SoTL Evidence on Promotion and Tenure Vitas at a Research University

Abstract

The development and adoption of promotion and tenure (P&T) policies supporting scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) activities began in earnest at our large, Midwestern, land-grant university, over fifteen years ago. The purpose of this research was to present the results of a five year project collecting and analyzing the evidence of SoTL on P&T vitas. Every occurrence of SoTL in peer-reviewed publications, presentations, and funded external and internal grants was counted. Of the 343 successful cases, there were 201 to associate professor and 142 to professor. Of these cases, 48% (n=163) had at least one SoTL artifact included on their vitas. These results suggest SoTL is a meaningful form of scholarship performed by faculty, however, there is additional cultural change necessary for greater integration of SoTL in faculty work.