Membership Regulations | Faculty Review | Membership Application/Renewal Form

Types of Membership, Criteria for Selection, and Privileges

1. Full Member
   1. Criteria for Selection:
      1. Terminal degree or the equivalent* in the person’s area of faculty appointment.
      2. Five years of service as an Associate Member at SFASU or five years of service as a graduate faculty member at another accredited institution.
      3. Appropriate level of professional or scholarly/creative activities in discipline (as evidenced by some of the following: consultancies, performances, published and unpublished work, work presented at professional meetings, grant applications, faculty development, serving as an officer in a professional society, graduate courses taught, theses directed, etc.).
      4. Appointment at the rank of assistant professor or above.
   2. Privileges:
      1. Serving an unspecified term subject to review every six years.
      2. Teaching graduate classes in the member’s area of expertise.
      3. Directing theses and dissertations, serving on thesis and dissertation committees, and comprehensive examination committees, in the member’s area of expertise.
      4. Being eligible to serve on the Graduate Council.
      5. Being eligible to serve on the Research Council.
      6. Participating in all other ways in graduate education.
2. Associate Member
   1. Criteria for Selection:
      1. Terminal degree or the equivalent* in the person’s principal area of faculty appointment.
      2. Appointment at or above the rank of assistant professor or equivalent as certified by the dean of the college.
   2. Privileges:
      1. Serving a five-year term subject to review the fifth year.
      2. Teaching graduate courses in the member’s area of expertise.
      3. Serving on thesis and dissertation advisory committees and comprehensive examination committees.
      4. Directing theses and dissertations in the member’s area of expertise, provided the Associate Vice President for Graduate Studies and Research gives special permission.
3. Limited Member
   1. Criterion for Selection:
      1. Achievement of professional accomplishment of an unusually high order, or the attainment of professional expertise by virtue of training and experience, that is otherwise unavailable in the graduate faculty of the applicant’s department.
   2. Privileges:
      1. Serving a two-year term or five-year term as recommended by the respective department. Renewal subject to review by the Graduate Council.
      2. Teaching graduate courses in the member’s area of expertise provided the Associate Vice President for Graduate Studies and Research gives permission.
      3. Serving as a member (but not a director) of a thesis or dissertation committee.
      4. Participating in the evaluation of a student’s credentials for a graduate degree, including serving on a comprehensive examination committee.
4. Adjunct Member
   (To be used for persons with limited affiliation with SFASU). Note: retired SFASU faculty members will normally retain the graduate faculty status achieved at the time of retirement and thus should not be considered adjunct.)
   1. Criteria for Selection:
      1. Terminal degree or the equivalent* in the person’s area of expertise.
      2. Five years of experience in the area of expertise or service on a thesis or dissertation advisory committee or on a comprehensive examination committee.
   2. Privileges:
      1. Serving a five-year term.
      2. Teaching graduate courses in the member’s area of expertise.
         Serving as a member and/or co-director (but not as director) of a thesis or dissertation advisory committee.
      3. Participating in the evaluation of a student’s credentials for a graduate degree, including serving on a comprehensive examination committee.
5. Emeritus Member
   1. Criteria for Selection:
      1. Graduate faculty membership at time of retirement from SFASU.
      2. Appointment to emeritus faculty status.
   2. Privileges:
      1. Serving an unspecified term subject to review only as requested by the Associate Vice President for Graduate Studies and Research.
      2. Continuation of membership held immediately prior to retirement (Full Member Emeritus, Associate Member Emeritus, Limited Member Emeritus).
      3. Performing duties as specified by the department chair and approved by the Graduate Council and the Associate Vice President for Graduate Studies and Research.

*Note: In exceptional circumstances, special training in recognized institutions (such as conservatories or research institutes) or the attainment of nationally recognized licenses/certificates may be judged to satisfy the requirement for advanced degrees. Extensive practical experience in activities related directly to one’s faculty appointment and resulting in wide recognition at the regional and/or national levels may also satisfy the requirement for advances degrees.