General policies on teacher education faculty lines

Overview of Professional Education Program (for informational purposes only):

The Professional Education Program (PEP) has been established as the primary University-wide unit for all baccalaureate and master’s-level teacher certification programs, and post-graduate educational leadership programs. The teacher education programs in English, European Languages, Mathematics, Natural Sciences, Social Studies, and TESOL are located in their respective disciplinary departments in the College of Arts and Sciences and the two educational leadership programs are located in the unit. PEP has been charged to promote academic, professional, scholarly and intellectual excellence in Stony Brook’s distributed model of teacher education. PEP is further charged to extend its professional outreach beyond the borders of the University and into the wider community-at-large in terms of collaborative efforts and partnerships in community-based projects and those developed jointly with school districts, teacher centers and local professional groups. PEP has also been charged to achieve regional, state and national acclaim as well as NCATE accreditation through teaching, research and publication, and service.

1. Departmental Affiliation and Hiring

1.1. All teacher education faculty lines will reside fully in departments, with the possible exception of certain non-tenure-track lines in programs that do not have a natural home in an academic department and that will therefore reside in PEP (for example, lecturers in the administrators program).

1.2. The holders of teacher education positions will be full members of their home department.

1.3. Two representatives from the PEP faculty should be involved in the full process of hiring new faculty, regardless of the home department in which they reside. These PEP faculty should be involved in screening applicants, in the interview process, and as external voting members of the department for the mid-search and final phases of the hiring process. The expectation of scholarly productivity of PEP faculty should be made explicit and clear in the job description, during interviews, and in the appointment letter.

2. Funding

2.1. Proposals for hiring new PEP-affiliated faculty may be made by potential host departments to the Provost via the PEP program director; in addition, PEP-affiliated faculty lines may be given to departments at the discretion of the Provost. All teacher education lines are approved and funded directly by the Provost, and do not revert to the College in the event that the incumbent relinquishes his or her position.

2.2. The cost of recruiting teacher education faculty will be borne by the Provost, with a budget to be determined before the recruitment is authorized.

2.3. Startup costs for newly hired teacher education faculty will be borne by the Provost at the going rate for faculty in non-laboratory disciplines.

2.4. Once hired, support for a teacher education faculty member, other than salary, will be provided by the department at the same level as for all other tenure-track faculty.

2.5. Lines in teacher education are allocated based on the university's needs in teacher education, not on any consideration of a department's other needs, which are determined in consultation with the Dean of the College and which should be evaluated independently of teacher education.

3. Teaching load

3.1. Tenure-track faculty on teacher education lines will normally teach 4 courses each year. In all cases, two of these courses shall serve the needs of teacher education directly. The director of teacher education in a certified program will be relieved of teaching one course per year of the remaining course load, in recognition of the extra duties related to directing the program. Of the remaining course load, one course shall bridge teacher education and other departmental programmatic needs. For faculty who are not directors, the fourth course shall be assigned at the department’s discretion.

4. Evaluation of progress

4.1. Evaluation of the scholarly achievements of teacher education faculty for purposes of reappointment, merit, promotion, and tenure within the department will be based primarily on the candidate's scholarship in teacher education within the discipline. Evaluation of individual teacher education faculty for purposes of reappointment, merit, promotion, and tenure within the department shall include assessments of teaching effectiveness, administrative effectiveness in coordinating and supervising student teachers, and contributions to the mission of the PEP program and the teacher education goals of the university.

4.2. The director of the Professional Education Program (PEP) will be consulted by the host department on the progress of teacher education faculty throughout their careers. One faculty member currently in the PEP will be assigned to mentor new faculty, in addition to any mentor(s) from within the host department. A PEP faculty member (distinct from the mentor) should be assigned to perform periodic peer evaluation and counseling of teaching performance for untenured education faculty.

4.3. In cases of tenure and/or promotion for any teacher education faculty member in the University, two PEP-affiliated faculty members of appropriate academic rank (according to the PTC guidelines) shall be designated by the host department chair in consultation with the PEP director. These senior PEP faculty shall provide a recommendation on tenure and/or promotion to the relevant departmental committee. These designated PEP faculty shall be members of the committee advising and voting on the candidate’s promotion and tenure. In all cases, a summary of the evaluation and recommendation of these PEP-affiliated faculty shall be included as a separate document in the candidate’s promotion and tenure file.