Counselor Education 11-18-2022

This webpage is a copy of an original pdf document that you can get upon request by emailing academic@tcnj.edu.

Table of Contents

1. Alignment of Disciplinary Standards with Key Institutional Documents and Values
2. Categories of Acceptable Scholarly Work
3. Criteria to Evaluate Different Types of Scholarly/ Professional/Creative Work
4. Scope, Quality, Importance, and Coherence of Scholarly/Professional/Creative Program
5. Quantitative Metrics for Tenure and Promotion

The attached disciplinary standards have been reviewed and approved by the Committee on Faculty Affairs, the Council of Deans, and the Provost.

To avoid creating a moving target for candidates for reappointment, the disciplinary standards in effect during a faculty member’s first year of employment will be used for reappointment and tenure applications. Candidates for promotion will use the disciplinary standards in effect in the year in which they apply for promotion.

The Department of Counselor Education will next review its disciplinary standards in Academic Year 2025-2026.

1. Alignment of Disciplinary Standards with Key Institutional Documents and Values

The distinguished faculty of the Department of Counselor Education at The College of New Jersey takes pride in offering rigorous, high quality master’s degree programs in school counseling and clinical mental health counseling, as well as a certificate program in student assistance coordination. Consistent with the mission of The College and the School of Education, the mission of every program in the department is to create exemplary counseling professionals prepared to enrich the lives of the people of New Jersey and the nation through counseling and service, and to provide a national model for the preparation of counselors. These disciplinary standards describe the criteria by which the department evaluates the scholarly work of the counselor education faculty in supporting the missions of the College, the School of Education, and the Department of Counselor Education.

The department expects our faculty to embrace the teacher-scholar model, which emphasizes a strong connection between scholarship and teaching. Specifically, we expect our faculty to enhance the teaching- learning environment of The College by engaging in scholarly activity, infusing scholarship into teaching, and preparing students to become competent scientist-practitioners. Faculty could also enhance the teaching-learning environment by incorporating community engaged learning into their work. The purpose of these standards is to help the department faculty to understand how their performance as teacher-scholars will be evaluated.

2. Categories of Acceptable Scholarly Work

The categories listed below represent a range of scholarly outcomes that are recognized in the discipline of counselor education. Therefore, teacher-scholars in the Department of Counselor Education should have a core of scholarship disseminated in these categories. However, the department acknowledges that within these categories there may be great variety related to the mode of scholarship, the path and challenges leading to productive scholarly activity and its fruition, and the venues in which the scholarship is disseminated. In addition, the department recognizes that much of the work in the field of counselor education is focused on theory development, practice issues, and policy analysis, and that certain targets of study in counselor education are extremely rare ( e.g., persons diagnosed with selective mutism), and therefore, may have to be studied through case analysis methods. Thus, it is imperative that one mode of scholarship not be seen as more or less valued than the other. Consequently, the department recognizes and values the scholarships of discovery, integration, application and pedagogy. Similarly, research in counselor education is comprised of various methodologies ranging from quantitative approaches to ethnographic and qualitative approaches. The department believes that all scholarship, whether it is quantitative or qualitative, should be valued. Regardless of the variability in the pace and nature of scholarly activity, candidates should demonstrate scholarly productivity on their part and use of their scholarship by others. Lastly, where other disciplines may require single authorship and discipline-specific work, research and writing in counselor education will give equivalent recognition to collaborative and/ or interdisciplinary scholarly activity.

Based on these considerations, the faculty of the Department of Counselor Education considers the following outcomes to be acceptable:

1. Authored or co-authored, peer-reviewed journal articles that are published or accepted for publication.
2. Peer-reviewed and/ or invited presentations at local, state, or regional conferences, national, or international professional organizations
3. Other published works such as book manuscripts under contract for publication, books, monographs, chapters in books, and counseling related peer reviewed online publications such as ACA’s VISTA.
4. Other written works ( e.g., grant proposals, published training manuals, or evaluation reports for external institutions/agencies).
5. Professional activities as a consultant or practitioner that involve the creation rather than the application of knowledge and impact significantly on practice or policy ( e.g., original research when consulting for a company, creating national standards for an accrediting organization, designing curricula for national or regional use, and/ or significant program transformation)
6. Reports from grant research
7. TCNJ scholarly grants
8. Professional multimedia works (e.g., instructional videos and/or DVD’s)

The following indicators of disciplinary scholarship quality serve as a guideline for evaluating a faculty member’s completed scholarship. While the information below is expected to help generate a conversation and provide guidance, it is not comprehensive and neither is each work under each category expected to meet all of the criteria within the category. Given the evolving nature of the field, there may be other criteria that are not necessarily mentioned below, which candidates might articulate in their essay. Examples of appropriate scholarly venues may include:

For journal articles:

1. Peer review
2. Acceptance/rejection rates for the journal and/or impact factor will be considered.
3. Professional sponsorship or other affiliation status of the journal
4. Status of the journal editors within the subfield
5. The nature and kind of audience that the journal reaches. In this regard, while it may be feasible to look at overall circulation in some instances, in other cases, it is not only the number of people that the journal targets that could be used as a criteria, but the impact an article may have on an underrepresented audience.
6. Citations of one’s scholarly work by others is not required but could be used as another means to enhance the scholar’s dossier and provide evidence on the influence of the scholar’s work. Citations of one’s work should be accompanied by the scholar’s explanation of how the citations provide evidence of the contribution of the work to the current scholarly literature. This could also apply to the section on books and conference presentations that follow.

For books (authored or edited):

1. The quality of the publisher and recognition as an academic publisher
2. Contribution to a book series
3.  Applicability of the book to the field of counseling and/or counselor education
4. Books that provide an original contribution to the field or inform a certain area of discourse.
5. Published reviews of the work

For applied scholarly activities:

1. Scope of reports ( e.g., technical reports, case study reports, program evaluation reports)
2. Impact of the reports and the ways in which they apply current scholarship
3. Reports, presentations, and publications emerging from community engaged learning

For invited publications and presentations (these would include invited contributions to special issues of a journal, invited chapters in books, and invited addresses to meetings of professional organizations):

1. The quality of the publisher
2. The quality of the journal and the extent to which it is recognized for its contribution in the field
3. The scope of the professional organization or journal extending the invitation, i.e., international, national, regional, or state

For grants:

1. Scope of the agency and recognition in the field (e.g., local, state and/or federal government funding, foundations or organizations)
2. Peer review by experts
3. Acceptance/Rejection rates d. Receipt and amount of funding (grants not funded may be considered scholarly output albeit at a lower level than funded applications).

Additionally, the department recognizes scholarship in emerging venues, such as online resources and webinars. Such scholarship, when conducted in conjunction with other recognized scholarly outcomes previously detailed, furthers growth in the field by exploring new boundaries of scholarly dissemination.

Evidence of maturation of the scholarly plan

For sustained work that matures over time, the following criteria are important.

Disciplinary or interdisciplinary impact: Scholarship at this level is based on a deep, engaged, and sustained involvement with the area/s of research. The scholar has had a significant time to not only ponder on but hone their approaches to the issues at the center of the research. They have also had the time to acquaint themselves with the historical changes or shifts in the discourse or conversations in the field. Thus, it is expected that by this time, scholars have a strong sense of why they have chosen the work that they do and what its contribution is to the disciplinary or the interdisciplinary fields.

Authorship: As mentioned above, whereas other disciplines may require single authorship and discipline-specific work, research and writing in counselor education will give equivalent recognition to collaborative, co-authored, and/ or interdisciplinary scholarly activity. Additionally, student engagement in the scholarly activities is highly valued; particularly in the capacity of co-authored works between faculty and students. Lastly, whether projects are considered “small” or “large” by external constituents, scholarly work in counselor education will be evaluated based on the impact of the work on the field, on practice, and on students.

3. Criteria to Evaluate Different Types of Scholarly/Professional/Creative Work

It is expected that in order to be considered for reappointment, teacher- scholars in counselor education will demonstrate a desire to influence their field by establishing and disseminating a well-planned and consistent program of scholarly activity.

Consistency and Continuity in Scholarship

Related to the criteria of engaged scholarship is the expectation that scholars demonstrate consistency and continuity in their scholarship. While the direction of the scholarship might change with time and expand to new disciplinary or interdisciplinary directions, or new methodologies, it is important that scholars have a sustained research plan. Scholars may focus on one area or branch into different areas, but it is critical that they maintain a steady and ongoing program of scholarship that is characterized by presentations and dissemination of their work. It is expected that rates of dissemination might vary given the disciplinary challenges in the field. Scholars are encouraged to articulate their goals and the ways in which their scholarship has grown and the shifts that have occurred. The department recognizes and values the fact that scholarship might involve taking risks, changing approaches, or developing new applications. Periods of lower productivity due to teaching, administrative, or service obligations do not preclude promotion to Associate Professor or Professor. Instead, such periods should be explained in the candidate’s essay.

Impact of Scholarship:

The work of engaged scholars impacts in different ways. It impacts various communities including the TCNJ learning community of which the scholar is a part, the broader disciplinary or interdisciplinary community, professional communities, and the lives of the children or adults that the discipline focuses on. The impact could also span different levels including local, state, national, and international levels.

For each level of evaluation (pre-tenure, tenure, promotion) the assessment of scholarship includes activities since the previous personnel action. Thus, a new faculty member may discuss scholarship and publications that predate their employment at TCNJ as the means for promotion, but those scholarly and published outcomes must have been previously defined in the terms of their individual contract when they are hired for the position.

Application for Tenure and Associate Professor: It is expected that in the time period leading to the tenure/ associate application, faculty members will make steady progress towards a clearly defined program of scholarship that demonstrates a carefully planned and thoughtful trajectory towards these goals and objectives. Whether faculty members pursue a single area of interest or multiple areas of interest, they should explicitly articulate the connections between these areas of interest and their goals for scholarship within the teacher-scholar model of the College. The scholarly record may include publication of one’s dissertation research and the completion of scholarly work begun elsewhere, but for which the majority of the work has been completed after the initial appointment at TCNJ. Faculty members applying for tenure must demonstrate the ability to disseminate their work in recognized disciplinary or interdisciplinary scholarly outlets (e.g., in regional and national peer-reviewed conferences and publications).

Professor: Promotion to professor requires a sustained pattern of achievement and a maturation of scholarship since attaining the rank of Associate Professor. This maturation of scholarship may be demonstrated in a number of different ways, including scholarship that addresses new or emerging issues in the field, publications in notable outlets, publications of book/ s, invitations to publish, present, review, or serve in an editorial capacity, and successful grant activity. External review reports as required by the promotions document will provide further evidence of maturation. In addition, expanded student involvement in a faculty member’s scholarship is valued as an indicator of maturation. Regarding the sustained nature of scholarship, it is expected that scholarly activity will be continuous throughout a faculty member’s career. However, periods of lower productivity due to major teaching or service obligations ( e.g., service as department chair or coordinator) do not preclude promotion to Professor so long as the quantitative requirements for scholarly activity (as described below) have been met; such periods should be explained in the promotion materials.

While the focus of teacher-scholar activity can be expected to change with the seasons of an academic career, continuity, reflection, and growth are expected to persist. The department recognizes that sometimes staying involved and remaining vibrant means taking risks to change focus, adopting a new methodological approach, or developing a new application. As a community of vibrant teacher-scholars, the department is committed to recognizing, valuing, and supporting each other’s unique paths of professional growth.

Following the example set by the TCNJ Promotions document, the department has provided a side-by-side comparison for scholarship activities at each rank. The purpose of this comparison is only to provide a guide to help differentiate between qualifications by rank. It includes some significant examples of scholarly/ creative/ professional activity in support of promotion, but should not be read as a comprehensive list of requirements.

These particular items will apply to some candidates and not others, and there will be other accomplishments not listed here that candidates might include. Given the nature of flux in our interdisciplinary fields, there may be other items that scholars could include in their portfolio which are not mentioned in this comparison. In this instance, the candidate should explain how alternative scholarly works are equivalent, in scope or importance to those listed in the table.

Tenure/Associate Professor (The following are sample outcomes; however, the applicant does not need to complete all of the categories below in order to be considered for promotion to tenured Associate Professor)	Professor (The following sample outcomes are excpected to be completed since promotion to tenured Associate Professor; however, the applicant does not need to complete all of the categories below in order to be considered for promotion to Professor)
Publishing in peer-reviewed venues.	Continuing to publish in peer-reviewed venues.
Invited chapters	Invited chapters
Presenting at juried or peer-reviewed state, regional and national conferences or professional organizations.	Presenting at juried or peer-reviewed state, regional and national conferences or professional organizations. Giving invited presentations at juried or peer-reviewed regional, national, and international conferences or professional organizations.
Having book manuscripts under contract for publication.	Having one or more published books.
Writing grant proposals.	Writing and obtaining grants.
Mentoring students in scholarship.	Mentoring students in scholarship.

 

4. Scope, Quality, Importance, and Coherence of Scholarly/Professional/Creative Program

The Department of Counselor Education embraces the four standards for evaluating scholarship as delineated in the TCNJ Promotion Document, which include: 1) high quality work as judged by one’s peers and students; 2) wide scope of recognition at the national, regional, or local level; 3) sustained effort, involvement, and record of accomplishment; and 4) impact of one’s activities. However, because counselor education is a broad field of inquiry, the department notes that any application of standards needs to respect individual differences in scholarly programs and goals.

The framework the department describes is intended to fit various types of scholarly programs and goals, but no one set of evaluative criteria will apply equally to all individuals. For this reason, each teacher-scholar in counselor education should articulate their plan for scholarly work, including short- and long- term goals and objectives, specific outlets for communicating scholarship, and the contexts in which their program is intended to have impact. Specific evaluative criteria should be determined in consideration of an individual’s specific scholarship plan. However, teacher-scholars in counselor education are expected to maintain an ongoing program of scholarship that is marked by continued activity, productivity, and dissemination.

Teacher-scholars may choose a variety of different outlets for dissemination of scholarship, as appropriate to the targeted impact articulated in their teacher-scholar goals. All types of impact are valued. Some core of student impact is expected. Some core of disciplinary/ applied impact is also expected.

Recognized levels of impact include:

Impact on the field: Impact of scholarship on the field can be evident in diverse ways. Such an impact includes the importance of the information with respect to a) extending current insights into a problem or issue, b) providing new insights, c) expanding the current discourse in the field, or d) initiating a new discourse in the field.

Impact on practice: The department recognizes the impact of the work as it relates to children, families, communities, policies, or best practices in the field.

Impact on students: Teacher-scholars engage students in the process of critical inquiry and discovery both in critical theory and in action research in the field. Learning objectives for students include the development of intellectual habits necessary for life-long learning and productive citizenship. Teacher-scholar activities include active engagement of student interns in diverse scholarship with diverse audiences. Effective teacher-scholars have both intellectual depth and specialization as well and breadth and flexibility. Collaborative projects can apply diverse theory to real world problems that face schools, families, and communities today. The department evaluates impact accordingly in terms of the significance of scholarly work for students’ development as scholars and professionals ( e.g., modeling and mentoring in research or clinical work, co-authoring scholarly presentations and publications, firstperson discussions of the research process, and integrating research findings in courses). Publications and presentations that include student co- authors are highly valued. The department recognizes that the impact of scholarship on student and the community is more difficult to demonstrate tangibly. Nevertheless, these are highly valued areas of impact. There are no predetermined criteria for scholarly contributions in these areas. Thus, documentation of this type of impact is particularly important. Indicators of student impact may include student co-authorship on presentations/publications; mentoring of student research activities, internship placements, independent study, and a research apprentices’ pursuit of further graduate-level training.

Measures of community impact might be found in technical reports or consultation to address issues of public policy and advocacy, expert review or letters about the quality and impact of applied work, and external evaluation of engaged scholarship.

5. Quantitative Metrics for Tenure and Promotion

Tenure/ Associate: In the time leading up to the Tenure/ Associate Professor applications, it is expected that scholars will clearly articulate their goals, have articulated their plans for scholarship, and have made significant movement towards those goals. Scholars at this level should have disseminated recently completed scholarly work such as their dissertation. They should have begun collaborative or independent work on new scholarly projects. The individual plans of each scholar may look different, and it is expected that scholars will have a range of tangible scholarly outcomes. It is expected that scholars will have at least five tangible scholarly outcomes since arriving at TCNJ including the following:

at least two publications (peer-reviewed articles, grants, or chapters in a book, as indicated in Section B above) • at least three peer-reviewed presentations at regional and/ or national conferences.

Scholars at this level should also have taken initiative in integrating their scholarship into their teaching, mentoring and service.

Professor. Candidates for promotion to professor should have a clear scholarship plan and evidence of progress toward the plan. Maturation of scholarship is an important quality to consider. The scholar’s research might explore diverse areas within the field, venture deeper into the disciplinary core, or take a risk to traverse interdisciplinary boundaries. Whatever the course of the scholarship, the scholar should be able to articulate its contribution to the current discourse, its connection to teaching, and service. Scholars at this level should have produced at least eight tangible scholarly outcomes that represent significant contributions to the field since being hired at TCNJ. This includes:

• at least four publications (peer-reviewed articles, grants, or chapters in a book, as indicated in Section B above)
• at least four peer-reviewed presentations at regional and/or national conferences.

A published book or a funded grant proposal could further enhance the candidate’s portfolio as both require sustained effort.

* Sections of this document have been adapted or modified from the Psychology Department’s Disciplinary Standards for reappointment and promotion (Modified May 12, 2011) and the Disciplinary Standards from the Department of Special Education, Language and Literacy (Modified, April 2014). In addition, we have also drawn from the TCNJ Promotions and Reappointment document (June, 2020).

 

REVISED- October, 2022