Faculty Life at Transy

There are parts of being a faculty member at Transy that no one expects you to know when you arrive. Over your first few years, you’ll encounter faculty governance, advising, committee work, curriculum processes, and evaluations.

You don’t need to figure it all out at once. Here’s a quick introduction to how some of these pieces work and where to find the details when you need them.

Faculty Governance

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 become part of your regular work 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 & Faculty Committees

“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").

CPC for Curriculum and Courses

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.

Reviews and evaluations

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:

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".
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 and Contract reviews

All long-term full-time faculty undergo periodic review in their first six-ish years.

The specific logistics for mid-probationary reviews for tenure-track faculty, and for contract reviews for long-term non-tenure-track faculty, live in the By-Laws (on the Faculty Governance page). You'll find separate descriptions depending on the type of appointment:

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".
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" / ... "e. Long-term non-tenure-track faculty".

Tenure

Tenure-track faculty, you can find all things tenure in the aptly named "Tenure and Promotion" By-Laws (on the Faculty Governance page), particularly sections A and D.

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