ELI Promotion Policies and Procedures

Revised and Approved: May 22, 2015

Mission: The English Language Institute (ELI) is an academic, service-oriented, self-supporting unit of the University of Delaware’s College of Arts and Sciences. The ELI offers English language instruction and academic and cultural orientation to international students needing to improve their language skills for matriculation into graduate or undergraduate programs and to international professionals wanting to improve their language skills for career advancement.

English Language Institute Programs: The ELI’s core instructional focus is its Intensive English Program, which offers seven levels of language instruction designed to develop student listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. Instruction takes place year round in six consecutive seven/eight-week sessions. Special programs also offered by ELI include 1) pre-academic language training for conditionally admitted or pre-admitted graduate and undergraduate students; 2) short-term English for Specific Purposes programs; 3) the University of Delaware English as a Foreign Language Teacher Training Institute; 4) the University’s International Teaching Assistant Training Program; and 5) Business English for professionals serving local and international corporations. The ELI in conjunction with the School of Education administers the Master of Arts in Teaching English as a Second Language program and provides instruction in methodology, as well as training and supervision of the MATESL candidates. ELI also provides instructors for the Christina School District’s English Language Learner program. Services that ELI provides to the University include the testing and screening of international students and providing English as a Second Language expertise for international projects and grants.

Faculty: ELI faculty are classified Continuing Track (CT), generally hold the rank of Instructor at hire, are required, for the purposes of employment and promotion, to possess a Master’s degree in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) or a related field, and have at least 3 years’ teaching experience in an intensive English language program 1. The field of TESL widely recognizes the MA TESL as the terminal degree 2. ELI faculty may teach in several of the programs listed above or exclusively in the Intensive English Program, and they may also serve as visiting professors at overseas universities.

Teaching comprises the heart of the ELI professional’s performance. At the ELI, pedagogy is paramount because the Institute maintains enrollments only so long as it satisfies its clients’/students’ goals. Institute faculty, who typically hold either 10-month or 11-month contracts, have administered workloads that often assign a weighted effort of 90% for teaching and 10% for service. This fact is reflected in a teaching load which is heavier than that carried by most of the other academic units at the University of Delaware. However, a number of faculty members, taking advantage of opportunities for adjusting their workloads as described in the following paragraphs, reduce their teaching percentage to allow for some effort to be devoted to scholarly pursuits.

In all cases, the Promotion and Peer Review Committee must base its assessment on the candidate’s actual administered individual workload for the time under review. The ELI provides three options for faculty members to adjust their individual workloads to include weighted effort for scholarship: sabbaticals, the summer research option, and Director-approved release time for projects leading to publications. Since these options exist for all continuing track faculty, no faculty member will be considered for promotion without having established a record of scholarship.

    1. I. PROMOTION LADDER AND CRITERIAThe promotion ladder described herein recognizes the professional achievements of ELI faculty and offers career growth. “Promotion” in this document refers to the act of reclassifying continuing track faculty to the ranks of assistant, associate, or full professor. Promotion does not change the non-tenure status of ELI faculty members.
        1. A. Promotion to Assistant Professor:
          1. 1. MA TESL/TEFL or related field
          2. 2. Minimum of 6 years’ Intensive English Program (IEP) experience 3
          3. 3. Excellence in teaching and high quality in service and scholarship, based on the candidate’s individual workload agreement over the previous six-year period. (See Section III)
        1. B. Promotion to Associate Professor
          1. 1. Candidate must meet requirements listed for promotion to Assistant Professor 4
          2. 2. Excellence in teaching and high quality in service and scholarship based on the candidate’s individual workload agreement since promotion to Assistant Professor
          3. 3. Evidence of presentations at professional meetings or conferences at the regional, national, or international level at least once every two years. (See Section III.D [III.A.4])
          4. 4. Evidence of a solid reputation for high-quality scholarly or creative contributions to the profession. (See Section III.D [III.A.4])
          5. 5. Evidence of respect and leadership within the ELI faculty as a mentor, materials writer, and/or curriculum developer. (See Section III)

        1. C. Promotion to Full Professor
          1. 1. Candidate must meet requirements listed for promotion to Associate Professor 3
          2. 2. Excellence in teaching and high quality in scholarship and service based on the candidate’s individual workload agreement since promotion to Associate Professor (See Section III)
          3. 3. Additional teaching evidence of a substantial record of presentations at professional meetings or conferences at the national or international level. (See Section III.A.4)
          4. 4. Teaching within the MATESL or other graduate programs. (See Section III.A.2)
          5. 5. Additional service evidence of a national reputation as a leader in the field. (See Section III.A.3)
          6. 6. Additional evidence that the candidate’s scholarship has made an important contribution to the candidate’s field. (See Section III.D)

    1. II. PROMOTION PROCESS

      The Peer Review and Promotion (PRP) Committee:       The Peer Review and Promotion Committee is a standing committee, as described in the ELI By-Laws. Its membership is determined as follows:

      Three faculty members, all of whom having passed a peer review, with two of the members either having earned the rank of Assistant Professor or having passed a thirteenth year review. One of the faculty members will serve as Chair and will be responsible for any written reports or recommendations on behalf of the committee. Members will serve three-year alternating terms. The Director shall appoint a chair from among the committee members.
      When reviewing candidates for promotion, the Peer Review and Promotion Committee must include at least two members who have already attained, at minimum, the rank to which the candidate aspires. Should the committee’s membership at the time of the promotion review not meet these standards for rank, the appropriate additional number of colleagues outside of the department (to include off-campus university programs, as necessary) will be recruited to serve as voting, ad hoc members.

      In determining a candidate’s eligibility for promotion, the PRP Committee will do the following:

      1. 1. Solicit external reviews of the candidate. Although the candidate may supply a list of suggested reviewers, the committee itself will determine a balanced list of external reviewers. The Committee will send copies of the candidate’s dossier (see below) to these reviewers, and add the reviewers’ responses to the dossier. Where appropriate, such as when addressing areas where there is ambiguity or concern, the committee will conduct phone interviews with external reviewers;
      2. 2. Work with the ELI Registrar to draw from the database a randomized and representative list of students who have studied with the candidate during the years under review and who left the program in good standing, contacting these students for feedback using a form developed by the committee;
      3. 3. Review the dossier and request additional materials from the candidate if needed;
      4. 4. Make a final recommendation by October 1;
      5. 5. Inform the ELI Director and the candidate in writing of the recommendation of the Committee concerning the candidate’s promotion. This statement will be signed by all members of the Committee and will include a list of reasons for the action recommended. The statement will address each of the areas of activity: teaching, service, and scholarship.

      After reviewing the candidate’s dossier, the Peer Review and Promotion Committee will submit its written recommendation to the ELI Director. In making its recommendation, the PRP Committee is to follow the guidelines contained in the UD Faculty Handbook (http://www.udel.edu/provost/fachb/IV-D-promtenure.html) and include a rationale for its decision. The ELI Director will add his/her recommendation and forward the dossier to the Committee on Promotion and Tenure for the College of Arts and Science. From the CAS P & T Committee, the dossier will be routed to Dean of CAS, then to the University Senate P & T Committee Chairperson, to the Provost, to the President, and, finally, to the Board of Trustees.

      Appeal Process: A candidate who receives a negative recommendation from the PRP Committee and/or Director may schedule a meeting with the Committee and/or Director to consider additional evidence, which the candidate may add to the dossier to clarify or enhance it. The Committee and/or director will consult with the candidate regarding this additional evidence within 15 days from the time the candidate is informed of a negative recommendation and must render a final recommendation within ten days after the consultation. Further appeals may be provided to the College Promotion and Tenure Committee, which will consider any written appeal the candidate may wish to make of the decisions rendered by the Peer Review and Promotion Committee or the College P & T Committee.

      Deadlines: The time schedule for the Promotion process will be as follows (note that dates given are to be taken as indicating the closest working date):

      March 15th: The faculty member must notify the ELI Director of intention to be considered for promotion.
      April 15th: ELI administration provides the PRP Committee and the candidate copies of course evaluation data (see III.B.1). This is also the deadline for the candidate to confer with the PRP Committee regarding any questions about the dossier and its contents.
      May 1: The dossier must be submitted to the PRP Committee, along with a copy (either PDF or another format stipulated by the PRP) to the ELI Director. A fourth copy must also be made available to the faculty as a whole for comments. The PRP Committee begins soliciting comments from professional references and from past students.
      June 15: The ELI Director sends out copies of the dossier to external reviewers.
      July 30: The Director submits results of the external reviews to the PRP Committee.
      September 20: Faculty comment period ends.
      October 1: The Peer Review and Promotion Committee sends its recommendation letter to the ELI director.
      October 15: The Director sends the Peer Review and Promotion Committee’s letter and the Director’s letter to the College P & T Committee.

    1. III. DOSSIER
      In order to be considered for promotion, the candidate will submit a dossier, documenting his or her professional accomplishments. A candidate should endeavor to present his/her case effectively but succinctly. Although each dossier will differ, reflecting the individual accomplishments of each candidate, the following general guidelines should be followed. (See Dossier Guidelines: www.udel.edu/eli/facbook/promotion/dossier)

        1. A. INTRODUCTORY MATERIALS
          The dossier must include the following introductory materials:

            1. 1. A list of potential professional references: The list should include three individuals who may or may not be familiar with the candidate’s work. (The Committee may or may not choose to use these references.)
            2. 2. An updated curriculum vitae: The vitae should list presentations and publications, courses developed and/or taught, students advised and other instructional activity, grants and contracts awarded, professional development activity, service, and research projects.
            3. 3. A personal statement: This may be up to five pages in length, highlighting particular achievements or areas of activity to which the candidate wishes the committee to pay particular attention.
            4. 4. Copies of the candidate’s individual workload agreement: The candidate will include a copy of the workload agreement for each year under review.
            5. 5. Copies of administrative reviews and observations: The candidate will include written observations by ELI administrators and annual reviews by the Director (or, if appropriate, other administrators) conducted during the years under review.

          Note: The Chair of the PRP Committee will confer with the ELI Director to identify two external reviewers. The Director is responsible for securing external reviews of the dossier in accordance with the promotion review timeline.

        1. B. REQUIRED EVIDENCE AND EVALUATION CRITERIA FOR TEACHING

          TEACHING:           For each of the ranks for which a candidate is being considered, the Peer Review and Promotion Committee must refer to the individual workload agreement for each year of the candidate’s performance to evaluate the quality of teaching. In assessing teaching excellence for promotion the Committee will expect a well-rounded and distinguished performance. The Committee is to consider the quality of performance, the consistency of quality in performance, and the scope and/or depth of teaching experience. The Committee’s evaluation will include both quantitative and qualitative assessments. The Committee will also make a special effort to evaluate course and teaching materials developed by the candidate and to estimate the commitment, dedication, and general teaching reputation of the candidate beyond classroom performance. Candidate performance in the area of teaching must be consistently ranked on supporting documents at or near the level of excellent. On course evaluations, the number 2 designates “very good” and 1 designates “excellent”; therefore, the candidate’s evaluative ranking must be consistently less than 2.
        3. The following items must be included in the dossier as collective evidence of teaching quality and effectiveness:

          1. 1. Course Evaluations. The ELI Administration must provide the PRP Committee and the candidate a complete statistical summary sheets for all courses taught in the most recent three years, along with the corresponding evaluation prompts for each distinct course. Included with the summary sheets will be mean scores and the ranking of the candidate among all FTE faculty members in each area measured by the course evaluation: teaching behaviors, students’ perceived progress on stated objectives, and the students’ willingness to recommend the course and instructor. The Administration must submit to the PRP Committee all written student comments for all courses for the candidate’s most recent complete calendar year and for the calendar year two years prior.5
          2. 2. Course Development. Summaries of courses created, as well as the nature of substantive changes and enhancements made to each regularly taught course.
          3. 3. Student Advisement and Mentoring. A statement of advisement activities must be included which may include counseling students on professional or academic objectives and/or progress, clarifying personal linguistic goals and expectations, helping with cultural adjustment, and providing advice for learning success, future ELI course selection, and referrals for counseling. Moreover, for more advanced ELI and/or matriculated (e.g., MA TESL or Linguistics) students, recommendations for matriculation and advisement may include guidance on graduate/undergraduate plans or professional development opportunities. In the case of those teaching in the public schools, it may include parent/teacher meetings regarding students. (Note: “Advisement” is distinct from activities such as assisting students on particular course assignments.)
          4. 4. Student Testimonials. Letters or emails from a selection of students and advisees attesting to the faculty member’s effectiveness as an instructor or advisor. The candidate must explain the basis on which the selection of testimonials was made. (Note: This item does not apply to faculty in public school settings.)
          5. 5. Students Contacted by Committee. The committee will work with the ELI Registrar to draw from the database a randomized and representative list of students. The PRP Committee will contact these students and solicit their comments on the candidate.
          6. 6. Faculty Development and/or Mentoring. Evidence of mentoring or training ELI colleagues and/or documentation regarding the conducting of internal or external teacher training workshops provided through ELI programs should be provided.
          7. The following item may be included:
          8. 7. Teaching of Non-ELI Courses. Course evaluations for classes taught in other UD departments or other universities and venues may be included.

        1. C. REQUIRED EVIDENCE AND EVALUATION CRITERIA FOR SERVICE

          SERVICE:           For each of the ranks for which a candidate is being considered, the Peer Review and Promotion Committee must refer to the individual workload agreement for each year of the candidate’s performance to evaluate the quality of service. Demonstration of excellence in service can be made through documentation of accomplishments listed below.A candidate for promotion to the rank of Associate or Full Professor must provide evidence of significant, impactful, and ongoing service to the Institute and should also document substantive service to the College and/or the University. The demonstration of excellence in service should be made through documentation of accomplishments the following areas, although it is recognized that a candidate may have a major role in a substantive undertaking that would preclude his or her being active in all areas:

          1. 1. Leadership on Committees. Demonstrated leadership on standing and ad hoc committees (at the University, College, or academic unit level) leading to substantive changes in policy, curriculum, etc., is required. The dossier should document the accomplishments of both the candidate and the committee and must include evidence (through committee minutes, input from colleagues and administrators, annual reports by committee chairs, or other sources) of the impact and effectiveness of the candidate’s service. If warranted, the chair has the discretion to contact members of committees on which the candidate has served for confidential input on the candidate’s contributions.
          2. 2. Special Projects and Assignments. Significant service contributions may include coordinating a special program, writing grants, editing ELI publications, coordinating a campus colloquium series or conference, supervising student teachers, advising a student organization, etc. The documentation should include a description of the activity and its importance to the mission of the ELI, the College, or the University as a whole. Evidence of the impact and effectiveness of the candidate’s effort is required.
          3. 3. Service in Professional Organizations and Societies. Evidence of significant service at state, regional, national, or international levels as an officer, committee chairperson, editor, or advisory board member should be provided. Additional examples include the completion of a special project or service as a professional consultant. Evidence is required.
          5. In addition, candidates may provide evidence of service from the following two areas:
          7. 4. Community Service. Service to community organizations may be documented by descriptions of services provided and by letters of appreciation/evaluation.
          8. 5. Publications and Performances. Articles, speeches, and other kinds of work or performances in fields other than ESL may be documented. (Note: A cross-disciplinary article that is at least partially applicable to ESL would be included in the scholarship section. Articles pertaining to fields other than ESL would be included in this category.)

      1. D. REQUIRED EVIDENCE AND EVALUATION CRITERIA FOR SCHOLARSHIP

        SCHOLARSHIP:         ESL is primarily an applied field. As such, scholarship generally has a practical, rather than a theoretical focus. Publications and presentations tend to address topics such as teacher preparation and training, pedagogy, methodology, program administration, policies and regulations relating to English Language Learners or Intensive English Programs, English for Academic Purposes, English for Professional Purposes, literacy development, composition development, and practical applications of second language acquisition theory. Most scholarship tends to be qualitative, rather than quantitative. Book-length publications will frequently take the form of textbooks. Informed by such applied research and scholarship, the profession is advanced.
      3. For each of the ranks for which a candidate is being considered, the Peer Review and Promotion Committee must refer to the individual workload agreement for each year of the candidate’s performance to evaluate the quality of scholarship. Given the opportunities ELI faculty have after their six-year peer review for sabbatical, summer research options, and Director-approved release time for research, candidates may not be considered for promotion above instructor without a record of scholarly achievement.
      5. The following is a list of items a candidate may include under the category of scholarship, listed in order of ascendency in terms of weight the committee should assign to each item.

        1. 1. presentations at regional or local conferences (e.g., PennTESOL-East)
        2. 2. presentations at major regional conferences (e.g., WATESOL, NJTESOL, NAFSA Regionals)
        3. 3. presentations at major national and international conferences (TESOL, NAFSA, JALT, etc.)
        4. 4. research-based papers presented at professional conferences
        5. 5. keynote or plenary addresses at professional conference
        6. 6. articles (non-juried) in professional publications
        7. 7. development of tests used across the Institute curriculum
        8. 8. unpublished manuscripts 6
        9. 9. principal or major contributing writer for a curriculum
        10. 10. juried articles
        11. 11. published video or multi-media works
        12. 12. published computer-assisted instructional programs, CD-ROMs, pedagogical and literary materials on the World Wide Web, and similar electronic publications
        13. 13. funded grant proposals
        14. 14. chapters in an edited book
        15. 15. scholarly or professional books (edited)
        16. 16. published textbooks
        17. 17. monographs published by a professional society
        18. 18. scholarly or professional books (authored)

        Note: The candidate should, in the cases of joint authorship, clearly indicate the extent of his or her contribution. The candidate should also identify research or educational threads or themes in his or her submissions. Candidates for the rank of Associate or Full Professor should also be sure to include references that can speak to the value and effect of his/her scholarly work in the field.

Scholarship for Promotion to Assistant Professor

The University faculty handbook specifies that the minimum achievement for attaining the rank of assistant professor is “the demonstrated ability and desire to achieve excellence in scholarship and teaching and to make positive contributions in all three areas [teaching, scholarship, and service].” This criterion, with its reference to “ability and desire” rather than an extensive compilation of completed published works, suggests one of potentiality and initial success with regard to scholarship for candidates applying to the rank of Assistant Professor.

The scholarly record for promotion to Assistant Professor should include at least seven items from one or more of the scholarly categories listed above, one of which must fall in categories 5-18, five of which must fall in categories 3-18. The committee must judge the submissions to be of high quality by the standards of the TESL profession, drawing upon evidence presented by the candidate that provide, where possible, evaluations of the presentations or published works. ELI faculty who hold a doctorate may use their dissertation or Executive Position Paper to meet scholarship requirements for promotion, provided its topic is related to TESL, second language acquisition, or Intensive English Programs.

Scholarship for Promotion to Associate Professor and Professor

In keeping with the practical context of the field, the candidate for the rank of Associate Professor must show evidence of a solid reputation for high quality scholarly or creative contributions to the profession. There should be evidence of a substantial record of presentations at professional meetings or conferences at the national or international level and a significant record of publication, as well as evidence that the scholarship has made an important contribution to the candidate’s field. The criteria the committee may use to determine the value assigned to these accomplishments could include the following: quality, significance to the field of ESL or Foreign Language Pedagogy, the reputation of the publisher, an editorial process that involves several experts, published reviews of the work, citations, evidence of impact or influence of the work on the profession, and solicited letters from experts about the quality of the work. The committee has the discretion to accept a smaller number of evidential materials in light of more significant scholarly achievement through fewer, more weighty submissions.

The candidate may only submit scholarship completed subsequent to his or her last promotion.

The “significant publication” required for promotion to Associate Professor or Professor means at least one of the following:

  1. A scholarly book or book-length monograph, published by a respected press. A textbook with ancillary materials shall be considered the equivalent of a scholarly book, providing the dossier also contains a minimum of two refereed articles.
  2. Principal investigator in two or more major grants (over $100,000), providing the dossier contains a minimum of three refereed articles and a significant record of conference presentations.
  3. Principal writer of a program curriculum, providing the dossier contains a minimum of three refereed articles, and a significant record of conference presentations
  4. A minimum of five substantial articles, published in refereed journals or edited collections.Each of the following, if published by known trade presses or refereed scholarly presses, shall be considered the equivalent of at least three refereed articles except if used as complement to a textbook.
  5. a computer-assisted instructional program or similar electronic publication or
  6. an edited compendium of scholarly essays.

Explanatory Notes:

  1. All publications, including textbooks, are judged to be substantial if they contribute significantly to the advancement of teaching, teacher training, or scholarship in ESL. Advancement of teaching or teacher training includes, but is not limited to, the development of approaches, materials, or methods judged to be viable and useful. Advancement of scholarship implies the giving of new insights, the uncovering of hitherto unknown facts and/or the advancement or refinement of principles, theories, or methodologies judged to be viable and useful.
  2. Creative works count as publications only when published by a recognized publishing house known to exercise editorial judgment, or when evaluated by recognized outside authorities.
  3. The scholarly activities of a candidate for promotion to Associate Professor should have earned regional or national recognition, and for promotion to Professor national or international recognition.
  4. The scholarly production of a candidate for promotion to Professor should include only work done since promotion to or initial appointment at the rank of Associate Professor.

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The following addendum pertaining to External Reviews was approved by the Provost’s Office on August 31, 2015: All ELI instructors going up for promotion to the rank of Assistant Professor or their six-year peer review will be required to have two external reviewers, as is the current practice;
All ELI faculty going up for promotion to Associate or Full professor or who are subject to their thirteen year peer review will be required to have five external reviewers. The Director is required to vett the names and cv’s of the reviewers through the Dean prior to proceeding.

Footnotes:

  1. In accordance with UCIEP (Consortium of University and College Intensive English Programs) guidelines, full-time faculty hired after 1999, must have prior ESL/EFL teaching experience and at least a Master’s degree in TESL/TEFL, or a Master’s degree in a related field with coursework in the areas of linguistics, culture and society, educational foundations, second-language pedagogy, second-language assessment, and language teaching practicum.
  2. The field’s professional organization, Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), states the following in its October 2007 positon paper: “It is TESOL’s position that a Master’s degree in TESOL can be considered the terminal degree for teaching English as a second, foreign, or additional language.” In a 2016 survey of member programs of the Consortium of University and College Intensive English programs, all responding universities that had a position on the issue recognized the MA TESL as the terminal degree, including UD’s aspirational institutions, such as Georgetown University, NYU, Columbia, and Boston University.
  3. It should also be noted that although new faculty generally enter at the Instructor level, those newly hired faculty members who meet the criteria for Assistant, Associate, or Full Professor, may, upon approval of the faculty and administration, be hired at the appropriate rank.
  4. Candidates for promotion to Associate and Full professorships may apply at any time after the previous promotion. For the categories of teaching, service, and scholarship, only documented evidence from the period since previous promotion may be included in the dossier with the exception of work begun prior to the last promotion and concluded or substantially revised in the interval leading up to the current review.
  5. In those courses where student course evaluations are not administered/required (such as in public schools), faculty must include additional teaching observations as well as evidence of student progress, including student portfolios and standardized testing, in lieu of course evaluations.
  6. “Unpublished material may in some circumstances be an important indicator of a candidate’s competence and achievements. Its evaluation, however, must be especially thoughtful. . . it should be sent to outside reviewers for a critical assessment of its merits. These comments are meant to apply to unpublished manuscripts as well as so-called ‘in-house’ publications, such as research reports that are not subject to an external review process.” Faculty Handbook.

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