Academic Tenure and Promotion Guidelines

Links to AAA's Guidelines for Evaluating Scholarship for Academic Promotion and Tenure, Evaluating Ethnographic Visual Media, and AAA's Statement on Electronic Publishing are all available on the Academic Tenure and Promotion Guidelines webpage. 

What is Happening with Anthropology? Recent Trends Regarding Faculty, Enrollment, Degrees Granted and Departments

At the 2011 AAA Annual Meeting in Montreal, the Department of Academic Programs presented data on what is happening within the discipline regarding recent trends concerning faculty, enrollment and degrees granted. Comparative data on salaries, enrollments, degrees granted is included, as well as information on the general state of anthropology departments. To see the power point presentation, please go to: What is Happening with Anthropology?

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Become the most effective teacher you can by using the American Anthropological Association’s Teaching Materials Exchange. To give back and help others by submitting your materials to the exchange, please visit our website.

Thanks to the AAA Resource Development Committee, the donors and members who contributed to the Teaching Materials Exchange.

Guidelines for Evaluating Scholarship in the Realm of Practicing, Applied, and Public Interest Anthropology for Academic Promotion and Tenure

The American Anthropological Association (AAA) recognizes the growing number of anthropologists who identify as practicing, applied, public interest, or engaged anthropologists. Departments of anthropology and their home colleges are thus challenged with documenting and evaluating the scholarly nature of this type of work in faculty promotion and tenure decisions. Accordingly, the AAA offers the following guidelines developed for departmental and college T&P committees for the evaluation of scholarship in the realm of practicing, applied, public interest, and engaged anthropology for consideration in tenure cases and promotion to associate and full professor. Read the full statement here>> 

For more information and to refer to some examples, please click here.

Program Assessment In Anthropology Departments
A committee of current and former Anthropology Department chairs suggests the following resources as useful to those designing assessment processes for their departments:

• General resource explaining the history of assessment and how faculty can be involved. http://www.learningoutcomeassessment.org/documents/PatHutchings.pdf
• A how-to for understanding, building, and using assessment plans and documents.
  http://www.manoa.hawaii.edu/assessment/howto/index.htm
• An example of how Duke University's department explains the assessment process.
  http://www.culturalanthropology.duke.edu/undergraduate/learning-objectives/assessment-plan 
  Also, an example of an exit interview questionnaire for Duke University's Cultural Anthropology major.
• Links to the undergraduate and graduate assessment criteria at the University of Arizona.
  http://assessment.arizona.edu/sbs/Anthropology%20Undergrad
  http://assessment.arizona.edu/sbs/Anthropology%20Grad

If you know of other assessement materials and information that would be helpful, please send an email to ksharp@aaanet.org.

AAA Department Services Program

• Receive up to 44% discount when placing job ads online and in Anthropology News, and a free interviewing booth at the Annual Meeting
• An invitation to the Department Chairs Breakfast and Topic Session at the Annual Meeting.
• A copy of the AAA Guide and a subscription to Anthropology News.
  Learn more >    

Tenure and Promotion Recommendations for Applied Anthropology Programs

The Consortium of Practicing and Applied Anthropology Programs (COPAA) has developed a set of recommendations on (1) how to develop meaningful ways of defining, documenting, evaluating, and promoting diverse forms of applied scholarship; and (2) how to raise awareness and recognition for applied work among department chairs, deans, and members of tenure and promotion committees. Learn more > (PDF)

AAA Guidelines for the Evaluation of Ethnographic Visual Media. Learn more >

Coalition on the Academic Workforce
On this website, you will find information and resources on contingent faculty in the U.S. Contingent faculty are those employed in part- or full-time, non-tenure-track positions that often lack adequate pay and benefits, access to professional support, and support for scholarship and keeping current in the field. Learn more >

AAA AnthroGuide and E-Guide
The AnthroGuide is the most comprehensive and highly used reference source in anthropology, providing information about your department or program to a wide audience. This resource is used by agencies and researchers to identify anthropologists with particular backgrounds and competence, by professionals seeking to locate colleagues, and by students to select schools. Learn more >

Please e-mail us with feedback or information requests.