Where applicable, when the terms dean or school dean are used, they include deans of the College of Arts and Sciences, deans of the professional schools, and the University Librarian as supervisor of librarians with academic rank.

The strength of the academic program is only as great as the continuing strength of its faculty. The investment of faculty members in Christian higher education, and the investment of the University in those faculty, is career, but also an investment in fulfilling the mission of Christian higher education. The dedication, competence, flexibility and adaptability of Christian university faculty members are crucial factors in maintaining the integrity of Seattle Pacific University.

The Seattle Pacific University ByLaws, Article I, Sections 4 and 5, assign to the Board of Trustees the power to establish appointment procedures and the power of annual approval of terms of employment. In exercise of these responsibilities, the Board of Trustees annually reviews numbers of faculty and the other terms, conditions, policies and schedules mentioned in those ByLaws, as well as all appointments made by the President during the year. With appropriate instruction and advice to the President concerning criteria for appointments, the Board of Trustees delegates to the President the responsibility to appoint faculty on an ongoing basis. Vacated positions with either term or notice contracts may be refilled upon administrative approval. The academic unit must justify each request in terms of the following criteria listed in order of priority: 1) overall institutional objectives, 2) student-faculty ratios, 3) fulfillment of general education requirements, 4) external market pressures, and 5) other factors. New positions are requested and justified in terms of the same criteria. Requests for new positions usually begin with the faculty of the discipline and are recommended by the faculty of the school and the school dean, through the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs, to the President. The Vice President for Academic Affairs will provide a rationale when new or vacated positions are not approved for recruitment.

Every search to fill a regular faculty position shall include a documented effort to find qualified minorities and women. In addition, given the church-related heritage of Seattle Pacific and the on-going effort to maintain a vital connection to the church, every search will include an effort to recruit qualified Free Methodist scholar-teachers and those within the broader Wesleyan and evangelical tradition.

Four rank designations apply to individual faculty members at Seattle Pacific University:

1. Instructor (Section 1.4.1),
2. Assistant Professor (Section 1.4.2),
3. Associate Professor (Section 1.4.3),
4. Professor (Section 1.4.4).

In addition to these rank designations, individuals may be assigned one or more of the following titles:

1. Part-time (Section 1.5.1),
2. Emeritus faculty (Section 1.8.1) [may be by rank],
3. Lecturer (Section 1.6),
4. Scholar- [or other designation]-In-Residence (Section 1.8.2),
5. Visiting faculty (Section 1.7) [may be by rank].

Persons employed full-time by the University with assignment to 0.5 FTE or more in faculty duties (e.g. coaches, advising personnel, or counselors, who also teach classes as an integral part of the regular academic program) hold faculty rank if their locus of appointment (Section 1.2.4) is in an academic unit. Those whose locus of appointment is not in an academic unit may, by the Vice President for Academic Affairs action, hold faculty rank for that portion of their load which is assigned to academic duties. Unless the individual contract/letter of appointment specifies otherwise, time in multiple appointments does not accrue toward tenure.

The following criteria represent the expectations in degrees and experience both for assigning rank at the time of appointment and for determining eligibility to apply for promotion (as in the case of promotion, evaluative factors outlined in Section 6.3 will contribute to decisions about assigned rank at the time of appointment). The doctorate is the most desirable academic qualification for employment. In disciplines where the doctorate is not common, other terminal qualification may be recognized for hiring, promotion, and tenure. In disciplines where professional or vocational experience is highly beneficial to the University, an individual who has achieved certain other attainments may be eligible for employment and/or promotion without terminal degree qualifications. Education and/or professional experience other than terminal degree qualification to be evaluated in considering qualifications of faculty members for appointment-- art works, artistic performances, musical compositions, dramatic productions, scientific research, or similar efforts--must be distinctly out of the ordinary.

INSTRUCTOR

Minimum qualifications: A Master's degree

Persons holding the rank of Instructor may be continued indefinitely without tenure, but when an Instructor is promoted to Assistant Professor, time served as Instructor may apply toward the probationary period for tenure (Section 2.2.2).

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR

Minimum qualifications:

1. An earned doctorate or terminal degree appropriate to the discipline.
   OR
2. All of the following:
   1. A Master's degree,
   2. Graduate study beyond the Master's degree equivalent to one year of full-time study applicable to the doctorate in the candidate's teaching field,
   3. Three years of successful teaching experience.

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR

Minimum qualifications:

1. An earned doctorate or terminal degree appropriate to the discipline,
2. Five years of teaching experience at the rank of assistant professor.

PROFESSOR

Minimum qualifications:

1. An earned doctorate or terminal degree appropriate to the discipline,
2. Five years of teaching experience at the rank of associate professor.

Professional status, faculty status and appointment criteria:

The library, through its faculty and staff, is designed to support the University's educational, research and service functions. In order to offer this support, it is Seattle Pacific University policy to recruit, develop, and retain highly qualified individuals to occupy its positions in the library. The program designed and implemented by these professional librarians includes:

1. In consultation with faculty, selection and development of resources,
2. Organization and governance of resources,
3. Interpretation of, bibliographic instruction in, and use of resources,
4. Program administration and management,
5. Education, research, and publication.

Library personnel with academic rank shall be accorded privileges and responsibilities accorded to other faculty members.

Criteria for Appointment and Rank:

Minimum qualifications: An American Library Association (ALA) accredited Master's degree.

Minimum qualifications:

1. An ALA accredited Master's degree and a master's degree in a relevant subject area
   OR
2. ALL of the following:
   1. An ALA accredited Master's degree,
   2. Graduate study equivalent to one year of full-time study applicable to a Master's degree in a relevant subject area, and
   3. Three years of successful academic library experience.

Minimum qualifications:

1. An ALA accredited Master's degree,
2. A Master's degree in a relevant subject area,
3. Five years of professional library experience at the rank of assistant professor.

Minimum qualifications:

1. An ALA accredited Master's degree,
2. A Doctorate in a relevant subject area,
3. Five years of professional library experience at the rank of associate professor.

1. Pro-Rata (referred to as part-time).
2. Per-Course (referred to as adjunct).

Rank, promotion and tenure.

Unless otherwise specified, all part-time contracts are term contracts, i.e., for the period of time designated on the contract with no commitment on the part of either party to extend a new contract. No new contract will be extended without a careful performance evaluation.

Academic administration and school deans monitor and evaluate the work of part-time faculty by requiring student course evaluations for every course, and by reviewing the course syllabi and the student evaluations with the part-time faculty person each quarter. While other data may be more appropriate in evaluating instruction in contexts other than the traditional class (e.g. math lab supervision), careful evaluation of performance will remain an important part of any decision to extend a new contract.

The University may appoint distinguished contributors in special fields such as artists, writers, poets, executives or scholars with the special faculty status of Scholar [or other appropriate designation]-In-Residence. Such appointments may be part-time or full-time depending on the needs of the University, and are term contracts. This designation is approved by the Vice President for Academic Affairs.

Honorary status for persons who serve as contributing lecturers or advisors to an academic program. This designation is approved by the Vice President for Academic Affairs.

A faculty member who teaches at Seattle Pacific University and who is a full-time ranked faculty member of another institution of post-secondary education. Full-time visiting faculty will be appointed following the same procedures as other full-time faculty and will have the rights and privileges of other full-time faculty. This designation is approved by the Vice President for Academic Affairs.

Per-course (adjunct) faculty are appointed by the deans and hold neither voice nor vote in school or faculty governance by virtue of those rank designations alone. Pro-rata faculty are appointed by the deans after a careful screening and interview process which includes examination of the individual’s Christian faith commitment.

The University extends the following privileges to faculty members who retire:

1. Conversion of Term Life Insurance to a Whole Life policy within a 30-day period without the necessity of a medical examination, at the expense of the retiree, or as provided by the current carrier.
2. A mail address, bookstore discount, library and faculty dining privileges at faculty rates.
3. Participation in all faculty professional and social events.
4. Continuation of benefits as provided by the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) (Section 14.1.4).

Emeritus status extends all privileges as listed in Section 1.8.1, plus

1. Listing in the University catalog.
2. Entitlement to participate with the faculty in all-University events (e.g. Commencement, Baccalaureate, Ivy Cutting, Convocation)

Persons in administrative positions (e.g. deans, University librarian, academic administrators) may hold faculty rank and, if tenured, maintain their tenure in the academic unit which was their locus of appointment at the time of their becoming tenured. Unless the individual contract/letter of appointment specifies otherwise, time in administrative appointments does not accrue toward tenure but does accrue toward sabbaticals (for purposes of this provision, deans are considered teaching faculty). Administrators who hold faculty rank are, for purposes of University governance, considered fulltime members of the faculty, with responsibility for committee service and with voice, vote and privileges equivalent to those held by other faculty members.

Untenured, faculty-ranked administrators who leave administrative appointments may be placed in their school and discipline, if a position is available. Compensation shall be determined in the same manner as for tenured administrators who transfer to academic assignments.

Should a position not be available in the appropriate school and discipline, the University shall make a demonstrated effort to find an alternative temporary position and/or to assist the individual in finding a position in another institution of higher education, if requested by the individual.

A position which is entirely supported by endowment is designated an endowed chair; a position which is partly supported by endowment is designated an endowed professorship. Individual persons occupying such endowed positions may be tenured, but the position does not in itself confer tenure. Occupants of these positions shall be appointed following procedures specified as a part of each such endowment, but no such endowment shall name the occupant as a condition of acceptance by the University. Compensation and/or other perquisites of the endowed chair may be specified in the endowment. If the endowment does not specify the term of occupancy, the term shall be three years. At the option of the University and the individual, and upon recommendation of the dean and the Vice President for Academic Affairs, the individual may be appointed to additional term(s).