Quality and Significance of Scholarship

Quality and significance of scholarship are the primary criteria for determining faculty promotion and tenure. Quality and significance of scholarship are over-arching, integrative concepts that apply equally to the expressions of scholarship as they may appear in various disciplines and to faculty accomplishments resulting from research, teaching, and community outreach.

A consistently high quality of scholarship, and its promise for future exemplary scholarship, is more important than the quantity of the work done. The criteria for evaluating the quality and significance of scholarly accomplishments include the following:

Clarity and Relevance of Goals

A scholar should clearly define objectives of scholarly work and clearly states basic questions of inquiry. Clarity of purpose provides a critical context for evaluating scholarly work.

  • Research or community outreach projects should address substantive intellectual, aesthetic, or creative problems or issues within one's chosen discipline or interdisciplinary field. Clear objectives are necessary for fair evaluation.
  • Teaching activities are usually related to learning objectives that are appropriate within the context of curricular goals and the state of knowledge in the subject matter.

Mastery of Existing Knowledge

A scholar must be well-prepared and knowledgeable about developments in his or her field. The ability to educate others, conduct meaningful research, and provide high quality assistance through community outreach depends upon mastering existing knowledge.

  • As researchers and problem solvers, scholars propose methodologies, measures, and interventions that reflect relevant theory, conceptualizations, and cumulative wisdom.
  • As teachers, scholars demonstrate a command of resources and exhibit a depth, breadth, and understanding of subject matter allowing them to respond adequately to student learning needs and to evaluate teaching and curricular innovation.

Appropriate Use of Methodology and Resources

A scholars should address goals with carefully constructed logic and methodology.

  • Rigorous research and applied problem solving requires well-constructed methodology that allows one to determine the efficacy of the tested hypotheses or chosen intervention.
  • As teachers, scholars apply appropriate pedagogy and instructional techniques to maximize student learning and use appropriate methodology to evaluate the effectiveness of curricular activities.

Effectiveness of Communication

Scholars should posses effective oral and written communication skills that enables them to convert knowledge into language that a public audience beyond the classroom, research laboratory, or field site can understand.

  • As researchers and problem solvers, scholars make formal oral presentations and write effective manuscripts or reports or create original artistic works that meet the professional standards of the intended audience.
  • As teachers, scholars communicate in ways that build positive student rapport and clarify new knowledge so as to facilitate learning. They also should be able to disseminate the results of their curricular innovations to their teaching peers.

Scholars should communicate with appropriate audiences and subject their ideas to critical inquiry and independent review. Usually the results of scholarship are communicated widely through publications (e.g., journal articles and books), performances, exhibits, and/or presentations at conferences and workshops.

Significance of Results

Scholars should evaluate whether or not they achieve their goals and whether or not this achievement had an important impact on and is used by others. Customarily, peers and other multiple and credible sources (e.g., students, community participants, and subject matter experts) evaluate the significance of results.

  • As researchers, teachers, and problem-solvers, scholars widely disseminate their work in order to invite scrutiny and to measure varying degrees of critical acclaim. They must consider more than direct user satisfaction when evaluating the quality and significance of an intellectual contribution.
  • Faculty engaged in community outreach can make a difference in their communities and beyond by defining or resolving relevant social problems or issues, by facilitating organizational development, by improving existing practices or programs, and by enriching the cultural life of the community. Scholars should widely disseminate the knowledge gained in a community-based project in order to share its significance with those who do not benefit directly from the project.
  • As teachers, scholars can make a difference in their students' lives by raising student motivation to learn, by developing students' life-long learning skills, and by contributing to students' knowledge, skills, and abilities. Teaching scholars also can make a significant scholarly contribution by communicating pedagogical innovations and curricular developments to peers who adopt the approaches.

Consistently Ethical Behavior

Scholars should conduct their work with honesty, integrity, and objectivity. They should foster a respectful relationship with students, community participants, peers, and others who participate in or benefit from their work. Faculty standards for academic integrity represent a code of ethical behavior. For example, ethical behavior includes following the human subject review process in conducting research projects and properly crediting sources of information in writing reports, articles, and books.