SACS Faculty Credentials Guidelines

• “Faculty teaching general education courses at the undergraduate level: doctorate or master’s degree in the teaching discipline or master’s degree with a concentration in the teaching discipline (a minimum of 18 graduate semester hours in the teaching discipline). 
• Faculty teaching baccalaureate courses: doctorate or master’s degree in the teaching discipline or master’s degree with a concentration in the teaching discipline (minimum of 18 graduate semester hours in the teaching discipline).
• Faculty teaching graduate and post-baccalaureate course work: earned doctorate/terminal degree in the teaching discipline or a related discipline. 
• Graduate teaching assistants: master’s in the teaching discipline or 18 graduate semester hours in the teaching discipline, direct supervision by a faculty member experienced in the teaching discipline, regular in-service training, and planned and periodic evaluations.” 

Lecturer AR 2:9, page 5, Conditions of Employment

• “Teaching assignments shall be limited to 100-, 200- and 300-level courses. Exceptions to these provisions may be granted by the Provost upon written recommendation of a dean.”

Provost’s Policy on TA Types and Credentials

• University Policy on TAs Teaching Graduate-Level Courses       
• Provost’s Policy on the Use of Undergraduate Instructional Assistants

Graduate Student Overloads

Graduate students are not permitted to work more than .50 FTE; therefore, any overload assignment must be approved through the Graduate School. This includes assignments in addition to full-time institutional fellowships. A Graduate Student Overload Form should be submitted to the Graduate School in the event an overload is needed. Remember to check the Personnel Assignment Details in PA40 to determine if other assignments exist for that individual. The Graduate School advises that overloads are not encouraged and that they could slow down the student's progress toward completing their degree.  

Additional Information

UK has two levels of faculty credential approval. The first level occurs at the time of the initial appointment when the faculty member’s credentials are “matched” to the discipline(s) of the hiring academic unit using the federal Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) codes. At the same time the new faculty member’s academic data are being entered in the Faculty Database (FDB), the new faculty member and the department must present an original, official transcript, a CV, and a teaching credentials form. If the new faculty member’s credentials are not a direct “match,” the department and/or Dean’s Office enters what is called a justification in the FDB. The justification data entry fields include work experience, licensure and certifications, honors and awards, examples of excellence in teaching, professional activities, publications, and additional justifications. These fields are populated using information from the CV.

The second level of what is called credentialing occurs at the course level and also involves CIP codes. If, for example, a faculty member with a Ph.D. in animal sciences is teaching AFE 100, it might be necessary to enter an animal sciences CIP to the AFE course. Currently, this credentialing is being handled for the departments by the Dean’s Office, specifically the Office of Faculty Resources, Planning and Assessment, often with consultation with department chairs.

The FDB also looks at TA credentials and types and the Office of Faculty Resources, Planning and Assessment consults with department chairs as needed regarding “warnings” and “errors.”

One cause of “warnings” and “errors” is having an instructor of record in SLCM who is neither a TA or faculty member in payroll or in the FDB. All instructors of record in SLCM must have an academic appointment either as a TA or a part-time instructor (PTI), adjunct, lecturer, or assistant professor, associate professor, or professor. Post-docs who are teaching a course are given an academic appointment as a PTI. Staff members who are teaching a course are also given an academic appointment as a PTI. 

If you have questions, please get in touch with Senior Associate Dean Carmen Agouridis or Assistant Director of Faculty Resources, cafe-frpa@uky.edu.