Policy: Faculty Rank and Promotion

Document Number: 1.019
Title: Faculty Rank and Promotion
Effective Date: TBD
Revised Date: 8/7/2025

Note: Pending LCTCS President Approval

Policy Statement

River Parishes Community College (RPCC or College) seeks, hires, and promotes faculty based on their academic, professional, and teaching experience, professional activity, scholarship, service, and teaching effectiveness.  RPCC assigns rank to full-time faculty at the time of hire based on their experience, achievement, and reputation or stature within the postsecondary community, and provides eligible full-time faculty the opportunity to apply for promotion-in-rank to acknowledge exceptional teaching, service to the College and community, and professional achievement and contributions. 

Purpose

RPCC, in accordance with Louisiana Community and Technical College System (LCTCS) Policy #1.044 – Rank, Promotion, Duties, and Responsibilities of Faculty and Staff - has established the Faculty Rank and Promotion policy and associated procedures to enable full-time faculty to recommend for promotion their peers who have demonstrated evidence of exceptional teaching, service, and professional achievement. The Chancellor approves all the recommended hires and candidates for promotion in rank. All requirements of the LCTCS Board of Supervisors are adhered to in all recommendations for promotion. Promotions approved during one academic year will become effective at the beginning of the fall semester of the following academic year. 

Scope and Applicability  

This Policy and associated Procedures apply to all full-time faculty (including Department Chairs and Division Coordinators) and Librarians. It does not apply to adjunct faculty or faculty who are employed on temporary or limited appointments.  

General Guidelines  

The minimum educational and professional qualifications for teaching at RPCC are established in the RPCC Faculty Qualifications Table. The minimum qualifications are guided by the Principles of Accreditation of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). 

Full-time faculty are considered Academic or Technical based on the courses they teach. Academic faculty teach courses supporting programs intended to prepare students to transfer to a four-year institution; these faculty follow the Academic Rank and Promotion Track. Faculty teaching courses in a program intended to prepare students to transfer that includes an embedded certificate that supports employment also follow the Academic Rank and Promotion Track. Technical faculty teach credit courses supporting programs intended to prepare students for employment upon program completion; these faculty may follow the Academic or Technical Rank and Promotion Track.  Department Chairs, Division Coordinators, and Librarians shall be promoted following the same criteria as Academic and Technical faculty.  

The minimum educational and professional qualifications for Academic and Technical Rank and Promotion Tracks are as follows: 

• Academic Track – Minimum of earned master’s degree in discipline or master’s degree with 18 graduate credit hours in discipline 
• Technical Track – Minimum of earned associate’s degree or verifiable credentials related to the discipline taught (i.e., professional certifications and licensure) and relevant work experience 

RPCC may limit the number of promotions granted in an academic year. 

Awarding of Initial Rank  

All faculty members, Academic and Technical, are hired at the rank of Instructor.   

• A new faculty member who has a PhD may request consideration to start at the rank of Assistant Professor. 
• A new faculty hire holding a higher rank attained at another institution accredited by an agency recognized by the United States Department of Education, may request consideration of retaining a previously earned rank.  Requests are reviewed by the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Student Success (VCAA); only the Chancellor may approve a rank higher than Instructor at the time of hire. 

Minimum Eligibility 

To be eligible for promotion-in-rank, faculty must:  

• complete a minimum of three annual evaluations as a faculty member at RPCC in the individual’s current rank. 
• have received at least three performance evaluations rated as 'Exceeds Expectations' since their last promotion. These ratings do not need to be in consecutive years; however, no evaluation during this period may be rated below 'Meets Expectations’ and the most recent evaluation must be ‘Exceeds Expectations.’ 

Providing Evidence of Achievements 

The faculty member applying for promotion in rank will be evaluated on evidence of accomplishments submitted in a portfolio documenting achievements during the time since hire or in the individual’s current rank. Documentation cannot be reused from one promotion period to the next. 

The Faculty Promotion-in-Rank Committee

Serving on the Faculty Promotion-in-Rank Committee is a faculty responsibility for all eligible faculty members. The Faculty Promotion-in-Rank committee is an ad hoc committee, the members of which are selected by the VCAA. Faculty serving on the committee must meet the following criteria:  

1. Have been employed full-time at RPCC for at least the last three years (academic or calendar).  
2. Hold a rank above Instructor. 
3. Is not an applicant for promotion while serving on the Committee.  
4. Did not serve on the committee for the past two consecutive years.  

Duties and Responsibilities of Faculty Serving on the Promotion-in-Rank Committee  

Faculty on the Promotion-in-Rank Committee review all portfolios for promotion submitted to the VCAA; discuss whether the criteria for promotion to the next academic rank were met by each candidate; forward the Individual Recommendation Form(s) and any written support for denials to the VCAA by the date specified in the Promotion Timeline; and maintain confidentiality of committee discussions and decisions. Committee members must not discuss deliberations outside the committee meetings and must direct all questions concerning decisions to the VCAA.  

Duties and Responsibilities of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs  

The VCAA selects the faculty to serve on the Promotion-in-Rank Committee and the member to serve as Chair (to organize the meetings, summarize the results, and generally keep the Committee on task and on time); disseminates portfolios and Individual Recommendation Forms to the committee members; and reviews the recommendations and determines if all procedures have been correctly followed by the Committee. If upon receiving the recommendations of the Faculty Promotion-in-Rank Committee the VCAA concludes that the guidelines for submission and/or review of a portfolio have not been followed, or observes inconsistencies in the review of one or more portfolios, the portfolio(s) are returned to the Committee with the request that the Committee conduct a new review of the portfolio(s) affected by their decision.  A written rationale for each promotion denial is attached to the Faculty Promotion-in-Rank Committee Recommendation Form for submission to the Chancellor.  A copy of the promotion denial is sent to faculty denied promotion. The VCAA submits to the Chancellor the final recommendations of the Faculty Promotion-in-Rank Committee. 

Duties and Responsibilities of the Chancellor  

The Chancellor has final authority to approve recommendations for promotion in rank. The Chancellor communicates the approvals to the Office of Human Resources; notifies all applicants by letter and email of the final ranking decision; and provides the Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration the names and ranks of those promoted for entry into the institutional budget.  

Timeline 

Each year the specific dates for the Promotion-in-Rank Timeline will be determined and distributed by the VCAA on Convocation Day in August.