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For Graduate Students

Graduate Student Handbook
 
The Graduate Student Handbook is the go-to document for graduate students. It outlines the purpose for several forms and resources that graduate students will utilize throughout the duration of their program. Further, it provides information about housing and other other University resources that benefits all graduate students. 
UNT Sociology Wiki Page
 
The UNT Sociology Wiki Page is the resource hub for:
Current Graduate Student Request for TA/TF Funding
 
Due every year in early February
 
Graduate Student Annual Review Form
 
Due every year on the last Friday of February
 
Degree Plans
Committee Composition Forms
Qualifying Examination Results Webform
 
Due before enrollment in dissertation hours and only in consulation with major professor; select "login" at top of page
Oral Defense Notification Webform
 
Due prior to thesis/dissertation defense
UNT Teaching Excellence Seminar
The UNT Teaching Excellence Seminar is an orientation for new Teachign Assistant and Teachign Fellows. The Toulouse Graduate School, along with the Office of the Provost, offers this mandatory seminar to provide new instructors at UNT with access to best practices in teaching and supportive resources. 
G*STEP
Graduate students interested in teaching are encouraged to participate in the Graduate Student Teaching Excellence Program (G*STEP). The goal of the program is to prepare graduate students for teaching roles in higher education by equipping them with teaching skills, knowledge about teachign strategies and peer support. 
ASA Membership
Membership only available to PhD students in their final year who have defended their proposal, made substantial progress on their dissertation, and are ready to be on the job market. If you are a first year, please email William.Scarborough@unt.edu for more information.
 
Students may be eligible for a one-time, one year ASA membership with the aim of supporting their professional development and job search efforts. The primary purpose of this sponsored membership is to provide students with access to the ASA Job Bank, the main repository for sociology faculty job posting.PhD students should request ASA membership for the academic year they will be going on the job market and applying for faculty positions.
 
ASA memberships are good for one year from the date of purchase. For example, if you purchase a membership on August 1, it will be good through July 31 of the following year. Keep this in mind as you decide when to apply for a department-sponsored membership.Academic jobs begin to be posted as early as August for positions starting the following fall semester (almost a year in advance).
 
Jobs in this cycle will continue to be posted through the following spring. Please allow up to two weeks for your application to be processed and your membership (if approved) to begin.
 
Here is the link for the ASA membership application.
PhD Concentration Area & Qualifying Paper
Doctoral Concentration Area
 
All doctoral students must choose a concentration area in consultation with their major advisor and advisory committee. It is recommended, but not required, that students select a concentration area aligned with the American Sociological Association's current sections.
 
 
Doctoral Qualifying Paper Requirement
 
Students must complete a qualifying paper to advance to PhD candidacy (ABD status). While students may work on their qualifying papers in their final semester of course work, their committee cannot submit a qualifying exam report (QER) to the department or Toulouse Graduate School before completing all doctoral coursework on their official degree plan.
 
The purpose of the qualifying paper is to determine the student's grasp of foundational works, the current state of the literature, and how the student's proposal expands on the latter. The committee should have some indication if the proposed study is 1) feasible in the general time frame provided and 2) advances the literature, either theoretically or methodologically, in notable new ways that are not addressed by current studies.
 
All qualifying papers must include all of the following:
 
1. Clear statement of concentration
2. Structured literature review
a. Review of foundational research
b. Review of contemporary research
c. Identification of gaps in theory and methods
d. Development of preliminary research questions
3. Written timeline for degree completion
 
Other requirements:
Minimum 15-20 pages excluding notes and references (1" margins, single spaced, Times New Roman, 12-point font, with references in ASA format). Qualifying papers below this department minimum will not be accepted or approved by committee members.
 
The qualifying paper committee is the student's advisory committee as indicated on their approved degree plan.
A successful defense is a necessary benchmark to move to the prospectus stage and graduate in a timely manner. To receive a 'pass' on the qualifying paper, it must be approved by all members of the advisory committee following the outline above. The advisory committee consists of a minimum of three members, two of whom must be members of the UNT Department of Sociology. For this reason, it is important for students to communicate regularly with members as they write and revise their defense.
 
The committee can require students to revise their submission and resubmit it. Resubmissions have a time frame of one month to address the comments of committee members.

For Faculty

Evaluation Scoring Sheets
Proposal Defense Forms

Master's Thesis Proposal Defense Form (For faculty use only)

PhD Dissertation Proposal Defense Form (For faculty use only)

Department Governance

Department Charter
Department of Sociology

College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences
University of North Texas
Revision, adopted November 13, 2020

Contents

Preamble
Article 1: The Faculty
Article 2: The Department Chair
Article 3: Personnel Affairs Committee: Merit Review
Article 4: Reappointment, Tenure, and Promotion Committee
Article 5: Personnel Affairs Committee: Promotion to Full Professor
Article 6: Graduate Committee
Article 7: Search Committees
Article 8: Appeals
Article 9: Implementation, Amendment, and Bylaws

Preamble

This charter is adopted to govern the structure of the Department of Sociology, which consists of faculty with academic preparation in sociology and social research. This department is designed to offer instruction leading to undergraduate and graduate degrees as authorized by the University of North Texas and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. The provisions of the charter are to be interpreted in accordance with all regulations in Policies of the University of North Texas (https://policy.unt.edu/policy-manual). This charter replaces any that preceded it.

ARTICLE I. THE FACULTY

Section 1. Membership and Voting Rights

The Department Faculty includes all persons who hold tenured and tenure-track academic appointments and full-time Lecturer appointments at the University of North Texas and are assigned to the Department of Sociology for fifty percent or more of their appointment. The aforesaid faculty continue to hold membership during release time from teaching or when on leave of absence.

Item a. Faculty who take on full-time administrative appointments set aside their voting rights until they return to the department with teaching and research responsibilities.

Item b. In reappointment, tenure, and promotion decisions regarding tenure-track faculty, only tenured faculty members are eligible to vote. In promotion-to-Full decisions, only Full Professors may vote.

Item c. Full-time Lecturers do not have voting-rights in hiring decisions for tenure-system faculty. They are also ineligible to serve on the Personnel Affairs Committee and the Reappointment, Tenure, and Promotion Committee. In all other areas of faculty governance, they are entitled to vote.

Section 2. Meetings

Regular meetings shall be scheduled each full month during the regular academic year (excluding summer sessions). Special meetings may be called by the Department Chair or by petition of a majority of the voting members. The schedule for regular meetings will be announced at the beginning of each fall and spring semester. An agenda will be circulated in advance of the meeting and, for special meetings, will include a statement of purpose. A quorum will consist of a majority of the voting members.

Section 3. Officers

The presiding officer at faculty meetings will be the Departmental Chair, the Chair's designated representative, or a member authorized to preside over a special-purpose meeting.

Item a. The Chair of the Personnel Affairs Merit Review Committee will replace the Department Chair as presiding officer over meetings held for the purpose of faculty peer review.

Item b. Summary minutes will be recorded by the designated Secretary or, when the latter cannot attend, an Acting Secretary. The Secretary has the responsibility to distribute summary minutes to all members within ten class days following each meeting.

Section 4. Official Business

Meeting as a committee of the whole, the Department Faculty represents the faculty in all matters except those reserved to the Department Chair; to the Personnel Affairs Merit Review Committee (PAC-MERIT); the Personnel Affairs Promotion-to-Full Committee (PAC-FULL); the Reappointment, Tenure, and Promotion Committee (RTPC); and the Graduate Committee.

Item a. Both the PAC-MERIT and the Department Chair review all faculty annually. The Department Chair will be excluded from the personnel evaluation sessions of the PAC. It is the duty of the PAC Chair to preside over annual merit review meetings to insure procedural conformity with University policy. The unit review committee will serve as a consulting body to the Department Chair who has final authority for assigning merit ("Faculty Affairs," 06.047 in Policies of the University of North Texas).

Item b. The Faculty, meeting as a committee of the whole, is responsible for making curriculum decisions, such as approving new courses, course deletions, and changing degree requirements.

Item c. The Faculty, meeting as a committee of the whole, stands in an advisory capacity to the Departmental Chair in all matters. It may initiate, discuss and pass motions on any matter at the discretion of the majority of its voting members.

Item d. Meeting as a committee of the whole, the faculty must approve the assignment of faculty members to the standing roles of Undergraduate Director, Undergraduate Advisor, Graduate Director, Graduate Adviser, and optional standing roles such as Associate Chair and advisory Executive Committee members.

ARTICLE II. THE DEPARTMENT CHAIR

The Department Chair is the executive officer of the Department and is responsible for the implementation of this Charter; the orderly administration of academic and fiscal responsibilities within the department; the implementation of plans approved by the Faculty or assigned to the Department by College and University administrators; the development and advancement of departmental goals; and the timely communication of information to the faculty that will impact them. The Chair also serves as presiding officer of the Faculty when it meets as a committee of the whole, except when the faculty acts in its peer review function.

Section 1. Delegation of Roles

The Chair will delegate responsibilities in a manner consistent with Department, College and University policy.

Item a. Assignments of faculty members to standing department service roles are subject to approval by the Faculty, either meeting as a committee of the whole or utilizing an e-ballot distributed by, and returned to, the department's Administrative Coordinator.

Item b. Standing department service roles may include: an Associate Chair, if authorized; undergraduate and graduate directors; student advising posts; ad hoc Appeals Committee Chair; supervisory oversight of funded graduate students; and departmental representation on appointive extra-departmental committees. The Chair retains responsibility for the satisfactory performance of these roles.

Item c. The chair may establish an advisory Executive Committee consisting of no more than five members selected from among those faculty members with standing service roles in the Department provided that at least three hold the rank of Professor or Associate Professor. The Chair's appointments to an Executive Committee must be approved by a majority of the voting faculty.

Section 2. Selection and Terms of Office

The Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences in consultation with the Department Faculty will recommend appointment of the Department Chairperson to a term of no more than five years, with one possible term renewal. It is expected that the Dean will seek approval of the faculty, meeting as a committee of the whole, of the final recommendation to the Provost.

Item a. Upon a sudden vacancy, with the approval of the Dean, a temporary appointment may be made of no more than one year.

Item b. One full semester before the completion of a Department Chair's first term, the Personnel Affairs Committee--Merit Review (PAC-MERIT) will organize a referendum on whether the faculty would like the Chair to serve an additional term. The only exception to holding this referendum is when the Department Chair has announced that s/he does not wish to serve an additional term. All faculty are entitled to participate in the referendum. The PAC Chair will share the results of the referendum with the Dean, who will take the advisory vote into account in determining whether to appoint the Chair to an additional term.

Item c. When possible, one year before the completion of a Chair's final term,

the PAC-MERIT will solicit self-nominations from faculty who would be willing to serve as Chair. Faculty can also nominate colleagues for the Chair position. It will be the responsibility of the PAC Chair to verify if nominated faculty are willing to serve. The PAC Chair will create a secret ballot of all those who have indicated a willingness to serve. The ballots will be distributed to all faculty by the Administrative Coordinator, who will report the final vote tally to the PAC Chair. The PAC Chair will forward the names of up to three candidates to the Dean, who will take the advisory vote into account in deciding who to appoint as Chair.

ARTICLE III. THE PERSONNEL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE--MERIT REVIEW (PAC-MERIT)

Section 1. Membership

The Personal Affairs Committee--Merit Review (PAC-MERIT) is a consulting body to the Department Chair who has final authority for assigning merit, as per UNT Policy 06.007 I A and 06.047 of Policies of the University of North Texas. Exclusive of the Departmental Chair, tenure-system faculty who have successfully completed their midterm review and tenured faculty members who are assigned for at least fifty per cent of their appointments to the Department shall be qualified to serve on the PAC-MERIT. Release time from teaching and leaves of absence will not disqualify a faculty member. However, faculty on leave must step off of the PAC-MERIT if their leave is during the spring semester when the peer review process unfolds. The Department Chair will appoint a temporary replacement, taking into account the various service responsibilities of faculty in the department

Item a. All tenure-system faculty are eligible to serve on the PAC-Merit Committee, with the exception of Assistant Professors who have not yet successfully completed their midterm review. The rationale behind this exception is to maximize the chances for a successful launching of an academic career and to provide a time period for experiencing the annual merit review process at UNT and gaining a familiarity with that process.

Item b. The PAC-MERIT shall consist of five (5) members who are elected annually. Members will be elected by tenure-system faculty through a secret ballot issued by, and returned to, the department's Administrative Coordinator. All tenure-system faculty will be listed on the ballot, along with information on the years of their previous service on the PAC-Merit committee in order for faculty to take into account the university policy requiring regular and reasonable rotation of membership on major department committees.

Item c. PAC-MERIT members will, by majority vote, elect their own committee Chair annually. The Chair can serve up to five years consecutively. After the completion of five consecutive years, the Chair must step down and is ineligible to serve as Chair again until a different faculty member has served in that role.

Section 2. Responsibilities

The PAC-MERIT is responsible for the annual review and evaluation of each faculty member on teaching, research, service and, when relevant, administration. The Subcommittee will apply the reappointment, tenure, and promotion guidelines adopted by the department and follow the procedures set forth by in the "Annual Review" section (06.007) of Policies of the University of North Texas (https://policy.unt.edu/policy-manual).

Both the PAC-MERIT and Department Chair will assess faculty performance on teaching, research, and service within the context of a comprehensive 3-year window. PAC-MERIT members will consult the merit scoring guidelines as set forth in the department's document "Faculty Annual Merit Evaluations: Policy and Processes" (updated September 2019).

Section 3. Communications

The PAC-MERIT Chair and members have a special responsibility for timely communication with the Department's individual faculty members, the Department Chair, and the appropriate College and University academic officers.

Item a. Official recommendations should be presented and discussed with faculty candidates before they are transmitted. Every reasonable opportunity must be given to a candidate to correct possible errors that may have entered into the process.

Item b. If the Department Chairperson disagrees with the PAC-MERIT's evaluation processes or decisions, s/he is obligated to communicate the clear points of difference to the committee and to all parties with whom the evaluation was shared. All PAC-MERIT recommendations to the Administration will be forwarded by the Department Chair in their complete form whether or not accompanied by a dissenting or supportive recommendation from the Department Chair.

Item c. All personal documents held by the PAC-MERIT will be open to the scrutiny of the individuals who are their subject but, otherwise, confidentiality will be maintained to the extent that University policy and the law allows.

ARTICLE IV. REAPPOINTMENT, TENURE, AND PROMOTION COMMITTEE (RTPC)

Section 1. Membership

Exclusive of the Departmental Chair, only tenured faculty members at the ranks of Associate Professor or Professor with at least fifty per cent of their appointments assigned to the Department shall be eligible to serve on the RTPC.

Item a. The RTPC should have five (5) members. If the number of tenured faculty members falls below five, for the purpose of tenure and promotion, the Department Chair in consultation with the RTPC Chair and the Dean's Office will add external members from other departments, preferably faculty in departments within the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences who have expertise in the social sciences.

If more than five tenured department faculty are eligible to serve, all tenure-system faculty in the Department will elect five from among those eligible. However, in circumstances where only one or two tenured faculty members are not members of the RTPC and may lack anonymity if required to vote separately from the RTPC, those faculty members will join the RTPC and cast a vote along with the regular members of that committee. When the number of tenured faculty members not serving on the RTPC reaches three, then protection of anonymity is deemed sufficient, and the RTPC will revert back to the preferred membership size of five members.

Item b. RTPC members will serve a term of three years. Whenever there is an excess of faculty eligible to serve on this committee, as delineated in item a., the department will hold an election. The ballot will be distributed by and returned to the department's Administrative Coordinator. All tenured faculty members will be listed on a ballot, along with information on the years of their previous service on the RTPC in order for faculty to take into account the university policy requiring regular and reasonable rotation of membership on major department committees.

Item c. Members of the RTPC will, by majority vote, elect their own committee Chair. The Chair will serve a three-year term and is eligible to serve an additional term if re-elected. However, after the completion of two terms, the Chair must step down and is not eligible to serve as Chair again until another faculty member has served a full three-year term.

Section 2. Responsibilities

The Department's tenure-system faculty will develop written criteria and procedures for reappointment, tenure, and promotion, including criteria for the promotion of non-tenure system faculty. The RTPC is responsible for applying the criteria adopted by the department in matters of reappointment, tenure, and promotion. It also must adhere to the procedures set forth by the University in "Faculty Affairs," 06.004 and "Non-Tenure Track Faculty Reappointment and Promotion," 06.005 of Policies of the University of North Texas (https://policy.unt.edu/policy-manual).

Item a. The candidate bears primary responsibility for preparing the dossier. However, the RTPC Chair and Department Chair should assist in ensuring that the dossier is complete.

Item b. For non-tenure system faculty, such as Lecturers, RTPC members need to follow the promotion protocol set forth in "Non-Tenure Track Faculty Reappointment and Promotion," 06.005 of Policies of the University of North Texas. The department adheres to the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences requirement that a lecturer must serve four (4) years in rank before promotion to Senior Lecturer and an additional four (4) years at the senior lecturer rank before eligibility for promotion to Principal Lecturer.

Item c. Reappointment reviews will include written evaluation on teaching, research, and service, specifically addressing progress toward tenure. Per University policy, the review must evaluate the quality of achievements, not simply enumerate accomplishments. The midterm reappointment review is a more extensive and intensive review that includes the Department, College, and Provost, but without external review letters. In addition to the RTPC vote, each eligible tenured faculty member in the Department will vote whether to recommend the probationary faculty member for reappointment in the midterm review year and each year thereafter. In the midterm review and all subsequent reviews of probationary faculty, votes must be by secret ballot.

Item d. For tenure cases, the RTPC Chair and the Department Chair will coordinate the effort to solicit the university-mandated minimum of five (5) letters from external reviewers. To minimize the chances of an insufficient number of reviewers, six external reviewers will be chosen. External reviewers must hold the rank at or above the rank to which the candidate aspires. The candidate will provide a list of six names to the RTPC Chair and Department Chair who in collaboration will select no more than three (3) of the external reviewers from the candidate's list. Then in consultation with the Department faculty, the RTPC members and Department Chair will identify additional names, selecting three from this list to serve as the remaining external reviewers.

Section 3. Communications

The RTPC Chair and members bear a special responsibility for timely communication with individual faculty members and the Department Chair as faculty work their way toward tenure.

Item a. Official tenure recommendations should be presented to faculty candidates before they are transmitted. Every reasonable opportunity must be given to a candidate to correct possible errors that may have entered into the process. University policy dictates that if the unit review committee is considering a negative recommendation, it must notify the candidate, who has the right to request a meeting with the committee within five (5) business days of the notification (06.004 of Policies of the University of North Texas).

Item b. The RTPC will be mindful of the University's "Academic Freedom and Academic Responsibility" policy (06.035 of Policies of the University of North Texas).

Item c. If the Department Chair disagrees with the RTPC recommendations or actions, s/he is obligated to communicate the clear points of difference to all other parties to whom the recommendation is addressed. All RTPC recommendations to the Administration will be forwarded by the Department Chair in their complete form whether or not accompanied by a dissenting recommendation from the Department Chair.

ARTICLE V. PERSONNEL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE--PROMOTION TO FULL PROFESSOR (PAC-FULL)

Section 1. Membership

The Personnel Affairs Committee--Promotion to Full Professor (PAC-FULL) forms only when tenured faculty at the rank of Associate Professor inform the Department Chair that they intend to apply for promotion to Full Professor.

Item a. Only Full Professors may serve on the PAC-FULL. University policy mandates that promotion committees must have at least five (5) members. If the number of Full Professors who can serve falls below five, the Department Chair in consultation with the PAC-FULL Chair and the Dean's Office will add external members from other departments, preferably faculty in departments within the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences who have expertise in the social sciences.

Item b. If there are more than five Full Professors in the department, tenure-system faculty will vote to determine which of the Full Professors will comprise the PAC-FULL. All department faculty holding the rank of Full Professor will be listed on the ballot. The ballot will be distributed by and returned to the department's Administrative Coordinator. However, in circumstances where there are one or two Full Professors who are not part of the Committee and would lack anonymity if required to vote separately from the PAC-FULL, those faculty members will join the PAC-Full and cast a vote along with the regular members of that committee. When there are at least three Full Professors not serving on the PAC-FULL, then protection of anonymity is deemed sufficient, and the PAC-FULL will adhere to the preferred membership size of five members.

Item c. The PAC-FULL members will, by a majority vote and by secret ballot, elect their own Chair.

Section 2. Responsibilities

The PAC-FULL is responsible for carefully and objectively applying the criteria adopted by the department for promotion from Associate to Full Professor. It also must adhere to the procedures set forth by the University in "Faculty Affairs," 06.004 of Policies of the University of North Texas (https://policy.unt.edu/policy-manual).

Item a. Although the candidate bears primary responsibility for preparing the dossier, the PAC-FULL Chair and Department Chair must keep the dossier current throughout the process and submit the completed dossier by the deadline.

Item b. The PAC-FULL Chair and the Department Chair will coordinate the effort to solicit the university-mandated minimum of five (5) letters from external reviewers. To minimize the chances of an insufficient number of reviewers, six external reviewers will be chosen. The process of securing external reviewer letters is the same as described for the tenure process in Article IV, 2d.

Item c. All votes of the PAC-FULL committee must be by secret ballot, distributed by and returned to the department's Administrative Coordinator.

Section 3. Communications

The PAC-FULL Chair must communicate in a timely manner with individual faculty members and the Department Chair as the promotion dossier is being created. It is essential that the official recommendations of the PAC-FULL are communicated to the Department Chair and to the candidate seeking promotion in accordance with the timeline set by the Dean's Office.

Item a. Official recommendations should be presented and discussed with faculty candidates before they are transmitted. Every reasonable opportunity must be given to a candidate to correct possible errors that may have entered into the process. University policy dictates that if the unit review committee is considering a negative recommendation, it must notify the candidate, who has the right to request a meeting with the committee within five (5) business days of the notification. The PAC-FULL must take this 5-day response period into account when forming its timeline for submitting a completed dossier to the administration.

Item b. The PAC-FULL will be mindful of the University's "Academic Freedom and Academic Responsibility" policy (06.035 of Policies of the University of North Texas).

Item c. If the Department Chair disagrees with the PAC-FULL recommendations or actions, s/he is obligated to communicate the clear points of difference to the committee and to all other parties with whom the recommendation was shared. All PAC-FULL recommendations to the Administration will be forwarded by the Department Chair in their complete form whether or not accompanied by a dissenting or different recommendation from the Department Chair.

ARTICLE VI. THE GRADUATE COMMITTEE

Section 1. Membership

The Graduate Committee comprises three to five members from the ranks of those holding Senior Lecturer, Principal Lecturer, tenure-track and tenured academic appointments.

The Director of Graduate Studies, who is appointed by the Department Chair, serves as Chair of the Graduate Committee. The Graduate Committee Chair, in consultation with the Department Chair, appoints the other committee members.

Section 2. Responsibilities

The Graduate Committee is responsible for making admissions decisions for applicants to the Department's graduate programs, including the terminal MA/MS program, the pass-through program, and PhD-only program. In the summer, when nine-month faculty are often not as readily available for service responsibilities, the Graduate Director and Department Chair are authorized to make admission decisions. However, graduate applicant files will be shared with members of the Graduate Committee in case they wish to weigh-in on the decision.

Periodically, it may also be asked to engage in graduate curriculum review. It does not hold responsibility for administering admissions through the Grad-Track 5-year program in which students begin to take graduate courses during their senior year as an undergraduate.

Section 3. Communications

Graduate admission decisions of the Graduate Committee are available to the full faculty through admissions records kept in the Graduate Program file on the department's shared computer drive.

Item a. Major changes to the graduate program's admission policies or to the graduate curriculum will be voted upon by the faculty as a whole.

Item b. When the Graduate Committee engages in graduate curriculum review, its recommendations will be presented during faculty meetings held during the regular academic year. All major curricular changes will be voted upon by the faculty as a whole.

ARTICLE VII. SEARCH COMMITTEES

Section 1. Membership

All tenure-system faculty are eligible to serve on search committees for new tenure-track faculty. Lecturers are not eligible to serve on search committees for tenure-system faculty, although they are eligible to serve on committees to hire lecturers or adjunct faculty.

The process for creating search committees for Lecturers is the same as for tenure-system faculty searches, with the exceptions that Lecturers are eligible and encouraged to fully participate in the search process and a graduate student representative on the committee is not required.

Item a. The Department Chair will ask faculty to self-nominate for service on search committees. If more than five faculty agree to serve, the tenure-system faculty will vote on who should serve via a secret ballot, distributed by and returned to the department's Administrative Coordinator. The five nominees who receive the most votes will comprise the sociology faculty members of the Search Committee.

Item b. The College strongly encourages departments to include an external member on search committees. The Search Committee Chair in consultation with the Department Chair will select the external member, with a preference for a faculty member in a cognate discipline with knowledge of the subject area in which the department is seeking to hire. The external member on the search committee has full participation and voting rights on screening processes through the decision of whom to bring in for campus interviews. However, the external committee member does not have voting rights on the final decision of whom to hire.

Item c. The graduate students will have a representative on faculty search committees. The Graduate Representative does not have voting rights. The primary function of the representative is to facilitate communication between the Search Committee and the graduate students. The graduate students will be asked to nominate or self-nominate to serve as the graduate representative. The faculty will vote on who will serve in this role from a list of the top three nominees.

Section 2. Responsibilities

Lecturer search committees have the responsibility of ensuring that a successful applicant has demonstrated effectiveness or promise in teaching Sociology. Lecturers must at minimum hold ABD status in a doctoral program in Sociology. While the search committee may choose to conduct campus interviews, they not required.

Faculty search committees have the responsibility to review the material submitted by all applicants and to narrow the search down to semi-finalists with whom to conduct screening interviews. Following those interviews, it is the responsibility of the committee members to select the top candidates to bring to campus for a more detailed interview process.

Section 3. Communication

The Search Committee Chair bears a special responsibility for timely communication with faculty about the search process.

Item a. The Chair of faculty search committees has the responsibility of informing the faculty after the completion of the preliminary screening interviews about who has been selected for campus interviews. The files of the finalists will be available in advance of the campus visit so that faculty and interested graduate students will have an opportunity to familiarize themselves with the files.

Item b. In consultation with the Department Chair, the Chair of faculty search committees will create a campus visit itinerary for each finalist that provides an opportunity for each faculty member to meet with the candidates. There should be a meeting time reserved for graduate students to interact with each of the finalists. The campus visit should also include a talk to which all faculty and graduate students are invited.

Item c. The graduate-student representative on faculty search committees has the responsibility of briefing the graduate students on who has been selected to come for a campus interviews. After the campus interviews have been completed, the representative will report to the Search Committee on the graduate students' perspectives on the strengths and limitations of each of the finalists.

ARTICLE VIII. APPEALS

Section 1. The Right of Appeal

Ordinarily, when means of remedy are available, grievances and complaints can be resolved best by those most immediately concerned. Complaints involving students and instructors and among faculty colleagues can often be worked out with the assistance of the Chair or other faculty. However, there must be an opportunity at the departmental level for appeal hearings with the elements of due process in cases when parties to a perceived grievance remain unsatisfied. Department-level hearings, however, do not preclude further appeal to higher levels of authority when grievances are unresolved.

Section 2. Grade Appeals & Ad hoc Hearing Committees

The Department Chair shall select a member of the tenured faculty to coordinate grade appeals procedures and to ensure a timely appeals process. Per University Policy, grades are subject to appeal through a department-level process only when a grade is alleged to be the result of inequitable treatment resulting from an instructor's departure from stated course policies set forth in the syllabus or a decision based on an error in fact. The "Grade Appeals" section of the Policies of the University of North Texas (06.040) provides procedural guidelines.

Formal hearings for grievances unrelated to grades will be conducted by an ad hoc committee consisting of one department faculty member chosen by each of the principle contending parties in the case and an Ad Hoc Hearing Committee Chair appointed by the Department Chair. The hearing will be conducted to the fullest extent possible in accordance with the principle of equal treatment.

Any complainant may appeal beyond the Department level once the Departmental appeal process has concluded. The committee Chair is responsible for promptly forwarding all documents related to the case to the higher appellate body.

ARTICLE IX. IMPLEMENTATION, AMENDMENT AND BYLAWS

Section 1. Adoption and Implementation

This Charter must be approved by two-thirds of the voting faculty of the Department. Prior to the vote, the proposed Charter must be circulated in written form for at least five class days before discussion in a faculty meeting during the regular academic year. Following its presentation, a vote will be taken through an e-ballot submitted to the department's Academic Coordinator. The Charter shall go into effect at such time as it has been approved by two-thirds of the voting faculty of the Department and is accepted by the appropriate University authorities.

Section 2. Amendment

Amendments to the Charter may be adopted by two-thirds of the voting faculty of the Department. All proposed Amendments will be circulated in written form no less than five class days before presentation for discussion at a faculty meeting during the regular academic year. Voting on the proposed Amendments will be done through an e-ballot submitted to the department's Academic Coordinator.

Section 3. By-laws

The department faculty or Department Chair may further specify departmental structures and procedures through by-laws as long as they are not contrary to the provisions of the Charter. By-laws must be approved by a majority of the voting faculty during the regular academic year when the University is not in recess.

Promotion and Tenure Guidelines

DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY TENURE AND PROMOTION CRITERIA
[Adopted 10/29/2018]

The Department of Sociology is strongly committed to and values all three academic areas
of research, teaching and service. The Department places a growing emphasis on research consistent with UNT's achievement of Tier 1 National Research University status.

CRITERIA FOR TENURE AND PROMOTION TO ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR

The maximum probationary period for a faculty member appointed as an Assistant Professor is the equivalent of six (6) years of full‐time service. The sixth year will normally be the mandatory tenure‐review year, except in extraordinary circumstances in which a candidate for tenure and promotion may be reviewed early in the probationary period or may request that the probationary period be extended.

Candidates for tenure with promotion to Associate Professor are expected to fulfill some combination of the following criteria.

A. Research
• Publication of articles in peer-reviewed scholarly journals during the probationary period.
• Publication of a peer-reviewed book (or books) by a reputable publisher.
• Publication of chapters in peer-reviewed books and related projects.
• Publication of edited books and related projects.
• Application for and acquisition of external research grants as Principal Investigator or Co-Principal Investigator.
• Other types of relevant scholarly publications contributing to the candidate's standing.

These types of scholarship are ranked in preference as above. Articles in peer-reviewed journals count more than do book chapters. A book may be substituted for a certain number of journal articles, as specified at the end of this section. Publications resulting from previous tenure-track positions at other institutions are in part considered so long as the candidate maintains the sustained pace, consistency of publications while at UNT, which will be given a primary consideration.

Regarding quantitative expectations, the publication of six to eight articles in peer-reviewed journals is the primary criterion, although not the only one, as some combinations of publication types are permitted. Reaching the minimum quantity of publications does not guarantee tenure. Rather, it qualifies the candidate to be seriously considered for tenure and promotion. A holistic review of the candidate is undertaken, including contribution of the candidate to each multi-authored publication. Priority is in the following order: Single- or first-authorship as coequal, then second-author, and third-and-other-author. The candidate needs to be sole or first-author on at least three publications. Publishing with graduate students is also highly valued. In the case of multiple authorship, corresponding author in correspondence with a journal or publisher is used as a measure of first authorship. Publications with ten and more co-authors will be considered notes for the purpose of tenure and promotion.

Regarding distinctions of quality among scholarly venues, candidates for promotion and tenure are expected to have two or more of their publications in tier-1 outlets. In making quality distinctions among journals, the following table will be used:

Sociology Journals Interdisciplinary Journals
Tier 1 Google h-index > 20 (see Jacobs 2016*) or impact factor > 1.5 Impact factor > 2
Tier 2 Google h-index between 15-19; impact factor 1-1.4 impact factor between 1.5-1.9
Tier 3 Google h-index < 15; impact factor < 1 or no impact factor impact factor < 1.5 or no impact factor

*Jacobs, Jerry. "Journal Rankings in Sociology." The American Sociologist, 2016.

In making quality distinctions among scholarly venues for books, the following table will be used:

Presses
Tier 1 R1 University presses and highly regarded trade academic presses
Tier 2 Non-R1 University presses, and other presses that use peer-reviews to guide publication decisions (candidate includes documentation of peer review process in the T & P dossier)
Tier 3 Presses that do not use a peer-review process

Books published with subsidy presses that charge author fees or vanity presses will not count toward tenure and promotion.

In terms of a candidate's overall academic standing, it will be assessed through multiple measures that may include citation counts for candidate's publications; the impact factors of journals in which the candidate has published; and the h-index factor for individual scholars, which draws upon citations of conference presentations, articles in a wide range of journals, and books. Another crucial source for accessing a candidate's overall academic standing is external-reviewer letters. The value of external-reviewer letters lies primarily in a broader reputational approach to assessing visibility of scholars in their primary fields of specialization.

The above criteria permit combinations of publication types. The following examples illustrate, but do not exhaust, what is minimally expected for tenure and promotion to Associate Professor, consistent with the stipulation that at least three journal articles must be single/first-authored (while accounting for books):
• Publication of three single/first-authored full-length articles and three other articles--as opposed to short notes, reviews, technical reports, and the like--during the probationary period. The number of pages and words of articles should conform to particular journal requirements.
• Or publication of three single/first-authored articles, two other articles, and two book chapters or two edited books
• Or publication of three single/first-authored articles in combination with one book published by a university or trade academic press
• Or publication of three single/first-authored articles in combination with two book chapters and two edited books
• Or publication of three single/first-authored articles and one other article or two book chapters in combination with one or more external research grants of a substantial size as Principal Investigator or Co-Principal Investigator (over $100,000)
• Or publication of three single/first-authored articles and two other articles or three book chapters in combination with one or more external research grants of a minimum size (over $20,000) as Principal Investigator or Co-Principal Investigator

B. Teaching
Effective teaching performance is expected and is assessed by multiple measures contained in a teaching portfolio created by the candidate. A complete teaching portfolio must include student evaluations of teaching effectiveness and a statement of teaching philosophy. It may also include peer evaluations, syllabi, class outlines and other materials used in teaching.
Candidates for tenure and promotion are also expected to work with students outside of the classroom, such as serving on master's and doctoral committees, assisting and advising students in their research, and providing career guidance.

C. Service
For tenure and promotion, candidates are expected to have served on Departmental, College and/or University committees with a gradual increase during the probationary period, so that the faculty member can demonstrate being an important and contributing member of the academic community. This service includes contributions to the profession, such as manuscript reviewing, participating on grant panels, and/or chairing sessions at professional conferences.
In sum, candidates for tenure and promotion to Associate Professor are expected to demonstrate a holistic commitment to research, teaching and service excellence in accordance with the University's mission. However, research excellence will be given a primary emphasis as the most important factor for tenure and promotion consistent with UNT being and aspiring to remain a Tier 1 National Research University.
CRITERIA FOR PROMOTION TO FULL PROFESSOR

Promotion to the rank of professor requires evidence of sustained excellence in each of the three (3) domains of teaching, research, and service. Contributions exclusively in one area will not qualify an individual for promotion. Quality in one domain will not compensate for weakness in other domains.

Candidates for promotion to Full Professor are expected to fulfill since promotion to Associate Professor a combination of the following criteria.

A. Research
• Publication of articles in peer-reviewed scholarly journals
• Publication of a peer-reviewed book or books by a university or trade academic press
• Publication of chapters in peer-reviewed books and related projects
• Publication of edited books and related projects
• Application for and acquisition of external research grants as Principal Investigator or Co-Principal Investigator
• Other types of relevant scholarly publications contributing to the candidate's national or international standing

These types of scholarship are ranked in preference as above.

Regarding quantitative expectations, the publication of six to eight articles in peer-reviewed journals since promotion to Associate Professor is the primary criterion, although not the only one, as some combinations of publication types are permitted. Reaching the minimum quantity of publications does not guarantee promotion. Rather, it qualifies the candidate to be seriously considered for promotion. A holistic review of the candidate is undertaken, including contribution of the candidate to each multi-authored publication. Priority is in the following order: Single- or first-authorship as coequal, then second-author, and third-and-other-author. The candidate needs to be sole or first-author on at least four post-tenure publications. Publishing with graduate students is also highly valued. In the case of multiple authorship, corresponding author in correspondence with a journal or publisher is used as a measure of first authorship. Publications with ten and more co-authors will be considered notes for the purpose of promotion. Publications resulting from previous tenured positions at other institutions are in part considered so long as candidates maintain the sustained pace, consistency of publications while at UNT, which will receive a primary consideration.

The preceding criteria allow for combinations of the publication types noted above. The following examples illustrate what is minimally expected for promotion to Professor, consistent with the stipulation that at least four journal articles must be single/first-authored (while accounting for books):
• Publication of four peer-reviewed single/first-authored full-length articles and two other articles--as opposed to short notes, reviews, technical reports, and the like--since promotion to Associate Professor. The number of pages and words of articles should conform to particular journal requirements.
• Or publication of four peer-reviewed single/first-authored articles, one other article, and two book chapters
• Or publication of three peer-reviewed single/first-authored articles in combination with one single/first-authored, peer-reviewed book published by a university or trade academic press
• Or publication of four peer-reviewed single/first-authored articles in combination with one other article and two edited books
• Or publication of four peer-reviewed single/first-authored articles in combination with one or more external research grants of a substantial size as Principal Investigator (over $100,000).
• Or publication of four peer-reviewed single/first-authored articles and one other article or two book chapters in combination with one or more external research grants of a minimum size (over $20,000) as Principal Investigator or Co-Principal Investigator

Regarding distinctions of quality among scholarly venues, the tables included in the previous section will be used. Candidates for promotion are expected to have two or more of their post-tenure publications in tier-one publication outlets.

Candidates for promotion to Full are also evaluated in terms of national and/or international academic reputation. For the purpose of assessing academic reputation, the Google h-index factor for individual scholars will be used in conjunction with the letters of external reviewers. The calculation of the h-index factor for individual scholars draws upon citations of conference presentations, articles in a wide range of journals, and books. The value of the external-reviewer letters lies primarily in a broader reputational approach to assessing visibility of scholars in their primary fields of specialization. Candidates may include other data, such as citation counts for specific publications, in their promotion dossier if they deem the data relevant to assessing academic reputation.

B. Teaching
Teaching performance must be effective as indicated by multiple measures contained in a teaching portfolio. A teaching portfolio must include student evaluations of teaching effectiveness. It may also include peer evaluations, syllabi, class outlines and other materials used in teaching, integration of research and teaching, and recognition of teaching excellence since promotion to Associate Professor. Another expectation for promotion is working with students. Candidates seeking promotion to Full are expected to have taken a greater mentorship role with graduate students, including chairing master's and doctoral committees as well as serving as such committees, and assisting or advising students in their research and career.

C. Service
Expected service involves, at the minimum, sustained membership on several Departmental or College or University committees, in general proportionately to the number of research and teaching activities and capacities, since promotion to Associate Professor. The expectation is that the candidate will have taken on enhanced leadership roles, such as service as a journal reviewer, journal editor, member of an editorial board, an officer in a regional, national, or international scholarly organization, or membership on grant panels.
In sum, candidates for promotion to Full Professor will be expected to demonstrate a holistic commitment to research/scholarship, teaching and service excellence in accordance with the University's mission. However, research/scholarship excellence will be given a primary emphasis as the most important factor for promotion to Full Professor consistent with UNT being and aspiring to remain a Tier 1 National Research University.

 
Evaluation and Promotion of Lecturers

The department's Reappointment and Tenure committee is responsible for the reappointment and promotion process of non-tenure track faculty. Per University requirement, the committee must consist of no fewer than five (5) members. The promotion dossier must include all materials and information specified in section 06.005 "Non-Tenure Track Faculty Reappointment and Promotion" in Policies of the University of North Texas. Both the Chair of the Reappointment and Tenure Committee and the Department Chair must write a recommendation letter. Negative letters must follow the protocol set by the University in terms of giving sufficient written notice to the Lecturer, with explicit reasons for the negative decision and providing the Lecturer time to appeal the decision. The appeals procedure described in the aforementioned policy document will be followed.

A. Responsibilities and Expectations for Reappointment

Lecturers' primary responsibility is teaching and sustained competence and effectiveness in their field of instruction. Also, their responsibilities may involve, but are not limited to, undergraduate program development, service, professional development, student advising, and other student- related activities. Lecturers with appointments that exceed one year will be reviewed annually and must demonstrate teaching effectiveness.

B. Promotion

Senior Lecturer: To be eligible for Senior Lecturer, a faculty member must show a record of substantial and continued effectiveness in teaching and the equivalent of four years (eight semesters of full-time teaching) of college-level teaching and equivalent professional experience, as well as in other activities consistent with departmental needs. Candidates for promotion to Senior Lecturer must demonstrate their teaching effectiveness through student evaluations and annual merit reviews, and evidence of professional growth and development, including (but not limited) to course development, mentoring other instructional faculty, advising, and maintaining currency in the area of expertise through pedagogical development, conference participation, or research. Faculty promoted from Lecturer to Senior Lecturer receive a standard increase in base salary when the new rank appointment begins. Senior Lecturer appointment contracts are for up to five years and are renewed annually.

Principal Lecturer: To be eligible for Principal Lecturer, a faculty member must have a record of sustained excellence in teaching and have the equivalent of eight years of college-level teaching including at least four years (eight semesters of full-time teaching) at the Senior Lecturer rank, as well as in other activities consistent with departmental needs. Candidates for promotion to Principal Lecturer must demonstrate their teaching excellence through student evaluations and annual merit reviews, evidence of their leadership and professional development within the university, including (but not limited) to coordination of courses or curriculum areas, new course development, mentoring other instructional faculty, advising, and maintaining currency in the area of expertise through pedagogical development, conference participation, and research. Principal Lecturer appointment contracts are for up to five years and are renewed annually.

Scholarship Awarding Procedures

The following should be used as a guide for awarding scholarships in the Department of Sociology. All undergraduate and graduate department scholarships are awarded by the same committee. The Scholarship Committee is an ad hoc committee appointed by the Department Chair. It consists of a Committee Chair and at least two other committee members. All scholarship awarding should be focused on using the awards to encourage recruitment and/or retention. With this focus in mind, award decisions are finalized in March, with the award usually split between the fall and spring semesters of the following academic year.

  1. Scholarships are made public on the Sociology website.

  2. Prior to the scholarship deadline of March 1, the department administrative staff emails all Sociology majors who meet the minimum GPA for scholarship consideration to remind them of the approaching deadline and to encourage them to apply.

  3. After the due date, administrative personnel create a spreadsheet with a list of the awards available, applicant names, and screening criteria information such as GPA and number of credit hours completed. They also create a scholarship folder on the department's Shared Drive where all the scholarship applications are placed.

  4. The Chair of the Sociology Scholarship Committee convenes a meeting with other members of the committee within three weeks of the scholarship deadline.

  5. The Scholarship Committee Chair, in conjunction with administrative personnel, emails a list of applicants to all Sociology faculty and invites faculty input regarding the applicants. The faculty must be given at least 48 hours to respond prior to the scheduled Scholarship Committee meeting. The Chair of the Sociology Scholarship Committee collects all comments to share with the committee at the scheduled meeting.

  6. The Scholarship Committee Chair confers with the Sociology Department Chair to discuss available funds for each award.

  7. The Sociology Scholarship Committee meets, at which time the following should occur:

    • The Committee Chair distributes the list of awards, the screening criteria for each award to assess student eligibility, how much money can be awarded based on the expendable balance in each scholarship account, and how many awards will be given per scholarship.

    • The committee dismisses any incomplete applications that are in the scholarship folder on the department's Shared Drive.

    • The committee members discuss each award separately and confirm to the best of their ability that the applicants fulfill the screening requirements of the award, which are drawn from existing MOU when available.

    • Based on the relative merits of the applicants and also taking into account that the scholarship should be used primarily for recruitment and/or retention, the committee members decide to whom to award the scholarships. The decision is based on a majority vote.

  8. After the committee decides who will be awarded the scholarships and what amount will be awarded, the Sociology Scholarship Committee Chair submits the decision results to the Sociology Department Chair and also the administrative personnel (the Department Chair may decide to share this information with the faculty of Sociology).

  9. The Sociology administrative personnel, in conjunction with the Sociology Department Chair, notifies scholarship recipients of their award no later than April 1, gathers the signed award acceptance agreements and required thank-you note to the scholarship donor(s), and then forwards the Authorization for Payment paperwork to Financial Aid no later than May 1.

  10. Late awards for the Sociology Mentoring Program scholarships may follow a different timeline to provide scholarship opportunities to new, incoming students. But the deadline for these late awards will align with the scholarship application cycle for the fall semester, which ends on July 1.

Appeals Process

  1. Student emails Sociology@unt.edu before April 15 and provides a written explanation of the basis for their appeal. The department staff will forward the email to the Department Chair, who will reconvene the scholarship committee to discuss the appeal. Appeals will be judged on a case-by-case basis. If the Department Chair believes more information is needed before making a final decision, the student may be asked to come in for an interview.

  2. The Department Chair will communicate to the student by email the results of the appeal no later than May 15.