Guidelines for Clinical Promotion
SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION SCIENCES AND DISORDERS
Guidelines for Promotion for Clinical Faculty
(Approved, September 5, 2003. Revised, April 13, 2012)
Promotion is an option for clinical faculty who are full-time employees as defined by the University. These
guidelines for promotion specify the criteria that are to be followed within the School of Communication
Sciences and Disorders and the materials that should be developed by the candidate for review by the
School's Clinical Faculty Promotion Committee. This information is also designed to assist the members of
the Promotion Committee when evaluating candidates. Except as indicated, the guidelines are consistent
with University policies as specified in the 2011 on-line University of Memphis Faculty Handbook.
I OPTIONAL INTERIM EVALUATION
Clinical faculty members will be given the opportunity to undergo an "interim evaluation" at least one year
prior to the formal application for promotion. The interim evaluation is not a requirement and it must be
requested by the clinical faculty member. The evaluation, conducted by School's Clinical Faculty Promotion
Committee and the Dean, is designed to provide clinical faculty members with information about the status
of their progress toward promotion. The clinical faculty member will provide documentation of
contributions and accomplishments according to the areas and guidelines described below. This process will
not normally involve external peer review. The outcome of this evaluation will remain in the School.
II PROMOTION TO CLINICAL ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
Candidates must satisfy the following requirements:
1.
At least five years of full-time (or full time equivalent) clinical experience post-certification.
2.
At least three years of clinical teaching in an academic-clinical setting or other comparable
supervisory experience in the field.
3.
Evidence of good character, mature attitude, and stable personality.
Criteria for Promotion Recommendations
1. Evidence of teaching effectiveness in clinical instruction. This area includes materials indicating
command of the academic and clinical subject matter, ability to motivate and mentor students, and
creative and effective use of teaching methods.
A.
Candidates must submit student evaluations for all semesters in the past five years in which they
have had supervisory and/or teaching responsibilities (or less than five years if not employed at the
University of Memphis that long). The greatest weight will be given to anonymous student
evaluations, and applicants are encouraged to obtain this type of data. For traditional classroom
teaching responsibilities, these evaluations must include the survey approved by the University for
teaching evaluations. For clinical supervisory responsibilities, these evaluations must include the
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Guidelines for Clinical Promotion
form approved by the School for student evaluation of teaching (Appendix A: “Assessment of
Clinical Faculty”). Evaluations may also include other types of information.
B. Other evidence of command of subject matter may include, but is not limited to:
 Documented evidence of continuing education.

Evidence of classes audited or formally completed.

Journal of readings in academic publications.

Diary of activities followed to update the knowledge base in a particular specialty.

Tutorial tools developed by the clinical faculty member to assist student learning.

Training packets developed by the clinical faculty member for use in instruction.

Specialty certification or recognition.
2. Evidence of service of a professional nature to the institution, the community and the state. Examples of
service include

Participation in School and University committees.

Contracts for provision of services outside the School.

Membership and leadership roles in professional organizations at local, state, national, or
international levels.

Service or outreach to the larger society. For example, presentations related to one's discipline or
providing professional advice and counsel.
3. Evidence of scholarly or creative activity. This category includes activities that have resulted in the
generation of new ways of conceptualizing some aspect of the clinical process. Generally these
activities have yielded a body of knowledge that would be potentially valuable for presentation to peers
in a forum such as local, regional or national conferences, or other professional gathering. Candidates
should include records of such activities, for example

New or modified clinical protocols and/or therapeutic techniques.
•
Papers Presented: This category includes papers presented at local, state, regional, national, or
international professional meetings. Authorship of items listed in the vita should appear in the
same order as in the presentations.
•
Research in Progress: Candidates should provide a clear indication of the status of each project and
the candidate’s role.

Completed but unpublished/presented research/scholarly activity. Description should include
Purpose, Methods, Results, and Conclusions.
•
Publications: This category includes textbooks, chapters in books, and articles in refereed and nonrefereed journals, monographs, refereed and non-refereed conference proceedings, book reviews,
and related items. Authorship of manuscripts listed in the vita should appear in the same order as
in the publications.
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•
Grant Applications: The candidate should include grant applications submitted including those that
have not been funded. The candidate’s role in writing the application and in performing the
research should be clear.
III. PROMOTION TO CLINICAL FULL PROFESSOR
The candidate must satisfy the following requirements:
1. At least 10 years of full-time (or full-time equivalent) professional experience in the clinical discipline
post-certification.
2. At least six years of clinical teaching in an academic-clinical setting, with a minimum of four years at the
University of Memphis.
3. A high degree of academic maturity and responsibility.
Criteria for Promotion Recommendations
The rank of clinical professor is not a reward for long service. The rank of clinical professor should be
accorded to those with a record of consistent, sustained, high quality scholarly productivity over a period of
years. The rank is a recognition that such superior achievement in the field of study will continue on a
national and/or international level.
The criteria for promotion to clinical professor incorporate the above criteria for promotion to clinical
associate professor with the following additions.
1.
Documented evidence of a consistent pattern of high quality professional productivity.
This should be illustrative of professional productivity at regular intervals over a period of years.
2.
Evidence of national and/or international recognition in the discipline. Such evidence may be
indicated by, for example,

Appointments as a reviewer for peer-reviewed journals,

Invited papers and presentations given beyond the state and region,

Honors, grants and awards,

Committee service and leadership with national or international professional organizations.
IV. PROCEDURES
The candidate is responsible for preparing the materials and delivering them to the Administrative office of
the School. The candidate's clinical faculty mentor (appointed by the Dean) within the School will typically
be a good source of guidance. Well in advance of the review process, the candidate should provide the
Dean with a list of six names of potential external reviewers (including addresses and telephone numbers).
Letters from mentors are discouraged but, if included, should be so identified. The Dean, with the assistance
of the Committee chair, will solicit letters from selected persons on the list as well as from additional
individuals not on the list. A minimum of four external reviews should be included in the candidate's
materials. These will normally be equally divided between peers nominated by the candidate and peers
selected independently by the Dean, with the assistance of the Committee chair. Selection of external
reviewers is to be conducted in a manner that will minimize biases for or against the candidate as indicated
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in the Faculty Handbook (Section on External Peer Review). Each external reviewer will be requested to
send identical copies of the letter to the Dean, and to the committee chair.
Once the School's Clinical Faculty Promotion Committee is notified that the candidate's materials are
complete, individual committee members will review the materials. Following a subsequent meeting, the
Committee will provide a written recommendation to the Dean of the School. As described in the Faculty
Handbook, this process continues through the Board of Regents.
Guidelines for Evaluation
When considering each of the above criteria, committee members should seek evidence of (1)
accomplishment in areas appropriate to clinical faculty, and (2) potential for continued development and
contributions in the future.
Either included with the materials indicated in sections 1-3 above, or separately, candidates should present
evidence of continuing professional development toward established professional goals. Candidates should
also demonstrate willingness and ability to work effectively with colleagues.
External Peer Review. Evaluation of the candidate’s activities also requires external peer review by qualified
peers not associated with the University of Memphis. The overall goal of the peer review process is an
external evaluation of the breadth and scope of the diverse components of the candidate’s responsibilities.
The peer reviewers should be a group of individuals who, when taken collectively, can evaluate the
candidate’s supervisory/teaching skills, currency of knowledge base, technical competence in the field of
expertise, proficiency of execution of administrative component, professional service responsibilities, etc.
Qualified peers would usually include individuals with: (1) equal or greater level of experience in related
clinical area, preferably in an academic setting, and (2) equal or higher level of academic degree or
qualification. It is acknowledged that there are exceptions to these guidelines. Some recognized clinical
scholars who do not meet these experiential or academic standards may nevertheless be very appropriate
peer reviewers.
The Committee
During policy making activities, the School's Clinical Faculty Promotion committee is composed of a
minimum of three clinical faculty members and two academic faculty members At least one member must
hold the rank (either clinical or academic rank) of professor, the others at least the rank of associate
professor.
When an application for promotion from clinical associate professor to clinical full professor is considered,
the committee will be expanded to include all the clinical full professors in the School. These added
members will have an equal voice and vote.
Although all the application materials will be available online, one complete printed copy of the application
will be placed in the office of the Dean’s administrative assistant. This copy may be used by the committee
members for review and it will be available during the committee’s meeting to discuss and vote on the
application.
The School committee will return the application and supporting papers to the Dean along with its
recommendations and reasons for those recommendations. These recommendations should
reflect the full scope of discussions that took place in the committee meetings, and should also
contain the rationale for the recommendation that is consistent with the vote of the committee. If
the decision of the School Committee is not unanimous, the committee may also submit to the
Dean a minority report with the rationale for dissenting opinions.
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Guidelines for Clinical Promotion
Appendix A: Assessment of Clinical Faculty
(Supervisor’s Name)
(Semester)
The evaluation process for clinical faculty is very important. Please rate each person you worked
with this semester. For any item that you rate as “somewhat disagree” or “strongly disagree”,
please include details. Thank you.
Strongly
Agree
Somewhat
Agree
Somewhat
Disagree
Strongly
Disagree
No Opinion
NA
1. Provides specific information regarding his/her
expectations at the beginning of the semester…………………………
O
O
O
O
O
2. Establishes an environment for learning based on
openness, honesty and trust……………………………………………..
O
O
O
O
O
3. Demonstrates an awareness of and respect for the
student’s time regarding clinical and academic
Commitments……………………………………………………………...
O
O
O
O
O
4. Uses the conference time effectively………………………………...
O
O
O
O
O
5. Demonstrates/shares knowledge of current clinical/
research literature…………………………………………………………
O
O
O
O
O
6. Provides the amount of instruction
commensurate with the level of the student’s knowledge……………..
O
O
O
O
O
7. Provides clear and constructive feedback………………………….
O
O
O
O
O
8. Listens openly and respectfully to student’s perceptions,
opinions and rationales …………………………………………………..
O
O
O
O
O
9. Returns written material in an established time frame ……………..
O
O
O
O
O
10. Encourages and allows for independence commensurate
with the level of the student’s skill……………………………………….
O
O
O
O
O
11. Employs language conducive to facilitating independent
thinking and problem solving …………………………………………….
O
O
O
O
O
12. Is one who receives my feedback well and attempts to
incorporate my suggestions…………………………………….………..
O
O
O
O
O
13. Models professional and ethical behavior………….………… …
O
O
O
O
O
14. I learned a great deal from this supervisor…………………………
O
O
O
O
O
The clinical faculty member:
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Guidelines for Clinical Promotion
15. I shared this information with my supervisor and would
expect that he/she would not be surprised by these comments
O
O
O
O
O
16. The information and ratings given to me by this supervisor,
on my final evaluation, were what I expected ……………………...
O
O
O
O
O
17. This was a new clinical experience/ disorder for me.
O
O
O
O
O
Positive characteristics or strengths of the practicum/clinical educator:
Suggestions for improvement:
Additional comments and suggestions:
Thank you.
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