Nadine Ashton – Faculty Handbook

Definitions

Discrimination

Discrimination is a discrete adverse action taken by a College official against an applicant, student, or employee based on age, race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, disability, or any other characteristic protected by law. Discrimination can occur under this Policy in either an employment or an educational context. Discrimination also includes failing to provide reasonable accommodations to a qualified person with a disability or to reasonably accommodate an employee’s religious beliefs or practices, as required by state and federal law.

Harassment

Harassment is unwelcome verbal, visual, physical, electronic, or other conduct based on age, race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, disability, or any other characteristic protected by law that is sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive to unreasonably interfere with a person’s ability to participate in or benefit from the College’s education program or activity or to interfere with the terms or conditions of the person’s employment, as judged by a reasonable person in the position of the individual subject to the conduct and considering all the circumstances.

Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment under Appendix A:

Conduct that is sexual, or on the basis of sex or gender, committed by any person upon any other person, regardless of the sex, sexual orientation, and/or gender identity of those involved which is one of the following:

When a College employee conditions the provision of an educational, research, scholarly, or work benefit, or service on an individual’s participation in unwelcome sexual conduct (quid pro quo); and/or
Unwelcome conduct determined by a reasonable person to be so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive, that it effectively denies a person equal access to an educational, research, scholarly, or work program, or activity of the College. Unwelcomeness is subjective and determined by the Complainant (except when the Complainant is below the age of consent). Severity, pervasiveness, and objective offensiveness are evaluated based on the totality of the circumstances from the perspective of a reasonable person in the same or similar circumstances (“in the shoes of the Complainant”), including the context in which the alleged incident occurred and any similar, previous patterns.

Sexual harassment under Appendix B:

Sexual harassment – Conduct that is sexual, or on the basis of sex or gender, committed by any person upon any other person, regardless of the sex, sexual orientation, and/or gender identity of those involved which is sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive to unreasonably interfere with a person’s ability to participate in or benefit from the College’s education program or activity or to interfere with the terms or conditions of the person’s employment, as judged by a reasonable person in the position of the individual subject to the conduct and considering all the circumstances. This can take the form of conduct by one or more individual respondents that, for each respondent, meets this definition or it can take the form of a cumulative hostile environment.

See CCS’s full policy, including definitions – Policy On Prohibited Discrimination, Harassment, And Sexual Misconduct (Including Title IX).

Faculty Credentials and Equivalent Tested Experience

The College for Creative Studies adheres to The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) guidelines on Determining Qualified Faculty Through HLC’s Criteria for Accreditation and Assumed Practices. These guidelines state that institutions will use credentials as the primary mechanism to ascertain minimal faculty qualifications. HLC recognizes that tested experience also may be considered in determining faculty qualifications. The following guidelines apply to all faculty members whose primary responsibility is teaching, including part-time, adjunct, dual credit, temporary, and/or non-tenure track faculty.

Credentials

Faculty credentials refer to the degrees that faculty have earned that establish their credibility as content experts and thus their competence to teach that content in the classroom. Common expectations for faculty credentials include the following:

Faculty teaching should have completed a program of study in the discipline or subfield (as applicable) in which they teach, and/or for which they develop curricula, with coursework at least one level above that of the courses being taught or developed. Completion of a degree in a specific field enhances an instructor’s depth of subject matter knowledge and is easily identifiable.
Faculty teaching in undergraduate programs should hold a degree at least one level above the program in which they are teaching. If a faculty member holds a master’s degree or higher in a discipline other than that in which he or she is teaching, that faculty member should have completed a minimum of 18 graduate credit hours in the discipline in which he or she is teaching.
Faculty teaching in graduate programs should hold the terminal degree determined by the discipline and have a record of research, scholarship, or achievement appropriate for the graduate program.
Faculty guiding doctoral education should have a record of scholarship and preparation to teach at the doctoral level. Research and scholarship should be appropriate to the program and degree offered.

Equivalent Tested Experience

According to HLC, “Tested experience may substitute for an unearned credential or portions thereof.” Criterion B.2, Teaching and Learning: Quality, Resources, and Support state that “when faculty members are employed based on equivalent experience, the institution defines a minimum threshold of experience and an evaluation process that is used in the appointment process.” Consistent with HLC policy, “experience should be tested experience in that it includes a breadth and depth of experience outside of the classroom in real-world situations relevant to the discipline in which the faculty member would be teaching.”

Determining Faculty Credentials or Equivalent Tested Experience

Once a search has been authorized for a full-time faculty position, the Department Chair develops a job description in consultation with the appropriate Dean. Throughout the search process, the CCS Faculty Credential Table should be used to evaluate candidates to determine qualified faculty requirements. The Faculty Credential Table should also be used to assess qualifications for adjunct instructors as well as continuing education faculty. If a candidate does not meet the minimum required credentials as outlined in the table, the rubric for Equivalent Tested Experience should be used to determine whether or not the candidate is qualified in lieu of having the appropriate credential.

DEPARTMENT	LEVEL BEING TAUGHT	COURSE LEVELS	REQUIREMENT
•ADVERTISING •ART PRACTICE •COMMUNICATION DESIGN •CRAFT AND MATERIAL STUDIES •ENTERTAINMENT ARTS •FOUNDATIONS •ILLUSTRATION •LIBERAL ARTS •PHOTOGRAPHY •PRODUCT DESIGN •TRANSPORTATION DESIGN	BFA UNDERGRADUATE DEGREE	100-400	MFA WITH SPECIALTY RELATIVE TO COURSE CONTENT BEING TAUGHT OR OTHER MASTER’S DEGREE WITH AT LEAST 18 GRADUATE CREDIT HOURS RELATIVE TO COURSE CONTENT BEING TAUGHT
ART EDUCATION	TEACHER CERTIFICATION	100-400	MA WITH STATE TEACHING CERTIFICATION OR MAAE OR MFA IN ART, STUDIO ART, OR ART EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT – GRADUATE LEVEL	LEVEL BEING TAUGHT	COURSE LEVELS	REQUIREMENT
•COLOR AND MATERIALS DESIGN •INTERACTION DESIGN •SYSTEMS DESIGN THINKING •TRANSPORTATION DESIGN	MFA GRADUATE DEGREE	500 – 700	MFA or PHD WITH SPECIALTY RELATIVE TO COURSE CONTENT BEING TAUGHT OR OTHER MASTER’S DEGREE WITH AT LEAST 18 GRADUATE CREDIT HOURS RELATIVE TO COURSE CONTENT BEING TAUGHT
ART EDUCATION	MA GRADUATE DEGREE	500 – 700	MFA or PHD IN ART EDUCATION

Equivalent Tested Experience Rubric

Equivalent Tested Experience form.

Higher Learning Commission. (2020). Determining Qualified Faculty Through HLC’s Criteria for Accreditation and Assumed Practices. Retrieved from “Determining Qualified Faculty Through
HLC’s Criteria for Accreditation and Assumed Practices: Guidelines for Institutions and Peer Reviewers”.

Dean of Academic Affairs

In cooperation with the Deans of Graduate and Undergraduate Studies, the Dean of Academic Affairs coordinates the hiring of full-time and adjunct faculty in accordance with HR procedures, oversees faculty reappointment with promotion, and plans New Faculty Orientation. The Dean of Academic Affairs oversees the systematic application of the CCS assessment process, confirms compliance with applicable accreditation standards for all programs, and serves as ex officio on faculty-led committees. The Dean supervises the Director of Academic Research and the Director of Libraries.

Academic Deans

The Academic Deans, consisting of the Dean of Academic Affairs, Dean of Graduate Studies, and Dean of Undergraduate Studies, are responsible for the conduct, supervision, and development of all academic programs and initiatives, and for ensuring academic quality and compliance with accreditation guidelines and standards. The three Academic Deans work together to promote and encourage faculty professional development, interdisciplinary learning, integration of new technologies, and partnerships with varied outside organizations. The Deans enhance the College’s reputation by serving as representatives for the institution locally, nationally, and internationally and advocating for the value of art and design to society. The Provost serves as the College’s Chief Academic Officer (CAO). The CAO is the senior academic administrator at the institution and acts as the academic liaison between AICAD, MICU, NC-SARA, and CCS.

Tax Exempt

CCS is a non-profit organization and is tax-exempt. The College’s tax-exempt ID # is available from Business Services, as well as a tax-exempt letter. Business Services can provide a copy of a W-9 form, the Request for Taxpayer Identification and Certification if necessary.

Personnel Records

Staff

A master personnel record containing administrative staff records and other pertinent data is maintained in the Human Resources office. The Human Resources office maintains records concerning employment, performance, payroll, benefits, and other miscellaneous items. No information, except verification of employment dates and job title, will be released to outside sources without the employee’s written authorization, unless disclosure is required by subpoena or court order or is necessary to meet some legal obligation of CCS. A written authorization from the employee is required for the Human Resources office to release salary information.

It is each administrative staff member’s responsibility to inform the Human Resources office of any changes in the following: name, address, telephone, marital status, dependents, beneficiaries, and emergency contacts.

Administrative staff have the right to review their Personnel Record in the Human Resources office, with a prior appointment. These Personnel Records are confidential and may only be reviewed by the administrative member, or the appropriate supervisory personnel of the administrative staff member.

Security / Appropriate Use

Employees must respect the confidentiality of other individuals’ electronic communications. Except in cases in which authorization has been granted by CCS management, employees are prohibited from engaging in, or attempting to engage in:

monitoring or intercepting the files or electronic communications of other employees or third parties;
hacking or obtaining access to systems or accounts they are not authorized to use;
using other people’s log-ins or passwords; and
breaching, testing, or monitoring computer or network security measures

No e-mail or other electronic communications can be sent using CCS equipment that attempt to hide the identity of the sender or represent the sender as someone else.

Electronic media and services should not be used in a manner that is likely to cause network congestion or significantly hamper the ability of other people to access and use the system.

Anyone obtaining electronic access to other organizations’ or individuals’ materials must respect all copyrights and cannot copy, retrieve, modify, or forward copyrighted materials, except as permitted by the copyright owner.

See also the College’s Information Security Plan which can be found on the CCS Policy Database.

Software Use

CCS licenses the use of various computer software for educational and business purposes and does not own the copyright to this software or its related documentation. The employees of CCS do not have the right to reproduce such software for use on more than one computer, or use the software for purposes other than those authorized by the license. In most cases, educational use only is allowed by the license and software licensed by the College may not be used for personal, professional, or profit making use.

Employees may only use software on local area networks or on multiple machines according to the software license agreement. CCS prohibits the illegal duplication of software and its related documentation.

Social Media Policy

Policies related to the development, design, maintenance, and use of CCS Social media sites can be found on the Policy database.