No./Title: FA106 – CERTIFICATION OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION IN ENGLISH FOR FACULTY	Resp. Office: FACULTY AFFAIRS Approval Body: FAWG	Effective Date: 03/12/1985
Category: Faculty	Last Review: 10/03/2013	Next Review: 06/01/2020
Contact: Cynthia Russell, Associate Vice Chancellor Faculty Affairs Office	 901.448.6158	 crussell@uthsc.edu
Related Information:	This document complies with and further clarifies the section on certification of effective communication in English described in the UTHSC Faculty Handbook (12/10/2015 approved version, §4.6.5 for tenure track faculty members and §5.1.6 for non-tenure track faculty members).

POLICY

The following policy was adopted by the University of Tennessee Board of Trustees at its meeting October 18-19, 1984:

1. No individual shall be appointed to a teaching position or recommended for tenure in such a position at any campus or other instructional unit of The University of Tennessee unless the appointing officer certifies in writing to the Chancellor or other unit chief administrator that such individual can communicate effectively with students in the English language. Persons who teach courses that are conducted primarily in a foreign language are exempt.
2. By January 1, 1985, each campus or other instructional unit shall develop written procedures (a) for review and evaluation of the English language competency of candidates for appointment to, or tenure in, a teaching position, and (b) for providing assistance in improving the spoken English competency of currently employed teaching personnel who are identified as needing such assistance. Such procedures shall be published in the applicable faculty handbooks.

PROCEDURE

Individuals who are candidates for appointment to a teaching position or for tenure in such a position and whose native language is not English will be evaluated by the department chair as to their ability to communicate effectively with students in the English language. If the department chair finds this ability acceptable, he or she will so certify in writing to the dean and the dean to the Vice Chancellor for Academic, Faculty & Student Affairs, using the form entitled “Certification of Effective Communication in English.” If the department chair cannot so certify, he or she will not appoint the individual to a teaching position, assign teaching responsibilities, or recommend the individual for tenure.

Individuals not certified by the department chair will be given the opportunity of reevaluation following:

1. self-training or
2. completion of a college course emphasizing command of spoken English.

The following is provided as additional guidance in implementing the above procedures:

1. Department chairs will identify instructional personnel in their units whose native language is not English and evaluate their ability to communicate effectively with students in the English language. The mechanism for this evaluation is left to the discretion of the department chair, but it is essential that the evaluation be thorough and effective, and that it be documented. The results of the evaluation will be sent to the college dean for approval and transmittal to the Vice Chancellor for Academic, Faculty & Student Affairs, using the attached form.
2. Instructional personnel who are not deemed to communicate effectively with students in the English language will be counseled by the department chair with respect to actions to take to comply with the policy.
3. Individuals who are candidates for appointment to a teaching position and whose native language is not English will be similarly identified and evaluated by the department chair. Certification should accompany the initial Faculty Appointment Agreement (for faculty) or the Personnel Information Form (for Graduate Teaching Assistants or Graduate Research Assistants).
4. Any instructor for whom student feedback suggests there may be a communication problem will be counseled by the department chair with respect to actions to take to comply with the policy.

APPROVAL HISTORY

Effective: March 12, 1985

Revised: November, 1994

Revised: October 3, 2013, Faculty Affairs Work Group (FAWG)

FORM FOR CERTIFICATION OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION IN ENGLISH

The individual named below, whose native language is not English, has been evaluated for the ability to communicate effectively with students in the English language.

Name:	Department:
Rank:	College:

Status (check applicable boxes):

( ) The individual is currently appointed in a teaching position. ( ) Tenured

( ) On tenure-track

( ) Not on tenure-track

( ) This is a new faculty or graduate teaching assistant appointment.

Certification:

( ) The individual communicates effectively with students in the English language.

( ) The individual does not communicate effectively with students in the English language and has been advised of actions necessary to comply with this requirement.

Evaluators: (check applicable boxes to indicate who provided evaluative feedback) (_) Faculty members

(_) Students

(_) Others (if others, describe )

Evaluation (Briefly describe the evaluation procedures that were employed to arrive at the certification. Please be specific.):

Chair Date

Dean Date

Distribution:

Official Faculty File (Office of Academic, Faculty and Student Affairs) Dean