Academic Affairs<Study Abroad>

Qualifications

The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, which is the regional accreditation agency for Western, requires the University to certify that all part-time faculty meet minimum requirements for educational preparation.
Part-time faculty teaching courses for regular credit at the associate and baccalaureate degree levels should have completed at least 18 graduate semester hours in their teaching fields and hold the master's degree. The employment of any faculty who do not meet these criteria must be justified, in writing, by the department head. In professional and technical fields, where job experience may be more valuable than academic preparation, and in various fields of the visual and performing arts, where training and experience other than graduate study may provide excellent preparation for college teaching, departments may employ instructors who do not hold the terminal degree. Nevertheless, the minimum academic preparation for faculty must be at the degree level being taught. The department head must keep on file documentation of work experience, certifications, and other qualifications if these are to substitute for or supplement formal academic preparation. All personnel records are on file in the Office of Academic Affairs and are available to individual faculty members.

Part-time faculty teaching at the graduate level should hold the highest earned degree in their disciplines, although in exceptional cases extensive professional experience or scholarly or creative activity may substitute for the highest earned degree. The department head should justify, in writing, the employment of faculty who do not hold the terminal degree in their fields, and shall keep on file documentation of work experience, certifications, and other qualifications if these are to substitute for or supplement formal academic preparation. In such cases, the faculty teaching graduate or professional level courses must, as a minimum, have earned a master's degree and completed at least 18 graduate semester hours in their teaching field. In addition, instructors who teach graduate courses approved by and under the authority of the Graduate Faculty must be approved by the Dean of Graduate Studies.