Professional-track faculty appointments and promotions are governed primarily by policy ACAF 1.16 Professional-track Faculty, as well as by unit criteria and procedures. College and school deans are the designated hiring authority. Appointments at the rank of professor, i.e., clinical professor, research professor or professor of practice, must be approved, though academic channels, by the president. Promotions for professional-track faculty are recommended by the dean and approved by the executive vice president for academic affairs and provost. 

Files for professional-track faculty promotions and appointments should be prepared according to unit criteria and following the instructions below. Transfer of professional-track faculty to pre-tenure or tenured positions is a separate process handled according to ACAF 1.18 Change of Status between Tenure Track and Professional Track [pdf]. Faculty appointment and promotion files should be submitted below by the academic units after full internal review and approval. Please consult the Office of the Provost at 803-777-2808 or PROVACAF@mailbox.sc.edu for more information. 

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Review Schedule and Candidate Files

The schedule for submission and the specific contents of candidate files are determined by the unit and may vary given the type of promotion. Units should refer to policy ACAF 1.16 Professional-track Faculty [pdf] for guidance, and faculty should consult with their academic unit. 

Generally, however, candidate files should include at a minimum the information included in the list below, as applicable for the rank sought, combined into a single .pdf document with appropriate bookmarks for each section:

• the candidate’s current curriculum vitae and related documentation to include the following, as applicable:
  • a record of the candidate’s teaching effectiveness (teaching summary and/or student evaluations)
  • a bibliography of the candidate’s scholarship, if not already delineated in the curriculum vitae (publications and/or creative works, scholarship presentations, performances and/or exhibitions)
  • a list of the candidate’s professional, public, and university service activities, if not already delineated in the curriculum vitae
• the unit’s professional-track promotion criteria
• faculty promotion committee ballots or chair summation of ballots, as specified in unit criteria
• a statement of support from the department chair or division head (if applicable)
• confidential recommendation from the dean delineating how the candidate meets the criteria for promotion. 

Please note that some unit criteria require additional information, such as a candidate personal statement, representative samples of recent publications, or evaluations by external reviewers. In all cases, the candidate file must include elements required by the unit criteria. 

It is recommended that these files follow the same general format and bookmark structure as applications for tenure and promotion. 

 

If you need assistance with matters related to professional-track faculty promotions, please contact the Office of the Provost at 803-777-2808 or PROVACAF@mailbox.sc.edu.