Overview of Teaching Eligibility and Table
The Office of Faculty Affairs, the Committee for Educational Policy, and the Registrar’s Office have developed a set of guidelines and a teaching eligibility table that incorporate different needs and perspectives to create clear and complementary guidelines for teaching, advising, and independent/research study eligibility. There is also a pathway for those who fall outside of the initial eligibility roles for advising and leading independent studies.
The primary instructor (or grading instructor) of all SPH courses is responsible for course planning and preparation, course organization, teaching the majority of course sessions, and grading. All individuals holding an SPH faculty appointment (primary, secondary, adjunct, and visiting faculty appointments- these include Menschel Senior Leadership Fellows) as well as individuals holding an SPH non-faculty academic appointment such as instructor or research scientist are eligible to serve as primary instructors of a course. All active Harvard faculty with appointments at a Harvard school can serve as a primary course instructor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School.
All other non-faculty academic appointments (research associate, visiting scientist, postdoctoral research fellow) are eligible to teach a course but may not serve as primary instructor. In these cases, a faculty member who accepts responsibility for general oversight of the course must be designated as the primary instructor. Both the primary instructor and other instructor(s) must be listed on the course proposal form that is submitted to the Office of Education. The course responsibilities that will be assumed by the SPH faculty member must also be delineated.
Guidelines for the Teaching Eligibility Table
- Departments are responsible for complying with CEP expectations ensuring that adjuncts, research scientists, instructors, and visiting faculty interested in advising and/or leading independent studies to meet with an academic administrator in their department for an orientation session that includes overviews of Harvard Chan Resources, administrative processes in the department, information about the program responsibilities and curriculum, structure for advising and school educational policies (e.g., CEP processes, academic support and diversity, and inclusion policies).
- Within this framework, adjuncts, research scientists, instructors, and visiting faculty are permitted to advise and lead independent studies at the discretion of the department in which they hold their faculty or academic appointment.
Teaching Eligibility Table (updated April 9, 2024)
All questions can be directed to Jennifer Betancourt, Director of Educational Policy, at jbetanco@hsph.harvard.edu.