NCE’s Conceptual Framework, “A Professional Community Advocating for All Learners,” is lived by the faculty. Our commitments are to exemplary teaching, continuous assessment, professional development, and significant research, leadership, service, collaboration, and advocacy for all learners. During the past five years, faculty have consistently affirmed these commitments and engaged in significant professional development, particularly in areas of diversity and technology. As a result, we are a stronger, even more vibrant professional community, having:

• Aggressively sought and hired new minority faculty members
• Implemented evaluation procedures for tenured and non-tenure track faculty
• Integrated adjunct faculty more fully into the work of our professional community
• Actively participated in significant technology training
• Expanded the use of technology to enhance course offerings
• Implemented an electronic portfolio system
• Created online courses and programs

Profile of NCE Faculty
Tables 5.01 through 5.06 present a profile of NCE faculty. Table 5.01 presents a summary of full-time faculty (n=181) by ethnicity and gender. The reader will note that the faculty is diverse and that the majority of the faculty is female.

Table 5.01 Full -Time Faculty by Ethnicity and Gender

While representation of minority faculty at NCE is low as compared to the population of our service area, we are pleased with the recent success of our good-faith efforts to hire additional diverse faculty members. For example, NCE hired 2 new diverse faculty members in 2002-2003 (14% of new hires that year) and 8 diverse new hires in 2003-2004, about 31% of new hires this year. A reason for this success is that we took the 1999 recommendations of the Board of Examiners to heart, and continued and/or intensified our good-faith efforts to increase minority hiring. We are also pleased with our ability to retain diverse faculty members. Once hired, few of these faculty leave. When they leave, the usual reasons are retirement or the end of a grant.

Table 5.02 presents a summary of all faculty (n=181) by rank.

Table 5.02: All Full-Time Faculty by Rank                                                                         

Table 5.03 profiles the faculty of the college by rank and tenure status. Of the tenured faculty (n=69), 90% hold the rank of professor or associate professor, demonstrating the success of tenure-track NCE faculty in achieving tenure and gaining promotions.

Table 5.03: NCE Faculty by Rank and Tenure Status

Also profiled in Table 5.03 are non-tenured tenure-track faculty and non-tenure track full-time faculty. Of non-tenured tenure track faculty, (n=36), the majority, 90%, hold the rank of assistant professor. While it is possible for new faculty to be appointed at the associate or full professor rank (upon recommendation of the faculty search committee and the Dean, and approval of the College and Institutional Tenure and Promotion Committees) the majority of tenure-track faculty are initially appointed as assistant professor and apply for promotion with their tenure application. The progress of these faculty is closely monitored through yearly performance reviews and mentoring by senior faculty, program coordinators, department chairs, the Associate Dean, and the Dean.

Faculty who are placed in non-tenure track positions (n=76), also profiled in Table 5.03, either are recommended by search committees or are appointed by the Dean, based on their qualifications for the position. These individuals have at least a master’s degree plus 30 graduate credits with 30 hours in the area of the teaching assignment, as well as substantial work experience and special expertise in the discipline in which they work. Many of them have completed advanced graduate courses and hold doctoral degrees. While not tenure-track, they are eligible for promotion.

Table 5.04 details the assignment of full-time faculty by location. Chicago faculty serve the Chicago, Evanston, Wheeling, Wheaton, and Elgin locations, and field-based sites. Locations of their assignments vary each quarter based on enrollments and the college’s needs. Faculty in Wisconsin, Virginia/Washington, D.C., and Florida, are residents of the areas they serve, supervised by the department chair, and eligible for tenure and promotion consistent with their faculty status.

Table 5.04 Geographical Assignment of Full-Time Faculty

Table 5.05 profiles the primary teaching responsibility for the 181 full-time faculty of the College. The majority of the faculty (72.6%) is assigned to teach undergraduate or graduate candidates. Another 17.3% teach children at Baker.

Table 5.05 Faculty Primary Responsibility 

Baker Demonstration School Faculty
Baker faculty have demonstrated their exceptional expertise as master teachers. They teach P-8 students and serve as exemplary demonstration teachers and mentors to initial certification candidates. Some Baker faculty also teach NCE classes. Most BDS teachers have pursued or are pursuing advanced degrees during their tenure at BDS. Currently, 2 BDS faculty hold doctorates, and 5 are enrolled in doctoral programs. Two of them hold certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

Professional Assistant Center for Education (PACE) Faculty
PACE faculty have demonstrated, through appropriate degree qualifications, specialized training, and specialized experience their unique qualifications for working with post-high school age students with significant learning challenges.

Grants
Significant grant activity in NCE is described in detail in Standard 6. These grant awards have provided support for a number of grant-funded faculty appointments.

Table 5.06 details the responsibilities of non-tenure track faculty members within the College. Non-tenure track faculty must fulfill specific needs of the College:
1. Faculty hired for special projects, including positions tied to grant activities/funding.
2. Faculty hired for programs where enrollments are uncertain.
3. Faculty with special expertise that is distinct from the requirements of tenure-track positions.
4. Faculty who hold clinical position or non-teaching faculty positions.
5. Faculty hired as replacements for tenure track positions during the conduct of a search or for sabbatical replacement.
6. Faculty hired to increase full-time faculty support for programs.

Table 5.06: Responsibilities of Non-Tenure Track Faculty