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Accreditation
Emerson College is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE). Accreditation of an institution of higher education by the Commission indicates that it meets or exceeds criteria for the assessment of institutional quality periodically applied through a peer review process. An accredited college or university is one which has available the necessary resources to achieve its stated purposes through appropriate educational programs, is substantially doing so, and gives reasonable evidence that it will continue to do so in the foreseeable future. Institutional integrity is also addressed through accreditation.
Accreditation by the Commission is not partial but applies to the institution as a whole. As such, it is not a guarantee of every course or program offered, or the competence of individual graduates. Rather, it provides reasonable assurance about the quality of opportunities available to students who attend the institution.
Inquiries regarding the accreditation status by the Commission should be directed to Emerson College, Attn: Office of the Provost, 120 Boylston St. Boston, MA 02116. Individuals may also contact:
New England Commission of Higher Education
3 Burlington Woods Drive, Suite 100
Burlington, MA 01803-4514
781-425 7785
Email: info@neche.org
Notice Regarding the Contents of This Catalog
Emerson College attempts to ensure that the material published in this catalog is accurate at the time of publication. However, the information contained in this catalog does not constitute a contract between the College and its students. Emerson College reserves the right to correct or change any provision or requirement in this catalog at any time. The College specifically reserves the right to change its tuition rates and other financial charges. The College also specifically reserves the right to rearrange its courses and class hours, to drop courses for which registration falls below the required minimum enrollment, and to change teaching assignments.
For further information, contact:
Office of Graduate Studies
Emerson College
120 Boylston Street
Boston, MA 02116-4624
617-824-8612
gradstudies@emerson.edu
Faculty Hiring
Definition of Academic Units
The term Department refers to academic units within the Schools or to the Institute for Liberal Arts and Interdisciplinary Studies.
Definitions of Full-time Faculty Positions and Criteria
Instructor
An Instructor is pursuing a terminal degree. In addition, the Instructor must give promise of achievement as (1) a teacher, and (2) either a scholar, an artist or a professional, and (3) indicate a willingness to participate in the activities and programs within the Instructor’s School.
The College expects that an Instructor serves in that rank for no more than 2 years, with the requirements for the terminal degree to be completed by November 15 of the second academic year of employment. The College will move an Instructor to the rank of Assistant Professor at the beginning of the next academic year after the attainment of the expected terminal degree, at which time the tenure clock begins. The faculty member must provide evidence satisfactory to the Vice President for Academic Affairs of completion of the terminal degree by November 15 of the second year. Failure to do so results in non-reappointment.
Assistant Professor
An Assistant Professor holds an earned doctorate, an M.F.A., other terminal degree deemed appropriate by the Vice President for Academic Affairs, or has significant professional accomplishments deemed by the (took out School)Dean in consultation with the appropriate faculty to be the equivalent of one of those degrees. In addition, the Assistant Professor must show promise of, or if having taught at another institution, have demonstrated (1) achievement as a teacher, (2) achievement as a scholar, an artist and/or a professional, and (3) a willingness to serve in College activities and programs. The Assistant Professor also must show willingness to advise and serve students’ professional goals, maintain office hours, support program advising and the like.
Associate Professor
An Associate Professor meets all of the requirements for appointment as an Assistant Professor. Additionally, the Associate Professor must have a record of excellence in teaching. This record will normally include multiple indicators such as student evaluations, peer evaluations, and a Third-Year review. The Associate Professor must have produced nationally recognized research, scholarship, creative work, and/or professional work. The Associate Professor must show promise of becoming a scholar, artist or professional of distinction. The Associate Professor must have demonstrated a satisfactory record of College and professional service.
Professor
A Professor meets all of the requirements for appointment as an Associate Professor. Additionally, a Professor must exemplify distinguished achievement in teaching that is supported by a record including both student evaluations and peer evaluations. A Professor must demonstrate a continuing record of nationally recognized scholarly, artistic or professional work that is mature in nature. The Professor will demonstrate leadership in service contributions to the Department, the School, the College and/or the profession.
Endowed Chairs
Emerson College bestows the title of Endowed Chair upon a distinguished appointee. The highest level of performance and recognition of that performance at the national and international level are inherent criteria for appointment to an Endowed Chair. The appointment to an Endowed Chair may recognize a current member of the faculty or it may be associated with recruitment of a new faculty member. All appointees should demonstrate continued outstanding performance based on national and international standards.
Term Faculty
A Term Faculty member is an employee of Emerson College holding a title such as Artist-in-Residence, Executive-in-Residence, Scholar-in-Residence, Scientist-in-Residence, Writer-in-Residence, Lecturer, or Visiting Professor. Appointment as Term Faculty includes no right to tenure, reappointment, or promotion to any tenure-seeking rank, regardless of length of service. Such appointments will proceed through search channels outlined in 6.1 and normally entail teaching and service duties. Persons receiving such appointments are expected to adhere to the rights and responsibilities as described in Section 12 and to participate as an engaged faculty member in the life of the department and College as outlined in Section 1.
Lecturer and (Faculty)-in-Residence
With the exception of the Visiting (Rank} Professor described in 3.5.6.1 and Non-renewable Term faculty described in 3.5.6.3, a Term Faculty member is a full-time faculty member whose responsibilities normally entail teaching and service duties.
Visiting (Rank) Professor
A Visiting (Rank} Professor is a full-time term faculty member who may be appointed annually, for a semester or a year, for a period not to exceed two years.
Non-renewable Term
In the event of an unplanned vacancy (see 6.3), the Dean may hire, ordinarily after conducting a search process, a Non-renewable Term faculty member who may hold any title found in 3.5.6. The appointment is for up to one academic year.
Senior Term Faculty II
A Senior Term Faculty II member meets all of the requirements for appointment as Senior Term Faculty. Additionally, a Senior Term Faculty II member must exemplify distinguished achievement in teaching that is supported by a record including student, peer, and external evaluation. The Senior Term Faculty II member will demonstrate leadership in service to the faculty, the department, school or Liberal Arts Council, the College, and/or the profession, community and society. Scholarship, research and creative work may be considered as a supplement to the candidate’s case, but are not a requirement for promotion to Senior Term II.
Policy Against Discrimination, Harassment & Sexual Violence
Emerson College is committed to and strives to create an educational and work environment free of Discrimination, Harassment & Sexual Violence. Please view our full Policy Against Discrimination, Harassment & Sexual Violence. The Office of Equal Opportunity (OEO) is responsible for addressing all issues of discrimination, harassment and sexual violence (sexual assault, relationship violence, stalking, sexual exploitation) for students, staff and faculty at Emerson College. This includes conduct based on any of the protected categories, such as race, color, national origin, ethnicity, shared ancestry, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, religion, disability, age, and other protected identities. Anyone with concerns about this conduct can contact OEO a oeo@emerson.edu, or 617-824-8999. Concerns can also be reported online at emerson.ethicspoint.com.
Students’ Right to Privacy (FERPA)
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords you certain rights with respect to your education records. These rights include to inspect your education records, the right to request the amendment of your education records, and the right to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information. Students may grant their parents or necessary third parties digital access to their educational records as a FERPA Proxy. More information about FERPA, its exceptions, and setting up a FERPA Proxy are available through the Registrar’s Office and in our FERPA policy.
Types, Locations, and Custodians of Education Records
Following is an illustrative, but not exclusive, list of the types of FERPA-protected records that the College maintains, along with their locations and custodians.
Admission Records
Office of Graduate Admission
2nd floor, Suite 230
Custodian: Vice President for Enrollment
Cumulative Academic Records
Office of the Registrar
180 Tremont Street, 4th Floor
Custodian: Registrar
Financial Aid Records
Financial Aid Office
216 Tremont Street, 4th Floor
Custodian: Director of Financial Aid
Financial Records
Student Accounts Office
216 Tremont Street, 4th Floor
Custodian: Director of Student Accounts
Placement Records
Career Development Center
216 Tremont Street, 6th Floor
Custodian: Director of Career Development Center
Progress Records or Advising Records
Faculty Office, Individual Offices, or Advising Center
180 Tremont Street, 4th Floor
Custodian: Instructor, Advisor
Disciplinary Records
Office of the Vice President and Dean for Campus Life
Campus Life
120 Boylston Street, 4th Floor
Custodian: Dean for Campus Life
ADA/Section 504 Policy
Emerson College is committed to providing students and employees (faculty and staff) with disabilities equal access to the College’s programs, services, and activities. The College provides reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504) and all other applicable federal or state laws. Students in need of accommodations based on a disability should contact Student Accessibility Services (SAS).
Student Process for Requesting Disability Accommodations
Emerson’s Student Accessibility Services (SAS) Office offers services to qualified students with documented physical, medical, visual, hearing, learning, or psychiatric disabilities. SAS is the College’s primary contact person for all students with disabilities.
If an Emerson student with a disability requires an accommodation, they need to register with the SAS. Students should start by completing the Initial Accommodations Request Form. Students should remember that it takes time for the College to arrange accommodations and that accommodations cannot be made retroactively. As such, students are encouraged to submit their accommodations requests as soon as they can. Requests that are not made in a timely manner may result in a delay of implementation of those accommodations. Students who request accommodations will be asked to provide the SAS with recent and sufficient documentation of their disability and the reason(s) their requested accommodation is necessary. Information regarding the type of documentation needed can found in the SAS Documentation Guidelines. SAS staff will engage in an interactive process with the student to gather information and determine the right reasonable accommodation to meet their needs.
SAS is located at 216 Tremont Street on the fifth floor and can be reached at sas@emerson.edu, or by telephone at 617-824-8592. The mailing address is Student Accessibility Services Office, Emerson College, 120 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02116.
Clery Disclosure
Emerson’s Annual Security Reports contain important safety and security information, including but not limited to policies concerning: Campus Law Enforcement, Alcohol and Other Drugs, Notice of Non-Discrimination, Crime Prevention & Wellness Education, Campus Security Authorities, Timely Warning and Emergency Notifications, Sexual Misconduct, Health & Safety, Facilities (Security and Access), Emergency Response and Evacuation Procedures, Missing Students Notification, Confidentiality & Privacy, Fire Safety Information & statistics, Sex Offender Registry Information, as well as crime statistics for the past three years concerning certain categories of criminal offenses that occurred on campus, in campus residence halls, or in non-campus buildings or public property within the College’s defined CLERY Act Geographical Area.
Emerson publishes an annual campus security report for each of its three campuses (Boston, Los Angeles, and Kasteel Well, Netherlands), in compliance with the Clery Act. These reports are available online at emerson.edu/departments/police/staying-informed/clery-reports. Requests for paper copies of the report can be submitted via email to Robert_Casagrande@emerson.edu or requests can be made in person at the Emerson Police Department, which is located at 114 Boylston Street, Boston, Massachusetts.
Policy Regarding VA Benefits
Students that are a covered individual1 are able to attend or participate in their course of education during the period beginning on the date on which the individual provides to the educational institution a certificate of eligibility2 for entitlement to educational assistance under chapter 31 or 33 and ending on the earlier of the following dates:
- The date on which payment from VA is made to the institution
- 90 days after the date the institution certified tuition and fees following the receipt of the certificate of eligibility.
Emerson College will not impose any penalty including the assessment of late fees, the denial of access to classes, libraries, or other institutional facilities, or the requirement that a covered individual borrow additional funds, on any covered individual because of the individual’s inability to meet their financial obligations to the institution due to the delayed disbursement funding from VA under chapter 31 or 33. Covered individuals are responsible for any amount not covered by the VA.
1A covered individual is defined as any individual who is entitled to educational assistance under chapter 31, Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment, or chapter 33, Post-9/11 GI Bill® benefits.
2A certificate of eligibility can also include a “Statement of Benefits” obtained from the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) website (eBenefits) or a VAF-28-1905 form for chapter 31 authorization purposes.
GI Bill® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). More information about education benefits offered by VA is available at the official U.S. government Web site at https://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill.
NC-SARA
Emerson College has been approved to participate in the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA).
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