Excerpts on Scholarship

Scholarship section from the “Policy on Faculty Rank and Status” (section 3.4)

3.4 Scholarship

3.4.1 Purpose of Scholarship. The highest purpose of scholarly and creative work (collectively referred to in this policy as "scholarship") is to serve God and humanity. Scholarship should contribute to the university mission. It should achieve one or more of the following objectives: improving the education of the minds and spirits of students, contributing to the expansion of truth throughout the world, facilitating the solution of pressing world problems, and enhancing the quality of peoples lives. Scholarship extends the universitys influence and reputation, which benefits our students, serves our local and worldwide communities, and makes friends for the university and the Church. Scholarship should infuse and inspire the faculty member's teaching both directly and indirectly. It must not interfere with or detract from teaching, but support and strengthen it. University faculty members must be learners in order to be teachers worthy of the name. They must be intellectually alive and current in their disciplines, not only through participating in the substantive developments of the discipline, but also through constantly honing the skills and tools of scholarship used in the discipline. In most disciplines this means that faculty will bring to their work the rigor of writing, subject the work to the criticism of scholarly peers, and share their insights with colleagues and students. A scholar is characterized by devotion to discovering and learning, by rigor and thoroughness in that learning, and by the determination to profess what is learned.

3.4.2 Forms of Scholarship. Because of diversity among the academic disciplines and because of the variety of intellectual tasks with which faculty are concerned, a faculty member's scholarship may take different forms, so long as the work is of high quality. Scholarship includes, among other things, the discovery of new knowledge and original insights that add to the world's body of knowledge and understanding; the application of existing knowledge to the solution of practical problems; the integration of existing knowledge through interdisciplinary work; studying and improving the presentation of existing knowledge; and aesthetic or intellectual expression reflecting achievement in creative or performing arts.

3.4.3 The Scholarship Standard. Professorial faculty (and professional faculty whose responsibilities include scholarship) are expected to demonstrate consistent productivity of high quality scholarship over their entire careers. The scholar's record shows a growing body of works that have stood the test of exposure to and evaluation by other scholars in the discipline. Each discipline has its own scholarly traditions and its own channels for communication among scholars, and therefore each department should establish criteria for defining and evaluating scholarship within its discipline. A faculty members scholarship should then be measured against those criteria. Both quality and quantity are relevant in assessing a faculty members scholarly record. It should be recognized that one truly exceptional scholarly or creative work may be more important than several others. It should also be recognized that a faculty member may choose to work in an area in which progress is exceptionally difficult and in which results submitted for peer review are necessarily few and infrequent. While the expected type and quantity of scholarship vary by discipline, subject area, and the fraction of a faculty members assignment devoted to scholarship, the expected level of quality must always be high.

3.4.4 Assessment of Scholarship

3.4.4.1 Criteria. Within the context of the various disciplines, the following criteria are relevant in evaluating scholarship:

A. Scholarship should be consistent with disciplinary norms and department, college, and university missions.

B. It should contribute to a faculty member's overall effectiveness as a teacher.

C. It should be of high quality and contain some element of originality, either in the form of new knowledge, new understanding, fresh insight, or unique skill or interpretation.

D. It should be subject to peer review in any of several appropriate ways on this campus and elsewhere, for the purpose of verifying the nature and quality of its contribution by those competent to judge it. In some departments and colleges, a variety of situations may make on-campus reviews of scholarship the most appropriate means of evaluation. A decision by a department or college to regularly use on-campus reviews as a primary method of peer review must be approved by the dean and the academic vice president.

E. The reputation and selectivity of scholarly presses and journals are relevant in evaluating the quality and impact of scholarship. Generally, faculty are encouraged to publish in nationally and internationally recognized peer-reviewed scholarly presses and journals in the discipline. The further removed that scholarship is from this format, the greater the responsibility of the faculty member and the department to provide for a critical evaluation that verifies the quality of the work.

F. Generally, publications count in the rank and status process when they are accepted for publication.

G. The same criteria that apply in evaluating scholarship published in paper formats (quality, peer review, publishers reputation and selectivity, etc.) also apply to scholarship published in electronic formats.

H. Generally, course materials that are used primarily inside the university and that are not disseminated in the wider discipline count in the category of teaching rather than in the category of scholarship.

3.4.4.2 Evidence of Scholarship. Evidence of scholarship includes but is not limited to the following, so long as the above criteria are satisfied. Evidence should emphasize work performed at BYU and since the last rank advancement.

A. Refereed scholarly publications, including books, articles, refereed conference proceedings, etc.

B. Other scholarly publications, including books, textbooks, monographs, book chapters, abstracts, translations which contribute to a body of knowledge or reflect significant scholarly activity and expertise, etc.

C. Technical reports and similar publications that present new ideas or incorporate scholarly research, and which contribute to the professional literature, the advancement of professional practice, or the improvement of professional education.

D. Peer-reviewed or juried creative works, such as paintings, public performances, exhibits, published poetry, and published essays.

E. Other creative works.

F. Grants for research or creative work, when resulting from a competitive process of peer review. Grants may evidence the quality of the prior body of work upon which the research proposal is based. Proposals which received high ratings but no funding may also be considered.

G. Intellectual property developed, such as software or patents.

H. Presentations at professional meetings and conferences. Although presentations are evidence of scholarly activity, they should be developed into publications.

I. Awards or other recognition for scholarship.