SACSCOC Off-Site Committee’s Response

Non-Compliance

A central tenet of the mission of the Institution is to “employ faculty who are excellent teacher-scholars, nationally competitive in research and creative activities, and who contribute to a world-class knowledge base that is transferable to educational, professional, cultural, and economic enterprises.”  The Institution has been successful in hiring faculty members who hold terminal degrees in their disciplines, excel as scholars, and provide outstanding instruction at both the graduate and undergraduate levels.  The Bylaws and Regulations of the Board of Supervisors, System Permanent Memoranda, and the campus Policy Statements prescribe the appointment and employment of faculty. Minimum qualifications for employment, as well as criteria for promotion and tenure within the faculty ranks, are specified in the System Permanent Memorandum and in the Policy Statements.  A terminal degree in the academic area or appropriate professional experiences is the standard expectation; when the degree or graduate course work criteria have not been met, an exception must be sought from the Office of Academic Affairs.  To ensure compliance, the Office of Human Resource Management reviews personnel actions relating to appointments.  As part of this review, the Office of Human Resource Management verifies that appropriate documentation has been collected, demonstrating that the candidate’s credentials meet university standards.

In summer 2012, a review of the personnel files located in the central Office of Human Resource Management was conducted to ensure that credentials of primary instructors of record were appropriately documented. Primary instructors are those who teach and have authority to assign grades, develop course content, and determine the instructional delivery. Documentation of faculty credentials was uploaded to HRS on all primary faculty instructors of record. The preferred documentation was an official transcript from the terminal (or highest) degree-granting institution. Acceptable alternative documentation was a copy of the diploma awarded for the highest degree, with letter of degree verification from the National Student Clearinghouse, if necessary, to determine the discipline. Moving forward, at the direction of the executive vice chancellor and provost in 2012, an official transcript from the highest degree-granting institution is required for all new faculty appointments.

The supplementary USB flash drive contains the SACSCOC template with information on all instructional faculty who were primary instructors-of-record, their assigned courses, and their qualifications to teach those courses in fall 2012, winter 2012 intersession and spring 2013.  The methodology used to validate course instructors’ qualifications included a four-step process: (1) The first four digits of the Classification of Instructional Programs code from an instructor’s highest degree were matched with CIP codes for the courses taught. When those matched and the degree was deemed terminal in the discipline, no further justification was required: (2) For those remaining instructors whose highest degrees were in closely related fields of the discipline or with CIP codes that are considered equivalent, as determined at the department level, crosswalks (CIP code equivalency tables) were created to match CIP codes for these instructors and their courses. When these were compatible, no further justification was required; (3) For those instructors who did not fit the previous two criteria, the next step was to establish whether this person had 18 graduate credit hours in the discipline or closely related discipline. Instructors at this level are only permitted to teach undergraduate-only courses. If the instructor was a graduate student, a faculty supervisor was also identified; and (4) For all remaining course instructors whose credentials were not acceptable using the first three steps, justifications were written for each instructor. Acceptable justifications needed to relate to the topic of the course and included specific work experience; appropriate licensure, certificates, and/or specialized training; documentation of published research; and honors and awards.  Faculty who teach graduate and post-baccalaureate courses must meet additional requirements and must also remain current and active in their research disciplines.

Although the institution provided details as the policies and procedures used to review the credentials of all instructors assigned to teach, the data presented indicated that LSU does not consistently adhere to these policies, particularly as it relates to graduate assistants. Their policy states “Graduate students who hold teaching assistantships and serve as primary instructors or instructors of record for undergraduate courses must have completed a minimum of 18 hours of graduate credit in their teaching discipline prior to their appointment, as noted in LSU Policy Statement 21”. Numerous instances were found in which this policy was disregarded, particularly in the Art Department where students with as few as 6 graduate credit hours were assigned as instructors of record, albeit with a faculty advisor [since this advisor was responsible for ~20 such courses in addition to her own teaching load, there is some question as to the level of oversight possible]. Similar instances were noted in the French, Political Science, Psychology, Comparative Literature, Women's and Gender Studies, Geology & Geophysics, Mathematics, Astronomy, and Physics Departments. In addition, it was not clear from the information whether the students serving as faculty had even completed a bachelor’s degree.

There were also a number of other instances in which instructors with master’s degrees in unrelated disciplines were assigned to teach with no additional explanatory information provided. (See Request for Justifying and Documenting Qualifications of Faculty)”

LSU A&M’s Response

The SACSCOC off-site committee commented on LSU’s dedication to instruction:

A central tenet of the mission of the Institution is to “employ faculty who are excellent teacher-scholars, nationally competitive in research and creative activities, and who contribute to a world-class knowledge base that is transferable to educational, professional, cultural, and economic enterprises.”  The Institution has been successful in hiring faculty members who hold terminal degrees in their disciplines, excel as scholars, and provide outstanding instruction at both the graduate and undergraduate levels.

The Off-Site Committee did request some additional information on some of the instructors of record:

Although the institution provided details as the policies and procedures used to review the credentials of all instructors assigned to teach, the data presented indicated that LSU does not consistently adhere to these policies, particularly as it relates to graduate assistants. Their policy states “Graduate students who hold teaching assistantships and serve as primary instructors or instructors of record for undergraduate courses must have completed a minimum of 18 hours of graduate credit in their teaching discipline prior to their appointment, as noted in LSU Policy Statement 21”. Numerous instances were found in which this policy was disregarded, particularly in the Art Department where students with as few as 6 graduate credit hours were assigned as instructors of record, albeit with a faculty advisor [since this advisor was responsible for ~20 such courses in addition to her own teaching load, there is some question as to the level of oversight possible]. Similar instances were noted in the French, Political Science, Psychology, Comparative Literature, Women's and Gender Studies, Geology & Geophysics, Mathematics, Astronomy, and Physics Departments. In addition, it was not clear from the information whether the students serving as faculty had even completed a bachelor’s degree.

There were also a number of other instances in which instructors with master’s degrees in unrelated disciplines were assigned to teach with no additional explanatory information provided.

LSU welcomes the opportunity to clarify the issues brought forward by the Off-Site Committee.

Detailed Justification and Documentation of Qualifications of Faculty (Instructors of Record)

The SACSCOC Off-Site Committee requested additional information to justify and document the academic qualifications of 72 faculty members who serve as instructors of record. This subset of faculty is listed in a modified version of the “Faculty Roster Form” [1] and in the “Table of Justification and Documentation of Qualifications of Faculty” [2].  Within the “Table of Justification and Documentation of Qualifications of Faculty” there is an additional column that represents LSU’s response to Off-Site Committee comments [2]. There are a number of noteworthy features related to the LSU responses to the committee comments.

• Most of the concerns are related to the graduate teaching assistants (GTAs). In 63 of the 72 cases the Off-Site Committee noted under “No degree listed under “Inadequate Academic Qualifications.”  In 62 of the 63 cases, these instructors of record are GTAs with adequate graduate-level courses (see next section for further explanation). In the original “Faculty Roster Form” LSU did not include bachelor’s degrees for each of the GTAs, incorrectly assuming this was implied by the GTA status. However, it is clear that this information is necessary, and it is included in the LSU response [2].
• 32 GTAs were noted to have been “teaching 4000 level course,” but they actually were teaching 1000- or 2000-level courses.
• 6 GTAs did teach 4000-level courses, but in all cases these were exclusively taught to undergraduate students. 4000-level courses that include graduate students are monitored by the Graduate School and taught only by members of the graduate faculty (see below).
• In the case of Master Sargeant Clay C. Usie, who taught several Military Sciences courses during this time period, the US Army provided a letter justifying his qualifications to teach these courses [3].

Because many of the concerns involve GTAs, additional information on the use of GTAs and courses considered as graduate level are addressed below.

Use of Graduate Teaching Assistants as Instructors of Record

LSU is committed to providing excellence in teaching and learning, including the by GTAs.  All GTAs have at a minimum an earned baccalaureate degree or the international equivalent thereof. Additionally, these students must be pursuing a graduate degree at either the masters or the doctoral level and have earned 18 hours of graduate credit in their teaching discipline prior to their appointment as the instructor of record. An explanation for the apparent discrepancy noted by the off-site reviewers is considered in detail in the “Table of Justification and Documentation of Qualifications of Faculty” [2].

As noted in the compliance report narrative for 3.7.1, there are instances when 4000-level courses are included in the GTAs graduate-level academic experience.  As indicated in the LSU General Catalog, courses at the 4000-level of instruction may be taken for graduate credit [4].  For a student to receive graduate credit, the course must be taught by a member of the graduate faculty [5] [6]. This is the case for all of  the GTAs who have included 4000-level courses in their list of graduate level courses [1] [2].

The preparation of graduate teaching assistants who serve as instructors of record is a crucial mission of the university, with critical implications for both undergraduate and graduate education. In accordance with LSU Policy Statement 85, administrators and the faculty must ensure 

1) that during the first semester as an instructor of record, each graduate assistant is assigned a faculty mentor who is an experienced teacher and who is charged with observing the assistant's classes, with reviewing the assistant's lesson plans, assignments, and grading, and with counseling the assistant in any and all aspects of pedagogy, grading, classroom management;

2) that teaching assistants who are instructors of record are continued in the mentor program when the performance of the assistant does not meet acceptable classroom standards;

3) that all graduate teaching assistants who are instructors of record and who are not required by their departments to take courses in pedagogy for credit, participate in university-wide programs for teaching assistants [7].

GTAs are also supervised by a departmental member of the graduate faculty.   In this capacity, the faculty members are responsible for designing appropriate programs for the assignment, preparation, supervision, and evaluation of the graduate teaching assistants with the aim of enhancing graduate student preparation and undergraduate learning.  To ensure quality teaching and effective preparation of graduate teaching assistants, the university enforces an ongoing program of evaluation as outlined in Policy Statement 85.  It includes the following:

1) student evaluations for all courses in which the graduate assistant is the instructor of record;

2) an evaluation by a faculty mentor at the end of the first semester in which a graduate assistant serves as an instructor of record;

3) an annual evaluation of every teaching assistant's overall performance;

Commonly, highly experienced faculty members are given the responsibility of supervising numerous GTAs.  In these circumstances the faculty supervisor may be given release time from traditional duties.  While the ideal goal is to limit the number of GTAs assigned to one supervisor, budget restraints have limited some departments’ flexibility in this area. The result is some faculty members supervising GTAs with no release time, or others with an increase in supervisory responsibilities.

Many departments have regular meetings with their graduate students in which topics of interest pertaining both to study and to teaching in the discipline are discussed.  While some of these may be informal gatherings, every student is provided with the opportunity to enhance his or her teaching skills through the sharing of resources with faculty and peers.

For example, the Departments of Chemistry, Biological Sciences, and Engineering have required seminars at which students receive specific training and instruction on lab safety, current trends in the discipline and other information that relates directly to their discipline.  These seminars are required in addition to regular meetings of graduate assistants to discuss classroom activities [8] [9]. Another example is the School of Art, which requires students to take a semester-long Graduate Teaching Seminar taught by the graduate coordinator who is a member of the graduate faculty [10].

The university sponsors an annual retreat for graduate assistants [11].  These retreats provide the opportunity for speakers from a variety of disciplines to share information on teaching, grading, assessment and other academic activities.  Attendees break into round-table groups for further discussion.