Faculty Credentialing

All faculty members who teach at The University of Texas at Dallas are required to be credentialed. The credentialing process is completed using transcripts  (required) and the Qualifications for Instructional Personnel (QIP), also known as the Faculty Credentialing Form, as needed.

The designated faculty credentialing officer who certifies official qualifications may indicate:

• the appointee is qualified to teach
• the appointee is not qualified to teach
• the appointee is awarded a grace period to submit additional documentation

Documents Needed for Credentialing

Transcripts of all degrees earned are needed for the following:

• Newly assigned teaching assistants
• Newly hired tenure/tenure track faculty
• Newly hired nontenured-system faculty

Faculty transcripts must be sent to facultyrecords@utdallas.edu.

When to Complete the QIP Form

If the faculty member is teaching outside of their discipline, then the QIP form must be completed by departments or programs.

For example, if a department asks a Psychology-credentialed faculty to teach a foreign language course, then the department and/or program will complete the QIP editable PDF form. Department or program heads and deans must digitally sign the form to indicate their recommendation of the appointee.

After submission, the designated faculty credentialing officer will review the form and associated documentation to certify the appointee's qualification to serve as the instructor of record.

The QIP is required for all university personnel who teach outside of their discipline:

• Faculty members who do not hold the doctorate or other terminal degrees
• Visiting faculty members and those holding adjunct appointments
• Faculty members and/or university personnel with native foreign language experience
• Other university personnel whose primary appointment is not teaching

Members of the tenure-system and non-tenure system faculty who have an earned doctorate or other terminal degree in the teaching discipline may be certified for an individual class permanently.

Members of the faculty who have not earned doctorate or other terminal degree in the teaching discipline will be reviewed periodically for qualifications to teach individual courses.

Faculty Credentialing Qualifications

UT Dallas determines the qualifications of faculty members based on the highest earned degree in the academic discipline and other factors, including:

• Record of research
  • Federally funded
  • Privately funded
  • Unfunded
• Professional achievement (creative productivity and/or publications)
• Related work or experience in the field
• Other degrees earned
• Awards and honors
• Licensure or certification
• Continued and documented excellence in teaching
• Competence, effectiveness, and capacity to contribute to effective teaching and student learning outcomes

Additionally, UT Dallas recognizes and honors the qualifications recommended by individual program accreditors.

The guidelines for the review of qualifications for faculty or other instructional personnel are in accordance with the guidelines of various accrediting agencies including but not limited to:

• The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (www.abet.org)
• The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (www.asha.org)
• The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (www.aacsb.edu)
• The National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (www.naspaa.org)
• The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (www.sacscoc.org)

Faculty Qualifications Guidelines

The general guidelines for faculty credentials are as follows:

• Teaching Assistants
  • Master's degree in the academic discipline or no fewer than 18 graduate semester hours in the teaching discipline
  • Direct supervision by a faculty member experienced in the teaching discipline
  • Regular in-service training
  • Planned and periodic evaluations
• Faculty teaching general education courses at the undergraduate level
  • Doctorate or master's degree in the teaching discipline or master's degree with a concentration in the teaching discipline (minimum of 18 graduate semester hours)
  • UT Dallas will review requests for individual faculty in specific disciplines to teach common core courses if the graduate degree includes the use of the course material in the discipline (for example, Engineering or Science faculty who are assigned to teach general education mathematics courses)
• Faculty teaching baccalaureate courses (outside the general education core)
  • Doctorate or master's degree in the teaching discipline or master's degree with a concentration in the teaching discipline (minimum of 18 semester hours)
  • UT Dallas will review requests for an exception in the event of an emergency
• Faculty teaching graduate and other post-baccalaureate courses
  • Earned doctorate or other terminal degree in the teaching discipline
  • Earned doctorate or other terminal degree in a teaching discipline affiliated with the teaching discipline of the course being taught
  • UT Dallas will review requests for an exception on an individual basis, based on the other factors listed above in the first paragraph

Updated September 2024