Report of the Teaching Track Committee

UGA Teaching Academy
Revised: December 12, 2001

Provost Karen Holbrook has asked the UGA Teaching Academy to discuss and comment on whether the University should create a separate and distinct teaching nontenure track for UGA faculty.

A committee consisting of Robert Anderson, William Barstow, Karen Calhoun, Sylvia Hutchinson, Robert Scott, Peter Shedd, and Thomas Taylor met to consider this request and craft a position paper for consideration by the membership of the UGA Teaching Academy. Consistent with the principles contained in Teaching Academy's Charter, we worked to create a position paper respecting the fact that teaching is every UGA faculty member's responsibility.  We acknowledge the fact that increasing enrollment and budgetary constraints have added demand and significant pressure for continued quality instruction.  After spirited discussion, we unanimously recommend to the members of the UGA Teaching Academy the following position statement for consideration and vote:

 Quality instruction is one of three primary missions of the University of Georgia, and the Teaching Academy was formed to promote and celebrate excellence in teaching and to foster learning through inquiry.  The university takes pride in the fact that, to date, the vast majority of instruction at UGA has been done by tenure-track faculty. Despite numerous examples of outstanding teachers in nontenure-track positions, the Academy recognizes a distinction in prestige between tenure- and nontenure-track faculty. With this in mind, the Teaching Academy encourages the university administration to make every possible effort, including the requisite financial commitment, to ensure that principally tenure-track faculty accomplish the university's instructional mission.

Consistent with this long-term commitment to tenure-track positions, the Teaching Academy wishes to emphasize the experiences of the Department of Chemistry and the Division of Biological Sciences.  In these areas, tenure-track positions have been budgeted 100% instruction. Faculty in these positions are expected to meet the requirements of promotion and tenure through excellent classroom teaching and publication of their scholarly activities related to instruction.  The Teaching Academy recommends that Colleges explore the benefits of appointing, promoting, and tenuring faculty devoted primarily (up to 100%) to instruction and its accompanying scholarship.

It is the understanding of the Teaching Academy that Lecturers play a vitally important role in the instructional mission.  Rewarding persons holding this title who do excellent instruction is a worthy method of enhancing the instructional mission.  To ensure the presence of quality teaching through Lecturers, the Teaching Academy encourages the university administration to consider the creation of the position of Senior Lecturer.  This title could be awarded to those Lecturers who "demonstrate exceptional teaching ability and extraordinary value to the institution."*  In recognizing these individuals with a salary increase and this more prestigious title, the Teaching Academy believes that more and better qualified individuals might be recruited into these teaching-oriented positions.  These recruitment and retention plans are consistent with the desire of our university and its Teaching Academy to enhance the mission of instruction.  Since Regents' Policy* limits Lecturers (and Senior Lecturers) to no more than 2% of the total faculty, this recommendation will not disturb the commitment to tenure-track and tenured faculty being responsible for the vast majority of instruction.

It is also the understanding of the Teaching Academy that faculty occupying positions of instructor, academic professional, clinical-track, and post-doctoral teaching fellows are vital to the accomplishment of the University=s instructional mission.  The Teaching Academy supports the use of these existent positions as opportunities to provide and increase quality instruction.  The Teaching Academy suggests a review of the criteria for hiring and rewarding outstanding performance in these positions.

The Teaching Academy encourages careful consideration of the various ways tenure-track faculty can be budgeted for instruction as well as the roles of tenure- and non-tenure faculty.  The purpose of all such considerations should be to ensure the proper balance of the teaching, research, and service missions of this comprehensive research university.

*Regents Policy  803.03