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Membership

Membership on the graduate faculty is required for those faculty who are active in at least one of the areas of responsibility for graduate education at SFA. These responsibilities include teaching graduate courses in one’s area of expertise; directing theses and dissertations, as well as serving on thesis and dissertation advisory committees; serving on the university Graduate Council; and serving on the University Research Council. A member of the graduate faculty is appointed for a five-year term by the provost and executive vice president for academic affairs upon the recommendation of the department chair, academic dean, university Graduate Council and dean of the Office of Research and Graduate Studies.

All members are expected to maintain an active program of scholarship and remain current in the literature, methodologies and techniques of their respective disciplines; contribute to the establishment of appropriate standards for admission and retention of qualified students into the graduate programs of the university; contribute to the establishment of appropriate criteria for conferring graduate degrees and the development of quality curricula; promote the highest standards of student scholarship; and contribute to the establishment and maintenance of an environment of learning and achievement among graduate faculty and students.

Apply for Membership

Download the Graduate Faculty Membership Application and Renewal Form.

Types of Membership, Criteria for Selection and Privileges

Regular member

Criteria for Selection

  • terminal degree
  • appointment at the rank of assistant professor or above
  • appropriate level of professional or scholarly/creative activities in discipline (as evidenced by consultancies, performances, published and unpublished work, work presented at professional meetings, grant applications, faculty development, service as an officer in a professional society, graduate courses taught, theses directed, etc.)

Privileges

  • serving a five-year term subject to review in the fifth year
  • teaching graduate courses in the member's area of expertise
  • directing theses and dissertations and serving on thesis and dissertation committees and comprehensive examination committees in the member's area of expertise, as appropriate.
  • eligibility to serve on the Graduate Council
  • eligibility to serve on the University Research Council

Limited member

Criteria for Selection

  • terminal degree or achievement of professional accomplishment of an unusually high order or the attainment of professional expertise by virtue of training and experience
  • appointment at the rank of lecturer or adjunct faculty

Privileges

  • serving a five-year term subject to review in the fifth year
  • teaching graduate courses in the member's area of expertise
  • serving as a member of a thesis or dissertation committees and comprehensive exam committees

Affiliate member

To be used for people with limited affiliation with SFA or under special circumstances.

Criteria for Selection

  • terminal degree or the equivalent in the person's principal area of expertise
  • or achievement of professional accomplishment of an unusually high order or the attainment of professional expertise by virtue of training or experience that is otherwise unavailable in the graduate faculty of the applicant's department
  • five years of experience in the area of expertise or service on a thesis, dissertation or comprehensive examination committee

Privileges

  • serving a five-year term subject to review the fifth year
  • serving as a member of a thesis of dissertation advisory committee
  • participating in the evaluation of a student's credentials for a graduate degree, including serving on a comprehensive examination committee.

Emeritus member

Criteria for Selection

  • graduate faculty membership at time of retirement from SFA
  • appointment to emeritus faculty status

Privileges

  • serving an unspecified term subject to review only as requested by the dean of the Office of Research and Graduate Studies
  • performing duties as specified by the department chair and approved by the dean of the Office of Research and Graduate Studies, e.g. teaching graduate courses in the member's area of expertise or serving on thesis and dissertation advisory committees and comprehensive examination committees.

Termination and Non-Renewal of Membership

Non-reappointment to the graduate faculty may be for any of the following reasons:

  • Omission of supporting evidence for review
  • Lack of maintaining appropriate levels of professional or scholarly/creative activities in one's discipline
  • Inactivity in graduate education

In exceptional circumstances, special training in recognized institutions (such as conservatories or research institutes) or the attainment of nationally recognized licenses/certificates may be judged to satisfy the requirement for advanced degrees. Extensive practical experience in activities related directly to one's faculty appointment and resulting in wide recognition at the regional and/or national levels may also satisfy the requirement for advanced degrees.

Graduate Faculty Review Process

Membership on the graduate faculty is required for faculty members who are active in at least one of the areas of responsibility for graduate education at SFA. These responsibilities include teaching graduate courses in the member's area of expertise; directing exhibitions, theses and dissertations, as well as serving on exhibition, thesis and dissertation advisory committees; serving on the university Graduate Council; and serving on the University Research Council. A member of the graduate faculty is appointed initially for a five-year term by the executive vice president for academic affairs upon the recommendation of the academic unit head, academic dean and dean of graduate studies.

Each faculty member reviewed will be evaluated by all members of one's academic department holding regular (tenure track) status on the graduate faculty. The evaluation will be with regard to one's contribution to graduate education at SFA, professional and scholarly/creative activities, and the programmatic needs of the department. Recommendation should then be forwarded to the academic unit head that the candidate be reappointed for a full term on the graduate faculty or be removed from the graduate faculty.

When a recommendation for non-reappointment is made, a faculty member may file an appeal. An appeal of a decision to remove a person from graduate faculty status must be filed within 30 days of notice of the decision to remove the faculty member and should follow HOP policy 02.310 (faculty disagreements).

Contact

Office of Research and Graduate Studies
936.468.2237
Fax: 936.468.7369

Graduate Studies: GSchool@sfasu.edu
Grants and Sponsored Programs: grants@sfasu.edu
Research Advisory Council: RAC@sfasu.edu

Physical Address:
404 Aikman Drive
Dugas Liberal Arts North
Nacogdoches, Texas

Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 13024, SFA Station
Nacogdoches, Texas 75962