Promotion from Lecturer to Senior Lecturer Criteria

To be promoted to the rank of Senior Lecturer, the candidate must demonstrate a record of excellence in classroom teaching and a satisfactory level of service in support of teaching.

Excellence in teaching is defined as pedagogy that includes outstanding classroom performances and pedagogical activities that extend beyond the classroom.

 Outstanding classroom performances include (but are not limited to):

• Carrying a teaching load that is appropriate for the department/unit;
• Development of detailed and clear course syllabi and instructional materials that are updated as appropriate;
• Professional classroom interactions and constructive engagement with students;
• Focus on learning outcomes for students that are appropriate to university and national standards;
• Adoption of innovations to improve teaching and learning outcomes;
• Results from student assessments and peer evaluations that are sufficiently strong to lend support to a conclusion that the candidate is an outstanding

 Pedagogical activities beyond the classroom include (but are not limited to):

• Active participation in curricular development for the unit or school;
• Engaged advising and mentoring of students;
• Supervision of student research and internships;

Very good teaching is pedagogy that includes outstanding classroom performances and pedagogical activities that extend beyond the classroom, as defined above, but which do not rise to excellence in one or more areas, such as teaching load, course syllabi, classroom interactions and engagement with students, adoption of innovations, results of student assessments, curricular development, advising, mentoring, and supervision of student research and internships.

Effective teaching is pedagogy that includes outstanding classroom performances, as defined above for very good, but does not include activities beyond the classroom.

Ineffective teaching is pedagogy that does not meet several measures of excellent classroom performance. 

Satisfactory service includes, but is not limited to, participation in relevant committee work for the department/unit and school.

The School requires six (6) solicited letters that testify to the candidate’s excellence in classroom teaching and satisfactory service according to the above-stated criteria. The letters can be solicited from any combination of referees, internal or external to Indiana University. Internal referees should be individuals outside the department/unit who are at a rank comparable to Senior Lecturer or above. External referees can be individuals at peer institutions at a rank comparable to Senior Lecturer or above, or those holding relevant non-academic positions if they are at a level comparable to that of a Senior Lecturer. Referees should not hold any compromising relationships with the candidate (mentor, student, collaborator, former colleague, familial attachments, commercial ties, etc.). There may be exceptions to these rules but they should be justified in the chair (or dean’s) letter. The letters should come from two lists, one proposed by the candidate and one proposed by the department/unit leader (or promotion review committee), and letters in the dossier must include three from each list. Deans must approve all referees proposed in these lists before letters are solicited, and the letters must be requested and received by the department/unit leader.

To be promoted to the rank of Teaching Professor, the candidate must demonstrate pedagogical leadership outside of the home unit while at the rank of Senior Lecturer as well as a sustained record of excellence in classroom teaching and a satisfactory level of service in support of teaching. Not every Senior Lecturer is expected to achieve the rank of Teaching Professor; a negative promotion decision or decision not to pursue promotion should not be viewed as a reason for non-reappointment. 

Pedagogical leadership can be at the school, campus, city, state, national, or international level and involves a significant corpus of activities, including (but are not limited to):

• Pedagogical publications (e.g. articles, textbooks, publisher-distributed curricular materials, and new forms of digital pedagogical communication (e-journals, moderated websites, blogs));
• Teaching awards beyond the department/unit;
• Leadership in a professional and/or accrediting body related to pedagogy;
• Substantial service with a non-profit or government entity related to pedagogical expertise;
• Significant mentoring of students outside the home unit (e.g. supervising honors theses or capstone papers, supervising internships, etc) with demonstrated impact after graduation;
• Developing and leading a series of pedagogical workshops for campus faculty outside of the home unit with demonstrated impact after the workshops;
• Administrative appointments involving significant and sustained pedagogy or curriculum

Excellence in teaching is defined as pedagogy that includes outstanding classroom performances and pedagogical activities that extend beyond the classroom. 

Outstanding classroom performances include (but are not limited to):

• Carrying a teaching load that is appropriate for the department/unit;
• Development of detailed and clear course syllabi and instructional materials that are updated as appropriate;
• Professional classroom interactions and constructive engagement with students;
• Focus on learning outcomes for students that are appropriate to university and national standards;
• Adoption of innovations to improve teaching and learning outcomes;
• Results from student assessments and peer evaluations that are sufficiently strong to lend support to a conclusion that the candidate is an outstanding

Pedagogical activities beyond the classroom include (but are not limited to):

• Active participation in curricular development for the unit or school;
• Engaged advising and mentoring of students;
• Supervision of student research and internships;

Very good teaching is pedagogy that includes outstanding classroom performances and pedagogical activities that extend beyond the classroom, as defined above, but which do not rise to excellence in one or more areas, such as teaching load, course syllabi, classroom interactions and engagement with students, adoption of innovations, results of student assessments, curricular development, advising, mentoring, and supervision of student research and internships.

Effective teaching is pedagogy that includes outstanding classroom performances, as defined above for very good, but does not include activities beyond the classroom. 

Ineffective teaching is pedagogy that does not meet several measures of excellent classroom performance.

Satisfactory service includes, but is not limited to, participation in relevant committee work for the department/unit and school, and the provision of relevant service, such as outreach, to the community or profession.

Indiana University-Bloomington requires six (6) letters from outside Indiana University. These external letters should testify to the candidate’s pedagogical leadership, excellence in classroom teaching, and satisfactory service according to the above-stated criteria. The letters should be solicited from individuals at peer institutions at a rank comparable to Teaching Professor, Tenured Full Professor, and other senior ranks. Some, but not all, of the letters may be solicited from referees holding non-academic positions if they are a leader in their field or organization at a level comparable to that of a senior faculty member. Referees should not hold any compromising relationships with the candidate (mentor, student, collaborator, former colleague, familial attachments, commercial ties, etc.). There may be exceptions to these rules but they should be justified in the chair (or dean’s) letter. The letters should come from two lists, one proposed by the candidate and one proposed by the department/unit leader (or promotion review committee), and letters in the dossier must include three from each list. Deans must approve all referees proposed in these lists before letters are solicited, and the letters must be requested and received by the department/unit leader.