{"id":6447,"date":"2021-10-19T08:05:13","date_gmt":"2021-10-19T12:05:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wpnet\/?page_id=6447"},"modified":"2025-11-10T12:41:51","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T17:41:51","slug":"senior-master-lecturer-promotion-process","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wpnet\/program-policies\/promotions-and-raises\/senior-master-lecturer-promotion-process\/","title":{"rendered":"Senior\/Master Lecturer Promotion Process"},"content":{"rendered":"

This information pertains to full-time lecturers who are eligible for promotion to Senior or Master Lecturer only. Consult the Faculty & Staff Handbook<\/a> on CAS Central for an overview of the process and a timeline of dates.<\/p>\n

Eligibility<\/h4>\n

If you are a full-time lecturer or senior lecturer who will have completed five years of full-time teaching in rank at BU by August 31 of your review year, or as otherwise indicated in your offer letter, you will be notified that you are eligible to be nominated for promotion. Eligible lecturers need to state their desire to be considered for promotion by emailing wpadmin@bu.edu.<\/a> \u00a0CAS will promote all lecturers who meet to a sufficiently high level the criteria for promotion outlined in this document. CAS views these promotions as \u201ca part of a continuing process of supporting and recognizing the work of full-time lecturers as important contributors to our education mission.\u201d As of 2022, lecturers can go up for promotion early with approval from the dean, who will consider this option only in “genuinely extraordinary cases.” <\/span><\/p>\n

Writing Program Internal Consideration of Candidates<\/h4>\n

Candidates for promotion will be considered at the Writing Program level and then, if successful, advanced to CAS for consideration. At the program level, the senior faculty (directors and senior lecturers) will meet to review and vote on all eligible lecturers who express an interest in being considered for promotion to senior lecturer. Candidates for promotion to master lecturer will be reviewed and voted on by Writing Program master lecturers. The results of these votes will determine which candidates the program advances to CAS for further consideration. <\/span><\/p>\n

Participation in this process is expected of senior faculty–highly encouraged but not mandatory. Anyone who does not attend the meeting is counted as “absent” in the vote tally. Those in attendance can vote for or against advancing the candidacy in question, or they can abstain.\u00a0We will use secret ballots; all deliberations about these candidates must be kept strictly confidential.\u00a0Voting in absentia (proxy voting) without benefit of participation in the deliberations is not permitted, for the reasons spelled out in the faculty handbook<\/a>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The director will inform all candidates of the program\u2019s decisions. If you wish to discuss your situation, you may do so at any time. CAS has instituted a process for those who wish to appeal<\/a>\u00a0a negative recommendation.<\/p>\n

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Writing Program Criteria for Promotion \u00a0<\/b>(Effective July 1, 2022)<\/span><\/p>\n

Criteria for Promotion to Senior Lecturer. <\/b>The criteria the Writing Program will use when considering candidates are described in order of priority below. <\/span>Excellence in teaching<\/span><\/i> and <\/span>active citizenship\/service\/leadership in the Writing Program<\/span><\/i> are the primary requirements for promotion. Broader forms of professional engagement, including scholarship and creative work, are not required for promotion but will be regarded favorably.<\/span> In applying these criteria, the Writing Program will consider future potential as well as past accomplishment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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  1. Excellence in teaching: <\/span><\/i>The primary responsibility of lecturers at Boston University is to teach. Strong candidates for promotion will therefore be able to demonstrate their excellence as teachers, not only through course evaluations, which are reports of student opinion, but also through evidence of effective and inclusive teaching practices (curricular materials, observation reports). Being an excellent teacher means more than simply teaching one\u2019s classes well; it also means working consistently to improve one\u2019s teaching. Candidates\u2019 efforts to this end\u2014participation in workshops, mentoring, faculty seminars, faculty working groups related to teaching, and so on\u2014will also be regarded favorably.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Citizenship\/service\/leadership within the Writing Program\/College\/University: <\/span><\/i>Strong candidates for promotion will be more than just excellent teachers; they will also have shown themselves to be active citizens<\/span> of the Writing Program, College, or University. This means that they will have made genuine and substantive contributions that extend beyond their own classrooms and that they have both the desire and the potential to assume greater responsibilities if promoted to the rank of senior lecturer. Citizenship within the Writing Program will be weighted most heavily in the program\u2019s nomination decisions for promotion to senior lecturer; other instances of institutional citizenship (e.g., sitting on a College or University committee) will also be regarded favorably.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Professional engagement, scholarship, and\/or creative work: <\/span><\/i>Candidates\u2019 involvement in their respective fields and professions\u2014membership and leadership in professional organizations, work as a journal referee, conference papers, readings, and talks, etc.\u2014will be considered favorably in the review process. Professional citizenship beyond BU is not required for promotion, but it can enhance a candidate\u2019s application. Professional engagement related to the teaching of writing is especially valuable. Similarly, a record of scholarship or creative work is not required but can enhance the candidate\u2019s case for promotion, and scholarly or creative activities related to the teaching of writing are especially valuable.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Criteria for Promotion to Master Lecturer<\/b>. <\/span>The criteria for promotion to master lecturer are essentially the same as the criteria for promotion to senior lecturer, with an increased emphasis on (1) a candidate\u2019s <\/span>leadership <\/span><\/i>within and\/or beyond the Writing Program and (2) the candidate\u2019s <\/span>impact <\/span><\/i>within and\/or beyond the Writing Program. Strong candidates will demonstrate a sustained commitment to one or more projects that benefit the Writing Program and\/or enhance the teaching of writing in the wider institution, and they will describe plans for advancing these in the future.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Leadership <\/span><\/i>includes not only holding formal leadership positions (e.g., committee chair, curriculum coordinator) but also taking initiative in solving problems and creating opportunities that benefit the Writing Program and\/or the wider institution (e.g., organizing a teaching collaboration, assembling a group to develop materials for a curricular initiative).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Impact <\/span><\/i>means the influence or effect of a candidate\u2019s work on others. Impact can manifest itself in many ways, including transformative contributions to the Program, College, or University; teaching collaborations within or beyond the Writing Program; mentoring; leadership in professional organizations; and scholarly or creative publication.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Again, in applying these criteria, the Writing Program and CAS will consider not only a candidate\u2019s past accomplishments but also the candidate\u2019s plans and potential to make further significant contributions to the Writing Program and the University.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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    Promotion Process Steps<\/h4>\n

    Step 1: Initial materials:<\/u> Candidates who would like to be considered for promotion should first email the following to writing@bu.edu.<\/p>\n