Alternate Credentialing Policy

Policy Details

Effective Date:

January 17, 2019

Supersedes:

COM Administrative Policies Initially Adopted February 28, 2007; amended June 1, 2009; September 30, 2010; January 19, 2011; June 12, 2012; May 10, 2013; July 10, 2014; Alternate Credentialing Policy Adopted January 17, 2019. 

Responsible Authority:

Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs

Policy Statement

The policy set forth below is for use for all departments in the College of Medicine. No individual departments have adopted their own alternate credentialing policies.

College of Medicine Procedures for Alternate Credentialing of Faculty

The College of Medicine values both scholarly and practical experience and knowledge faculty contribute to our educational programs. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) similarly recognizes such faculty, allowing what has been called “exceptional cases” to the standard requirements for a terminal degree. We prefer the term “alternate credentialing” to “exceptional cases” in order to affirm that it is not the cases that are exceptional but the faculty themselves, based on their exceptional achievements in the field. In seeking to formulate a process for alternate credentialing, we are guided by the Principles of Accreditation of SACSCOC. According to the current version of that document:

3.7.1 The institution employs competent faculty members qualified to accomplish the mission and goals of the institution. When determining acceptable qualifications of its faculty, an institution gives primary consideration to the highest earned degree in the discipline. The institution also considers competence, effectiveness, and capacity, including, as appropriate, undergraduate and graduate degrees, related work experiences in the field, professional licensure and certifications, honors and awards, continuous documented excellence in teaching, or other demonstrated competencies and achievements that contribute to effective teaching and student learning outcomes.

Alternate credentialing must provide evidence that candidates meet these standards.

Procedures for Alternate Credentialing of College of Medicine Faculty

Departments seeking to credential non-terminal degree faculty, or faculty who hold terminal degrees from institutions that lack regional accreditation, to teach courses must provide a packet containing relevant information to the Dean’s office, where it will be evaluated and, if approved, forwarded to the Provost’s office for final review. The packet should include a memo summarizing the qualifying credentials of the candidate, a current biographical sketch or Curriculum Vitae (CV) for the applicant, and supplemental material as needed. Departments are advised to begin this process as soon as possible, as delays may prevent new faculty from teaching at the graduate level. The following requirements must be met for alternate credentialing to teach graduate courses: 

1. Compliance with Professional requirements/certifications: M.D. and D.O. candidates must hold a license to practice medicine in good standing in the State of Florida related to the course of study (e.g., Medical Doctor, Medical Examiner). Employment will not begin until such licensure is obtained.
2. Depth of Experience for Graduate Instruction Consistent with SACSCOC’s Principles of Accreditation section 3.7.1: All candidates must show a depth of experience in the field that clearly substantiates competence, effectiveness, and capacity to teach graduate level courses in the field. This depth of experience can be evidenced by a combination of at least two of the following criteria:
   1. Extensive experience working in the field. Departments should make a case for the extensiveness of the candidate’s work in relation to each field’s particular milieu, by one of the following:
      1. Providing evidence of 20 or more years of work within the field at a significant level of responsibility and accomplishment, or
      2. providing evidence of 15 or more years of extensive professional work in the field and a related (e.g., Psychology, Physiology, Biology) Master's degree, or related Doctoral equivalent degree from an institution that lack regional accreditation, or
      3. arguing that the candidate’s experience is consistent with other faculty who hold terminal degrees or tenured positions at SACSCOC or other regionally accredited institutions in the same field.
   2. Substantial, continuing, influential work, as evidenced by professional engagement in the field, creative achievements, or significant professional advancement/promotion, awards, or honors.
   3. Other demonstrated competencies and achievements that contribute to effective teaching and student learning outcomes. In using this criterion, departments should establish the relevance of these competencies and achievements to the position and the courses to be taught by referring to other faculty in the field with similar competencies who hold terminal degrees or tenured positions at SACSCOC or other regionally accredited institutions in the same field.
3. Currency of Experience: The instructor's experience should be current. That is, the instructor must be currently practicing in the field related to the course to be taught.

Recertification

If approved, an instructor credentialed to teach via alternate credentialing may continue to teach for five years or until the candidate is due for renewal, whichever comes first. For undergraduate and graduate recertification, compliance with the demonstrable quality in teaching component must be reviewed after the first year of teaching, and at least every three years thereafter. Over a rolling five-year period, a faculty member must demonstrate current publication(s), professional, or scholarly activity (from the categories of scholarly publications, scholarly activities, professional/practice publications, professional leadership activities, or other professional engagement).

Amendments and Changes

This policy shall be reviewed and revised as needed to remain in compliance with the current version of SACSCOC’s Principles of Accreditation.