Scholarship (DSS)

The Santa Clara University Faculty Handbook emphasizes the value of discipline-specific scholarship standards for tenure and promotion in Section 3.4.2: 

Because the nature of teaching, scholarship or artistic creativity, and service differs in some respects among academic disciplines, the faculty of the college, schools, and division develop, adopt, and publish their respective clarifications of the three criteria. Candidates for tenure or promotion are referred to these publications, as amended from time to time, for a detailed explanation of the standards and procedures by which they will be evaluated. 

In accord with the Faculty Handbook, discipline-specific standards for tenure and promotion have been developed by departments or disciplinary areas to clarify the promotion and tenure criteria and guidelines for both candidates and evaluators. These standards should inform and guide, but not dictate, the professional review of a candidate’s portfolio. As noted in the Handbook, the standards may be revised over time to reflect changes and refinements within the discipline. 

School, departmental, or discipline-specific standards do not weaken or dilute University standards. Rather, they elaborate how the University standards should be applied in the context of the discipline. Faculty Handbook Section 3.4.2 identifies the University standards for scholarship and creative activity as follows:

Scholarly work is defined as scholarly or scientific articles published in learned or professional journals; scholarly or scientific books; textbooks distinguished for the originality and value of their content or method; and any intensive study of the kind recognized as research in the various academic disciplines. Creative work is defined as recognized accomplishment or significant production in the arts of painting, sculpture, music, drama, fiction, poetry, dance, journalism, or the like. 

Candidates for promotion and tenure are required to demonstrate superior accomplishment in scholarship, as well as in teaching and service.

At the Provost’s request, department and division faculty first drafted disciplinary scholarship standards in 2013-15 to clarify promotion and tenure criteria for both candidates and evaluators. A UCC-appointed consulting group with extensive rank and tenure experience provided feedback to the deans. Deans returned the draft documents to the academic areas, providing their own feedback along with the comments from the consulting group. Each draft document was revised as needed before approval by the relevant dean. Faculty were given two academic years to opt-in to the use of the standards before use was required in academic year 2017-18 (Discipline Specific Standards Background and Implementation).

The standards were intended to be living documents, which departments were encouraged to review at least once every five years, and adjust over time to reflect changes and refinements within the discipline. 

Departments were asked to revise their standards in advance of the 2020-21 academic year, but the COVID pandemic resulted in a postponement of that requirement. Departments instead drafted COVID riders to their discipline-specific standards, to memorialize the impact on publications, professional travel, and for some faculty even the ability to conduct research.  (Procedure for Developing Department Statements on Pandemic Impacts). At the same time, some departments did proceed with a revision of their standards.

In Winter 2025, the Faculty Affairs Committee, after consultation with the Faculty Senate, recommended to the Provost that a process be established for revising scholarship standards, along with a list of topics to consider in their revisions. After consultation with the Faculty Senate Council and the deans, the Faculty Affairs Committee recommended the current revision process to the Provost, who approved it in June 2025 for use from Fall 2025 on.

Faculty Handbook 3.4.2 governs the implementation of revised standards for faculty evaluation, reappointment, tenure, and promotion decisions:

Revisions of these standards approved by the dean will be immediately effective for all faculty evaluation, tenure, and promotion cases that begin after the approval date, unless a faculty member requests an exception from the Provost to use the prior standards. Exceptions will be granted for probationary faculty who request any version of the standards approved from the time of initial appointment at rank, and for tenured faculty who request any version of the standards in place within three years of the date that their evaluation or promotion materials are due.

Evaluation and promotion documents will have a place for the faculty member to indicate, if applicable, which scholarship standards they have chosen to use.

Faculty may request an exception by filling out an Exception Request form and submitting it to facultyaffairs@scu.edu. 

Current approved standards are posted on the DSS Tracker on the Provost's website. Prior approved standards are stored in a repository on the Provost's website.