance of the professional activities in the field such that there would not be professionals available or able to teach at the leading edge of the professional discipline.
Graduate Research Education - Category R Membership
Nominations for membership in Category R of the Graduate Faculty of the Graduate School for individuals not on a tenure-line appointment are reviewed for the following criteria as defined in policy GCAC-101 Graduate Faculty Membership:
- A full-time faculty appointment
- A doctoral degree
- A record of scholarly achievement, and an active program of research/scholarly activity, appropriate to the field
A Record of Scholarly Achievement Appropriate to the Research Degree Field as Defined by the College of Agricultural Sciences
Below are illustrative examples of scholarly achievement.
Note: None of the specific examples in the lists presented below are intended to be exhaustive.
Scholarly written works
- Books and book chapters
- Peer-reviewed journal articles
Scholarly activities
- Invited talks
- Presentations at academic meetings and workshops
- Presentations at professional conferences and workshops
- Communications of one's primary research to a non-scientific audience (e.g., technical reports, extension articles, etc.)
- Serving on advisory committees
Professional activities
- Organizing academic meetings
- Participating in funding review panels
- Leadership in the creation and maintenance of Extension programs
- Leadership positions in professional organizations
Additional activities that take primary research (generation of new knowledge) and translate it for use by, and benefit of, a lay audience may be considered. Examples include primary research communicated through technical reports or extension-based programs such as extension articles, science-based datasets or tools, public workshops, etc.
Note: The focus here is on activities that generate new knowledge. Most of these will be communicated to peers (e.g., peer reviewed journal articles), however, those communicated to audiences who are direct beneficiaries of the new knowledge (e.g., technical reports, extension articles) can also be considered. This differs from activities that summarize and communicate existing knowledge (e.g., outreach), which will not be considered.
An Active Program of Research/Scholarly Activity
The College recognizes that research and scholarly activity occurs at different rates for different disciplines and there are also different forms of evidence for different disciplines. For example, a faculty member with an active program of research in an agricultural sciences discipline might have an average of two to four scholarly achievements spanning the three categories listed above (scholarly written works, scholarly activities, and professional activities) per year, over the past five years.
Assessment for membership in the Graduate Faculty is not formulaic; each nominee's accomplishments are considered holistically. Faculty members with ongoing journal publications or very recent books, combined with other ongoing regular scholarly and professional activities, would be well-qualified for membership in Category Q or R of the Graduate Faculty.
CAS Continuing Approval to Teach Qualifications
Individuals who are not members of the Graduate Faculty may teach specific graduate courses for one year when approved by the graduate program head of the program offering the course. After the initial approval to teach, requests for continuing Approval to Teach will be reviewed and approved by GFNEC based on the qualifications described below and in accordance with Graduate Council policy GCAC-101 Graduate Faculty Membership. Required documents include CV, formal student evaluations, peer evaluation, and syllabi for special topic courses. Individuals with continuing Approval to Teach are then subject to Performance Evaluations every four years which requires formal student and peer evaluations. Process and procedure documentation are outlined in GCAC-101.
Peer Evaluation
Peer evaluations should focus on aspects of the instructor's skill in teaching the course that are not apparent from formal student evaluations . Programs are encouraged to use a standardized rubric that focuses on the instructor's teaching ability. Additional college-level guidance can be found in the College of Agricultural Sciences Peer Review Guidelines.
Formal Student Evaluation
Formal student evaluations will be reviewed for renewal of Approval to Teach and will focus on the instructor's skill in teaching the course, not the course content. A potential outcome is renewal for one year (instead of four years), with an expectation of demonstrated improvement future renewals.
500-Level Research Education Courses
To maintain standards across all 500-level courses, approval to teach 500-level courses requires a doctoral degree, a record of scholarly achievement, and an active program of research/scholarly activity, appropriate to the field.
A Record of Scholarly Achievement Appropriate to the Research Degree Field
The requirement for an active program of scholarly research is based on the fundamental value proposition for graduate-level research education at a research-intensive University:
Students should be taught by individuals at the forefront of creating new knowledge, ensuring that students are exposed to not only the latest knowledge in the field, but the latest intellectual approaches as well.
The College and Graduate School recognizes that the breadth of fields of study offered means that no simple standard can be applied to evaluate a proposed instructor's "record of scholarly achievement". Each individual is evaluated according to the standards of their particular field of study.
In recognition of the short-term commitment typically represented by a request for approval to teach graduate courses, the College and Graduate School provides some additional flexibility in considering evidence of "an active program of research/scholarly activity." Illustrative examples sufficient for approval to teach 500-level courses typically includes one or more of the of scholarly activities listed below over the past four years.
Note: None of the specific examples in the lists presented below are intended to be exhaustive.
Scholarly written works
- Books and book chapters
- Peer-reviewed journal articles
Scholarly activities
- Invited talks
- Presentations at academic meetings and workshops
- Presentations at professional conferences and workshops
- Communications of one's primary research to a non-scientific audience (e.g., technical reports, extension articles, etc.)
- Serving on advisory committees
Professional activities
- Organizing academic meetings
- Participating in funding review panels
- Leadership in the creation and maintenance of Extension programs
- Leadership positions in professional organizations
800-Level Professional Education Courses
To maintain standards across all 800-level courses, approval to teach 800-level courses requires a master's degree, and professional experience relevant to the professional degree program field .
A Record of Scholarly Achievement Appropriate to the Research Degree Field
The requirement for professional experience relevant to the professional degree program field is an extension of the fundamental value proposition for graduate level education at a research- intensive University:
Students should be taught by individuals who are expert practitioners at the forefront of their professions, ensuring that students are exposed to not only the latest practices in the field, but the latest intellectual approaches as well.
Accordingly, with the recognition that fields evolve quickly, and with a goal of preparing our students to practice their chosen profession at a high level based on the education we provide, individuals recommended to teach 800-level professional education courses should be familiar with the current state of practice in the field.
In recognition of the short-term commitment typically represented by a request for approval to teach, the College and Graduate School provides some additional flexibility in considering evidence of "professional experience relevant to the professional degree program field ". With the recognition that professional practice evolves quickly, we generally expect one or more indicators of professional experience to be within the last four years; individual graduate programs may have higher standards.
Illustrative examples of professional experience follow.
Note: The specific examples presented below are not intended to be exhaustive.
- Employment including self-employment
- Licensure or Certification
- Formal consulting activities
- Presentations at professional workshops or meetings
- Serving on professional advisory committees
- Participation in professional and industry networks/societies
- Demonstration of mentoring and professional development of others
An expectation of professional degree programs is that they incorporate new practices derived from new discoveries in their field of study; thus, individuals with ongoing scholarly work in the field can also be appropriately approved to teach 800-level courses.
Approved by the Fox Graduate School February 2025
