West Virginia Code of State Rules › Agency 133 - Higher Education Policy Commission › Title 133 - LEGISLATIVE RULE WEST VIRGINIA HIGHER EDUCATION POLICY COMMISSION › Series 133-09 - Academic Freedom, Professional Responsibility, Promotion And Tenure › Section 133-9-9 - Tenure

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 28, July 12, 2024
9.1. Tenure is
				designed to ensure academic freedom and to provide professional stability for
				the experienced faculty member. It is a means of protection against the
				capricious dismissal of an individual who has served faithfully and well in the
				academic community. Continuous self-evaluation, as well as regular evaluation
				by peer and administrative personnel, is essential to the viability of the
				tenure system. Tenure should never be permitted to mask irresponsibility,
				mediocrity, or deliberate refusal to meet academic requirements or professional
				duties and responsibilities. Tenure applies to those faculty members who
				qualify for it and is a means of making the profession attractive to persons of
				ability. There shall be demonstrated evidence that tenure is based upon a wide
				range of criteria such as: excellence in teaching; publications and research;
				professional and scholarly activity and recognition; accessibility to students;
				adherence to professional standards of conduct; effective service to the
				institution, college and department; significant service to the community;
				experience in higher education and at the institution; possession of the earned
				doctorate, special competence, or the highest earned degree appropriate to the
				teaching field; continued professional growth; and service to the people of the
				State of West Virginia. Ultimate authority regarding the application of
				guidelines and criteria relating to tenure shall rest with the
				institution.
9.2. In making tenure
				decisions, careful consideration shall be given to the tenure profile of the
				institution, projected enrollment patterns, staffing needs of the institution,
				current and projected mission of each department/division, specific academic
				competence of the faculty member, and preservation of opportunities for
				infusion of new talent. The institution shall be mindful of the dangers of
				losing internal flexibility and institutional accountability to the citizens of
				the State as the result of an overly tenured faculty.
9.3. For community and technical colleges, in
				order to be fully responsive to the changing needs of their students and
				clients, the goal in the appointment of faculty is to limit the number of
				tenured and tenure-track faculty to no more than twenty percent of full-time
				faculty employed by the respective community and technical college.
9.3.1. At community and technical colleges,
				full-time term faculty are eligible for reappointment, although no number of
				appointments shall create any presumption of the right to appointment as
				tenure-track or tenured faculty. A single appointment shall not exceed three
				years.
9.3.2. The employment
				standing of tenured and tenure-track faculty holding appointment at each of the
				community and technical colleges at the time of the implementation of this
				policy shall not be affected.