Teaching

Our highest priority is students. Promotion of learning and teaching is the central function for faculty members of the Farmer School of Business (FSB). The faculty assumes the primary responsibility for the relevance of what is taught and the means by which it is delivered to students. Faculty should be involved in activities that improve course content and teaching quality, remain current in their field, and be accessible to students.

These values are supported through (1) A broad range of undergraduate degree programs and a select set of master's degree programs; (2) Challenging and innovative teaching, interconnected with research and service; (3) A focus upon the changing needs of students and society; and (4) An educational environment fostering the growth of students into effective leaders capable of contributing to society in many important ways.

Teaching involves a portfolio of activities that promote student learning. Effective teaching will engage students in the learning process and equip students with relevant content and the appropriate skills needed to effectively utilize this knowledge. These skills include critical thinking, analytical reasoning, communication, team and interpersonal skills and the ability to use information technology and work in an increasingly diverse business environment.

Teaching also includes supervision of independent studies, course development, instructional innovations, and academic advising.

The evaluation of teaching occurs at multiple levels. First, each faculty member is reviewed on an annual basis by his or her department chair and/or departmental committee as part of the retention and merit decisions. Second, each probationary faculty member is reviewed as part of the promotion and/or tenure process. Some methods for documenting the quality of teaching include: internal assessment processes, teaching portfolios, evaluations by constituents, participation in teaching workshops.

To encourage excellence in teaching, the FSB will implement appropriate criteria in its hiring, promotion, and tenure decisions and the merit pay system. The FSB will support excellence in teaching with funds for faculty development grants, travel to professional conferences, assigned research appointments, improvement leaves, visiting speakers, teaching awards, and the acquisition and implementation of appropriate technology

Research

All tenured and tenure-track faculty within FSB are expected to be actively engaged in scholarship that impacts the theory, practice, or teaching of business or economics. The scholarly contributions of faculty will be measured primarily by the quality and quantity of publications in refereed journals and scholarly books, as well as the receipt of external research grants, presentations of research, and the publication of cases. However, quantity is not a substitute for quality.

The Farmer School of Business values basic, applied and pedagogical scholarship.

Basic Scholarship

This is the discovery and development of new knowledge by identifying a new area of inquiry or addressing a previous area of inquiry in a novel manner. The output of basic research will be communicated to an audience of academic peers capable of critically evaluating the contribution and quality of the scholarship produced.

Applied Scholarship

This is the application, contextualization, interpretation and communication of existing academic or managerial knowledge for the enhancement of business practice and/or teaching of business principles. The intended audience for applied scholarship is primarily professionals or practitioners, although it may be provided for academic audiences as well. The output of applied research will be communicated to an audience of business practitioners and students capable of implementing the ideas, interpretations and recommendations set for in the research.

Pedagogical Scholarship

This represents a special case of basic and/or applied scholarship specifically intended to enhance the instructional efforts of an academic discipline. The output of pedagogical research will be communicated in one or more outlets to an audience of academic peers capable of critically evaluating the contribution and quality of the scholarship produced.

Service

Faculty are expected to be involved in service activities. These activities affect various aspects of the faculty member's department, the School, the University, the community, and/or academic and professional organizations; and they contribute to the University's mission. As such, they add value to the Farmer School of Business.

Service includes participation in University governance; activities that advance academic/professional organizations; apply academic expertise in community organizations; or enhance campus life. Examples of participation in university governance include: (1) serving as an appointed or elected administrator or head of any academic group at the department, division, or University levels and/or serving as the chair or as a member of task forces; (2) serving on University Senate; and (3) serving on committees at the department, division, or University levels.

Examples of service to academic/professional organizations include: (1) serving as appointed or elected officer or as a chair or member of a committee of an academic or professional organization; (2) serving as an editor for an academic or professional journal; (3) serving as a reviewer/ referee (ad hoc or on an editorial board) for an academic or professional journal; (4) serving as an organizer or leader of workshops or panels, (5) serving as a manuscript reviewer for academic or professional conferences; (6) serving as a referee for grant proposals; and (7) interacting with members of the professional/business community.

Examples of service to the community include: (1) serving as a professional consultant to a public or private organization and (2) serving as a leader or a member of a task force, committee, board, or commission providing service to local, state, regional, national, or international organizations.

Examples of service that enhances campus life include: (1) acting as an advisor to students and student organizations and (2) serving on student-faculty committees.

The relative value of contributions in the area of service shall be determined, ceteris paribus, on the basis of a combination of the activity's prestige, effort (including time, creativity, and leadership), and significance relative to the missions of the faculty member's department, the Farmer School and the University, and the quality of the faculty member's performance of that activity.