Faculty Recognition, Advancement, and Development

SoN Faculty Orientation

A New Faculty Orientation program, typically ½ day in length, will be held every fall semester at the beginning of the academic year. The orientation will be coordinated by the RAD committee and SoN administration, and will complement PLU university orientation activities by highlighting SoN-specific information, processes, and guidelines. The goal of New Faculty Orientation is to facilitate and support assimilation to your new role as a member of the faculty at PLU. Full orientation can be expected to continue, at a minimum, throughout the first year of faculty appointment, and for some areas of role may take considerably longer.

Areas covered in the SoN Orientation and Faculty Orientation Handbook include but are not limited to:

  • SoN leadership, administrative personnel, and support staff
  • SoN Mission, Vision, Guiding Principles
  • SoN Philosophy
  • SoN administrative policies
  • Curricular array and program outcomes
  • Program plans
  • Course groups, course coordinators, and team-based teaching
  • Office assignments and communications
  • Texbook orders and duplicating
  • Sakai course management system
  • Clinical requirements and onboarding
  • CCNE Accreditation and WAC regulatory guidelines
  • SoN Governance and Bylaws
  • Faculty and Student Handbooks

Course-specific orientation will be conducted by the course coordinator, including review of the syllabus, placement of the course in the curriculum, course objectives and requirements, course policies and practices, access to and use of the course Sakai site, and clinical information. Overall course management approaches and the faculty member’s specific course and clinical responsibilities will be shared; new faculty members will be assisted in getting started with their clinical needs.

SoN Faculty Mentoring

The SoN promotes and maintains a culture of peer mentoring through pro-active helpfulness to one another, collegial sharing of information and materials, responsiveness and assistance in response to requests, and active anticipatory guidance as needed. A commitment to promote our culture of mentoring is maintained at all levels and across all positions in the SoN.

Peer Review Policy

Purpose: Peer review fosters a continuous learning culture, development and sharing of best practices in teaching, and is consistent with professional accountability and self-regulation associated with the practice of nursing.

In recognition that teaching is a dynamic and ongoing process, the PLU School of Nursing uses peer review to encourage open feedback and ongoing development of all instructors teaching didactic and/or clinical courses.

Process:

1.  Faculty interested in a peer review should go to Sakai –> SoN Teaching in Excellence site –> Table of Contents –> Peer Review

2.  Choose a reviewer from the list

3.   Choose the appropriate form (didactic vs. clinical)

4.  Contact reviewer to schedule review

5.  It is highly recommended that faculty include the completed peer review annual self-assessment submission.

Please refer to the links found in the Sakai Peer Review section for:

  • List of reviewers
  • Didactic peer review form
  • Clinical review form

Peer Review Frequency Requirements and Guidelines:

  • Tenure-Track Faculty: Annually.
  • Fulltime, Part-time, Clinical only: Every 2 years.
  • New faculty: At end of first year, then every 2 years.

Reference

Follmer Greenhoot, A., Ward, D., Bernstein, D., Patterson, M. M., & Colyott, K. (2020). Benchmarks for Teaching Effectiveness. (Revised 2020).

KU Benchmarks for Teaching Effectiveness Protocol for Course Focused Peer Review (Fall 2021)

Peer Review Documents

Approved Peer Reviewers List 2023

Didactic Peer Review Form SNO Approved 1.2023

Clinical Peer Review Form SNO Approved 1.2023

Additional Peer Review Resources

PLU Criteria for Excellence in Teaching

KU Benchmarks Framework for Teaching Effectiveness_2020

Academic Advising Role

Faculty are assigned academic advising responsibilities on the basis of their percentage appointment and qualifications. All students are assigned a nursing faculty advisor during their first semester in the School of Nursing. The faculty advisor provides academic and professional guidance, in keeping with PLU and SoN policies.

Effective academic advising requires up-to-date knowledge of SoN program plans, PLU and SoN academic requirements, and PLU and student policies. Students are encouraged to connect with their advisor at least once each semester to check their progress and discuss any issues or concerns.

The only required advising meeting is for BSN students during the first semester to review and sign their academic program contract (APC). This meeting also serves as an initial contact meeting to get to know the student and learn about their goals in nursing.

As questions arise, faculty are encouraged to consult with the Registrar’s Website for information on general PLU academic policies (pass/fail policy, credit overload information, CAPP resources, etc.). www.plu.edu/registrar/faq is a good resource.

Registration

BSN students are also required to connect with their advisor (in-person, email, or other virtual contact is ok) during advising weeks to get a Registration Access Code so they may self-register for courses. Advisors have access to the RACs shortly before mid-semester. Please review the Registrar’s Office website (plu.edu/registrar) for specific dates of registration weeks and reach out to advisees to check in and give them their codes.

Graduate students are not required to meet with their advisor and they do not need a registration code in order to register.

The School of Nursing office sends registration instructions to student each semester. This document lists the classes (with Banner CRNs) that each student should be registering for, based on their program and cohort. Faculty advisors usually do not need to advise students on which classes they should be taking.

Change of Advisor: The School of Nursing reserves the right to reassign students to a new faculty advisor when the need arises. Such changes most often occur when faculty leave the department, when new faculty are hired, and/or when a faculty member’s availability and/or status changes.

Students are also allowed to request a change of advisor. A change of advisor form is available from the School of Nursing Office. Changes of advisor is approved by the Associate Director of Advising, Admissions, & Student Support, who may decline the request if, in their discretion, the change would not benefit the student. A student wishing to work with a specific advisor is requested to contact the faculty member first to see if he or she is accepting additional advisees.

Student Petitions – Role of the Academic Advisor & All Faculty: All faculty should be aware of the petition and progression policies in the School of Nursing Student Handbook. If a student becomes unable to progress in their program (i.e. course failure, personal or health issues, financial issues, etc), they should connect with their advisor for assistance with navigating the RAP petition process. If any student expresses their need to withdraw from nursing classes and leave the School of Nursing and/or PLU, please connect them with their advisor for guidance and the School of Nursing office should be notified.

Congruent with the Pacific Lutheran University Faculty Handbook, the School of Nursing has adopted a framework for scholarship as promulgated by Boyer (1990). The Boyer framework articulates four forms of scholarship: Scholarship of Discovery, Scholarship of Integration, Scholarship of Application, and Scholarship of Teaching.

As stated in the PLU Faculty Bylaws, “Professionally active faculty demonstrate accomplishment in scholarship. Scholarship may take any of the four forms described below, all of which involve interaction with peers in ways that benefits students, colleagues, communities, disciplines, and faculty themselves. The university values all of these kinds of scholarship. Faculty are not expected to demonstrate accomplishment in all forms of scholarship.” (Article V, Section 1, Subsection B, 2bii, p.25).

Additionally, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (1999) issued a position statement building on the work of Boyer (1990) and others to form a descriptive tool defining scholarship in the profession of nursing. This tool provides operational descriptions and examples in the context of Boyer’s (1990) four forms of scholarship, plus integrating practice within the scholarship of Application (AACN).

Criteria for the appointment of tenure track and contingent faculty positions, assigned rank, and promotion in rank are codified in the Pacific Lutheran University Faculty Constitution, Bylaws, and administrative/legislative sections of the PLU Faculty Handbook (9th Edition, September 2020). Practices in the School of Nursing are congruent and complimentary to criteria articulated in the PLU Faculty Handbook, Sections I, II, and IV. Specific Handbook sections and subsections relevant to appointment, rank and promotion are:

Section I – Faculty Constitution

  • Article V, Section 1 – Rank & Tenure and Leaves of Absence

Section I – Bylaws to the Faculty Constitution

  • Article V, Section 1 – Rank & Tenure and Leaves of Absence

Section II. – Aspects of Faculty Organization

  • Part I. – Definition of Faculty
  • Part II. – Associates to the Faculty Assembly
  • Part III. – Visiting Scholars

Section IV. Personnel Policies and Employee Benefits

  • Part IV., Section 2. Faculty Review Process for Tenure-Track and Tenured Faculty
  • Part IV., Section 3. Faculty Review Process for Contingent Faculty
  • Part VI., Policy on Delaying Accumulation of Qualifying Year of Eligibility for Tenure
  • Part VII., Policy on Unit Interpretations of Criteria for Tenure and Promotion
  • Part IX., Rank and Tenure Committee Procedures

Additionally, the School of Nursing has developed an interpretive document for tenure-track and tenured faculty appointment, and promotion in rank. This document provides operational statements relevant to nursing faculty performance in the Rank and Tenure criteria for teaching, scholarship, and service.

J-Term faculty workshops provide opportunities for administration and faculty to engage in collegial activity and collaboration for the advancement of essential SoN projects, learning, and strategic initiatives. Workshop topics are varied to meet the needs of faculty, programs, and/or the SoN.

Faculty search and screen is conducted to fill tenure track positions according to, and in compliance with, University and SoN policy and procedure. The goal of faculty search is to recruit the best possible faculty who are passionate about teaching and learning for SoN tenure track positions, in a highly competitive nursing faculty environment. The work of the search committee must be pro-active, well-organized, and enthusiastic about Nursing at PLU. Faculty serving as a chairperson or member of a search committee are required to attend the annual Faculty Search Workshop offered by the Office of the Provost. All university procedures and documentation must be strictly maintained, including confidentiality, inclusive excellence, and equal opportunity requirements.

Annually, Pacific Lutheran University recognizes faculty, staff, and administrators for a variety of awards related to academic performance and service. The School of Nursing strives to identify and nominate outstanding faculty for relevant university-level awards and promote a culture of recognition and excellence.

All faculty are encouraged to notice, nominate, and support faculty and staff colleagues for recognition within the University, School of Nursing, professional organizations, and community.