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(II.) A. CRITERIA AND EVIDENCE

The primary criteria for reappointment, promotion, and tenure shall be the individual Faculty member's accomplishments as a teacher and scholar. Service to the College also shall constitute a part of a Faculty member's credentials for advancement, in the manner discussed below.

Such institutional considerations as the tenure composition of a department, the Faculty member's fields of interest, and curricular needs in the department and the College, shall also be weighed in reappointment and tenure recommendations, both at the departmental level and in the Committee on Tenure and Promotion. However, no tenure quotas shall be set at the department or College level.

1. Teaching and Scholarship:

   Because Smith College is a community of scholars devoted chiefly to undergraduate education, demonstrated achievement in teaching and in scholarship (or, in the arts, creative performance) are both an essential part of a Faculty member's role.

   1. Normally, promotion to the rank of Assistant Professor requires evidence of the acceptance of a doctoral dissertation (by an accredited institution of graduate study) or of an equivalent level of achievement, and evidence of satisfactory performance as a teacher at Smith College.

      Departments may make a recommendation for conditional promotion to the rank of Assistant Professor between December 1 and December 15 in reasonable anticipation of the accumulation of such evidence.

      Such a recommendation, if acted upon favorably, would be effective by September 1 of the following academic year pending evidence of the completion of the requirements for a Ph.D. or of an equivalent level of achievement by that date.

   2. The period prior to a recommendation and decision with respect to tenure provides the individual with the opportunity to develop and demonstrate his or her abilities as a teacher. Decisions with respect to reappointment and promotion prior to the decision on tenure, therefore, rest in part on promise as well as performance and do not imply or guarantee a final recommendation for tenure.

   3. The granting of tenure, and promotion to Associate Professor, whether the latter precedes the granting of tenure, accompanies it or, in exceptional cases, follows it, require evidence of teaching ability and scholarly capabilities of an excellent quality.

   4. Promotion to the rank of Professor requires continued demonstration of both teaching ability and scholarly capabilities of an excellent quality.

2. Evidence:
   1. The quality of teaching may be manifested in lecturing, guiding discussion, supervising laboratory or studio work, directing seminars, and working with individual students. It may be evident in course preparation, the structure and organization of courses, the assignments given, and the care taken in assessing student performance. An excellent teacher adheres to high standards of scholarship and presents the students with the subject matter in such a way as to stimulate interest, develop critical habits of thought, and encourage independent and creative scholarly or artistic work.

   2. Published written work is usually the best guide to a Faculty member's scholarly capabilities, since publication enables peers in the profession, outside as well as inside the College, to judge the quality of scholarship. However, publication is not the sole evidence of scholarly capabilities, which may also be judged through unpublished manuscripts, papers read at meetings of learned societies, lectures to knowledgeable public groups, and participation in colloquia or panel discussions, at one's own or other institutions. Creative works, whether exhibited or performed outside or within the College, are also evidence for the judgment of scholarly capabilities.

   3. As the above statement of criteria makes clear, ordinarily teaching cannot be considered wholly apart from scholarly or creative work in the judgment of an individual's performance. However, there may be exceptional teachers who do not engage in original research. Still, such teachers should be aware of new developments within their fields, and should continually renew themselves intellectually. In such cases, continuing interest and work in new areas of study and in new approaches to familiar subjects, participation in professional activities, and application or development of new ideas in teaching, may also be considered when assessing "scholarly capabilities" as used above.

3. Service to the College:

   Although a Faculty member's accomplishments as a teacher and scholar are the primary criteria for advancement at the College, service to the College is also part of the normal and expected duties of a Smith Faculty member. Each Faculty member should carry his or her appropriate share of departmental and College duties: advising students, serving on committees, and assuming administrative responsibilities. Such service cannot be considered as a substitute for achievement in teaching and scholarship, but it adds to the individual's usefulness to the College. Moreover, when a Faculty member has been asked to carry an abnormal load of such duties, that circumstance shall be taken into account when judging the individual's scholarly activity. The individual must enjoy health adequate, with-where applicable- reasonable accommodation, for the maintenance of vitality in teaching and scholarship under the normal teaching load.