Policy for Appointing Faculty without Traditional Academic Credentials

The School of Informatics and Computing, IUPUI, is committed to offering the best pedagogy to give our students the knowledge and skills needed to enter careers in the wide range of professions and industries related to informatics, digital media and computational processes. The School recognizes the intellectual value of tested experience in non-academic professional fields relevant to our curricula, and acknowledges that such experience can be complementary or comparable to traditional forms of scholarship as a basis for pedagogy. In exceptional circumstances people with tested professional experience, regardless of their academic credentials, can ably serve the School’s educational mission as teachers, mentors and curricular advisors in non-tenure track faculty ranks. When offering faculty appointments to such professionals, the School observes the following criteria and practices:

1. The appointee has at least five years of significant professional experience in a field that relates directly to the academic work assigned and the appointee demonstrates intellectual mastery of the field beyond technical competence.
2. The appointee’s experience and qualifications have been evaluated in consultation with the School’s faculty and deemed appropriate to the intended academic work.
3. The appointee receives regular administrative reviews of his/her academic performance and, if needed, has access to resources to improve that performance.
4. The appointee possesses the communication and organizational skills needed to teach effectively at the assigned level and to fulfill appropriate collegial responsibilities.
5. The appointee understands all relevant IUPUI academic policies, practices and goals. The appointee understands when standards and practices relevant to professional employment may not be appropriate in academic contexts.
6. The appointee understands and embraces the university’s commitment to diversity and equity in all aspects of academic life, and understands all university policies regarding student and faculty conduct.
7. School, campus and university policies will be applied equally to all School faculty, including those appointed on the strength of tested experience.
8. All appointments current at the time this policy is enacted will be considered compliant with this policy.