Human Resources

Guidelines for Employing Temporary Faculty without Master’s Degrees

Effective Date: January 2003

Introduction: Colleges have experienced difficulty finding temporary faculty who have both the academic credentials to teach in our university and the ability and will to foster student learning using the CSUMB pedagogy. We have found the need to establish alternative criteria for those faculty whose pedagogical approaches most closely match our own, but who may not meet the minimum standards for faculty at our academic credentials (i.e., for credit-bearing classes, a terminal degree in the field in which they are teaching, or a closely related field). Exceptions due to the difficult recruiting circumstances described above may be made only after a good faith effort to identify candidates who meet the minimum standards and upon approval of the College Dean.

Candidates not possessing a Master’s Degree, which is deemed to be a minimum degree requirement, may be hired as temporary faculty only if they fall into one of the following categories:

  1. In rare instances, a candidate without the minimum degree requirement may be considered if they have an established reputation in their field and bring years of experience and expertise to the classroom. This type of placement is reserved for candidates whose professional experience or special qualifications are sufficiently outstanding to justify an unusual level of appointment. In these circumstances, the candidate has demonstrated, in well-documented form, preparation and attainment appropriate to the teaching/service area. The preparation and attainment should be at a level that is clearly rigorous and valuable to the teaching/service area. These candidates may be deemed to have the credentials required to teach at the university in their field of expertise. This determination is made by the Dean on a case-by- case basis with a copy of the justification/approval forwarded to Academic Personnel.
  2. A candidate who is in the late stages of a Master’s degree program in a related field. These candidates are restricted to teaching lower-division classes and are being mentored by an experienced faculty member. They can ONLY teach an upper-division class as a co-teacher with an experienced faculty member.
  3. Candidates who are currently enrolled in a CSU Master’s program in a related field may be employed as Teaching Associates or Graduate Assistants, as appropriate, until their Master’s degree is completed. Refer to CSU Classification and Qualification Standards for detailed descriptions of typical duties and minimum qualifications.

In order to consider a candidate under these circumstances, the minimum qualifications stated in the job announcement must allow for these exceptions.