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3.7.1 The institution employs competent faculty members qualified to accomplish the mission and goals of the institution. When determining acceptable qualifications of its faculty, an institution gives primary consideration to the highest earned degree in the discipline in accord with the guidelines listed below. The institution also considers competence, effectiveness, and capacity, including, as appropriate, undergraduate and graduate degrees, related work experiences in the field, professional licensure and certifications, honors and awards, continuous documented excellence in teaching, or other demonstrated competencies and achievements that contribute to effective teaching and student learning outcomes. For all cases, the institution, is responsible for justifying and documenting the qualifications of all its faculty.

Credential Guidelines:

a. Faculty teaching general education courses at the undergraduate level: a doctoral or a master's degree in the teaching discipline or a master's degree with a concentration in the teaching discipline (a minimum of 18 graduate semester hours in the teaching discipline).

b. Faculty teaching associate degree courses designed for transfer to a baccalaureate degree: a doctoral or a master's degree in the teaching discipline or a master's degree with a concentration in the teaching discipline (a minimum of 18 graduate semester hours in the teaching discipline).

c. Faculty teaching associate degree courses not designed for transfer to the baccalaureate degree: a baccalaureate degree in the teaching discipline, or an associate degree and demonstrated compentencies in the teaching discipline.

d. Faculty teaching baccalaureate degree courses: a doctoral or a master's degree in the teaching discipline or a master's degree with a concentration in the teaching discipline (minimum of 18 graduate semester hours in the teaching discipline). At least 25 percent of the discipline course hours in each undergraduate major are taught by faculty members holding the terminal degree – usually the earned doctorate – in the discipline.

e. Faculty teaching graduate and post-baccalaureate course work: earned doctorate/terminal degree in the teaching discipline or a related discipline.

NARRATIVE/JUSTIFICATION FOR JUDGMENT OF COMPLIANCE

1. Faculty teaching general education courses are required to hold a minimum of a master’s degree in the teaching discipline or a master’s degree with at least eighteen semester credit hours of graduate work in the discipline. On occasion, it may be necessary to assign faculty to specialized lower division courses, such as music and dance, based on teaching/work experience, honors or documented excellence in the discipline. In such an instance, the faculty member’s file will include the documentation from the employing department justifying the exception.
   
2. Texas A&M International University does not award associate degrees, therefore, this section is not applicable.
   
3. Texas A&M International University does not provide associate degree courses for transfer to the baccalaureate degree, therefore this section is not applicable.
   
4. Full-time faculty teaching baccalaureate courses in each of the departments at Texas A&M International University hold the terminal degree in their discipline as documented in the Faculty Rosters. In cases where an exception is requested, the department must provide appropriate documentation to warrant the exception.
   
5. Faculty teaching graduate and post-baccalaureate courses hold the terminal degree in their discipline.

The table below provides information regarding the number of terminally qualified faculty by department:

Of the nursing faculty not holding a doctoral degree, five are Family Nurse Practitioners and one is a Certified Nurse Administrator. In nursing, the Master's degree is the terminal clinical practice degree and meets criteria for faculty appointment set by the state and by professional accrediting organizations. As a practice discipline, the emphasis in baccalaureate nursing education is on clinical expertise and teaching aptitude. All nursing faculty maintain active practice in advanced nursing roles. Core faculty in the Master of Science in Nursing program hold an earned doctoral degree.

f . With the initiation of the Ph.D. in International Business, graduate assistants will be used to deliver instruction. Requirements for the assignment will be the completion of a master’s degree in the teaching discipline or a master’s degree and eighteen graduate semester credit hours in the teaching discipline. Graduate assistants will be under the direct supervision of a faculty member in the discipline who will act as a mentor. The graduate assistant will be reappointed based on satisfactory performance. The proposal for the Ph.D. in International Business included new Graduate Assistants.

“The Ph.D. program requires additional teaching assistants, over and above those graduate assistants and fellowship recipients currently employed in the College of Business Administration. These teaching assistantships will provide the doctoral student the opportunity to develop the teaching skills needed to become a university faculty member. These assistants should be limited to teaching lower level (freshman, sophomore and occasionally junior) courses. These graduate students will each be assigned no more than two sections, and this assignment will be used to relieve some of the senior faculty to facilitate their supervision of the doctoral student teacher.

The classification will be added to the Faculty Handbook.

SOURCE	LOCATION/Special Instructions
Faculty Handbook, 2.4 A-H	http://www.tamiu.edu/handbook.pdf Scroll down to pages 17-22.
Faculty Rosters	http://www.tamiu.edu/adminis/ie/rosters/

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