1. (a) Faculty Qualifications.

   1. (1) Documentation of faculty qualifications shall be included in the official files of the program. Each nurse faculty member shall:

      1. (A) Hold a current, valid license to practice as a registered nurse in the State of Texas or reside in any party state and hold a current, valid registered nurse license in that state;
      2. (B) Hold a minimum of a master's degree in nursing or the equivalent thereof as determined by the Board; and
      3. (C) Be qualified through academic preparation to teach the subject assigned and shall meet the standards for faculty appointment by the governing institution.

   2. (2) Faculty responsible for clinical management courses or involved in clinical teaching and supervision shall also:

      1. (A) Be authorized to practice as advanced practice nurses in the state in which they practice;
      2. (B) Have clinical practice experience at the advanced practice nursing level of at least two years. If a faculty member has less than two years advanced practice nursing experience, that faculty member must be responsible to a qualified faculty member; and
      3. (C) Maintain clinical practice within the advanced role and specialty.

2. (b) An advanced educational program shall employ sufficient faculty members with graduate preparation and expertise necessary to enable students to meet the program goals. The number of faculty members shall:

   1. (1) Provide students with a level of instruction and supervision that is compatible with safe practice and that includes educational experiences necessary to meet students' learning needs; and

   2. (2) Be determined by such factors as:

      1. (A) The number and level of students enrolled;
      2. (B) The curriculum plan;
      3. (C) Activities and responsibilities required of faculty;
      4. (D) The number and geographic locations of preceptors, affiliate agencies, and clinical practice settings; and
      5. (E) The complexity of care and acuity of patients

3. (c) Faculty shall function under the same general policies that affect other faculty members in the institution; however, variations of these policies may be necessary because of the nature of the curriculum for which the faculty must have authority and responsibility.

   1. (1) Policies concerning workload for faculty and the director shall be in writing.
   2. (2) Time shall be provided faculty to accomplish those activities related to the teaching-learning process as well as meet other institutional duties such as scholarly activities, practice, or research.
   3. (3) The teaching load of the director shall not negatively impact his/her ability to administer the program.

4. (d) The faculty shall be organized with written policies and procedures and/or bylaws to guide its activities. The policies, procedures, and/or bylaws shall be consistent with the governing institution.

   1. (1) The faculty shall meet regularly and function in such a manner that all members participate in planning, implementing, and evaluating the program. Such participation includes, but is not limited to, the initiation and/or change of academic policies, personnel policies, curriculum, utilization of affiliate agencies, and program evaluation.
   2. (2) Minutes of faculty organization and/or committee meetings shall document the reasons for actions and the decisions of the faculty and shall be available for reference.

5. (e) There shall be written plans for faculty orientation, development, and evaluation.

   1. (1) Orientation of new faculty members shall be initiated at the onset of employment.
   2. (2) A program of faculty development shall be offered to encourage and assist faculty members to meet the program's needs as well as individual faculty member's professional development needs.
   3. (3) A variety of means shall be used to evaluate faculty performance such as self, student, peer and administrative evaluations as well as program outcomes.

Source Note:The provisions of this §219.7 adopted to be effective September 13, 2001, 26 TexReg 6889.