Faculty Life at Transy

Faculty at Transy play a significant role in decisions about the academic program and in the university's broader governance. Faculty meetings, committees, and governance documents will therefore become a regular part of your working life.

You don’t need to memorize how it all fits together. When you need to look something up, start with the Faculty Governance page (Inside Transy to "Office of the Dean" to "Faculty Governance"). You’ll find the Faculty Constitution and Faculty By-Laws, faculty meeting materials, committee information, lists of program directors, program-level tenure and promotion guidelines, and more.

“Service” can sound like one enormous category when you first arrive. In practice, it includes different kinds of contributions—to your program and division, to faculty governance and committees, and to university-wide work.

Expectations vary by appointment and change over time. You do not need to volunteer for everything that comes your way. Your Program Director and Division Chair can help you think about what makes sense at your particular career stage and how service fits with your other responsibilities.

When you want to know which faculty committees exist or who serves on them, start with the Faculty Committees page (Inside Transy to "Office of the Dean" to "Faculty Committees").

One of the advantages of teaching at a small liberal arts institution is that faculty have considerable opportunity to shape the curriculum. You can develop new courses, revise existing ones, or contribute to changes in a major, minor, or general education program.

The Committee on Program and Curriculum (CPC) is the standing committee that reviews these proposals. Always work with your Program Director (and eventually your Division Chair) when developing ideas and proposals. When you’re ready for the details, CPC's website has the current procedures, forms, and deadlines, and it's accessible on the Dean's page on Inside Transy.

Feedback and evaluation take several forms, including student course evaluations and classroom observations, and, for long-term faculty appointments, periodic reviews. What applies to you depends on your appointment, so don’t assume that everything you hear about someone else’s review process applies to you.

The Faculty By-Laws and Dean’s Office are the authoritative sources for requirements. Your Division Chair can help you understand what to expect and when.

The BCTE can help with the developmental side. We’re happy to talk through feedback from a classroom observation or course evaluations, think with you about how you want to respond, or help with the teaching portions of review materials. BCTE consultations are confidential and do not become part of your evaluation file.

Classroom observations

The BCTE has a short guide to what the observation process looks like and how you can make it useful (and we hope low-stress) for yourself.

The specific logistics for classroom observations live in the By-Laws (on the Faculty Governance page). You'll find separate descriptions depending on the type of appointment:

1. For tenure-track faculty, check the Tenure and Promotion By-Laws, currently in the section "B. Probationary period leading to application for tenure / ... "3. Yearly review" / ... "a. Classroom visitations".

2. For contract faculty, check the Teaching Faculty Positions and Appointments By-Laws, currently in the section "D. Evaluation / ... "3. Evaluation of non-tenure-track teaching faculty by category" and find your particular appointment type.

Mid-probationary review [unfinished]
Tenure and promotion