Richmindale College assigns instructional responsibilities only to faculty members whose academic preparation, disciplinary expertise, professional experience, teaching competence, and other applicable qualifications are appropriate to the level, content, and learning outcomes of the courses they teach.

Faculty qualifications are evaluated individually for each instructional assignment. The possession of an academic degree alone does not automatically qualify a faculty member to teach every course within a broad discipline. Richmindale considers the relationship among the faculty member's earned degrees, graduate coursework, subject-matter preparation, professional experience, professional credentials where applicable, scholarly or applied expertise, and the specific academic content of the assigned course.

Faculty teaching undergraduate general education courses must possess qualifications appropriate to the assigned general education discipline, including the applicable graduate-level preparation expected under Richmindale policy and accreditation requirements.

Faculty teaching graduate courses must possess academic and professional qualifications appropriate to graduate-level instruction and the subject taught. Graduate faculty are expected to demonstrate advanced subject-matter expertise and the capacity to facilitate graduate-level analysis, synthesis, research, application, and scholarly or professional inquiry. Any qualification equivalency used in place of Richmindale's normally expected academic credential must be exceptional, academically defensible, formally documented, and approved through Richmindale's established faculty-qualification process.

Prior to instructional assignment, Richmindale verifies the faculty member's applicable credentials and maintains documentation supporting the qualification determination. Academic Affairs periodically reviews faculty qualifications and teaching assignments, particularly when a faculty member is assigned to a new course, when course content materially changes, or when accreditation or regulatory requirements change.

Faculty teaching assignments are documented in a controlled Faculty Qualification and Course Assignment Matrix or equivalent institutional record showing the academic and professional basis for each assignment.