Academic Staff Qualifications for Faculty Voting Rights

When a department, school, or college is considering granting an academic staff member faculty voting rights within their unit, the Faculty Senate recommends that the unit consider the credentials of the academic staff member with respect to the following criteria. 

1. Training: the academic staff member should have the terminal degree in the discipline in which they were trained. Exceptions to the terminal degree expectation can be made in cases where that is the norm in the discipline, or where the accreditation standards of the profession do not require it.  
2. Experience: the academic staff member should have a substantial, sustained record of accomplishments. This can be demonstrated through various means, including but not limited to evidence of excellence in teaching/research/creative activity, scholarly independence demonstrated through creation/redesign of courses/curriculum, and by being a principal investigator or similar recognition in research projects. Examples of evidence that can be used to demonstrate excellence include student course evaluations, peer/departmental classroom observations, and professional research or creative contributions. Positive comparisons of accomplishments to faculty peers can also be used to demonstrate a strong record of accomplishments. 
3. Responsibilities: the academic staff member should have program/departmental responsibilities beyond teaching courses or being a member of a research team. Responsibilities may include, but are not limited to, academic program oversight/directorship, primary responsibility for program accreditation, and grant/project management. 
4. Commitment: the academic staff member should have a long-term relationship with UWM.  Visiting appointments and recent hires typically would not demonstrate that the commitment between UWM and the employee exists in both directions.    

The purpose of this document is to provide guidance to a unit considering granting faculty voting rights to a member of the academic staff.  These are not requirements that must be met before an academic staff member is granted voting rights by the unit.  Units may use these recommendations to identify the most appropriate members of the academic staff to receive faculty voting rights.