Faculty Qualifications

We pride ourselves on our quality faculty at Aspen University. We have 46% of our faculty members are doctoral-prepared and 54% hold a Masters degree. According to our accrediting body, the minimum degrees the faculty members possess must have been awarded by institutions accredited by agencies that are recognized by the United States Secretary of Education and /or the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) or, for non-U.S. institutions, an accepted foreign equivalent that is listed in the International Handbook of Universities (18^th ed.).

Faculty must provide the University with the official transcripts of their academic work, or at least from the highest degree obtained. In addition to official transcripts, faculty must ensure the University records include their most current resume/CV* and current Faculty Agreement/Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

*Nursing faculty in SONHS will complete a CV template to include active license numbers and expirations from every state annually and submit to the Chief Nurse Administrator by January 1. Additionally, SONHS nursing faculty must describe what recent experiences and education qualify them to teach the courses they are assigned. This is reviewed by the SONHS Dean and/or Program Directors and assignments may be revised accordingly depending on the findings.

All Aspen faculty will be expected to demonstrate and maintain professional knowledge of and proficiency in the following:

Use of Aspen University’s Learning Management System (LMS), which is the Brightspace/Desire2Learn (D2L) platform,
Aspen University’s academic offerings (i.e. curricula, programs, courses, policies and procedures),
Best practices for delivering online education, and
Best practice for academic mentoring and coaching of college students.

The following provides additional faculty qualification requirements on a degree/program basis. For any clarification on faculty qualifications, please contact the Dean and/or the Director of Faculty Services.

Degrees in Specialized Fields: Faculty teaching courses that are part of a degree in a specialized field must possess the appropriate credential and degree in the subject being taught as demonstrated through their professional experience, along with their terminal degree.

Undergraduate Degrees: Faculty teaching courses that are part of an undergraduate degree program must possess, at a minimum, a degree at least one level above that of the program that they are teaching and demonstrate expertise in the subject field of the discipline. Faculty members teaching general education courses at the undergraduate level must possess a Master’s degree in the assigned general education subject field, or have a Master’s degree and 18 semester hours in the general education subject field.

Master’s Degree: All Master’s program faculty must have an earned doctorate/terminal degree relevant to the program being offered.

Exceptional Cases* for Undergraduate and Master’s Programs: In exceptional cases, an earned degree in a relevant field at the same level of the program taught, in addition to outstanding professional experience and demonstrated contributions to the disciplinary subject matter, may be presented. The institution must justify and document in the faculty member’s file the academic and professional preparation he or she has to teach the course(s), and what courses(s) is/are being taught. Exceptional cases must be a justifiable minority and ideally represent a small percentage of the total assigned faculty of the program. To be considered for an exceptional case, please contact the appropriate Dean.

*Deans are charged with working with the Faculty Services and Scholarship department to ensure that faculty qualification equivalency is only considered in limited and exceptional cases. The following documentation is required to determine that a faculty member has sufficient experience, knowledge, and expertise necessary to substitute faculty qualification equivalency for the degree qualifications set forth in DEAC Standards VI.C.4. and VI.C.5:

earned degree in a relevant field at the same level of the program taught
training certificates or other credentials in the related field of study, if available
CV or résumé indicting at least 5 years of professional experience in the related field of study
Other documentation that demonstrates contributions to the disciplinary subject matter, e.g. publications

The Dean or Program Director is charged with ensuring that adequate oversight of teaching and learning is provided by individuals who possess the appropriate degree qualifications as set forth in Standards VI.C.4. and VI.C.5.

Professional Doctoral Degrees: All teaching faculty who instruct doctoral students must have terminal degrees in a relevant field of study from other appropriately accredited institutions, either a professional doctorate or a doctor of philosophy.

At a minimum, all faculty members are required to submit official transcripts as directed above, an up-to-date Curriculum Vitae or resume, an Aspen application, and a signed faculty contract. New faculty will be offered their first course when all required information is received and reviewed.

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