3.4.A - Definitions of Scholarly Activity and Scholarship

“Scholarly” is an umbrella term used to apply to faculty work in all performance areas. Scholarly is an adjective used to describe the processes that faculty should use within each area. In this context, scholarly refers to a cyclical process that is deliberate and intentional, systematic and planned, measured and evaluated, and revised and rethought. Scholarship is also a noun used to describe tangible outcomes of the scholarly processes. This tangible product is disseminated in appropriate professional venues relating to the performance area. In the process of dissemination, the product becomes open to critique and evaluation. What follows is a description of how faculty work in each performance area might be scholarly and could result in scholarship.

While the professional activities of faculty vary, every faculty member is expected to demonstrate scholarly activity in all performance areas, as described below. Furthermore, tenure-track faculty members must produce scholarship in at least one of their performance area(s) of emphasis. The norm for workload effort expected in the area of scholarship for the typical tenure-track/tenured teaching faculty is 30%. The minimum acceptable for tenure and/or promotion is 20%. The performance area(s) with scholarship expectations must be agreed upon by the faculty member and the faculty member’s supervisor. In other words, although faculty members are expected to engage in scholarly activity in all the performance areas identified in their FPA, they are not expected to produce scholarship in all areas. Evaluation of all scholarly accomplishments and scholarship will be based on evidence of the quality and significance of the work. KSU’s scholarly and scholarship expectations support the Board of Regents policy (BoR Policy Manual 8.3.1.4), Enhancing Teaching and Learning in K-12 Schools and USG Institutions.

Examples of Scholarly Accomplishments in Teaching

Scholarly teachers plan their class activities in order to ascertain outcome data regarding student learning. Faculty members typically revise their courses from semester to semester; the scholarly faculty member makes these revisions deliberately and systematically assesses the effect of the revisions on students’ learning. The following semester, the scholarly faculty member makes more revisions based on the previous semester’s outcomes, if such revisions are warranted. Professional development activities, such as attending workshops and conferences related to teaching, are examples of scholarly accomplishments in teaching. This process can result in scholarship when the faculty member makes these processes and outcomes public and subject to appropriate review.

Examples of Scholarly Accomplishments in Scholarship and Creative Activity

Scholarly researchers and artists approach their scholarship and creative activity in a systematic and intentional manner. They have clear goals and plans for their work. Such faculty engage in programmatic scholarship and creativity, as opposed to random, haphazard scholarship and creative activities that have less chance of building a substantial body of work. Researchers and creative artists transform their work into scholarship when the work is formally shared with others, exhibits the use of appropriate and rigorous methods, and is subject to informed critique and review, including the usual process of peer review and publication, showcasing, or presentations. Professional development activities such as attending workshops and conferences related to scholarship and creative activity would be an example of scholarly accomplishments, but not necessarily scholarship, in this area.

Examples of Scholarly Accomplishments in Professional Service

Faculty members who perform scholarly professional service use their knowledge and expertise in a service opportunity to the University, the community, or their profession. Appropriate documentation of scholarly service describes the role of the faculty member in each service activity, how the faculty member uses their expertise in the role, and clearly demonstrates the outcome or impact of the service activity. Reports of service lack a scholarly dimension when they merely list committee assignments, provide no evidence of the nature of activities or results, provide evidence of outcomes but no evidence of the individual’s role, have no review by others, or provide no evidence of how the service work is consistent with professional development or goals. Although all professional service may not be scholarly, faculty should document the quality and significance of all service activities. Scholarly service can move toward scholarship as it meets some or all of the following criteria:

1. The service is documented as intellectual work.
2. There is evidence of significance and impact from multiple sources.
3. There is evidence of individual contributions.
4. There is evidence of leadership.
5. There is dissemination through peer-reviewed publications or presentations.
6. There is dissemination to peers, clients, the public, patients, etc.
7. There is peer review of the professional service.

Faculty members who are in administrative positions often provide oversight to initiatives that strengthen and enhance the mission of their unit. Building innovative programs, policies, and procedures can require scholarly investigations (e.g., research or literature reviews) and can lead to outcomes and products that are shared at professional meetings or in professional publications. For example, a department chair might develop a mentoring program in the department that is shared in professional meetings or publications and becomes nationally recognized.