Faculty Teaching Credentials & Qualifications Policy

For specific guidelines related to this policy, see the Higher Learning Commission’s document Determining Qualified Faculty Through HLC’s Criteria for Accreditation and Assumed Practices.

Qualified Faculty Requirements: Undergraduate

UNW faculty (adjunct, part-time, full-time) teaching at all undergraduate levels, including dual enrollment, will be approved by means of one of the following minimal criteria:

        1. Master's degree in the field (or a subfield) being taught

        2. Master's degree in another field and 18 graduate credits earned in field (or subfield) being taught

        3. Tested Experience (see below). Sufficient professional experience relevant to the specific content and learning outcomes of the course for which the individual is being reviewed.

Faculty documentation will be reviewed by the Department Chair/Assistant Dean and College Dean in the traditional programs and Program Managers and the Dean of Graduate, Online, & Adult Learning for non-traditional programs. Qualifications (numbers 1 - 3 above) will be documented at the time of hire and stored in each faculty member's personnel file for documentation of compliance with HLC policy.

Qualified Faculty Requirements: Graduate

UNW faculty (adjunct, part-time, full-time) teaching at the graduate level will be approved by means of the following minimum criteria:

        1. Terminal degree in the field (or a subfield) being taught.

        2. Tested Experience (see below). Sufficient professional experience relevant to the specific content and learning outcomes of the course for which the individual is being reviewed.

Faculty documentation will be reviewed by Program Managers/Directors in the discipline and the Dean of Graduate, Online, & Adult Learning. Qualifications (numbers 1 - 2 above) will be documented at the time of hire and stored in each faculty member's personnel file for documentation of compliance with HLC policy. See Faculty Teaching Credentials and Qualifications Form.

Tested Experience

Tested experience documentation should show a record of knowledge and expertise sufficient for determining student learning in the specific content of courses for which the faculty member is responsible. UNW faculty qualified to teach based on tested experience must have a depth and breadth of discipline-relevant activity in two or more of the categories below:

• Graduate credits in the field (i.e., up to 17 credits)
• Professional work experience and achievements
•  Licensure/certification (i.e., CPA, RN)
• Professional development (i.e., conference/workshop attendance)
• Publications and presentations
• Honors, awards, and fellowships
• Coaching experience
•  Artistic creation/performance
• Near-native fluency in language(s)
•  Recognition of teaching excellence (i.e., teaching evaluations, observation reports, curriculum design)
• Other relevant experience (i.e., as documented on Faculty Teaching Credentials & Qualifications Form)