Section 6 of The Principles of Accreditation outlines the university’s responsibility for employing a sufficient number of qualified, effective faculty members for its academic programs. During the On-Site Review, the Committee will confirm MTSU’s compliance with the following standard from this section:
Standard 6.1
The institution employs a sufficient number of full-time faculty members to support the mission and goals of the institution. (Full-time faculty)
Core Requirement
How does MTSU demonstrate compliance with this standard?
MTSU employs a sufficient number of full-time faculty to support its mission. The university measures faculty sufficiency in multiple ways, including by enrollment and instructional assignment. These measurement methods are also applied to distance and off-campus courses. In Fall 2024, full-time faculty taught a majority of courses by all delivery methods, as detailed in the table below:
| Course Level | All Courses | Distance Education Courses | Off-Campus Courses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Undergraduate | 82% | 77% | 56% |
| Graduate | 94% | 89% | 100% |
Full-time faculty sufficiency is also measured by the distribution of instructional and non-instructional assignments. For the Fall 2024 semester, full-time faculty spent 72.41% of their time on instruction, with the remaining 27.59% divided between service (11.62%), research (9.02%), and administration (6.95%). Sufficiency is further evaluated through student success and satisfaction measures, including graduation rates, graduating senior survey responses, and student-to-faculty ratios.
The University Provost is responsible for ensuring that faculty staffing is sufficient to carry out MTSU’s instructional, research/creative, and public service activities. The Faculty List Book provides a snapshot of the types and ranks of full-time faculty in each Fall term. Data-informed reviews of sufficiency are conducted annually, with adjustments made as needed through well-established processes to allocate resources effectively to address changing and emerging needs.
What questions might the On-Site Review Committee ask during their visit to confirm MTSU’s compliance with this standard?
- What are the institution’s definitions of terms such as full-time faculty, regular/permanent faculty, part-time faculty, and student-faculty ratio?
- How does the mission of the institution affect the number and type of faculty employed?
- What is the organizational structure of the academic functions of the institution? How does this structure affect the critical mass of faculty needed?
- What process does the institution use to determine the number of full-time faculty needed to achieve its mission?
- What are the responsibilities of full-time faculty members, and does the number of faculty constitute a sufficient resource for carrying out basic faculty functions?
- What is the organizational structure of the academic functions of the institution? How does this structure affect the critical mass of faculty needed?
- How are traditional faculty functions being carried out in nontraditional ways?
- What are the institution’s policies on employment of part-time or adjunct faculty?
- What is the institutional policy on full-time faculty workload, and how are overloads managed?
Standard 6.2.a
For each of its educational programs, the institution justifies and documents the qualifications of its faculty members (Faculty qualifications)
How does MTSU demonstrate compliance with this standard?
MTSU justifies and documents the qualifications of its faculty for each educational program. Faculty Instructors of record must have the academic credentials set out in the SACSCOC Faculty Credentials Guidelines, as appropriate for the appointment type and instructional assignment. The university also considers qualifications, such as professional experience, on a case-by-case basis as appropriate for the appointment type, instructional level, and academic program. Academic departments follow established policies and procedures when hiring new faculty, including University Policy 202 and the Faculty Qualifications and Credentials Manual.
Faculty credentials are documented at the time of hire using the Academic Preparation Certification (APC) Form for all faculty, including adjuncts, and the GTA Academic Preparation Certification Form for graduate instructors of record. The Office of the University Provost maintains physical records for each faculty member, including official transcripts, letters of recommendation, and other justification documents. Faculty curriculum vitae, annual evaluations, and student evaluations of teaching are housed in the Faculty Success electronic platform.
These policies and procedures apply to all faculty, regardless of location or delivery method. Instructors of record for distance education or off-campus courses must meet the same minimum requirements as on-campus instructors. There is no difference in the documentation of faculty qualifications or the maintenance of physical and electronic records. The faculty roster, as noted above, includes all MTSU instructors of record, inclusive of those teaching via distance education or at off-campus instructional sites.
What questions might the On-Site Review Committee ask during their visit to confirm MTSU’s compliance with this standard?
- How does the mission of the institution influence the selection and qualifications of faculty?
- How does the institution determine the competencies of faculty members and justify that their qualifications meet these competencies?
- Who should be included as faculty to ensure all courses offered for credit are included?
- How does the institution document and justify the qualifications for each faculty member? Would a reasonable person find this documentation and justification acceptable?
- How does the institution ensure faculty qualifications in online programs, dual enrollment courses, and off-campus instructional sites?
Standard 6.2.b
For each of its educational programs, the institution employs a sufficient number of full-time faculty members to ensure curriculum and program quality, integrity, and review. (Program faculty)
U.S. Department of Education Requirement
How does MTSU demonstrate compliance with this standard?
MTSU employs sufficient full-time faculty to ensure quality, integrity, and review for each of its educational programs. The benchmark is that full-time faculty account for the majority of instruction in required courses across all program types, levels, locations, and delivery methods. MTSU provided data for each program demonstrating that almost all programs met or exceeded this expectation during Academic Years 2022-2023, 2023-2024, and 2024-2025. A summary of the data aggregated by program level is outlined in the table below:
| Full-Time Faculty Instruction | Undergraduate Programs | Graduate Programs |
|---|---|---|
| 50% or more of required courses | 99.0% | 96.8% |
| 60% or more of required courses | 95.2% | 95.2% |
| 80% or more of required courses | 13.5% | 84.1% |
| 80% or more of required courses | 1.9% | 79.4% |
| 90% or more of required courses | 1.9% | 68.3% |
Programs with lower percentages of full-time faculty generally reflect specific curricular needs, such as courses taught by part-time faculty with specific industry expertise or clinical and field placements. In limited cases, full-time faculty numbers are lower due to temporary faculty leaves of absence or non-instructional assignments.
MTSU has policies and procedures in place that define faculty roles, responsibilities, and workload expectations by faculty type. The University Provost and Vice Provosts, in partnership with deans and department chairs, evaluate faculty sufficiency annually using data from the Academic Performance Solutions (APS) platform. Sufficiency is also evaluated during external reviews, including those conducted by specialized accreditors and those mandated by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC).
Program faculty sufficiency expectations for online and off-campus programs are the same as for on-campus programs. The university also has specific processes in place for these modalities, such as dedicated funding through MTSU Online to hire full-time, non-tenurable faculty to teach online course sections and support from University College to hire such faculty for dual enrollment courses.
What questions might the On-Site Review Committee ask during their visit to confirm MTSU’s compliance with this standard?
- Describe the process for determining faculty overloads.
- How are Chairs, Deans, and the Provost involved in the workload process?
- How do Deans think about faculty sufficiency and budget requests?
- How do you decide whether to sunset a program, and what is the process?
- What is the process for helping a program improve to avoid a sunset?
- How do you ensure faculty sufficiency in online programs, and what is the process?
- How are faculty empowered to ensure program quality?
- How does the institution define academic programs?
- How does the institution define full-time and part-time faculty?
- How does the organizational structure of academic units affect how faculty are involved in program delivery?
- How does the institution determine whether the number of full-time faculty in a program is sufficient?
- What is the best way to present data on full-time faculty by program?
- Are there traditional “faculty functions” that are delivered by other means?
- What are the responsibilities of full-time faculty members, and do they constitute a sufficient resource for carrying out basic faculty functions within academic programs?
- What is the role of full-time faculty in program oversight and supervision?
- If applicable, what is the role of full-time faculty in delivering programs at off-campus locations or via distance education?
- How do mission expectations regarding research and public service affect the use of and need for full-time faculty in different programs?
- Are there special programs to strengthen part-time faculty (and graduate assistant) involvement and pedagogy?
Standard 6.2.c
For each of its educational programs, the institution assigns appropriate responsibility for program coordination. (Program coordination)
U.S. Department of Education Requirement
How does MTSU demonstrate compliance with this standard?
MTSU assigns responsibility for program coordination to appropriately qualified individuals for all programs, regardless of location or delivery method. Responsibility for appointing program coordinators lies with the chair of the academic department offering the degree, concentration, minor, and/or certificate. Department chairs, in consultation with the academic dean, appoint academically qualified full-time tenured or tenure-track faculty or select full-time non-tenurable faculty as program coordinators in accordance with University Policy 202. In some cases, the department chair or school director may serve as program coordinator.
At MTSU, faculty who coordinate undergraduate programs are generally referred to as “program coordinators”, while those at the graduate level are referred to as “program directors” due to the additional administrative responsibilities associated with graduate programs. At both levels, program coordination responsibilities include:
- developing, reviewing, and updating curricula
- identifying program and student learning outcomes
- coordinating program assessment
- participating in student recruitment, yield management, and enrollment activities
- producing or reviewing content for publications
- preparing documents for external reviewers or accreditors
The Faculty Handbook defines the qualifications for program coordination by program level and type. For degrees with multiple concentrations, the department chair can appoint a program coordinator and also designate qualified concentration coordinators to support the program coordinator. The same policies and procedures apply to distance and off-campus, though department chairs may also elect to appoint dedicated program coordinators for these programs.
What questions might the On-Site Review Committee ask during their visit to confirm MTSU’s compliance with this standard?
- How are program coordinators identified and recruited? In what sense are these responsibilities “assigned”?
- What is the process for identifying program coordinators for online and off-campus programs?
- How does the organizational structure of academic units affect the assignment of appropriate responsibility for program coordination?
- Do coordinators have qualifications appropriate for the degree level of the program (e.g., undergraduate, master’s, doctoral)?
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