Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon Portland Community College

Developing Instructor Qualifications for Provisional Approval

An instructor who does not meet the minimum qualifications may be approved for a limited assignment, typically restricted to specific sets of courses, and specific provisions, or criteria.

Provisional approvals are not routine, but made in exceptional circumstances. These might include situations in which no fully qualified candidates are available for a course, or for secondary school faculty to teach specific articulated (Dual Credit) courses to their HS students, or as a means of expanding and diversifying our instructor pools by offering graduate students near the end of their studies a limited opportunity to teach. Developing criteria in advance of need supports equitable practice.

Process for developing Provisional Approval Qualifications

  • Provisional approval development may be initiated as part of the ongoing process of clarifying and improving instructor qualifications. or when there are (or are expected to be) few regularly qualified candidates for a teaching assignment. There is no requirement for developing provisional approval criteria
  • The SAC and SAC Administrative Liaison, will work together to establish appropriate criteria for provisional approval, and submit them (noted as Provisional) using the Instructor Qualification Form and process.
  • The criteria for Provisional Approval will be approved by the Vice President for Academic Affairs prior to hiring faculty under provisional conditions.
  • The criteria for Provisional Approval (if they exist) will be published on the web page where the normal SAC Instructor qualifications are located, in a section at the bottom of that page
  • Such criteria will be consistently applied to all candidates, though modification of the parameters at a later time is possible, using the process outlined above.

Recording Provisional Approvals

  • Provisional approval will be noted on the Instructor Approval Form for individual instructors by checking the appropriate box .
  • The criteria and any documentation relevant to the individual’s provisional approval will be attached.
  • Provisional approval requires the signature of the Vice President of Academic Affairs, in addition to the Division Dean and Dean of Instruction.

Term of Provisional Approvals

  • Provisional approvals are applicable for one academic year.   They may be renewed, depending on the conditions identified, but must be reviewed each year.

Provisional Approval in Limited Special Circumstances

  • Provisional approval of an instructor may be granted using criteria that differ from the published instructor qualifications if the qualifying criteria are developed in consultation between a Division Dean and a Faculty Department Chair. This approval will be for up to one year (4 terms). In order for provisional approval to become a standard provisional option of the Instructor Qualifications, the criteria must be recommended by the SAC, approved by administration and published on the Instructor Qualifications website.
  • Provisional approval of an intern in the Office of Equity and Inclusion (OEI) Internship Program may be grated using criteria that differ from the published instructor qualifications if the criteria used are developed in consultation between a Division Dean, a Faculty Department Chair, and the Director of OEI.  The approval will be for one quarter.

Examples of possible Provisional Approval Criteria