2.5 Non-Tenure Track Clinical, Legal Writing, Bar Studies, And Academic Success Professors

 2.5.01 General Policy

Renewable long-term contract standards are designed to afford to full-time clinical, legal writing, bar studies and academic success teachers a form of security of position reasonably similar to tenure. This includes participation in Law Council meetings, committees, and other aspects of law school governance in a manner reasonably similar to other full-time faculty members. In applying these standards, candidates should be judged in terms of their respective responsibilities.

 2.5.02 Appointment, Reappointment, and Long-Term Contact Standards

A. Introduction

2.5.02.1.1 Law school appointment, reappointment, and long-term contract considerations are primarily a matter for determination by members of the law school faculty. Except in rare cases for compelling reasons, non-tenure-track faculty appointments, reappointments, and long-term contract actions will not be made over the opposition of a majority of those law school faculty members entitled to vote under Section 2.5.04(F)(3). Long term-contracts for Professors of Clinical Studies, Legal Writing, Bar Studies and Academic Success will be five years.

The reappointment and long-term contract standards and procedures are a part of the development of a law school faculty and are not dependent on numerical limits on how many persons can hold a particular rank or tenure. Reappointment and the granting of long-term contracts are independent decisions.

Reappointment and long-term contract decisions are based on the following: (1) teaching effectiveness; (2) administrative effectiveness, if applicable; and (3) university, professional, and community service; although no absolute quantitative values can be assigned to these categories, teaching effectiveness and administrative effectiveness weigh more heavily than does university, professional, and community service.

B. Definitions and Explanation

1. Teaching effectiveness. Teaching effectiveness means teaching that is thoughtful, provocative, and effective.

Teaching effectiveness will be evaluated (based primarily on peer review) by considering the following factors: depth of understanding of the subject, legal issues, evidentiary issues, and local practice; ability to stimulate interest and thinking among students; ability to identify and develop pertinent ethical and policy issues; provision of sufficient feedback to students; relationship with students; and professional demeanor.

2. Administrative effectiveness. Administrative effectiveness means the candidate’s timely, professional and competent performance of the administrative duties, if any, assigned to the candidate’s position. Administrative effectiveness will be evaluated based primarily on administrative performance reviews conducted by the faculty member’s supervisor, usually the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, in accord with University Administrative Performance Appraisal Standards.

3. University, Professional, and Community Service. University, professional, and community service means contributions to the university, the profession, or the community (local or national).

C. Criteria for Reappointment

Subject to the constraints on reappointment otherwise applicable to probationary employees contained in University regulations, a candidate shall be reappointed if he or she is making sufficient progress toward the achievement of receiving a long-term contract.

D. Criteria for Long-Term Contract

Unless otherwise agreed to in writing at the time of initial appointment, a faculty member may first be considered for a long-term contract during his or her fourth year of full-time law teaching at Capital University Law School. Unless otherwise agreed to in writing at the time of initial appointment, the contract tendered to a full-time clinical, legal writing, bar studies, or academic success faculty member for his or her fifth year of active employment as a full-time clinical, legal writing, bar studies, or academic success faculty member at Capital University Law School must be either a five year long-term contract or a terminal one-year contract.

A candidate shall receive a long-term contract when his or her overall record demonstrates teaching effectiveness administrative effectiveness and university, professional, and community service as defined in Section 2.5.01(B) and it appears likely that the candidate will continue to be a vital, productive faculty member throughout his or her career. Once the candidate has received a long-term contract, it is presumptively renewable. During the initial long-term contract or any renewal period, the contract may be terminated for good cause, including termination or material modification of the entire clinical, legal writing, academic success or bar studies program.

 2.5.03 Qualifications for Faculty Appointment

The following statement of qualifications shall serve, in light of the criteria specified in Section 2.5.01, as normal standards for new clinical, legal writing, bar studies, or academic success appointment at Capital University Law School.

A. Professor of Clinical Studies
J.D. (or LL.B.).

B. Professor of Legal Writing
J.D. (or LL.B.) or, in exceptional cases, Ph.D

C. Professor of Bar Studies
J.D. (or LL.B.).

D. Professor of Academic Success Programs
J.D. (or LL.B.).

 2.5.04. Procedure

A. Notice and Timing of Faculty Consideration of Personnel Actions

1. The faculty shall consider all individual non-long-term contract faculty members for reappointment each year.

2. In order to be considered for a five-year long-term contract in an academic year, a clinical, legal writing, bar studies, or academic success faculty member must apply in writing to the Dean no later than the first day of Fall semester classes that year. The Dean shall promptly forward the candidate’s application to the chair of the Faculty Personnel Actions Committee and candidate’s individual evaluation committee.

3. The specific dates set for the various stages of the Procedure in the following provisions will apply unless a majority of the faculty entitled to voted under Section 2.5.04(F)(3)(a) votes to reset one or more of the dates. If a date specified in the following provisions falls on a weekend or holiday, the date of the next business day will be substituted.

B. Faculty Personnel Actions Committee

The Faculty Personnel Actions Committee (FPAC), appointed pursuant to Section 2.2.04(B), shall administer the reappointment and long-term contract process in the same manner as it administers the reappointment, promotion, and tenure process for tenured and tenure-track faculty.

C. Individual Evaluation Committees

1. An individual evaluation committee shall be appointed for each full-time clinical, legal writing bar studies or academic success faculty member who is not on a long-term contract. Each committee shall consist of two persons, including one person who has a long-term contract. The committees will operate under the general administrative supervision of the FPAC.

2. Members of the evaluation committees must be tenured faculty members or non-tenure track professors who have received a long-term contract. They shall be appointed by the Dean in consultation with the candidate to insure that all members are acceptable to the candidate.

3. The evaluation committee for each candidate will be appointed at the beginning of the fall semester of the candidate's first year and will continue until the candidate either leaves the law school or receives a long-term contract. Membership on the individual evaluation committee will change only (1) when a member of the committee leaves the law school, goes on leave or sabbatical, or resigns from the committee; or (2) when the Dean, after consultation with the candidate, decides that a member should be replaced.

4. Each individual evaluation committee will conduct a thorough and ongoing review of the accomplishments of its candidate as to all factors relevant to any upcoming personnel action. This review will include:

a. class evaluations (which may be made by faculty members not on the committee) or evaluations of other activities for candidates not primarily engaged in classroom teaching. Ordinarily, these evaluations should occur every semester until the candidate receives a long-term contract; and
b. assessment of public service, bar, university, and law school activities.

D. Availability of Files and Notice of Questions and Concerns

1.In August of the fall semester during which clinical, legal writing, bar studies and/or academic success faculty members will be considered for reappointment or a long-term contract, individual evaluation committees shall begin preparing or supplementing a file on each candidate. This file will include information compiled pursuant to Section 2.5.04(C)(4); material placed in the file by the candidate, including a personal statement and information that documents his or her activities and achievements; other information requested by the faculty; student evaluations; and any additional relevant information. The file shall be made available for review by the entire Law School faculty no later than October 10.

2. Faculty members shall raise any questions regarding specific concerns, criticisms, or potential problems about each candidate's readiness or fitness for the proposed personnel action when necessary to give the candidate notice and an opportunity to prepare a response. These questions must be signed and must be submitted to the chair of the candidate’s individual evaluation committee in writing by October 31. The chair, in conjunction with the chair of the FPAC, shall distribute all such questions to the entire faculty by November 3.

E. Additional Information and Preparation for Meeting

1. If the written questions raise concerns about any candidate, the candidate and the candidate's individual evaluation committee shall attempt to collect information necessary to address those concerns. This may include student surveys and additional class evaluations by different faculty members.

2. If relevant information about any candidate first comes to the attention of a faculty member after October 10, the faculty member shall communicate this information to the candidate's committee immediately.

3. All information gathered by the committee pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2) above shall first be given to the candidate in sufficient time to permit a response. The information and response will then be included in the candidate's file and the faculty will be notified of the inclusion.

F. Faculty Meeting, Decision, and Report

1. No later than November 30, a meeting shall be held for decisions on each candidate. The candidate will have the opportunity to make a statement and the faculty will have an opportunity to question the candidate. Then, in the absence of the candidate, the faculty will hear a report from the candidate's committee, and will have an opportunity to discuss the candidate's statement and response to any written questions. All discussion shall be limited to information in the file or addressed in the written questions.

2. Faculty members will vote on each of the questions of reappointment or issuance of a long-term contract relevant to the particular candidate by signed, written ballot. Faculty members must also include a statement of reasons supporting their vote on each question

3. Eligibility to vote:

a. With respect to appointment, reappointment and long-term contract actions, of faculty members governed by Section 2.5, all tenured faculty members (excluding the Dean) and non-tenure-track faculty members holding long-term contracts shall vote. A favorable majority vote of those voting, not counting abstentions, will establish that the candidate has met the applicable standards.

4. The FPAC shall count the ballots, distribute the results of the vote, and make the ballots available for review by all faculty members.

5. On behalf of the faculty, the FPAC shall prepare a final written report of the faculty votes on each individual candidate. This report, along with the Dean’s independent recommendation, shall be provided to the University according to the University’s procedures.

6. By a two-thirds vote of those eligible under Section 2.5.04(F)(3)(a), the Law School Faculty can stay the Procedure in Section 2.5.04 for good cause.

 2.5.05 Titles

The titles of all legal writing instructors, including those teaching drafting, will be Professor of Legal Writing. The titles of all clinical staff attorneys will be Professor of Clinical Studies. The Director of Bar Studies and the Director of Academic Support Program will also carry the titles of Professor of Bar Studies and Professor of Academic Support, respectively.