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Table of Contents
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Preface
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About
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Academic Governance
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Employment
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Teaching
- Academic Freedom
- Conduct and Planning of Classes
- Advising Undergraduate Students
- Channels of Communication
- Credit by Examination
- Curriculum Changes
- Confidentiality
- Distance and Extended Learning/Study Abroad
- Faculty Authored Teaching Materials
- Faculty Workload
- Fair Use of Copyright Material
- Grades and Grade Reporting
- Graduate Faculty
- Public Access to Course Information
- Record Retention
- Unpaid Faculty Members
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Research
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Leaves and Absences
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General Information
- Abandoned and Unclaimed Personal Property
- Access to University Buildings
- AIDS Policy
- Alcoholic Beverages
- Alumni Association
- Appropriate Use of Information Resources
- CatsWeb
- Commencement
- Communication - Electronic Mail as Official University Communication
- Dining on Campus
- Drug Free Workplace
- Tobacco Free Workplace
- Other State Employment and Outside Activities
- Ethics Policy
- Faculty Access to Academic Personnel Files
- Faculty Meetings
- Faculty/Staff Check-out Procedures
- University Bookstore
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Faculty Recognition
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Support Services
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Retirement
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Appendices
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Preface
Introduction
This handbook is intended to be a guide for faculty at Texas State University. Although it does not purport to be a comprehensive, self-contained policy document, it provides a wide range of up-to-date information on significant university policies, procedures, and activities.
Approved departmental, college, and university policies or Rules and Regulations of the Board of Regents, The Texas State University System, govern in the event of conflict with the provisions of this handbook. This handbook is intended as a source of information about university faculty policies, but it is not a contract. The University may change its policies at any time without formal notice.
Texas State University, to the extent not in conflict with federal or state law, prohibits discrimination or harassment on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, sex, religion, disability, veterans’ status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression.Dedication
This issue of the Faculty Handbook is dedicated to the memory of our good friend and valued colleague, Dr. Barbara A. Melzer (1950 – 2013).
Learn more about Dr. Melzer by reading the dedication page of the Faculty Handbook.
Faculty Senate
The Faculty Senate represents members of the Texas State faculty in the formulation of University policy on a broad range of academic and governance issues.
Learn more about the Faculty Senate by visiting their website.
Faculty Handbook Committee
Reviews the Faculty Handbook to ensure that it is current with respect to new and revised policies and procedures.
Learn more about the Faculty Handbook Committee by visiting their website.
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About
About Texas State University
More than 38,000 undergraduate and graduate students choose from over 200 bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degree programs — from biology to music to business to geography and more. And each student finds the personalized support and opportunities they need to succeed beyond the classroom.
Learn more about Texas State University here!
Mission, Values and Goals
Learn more about the Texas State University Mission, Values and Goals here.
Texas State Master Plan 2017 - 2027
Read more about the Texas State Master Plan 2017 - 2027 by visiting the Financial Support Services website.
The Texas State University System's Rules and Regulations
Please visit the TSUS website to review the Rules and Regulations.
University and Academic Affairs Policies
Please visit University Policies to review University policies and policies from all divisions, including Academic Affairs.
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Academic Governance
Within limitations imposed by state and federal legislative and executive authority, Texas State, like other public universities, does conceive, recommend, and execute its own educational policies. The power to govern the institution rests primarily with The Texas State University System Board of Regents, which is responsible for operating the university. Practically, though, the duties of governance are largely delegated to and shared by administration and faculty. Through a complex system of hierarchical administrative offices, advisory councils, ad hoc and permanent committees, and elected and appointed faculty bodies, governance in one way or another involves every member of the University community. It is the responsibility of all administrators and faculty members to familiarize themselves with and participate in the process of governance. The following website links identify the major components of this process at Texas State:
- Board of Regents
- President's Cabinet
- President's Office
- Roster of Councils, Committees, and Teams
- Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs
- College Deans and School Directors/Department Chairs
- Faculty Senate
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Employment
- AA/PPS No. 04.01.01 (7.02) - Faculty Hiring
- AA/PPS No. 04.02.10 (8.09) - Performance Evaluation of Continuing Faculty and Post-Tenure Review
- AA/PPS No. 04.01.22 (7.18) - Clinical Faculty Appointments
- AA/PPS No. 04.01.21 (7.19) - Research Faculty Appointments
- AA/PPS No. 04.01.23 - Faculty of Practice Appointments
- AA/PPS No. 04.02.01 (8.01) - Development/Evaluation of Tenure-Track Faculty
- AA/PPS No. 04.01.50 (7.10) - Faculty Merit and Retention Salary Adjustments
- AA/PPS No. 04.02.20 (8.10) - Tenure and Promotion Review
- AA/PPS No. 04.02.32 (8.08) - Faculty Grievance Policy
- Additional information can be viewed on the Board of Regents' Rules and Regulations, Chapter V.
Termination of Faculty under Special Circumstances
If, in the judgment and discretion of the Board of Regents, reductions in legislative appropriations for faculty salaries; governmentally mandated reductions in faculty positions; significant loss of enrollment; consolidation of departments or other reorganization; dropping of courses, programs, or activities for educational or financial reasons; or financial exigency makes such action advisable, the employment of a faculty member who has been granted tenure or of any other faculty member before the expiration of the stated period of his or her employment, may be terminated in accordance with the provisions of Chapter V of the Board of Regents’ Rules and Regulations.
Academic Planning
Academic disciplines ebb and flow over time as student career choices and the educational predilections of the society change. Inevitably, the size of the full-time-equivalent faculty allocated to a department or program will fluctuate, expanding in periods of growth and contracting in periods of retrenchment. The Provost customarily has the responsibility of adjusting departmental faculty size appropriately during such routine periods of growth or decline, so that in the long run all departments are treated equitably, and the educational goals of the institution are achieved.
Tenured faculty may not be arbitrarily dismissed as a result of these routine periodic adjustments to departmental full-time equivalent (FTE) faculty. Thus, the Provost must ensure that each department maintains a healthy balance between tenured and untenured faculty; if too few are tenured, there can be no departmental continuity; if too many are tenured, the department loses flexibility.
Salary Increases
- Please see AA/PPS 04.01.50 - Procedures for Awarding Faculty Merit Raises for more information.
- Additional information can be viewed on Chapter V of the Board of Regents’ Rules and Regulations.
Budget
Office of Budgeting & Financial Analysis
Payroll
Please visit the Payroll website for more information.
Faculty and Academic Resources Website
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Teaching
Historically, tenure and academic freedom have gone hand in hand, with tenure being a primary means of insuring academic freedom. Tenure is integral to the purpose of higher education, providing faculty the protection and freedom to engage in research, and teach or speak on matters related to their expertise in order to help advance our knowledge on important matters, regardless of how controversial these matters might be at any given time to people across the political or ideological spectrum. The restriction or weakening of tenure at Texas universities would greatly diminish our ability to recruit and retain faculty.
You can read more about Academic Freedom at Texas State University by visiting the Academic Freedom Committee website!
For information about conduct of classes and planning of classes, such as disruptive behavior, office hours, student attendance, and acceptance of money from students, please see the policies below:
- UPPS No. 07.10.01 - Honor Code
- SS/PPS 07.07 - Student-Funded Tutoring
- AA/PPS No. 02.03.01 (4.01) - Conduct and Planning of Courses
- UPPS No. 02.06.01 - Student Absences for Religious Holy Days
Students will be in contact with academic advisors from their first semester at Texas State through graduation.
Individual faculty members have a stake in university policy and are expected to participate in the policy-making process. The faculty role, inherent in the nature of our system, is recommendatory. Faculty members may suggest policy recommendations or react to the proposals of others through their department chairs, faculty senators, or members of a university committee studying the subject at issue. Suggestions can be handled more expeditiously if they are submitted in writing. When faculty members submit a written proposal to a high level administrative official, they should provide all intermediate administrators with a copy. Likewise, when faculty members seek to discuss a policy matter with a high-level administrator, they should inform others in the reporting line of their intent and the subject to be discussed. The purpose here is not to restrict in any way the freedom of faculty members to advance their points of view; rather, it is to ensure that good communication exists. Thus, faculty and administrators alike are expected to heed the injunction of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), that all channels of communication be well understood and open to scrutiny.
- AA/PPS No. 02.01.01 (2.01) - Academic Credit Courses: Additions, Changes, and Deletions
- AA/PPS No. 02.01.10 (2.05) - Academic Programs: Additions, Changes, and Deletions
- AA/PPS No. 02.01.11 (2.22) - Academic Certificates
- UPPS No. 01.04.31 - Access to Student Records Pursuant to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974
- Family and Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
- Office of Distance and Extended Learning
- Education Abroad
- G/PPS 02.01 - Academic Courses: Education Abroad, Study in America, and Off-Campus Courses
- Instructions for Grade Changes
- G/PPS 02.12 - Grades and Changes of Grades
- For additional information on how student's can review their grades and the grading legend, please visit the TXST One Stop's Grades website
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Research
- R/PPS No. 03.12, Start-Up Funds
- UPPS 02.02.04, Faculty Incentive Compensation for Externally-Funded Sponsored Programs
- UPPS 01.04.26, Intellectual Property: Inventions, Discoveries and Patents (IDP); and
- UPPS 01.04.27, Intellectual Property: Ownership and Use of Copyrighted Works
- Additional information can be found on Chapter III of the Board of Regents' Rules and Regulations
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Leaves and Absences
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General Information
Abandoned and Unclaimed Personal Property
Access to University Buildings
AIDS Policy
- UPPS No. 07.09.01 - Management of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) on Campus
- UPPS No. 04.04.60 - Workplace Accommodation
Alcoholic Beverages
Alumni Association
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All students who graduate Texas State University are eligible to become members of the Texas State Alumni Association. The association strives to maintain a relationship with the former students by keeping them in touch with the interests and activities of their fellow graduates and the University. To learn more, visit the Alumni Association website.
Appropriate Use of Information Resources
CatsWeb
- CatsWeb integrates many of Texas State's administrative systems and databases to provide information related to curriculum management, class roster, grades, Banner (the student information system), the SAP employee portal, and campus directories.
Commencement
Communication - Electronic Mail as Official University Communication
Dining on Campus
- Faculty are welcome to eat in any dining hall or restaurant on campus. Information about hours of operation and locations of dining facilities can be found on the Dine On Campus website.
Drug Free Workplace
- UPPS No. 04.04.45 - Drug Free Workplace
- Board of Regents' Rules and Regulations - Chapter V, Section 4.51
Tobacco Free Workplace
Other State Employment and Outside Activities
- UPPS No. 04.04.06 - Outside Employment and Activities
- UPPS No. 01.04.02 - Ethics Policy
- UPPS No. 020.02.07 - Researcher Conflicts of Interest in Research and Sponsored Program Activities
- Please also see Chapter V of the Board of Regents' Rules and Regulations
Ethics Policy
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The Board of Regents has adopted a comprehensive ethics policy, published in Chapter VIII of the Regents' Rules and Regulations. Texas State adopts the 107 Regents’ policy and the University's ethics policy and incorporates its provisions into UPPS 01.04.02 - Ethics Policy.
Faculty Access to Academic Personnel Files
Faculty Meetings
- Meetings of all university faculty are called by the President, Provost, or one of the Vice Presidents. General faculty meetings are normally held once each year. In addition, the faculty senate may call meetings, either on its own initiative or on the written petition of ten percent of voting members of the faculty. College meetings are called by deans of the respective colleges at their own discretion, and departmental meetings are the responsibility of the department chair or department personnel committee. All faculty meetings will be scheduled events that members of the faculty should attend unless meeting times conflict with their primary educational tasks.
Faculty/Staff Check-Out Procedures
University Bookstore
- In addition to its primary function of serving students by stocking and making available for sale text books and supplementary materials required in courses, the University Bookstore, located in the LBJ Student Center, offers a variety of services to the faculty member. Information regarding services can be found at Follett Discover.
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Faculty Recognition
Regents' Professor and Teacher
Piper Professor
- Please visit the Piper's Professor page on the Faculty Senate website.
- AA/PPS 02.04.21, Piper Professor Award Recognition.
University Distinguished Professor
- This title honors individuals whose performance in teaching, research, and service has been exemplary and recognized at the state, national, and international levels may and who have held the rank of full professor for at least five consecutive years at Texas State University are eligible to apply for this award. Guidelines for this award are found in AA/PPS 02.04.10, Honorary Faculty Titles and Emeritus Faculty.
Distinguished Emeriti Faculty
- This title honors extraordinary faculty member to recognize their exemplary service to Texas State. See AA/PPS 02.04.10, Honorary Faculty Titles and Emeritus Faculty.
Emeriti Faculty
- The President is authorized to bestow the title of professor emeritus or associate professor emeritus upon retirement of a faculty member. Faculty members are required to have served at the university in the rank of professor for at least ten years or associate professor for at least fifteen years. See AA/PPS 02.04.10, Honorary Faculty Titles and Emeritus Faculty.
Presidential Seminar Award
- The Presidential Seminar Award is to highlight and recognize superlative research, creative work, or other scholarly efforts undertaken by Texas State faculty members. Additional information and requirements can be found in AA PPS 02.04.20, Presidential Awards for Excellence in Service, Scholarly/Creative Activities, and Teaching.
Presidential Excellence Awards
- The Presidential Awards for Excellence in Service, Excellence in Scholarly/Creative Activities, and Excellence in Teaching are awarded through the Texas State faculty awards program.
- These awards are intended to recognize and reward superior accomplishments, to provide models of excellence for fellow faculty, and to encourage all faculty to continue to perform, improve, and advance their teaching, scholarly/creative activity, and service.
- Criteria for the awards and additional information can be found in AA/PPS 02.04.20, Presidential Awards for Excellence in Service, Scholarly/Creative Activities, and Teaching.
Everette Swinney Faculty Senate Awards for Teaching Excellence
- Each year the Faculty Senate recognizes the Piper Professor nominee and two runners-up with the Everette Swinney Faculty Senate Excellence in Teaching Award. Each award recipient receives a plaque and an honorarium.
Alumni Teaching Award
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Support Services
Faculty Development encourages and provides support for academic improvement through faculty development and academic assessment initiatives. Faculty Development provides a variety of programs and services specifically aimed at assisting in the processes of academic assessment and faculty development.
The Testing, Evaluation, and Measurement Center (TEMC) is dedicated to supporting students, faculty, and the local community with testing and evaluation needs. More information about these services is available by visiting the TEMC website.
Albert B. Alkek Library
- The Albert B. Alkek Library on the San Marcos campus is the intellectual hub of the campus and is packed with resources, technology and spaces for silent, quiet or collaborative research and study. Library staff provide expert research assistance in-person, via online chat, by telephone, or through email. In addition to research assistance and study space, the library offers computer workstations, 127 photocopiers. Scanners, 3D printers, information technology, and extensive hours of service.
Round Rock Campus Library
- The Round Rock Campus Library supports the research and information needs of faculty and students. Professional librarians are on site to help guide research and assist with circulation of materials. The library provides information resources, computers, and printers to the campus community.
Archives and Research Center
- The Archives and Research Center (ARC) is a state-of-the-art library that preserves decades of university treasures and library resources, collections and research materials. The climate-controlled environment prolongs the life of these unique assets keeping them available for exploration and discovery while supporting the growth of the Alkek Library, the Round Rock library and Texas State. The library facility is open to the public and has a reading room to allow students, faculty, staff, and researchers to interact with materials on site.
Wittliff Collections
- The Wittliff Collections and University Archives are collections unique to Texas State that preserve the heritage and legacy of the university and Southwest region. Committed to preserving the creative legacy of the Southwest to instruct and inspire future generations, The Wittliff features beautiful galleries, exhibition spaces, an archival research room and an even space. Faculty are encouraged to visit the free museum-like space which also features a Lonesome Dove collection with original set pieces and costumes from the renowned miniseries.
Learning Experience Design staff provide consultation with faculty to solve instructional problems by applying current research on learning and innovative teaching practices that support student-center learning. They provide faculty development courses and workshops that teach faculty to use technology to meet instructional goals and provide support for the design and effective use of active learning spaces. A comprehensive list of resources and workshops can be found by visiting the Office of Distance and Extended Learning website.
The Division of Information Technology supports a multitude of services and software to support faculty and students. These include Information Security, an IT Assistance Center, Technology Innovation, and Technology Resources. Faculty are encouraged to take advantage of these services and technologies to enhance teaching and learning outcomes.
International Student and Scholar Services assist international students and academic departments with immigration processes and issues; assist international faculty and staff and hiring departments with employment authorization issues; advise and advocate for international students and scholar; 129 and plan and host programs for international students and scholars. Departments wishing to hire international faculty, staff, students, or scholars should contact the office at 512-245-7966 or by email at international@txstate.edu.
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Retirement
Retirees & Pre-Retirees
Phased Retirement Plan
Please see UPPS No. 04.04.51 - Phased Retirement Plan for Faculty
Honors and Benefits for Retired Faculty
Faculty are accorded a number of privileges after retirement. These currently include, but are not limited to, a university identification card, library privileges, a free faculty parking permit, complimentary general admission tickets to all regular season varsity athletic events, except football, and discounts from the university 132 bookstore. Retirees may be eligible to continue certain group insurance coverage. Eligibility information is available through Human Resources. Additional information can be found in UPPS 04.04.53, Honors and Benefits for Retired Faculty and Staff.
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Appendices