Definition or Description:

A faculty member's BASE PROFESSION is that profession that is formally recognized by the institution at which the faculty member holds an academic appointment. It is comprised of scholarly expertise, research skills, and practice or clinical skils in a specific content area in which the faculty member has received advanced education, training, certification, and/or experience.

Thus, for a Biology professor, the BASE PROFESSION is that of biologist; for an Electrical Engineering professor it is electrical engineer; etc.

In terms of the META-PROFESSION model, there may be times when a specific meta-professional skill set coincides with the faculy member's BASE PROFESSION skill set.

Example: For a faculty member who's formally recognized area of expertise is Educational Research, the metaprofessional skill set Instructional Research will be virtually identical with the faculty member's formally recognized area of expertise (BASE PROFESSION).