AUTHOR=Canares Glenn , Riley Scott Jamieson , Gordes Karen L. 

TITLE=A career path framework for teaching focused faculty in graduate health professions and human services education

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Education

VOLUME=Volume 10 - 2025

YEAR=2025

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/education/articles/10.3389/feduc.2025.1578568

DOI=10.3389/feduc.2025.1578568

ISSN=2504-284X

ABSTRACT=Over the past few decades, the composition of university faculty has shifted from full-time tenure to contingent positions. Despite this change, the Appointments, Promotion and Tenure (APT) process has not evolved with this shift. Contingent faculty may lack university-supported mentoring and professional development, leading to growing dissatisfaction and higher turnover. This turnover affects education quality and campus stability. To retain contingent faculty, with a focus on teaching-focused faculty (TFF), and to foster strong communities, universities should consider new development and promotion pathways for TFF. We describe an updated promotion pathway as a potential solution.