Titles, Roles, Appointment, Evaluation and Promotion of Non-Tenure-Track Faculty in Teaching and Librarian Positions

 

Original    X       Revised ____

Approved by:

Russell L. Moore, Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs

Authors:

Senior Vice Provost for Academic Planning and Assessment and Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs

Policy Contact:

Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs

Effective Date:           

Feb. 11, 2022

 

I. Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to provide University of Colorado Boulder (“CU Boulder”) academic units with a set of definitions and principles for the roles, appointment, evaluation, reappointment and promotion of non-tenure-track faculty who hold teaching and librarian positions in the lecturer, faculty-in-residence, clinical and instructor-track faculty ranks. This policy carries out in relation to CU Boulder the directives of Regent Law 5.C.3(C); Regent Policy 5.C, “Faculty Appointments”; University of Colorado Administrative Policy Statement (APS) 5053, “Multi-Year Contracts for Instructional, Research and Clinical Faculty with Teaching Responsibilities or Librarian Appointments”; APS 5060, “Faculty Appointments”; and CU Boulder Human Resources policies and procedures in relation to non-tenure track faculty who hold teaching and librarian positions in the lecturer, faculty-in-residence, clinical and instructor-track faculty ranks.

Non-tenure-track faculty in teaching and librarian positions play an important part in CU Boulder’s ability to provide the breadth and quality of educational experience expected of an Association of American Universities public university. They also provide the institution the ability to adjust its educational opportunities more rapidly to meet student needs and preferences than can always be accommodated by the tenured and tenure-track faculty alone. It is important that the campus community recognize the important role played by non-tenure-track faculty in enabling the campus to address both its research and its teaching missions. Standardized definitions and principles for the roles, appointment, evaluation, reappointment and promotion of non-tenure-track faculty in teaching and librarian roles contribute to such recognition.

II. Definitions

Annual merit formula: The combination of the teaching, librarianship or clinical assignment and the level of service and any other responsibilities required by the primary unit. The teaching, librarianship or clinical assignment is defined by the number of courses, credit hours and/or contact hours for the academic year (or, for 12-month appointments, the calendar year) and is identified as a percentage of the annual merit formula. Service includes responsibilities to the department, college or school and university that are outside of the direct teaching or librarianship assignment or clinical practice assignment and is defined as a percentage of the annual merit formula. Service may include but is not limited to committee work, professional development or course/curriculum development. In some cases, non-tenure track faculty in teaching or librarian positions may also have research or creative work defined as a small percentage of their annual merit formula.

Appointment terms: Appointment terms of non-tenure-track faculty are defined in APS 5060.

1. Limited appointments are for a specified period and are not explicitly at-will.
2. Indeterminate appointments are for an indefinite period, and their continuance is dependent upon inclusion in the approved budget and available funding.
3. At-will appointments are for an indefinite period and can be lawfully terminated without cause and without notice.

Full-Time and FTE: “Full-time” faculty are those with a 100% appointment; a full-time position may also be referred to as 1.0 FTE (full-time equivalent). The percent time of the appointment (% full-time) is based on the college- or school-specific definition of 100% full-time effort. In larger colleges, full-time expectations may be defined on a discipline-specific basis.

Multi-year appointment: An appointment defined in the letter of offer that extends beyond one academic year. A multi-year appointment as defined in the letter of offer does not automatically convey, or obligate CU Boulder to provide, a multi-year contract.

Multi-year contract: A contract of up to three years provided to high-performing instructional or clinical faculty members with an at least 0.5 FTE teaching or librarianship assignment as permitted by state law and available financial resources, as delineated in Regent Policy 5.C.3(C) and APS 5053. A multi-year contract is provided separately from the faculty member’s letter of offer.

Primary unit: Normally a department or program in which tenured and tenure-track faculty and non-tenure-track faculty in teaching or librarian positions are rostered. However, some tenured and tenure-track faculty may be rostered in a research institute, department or program and have their tenure home in another unit, which may serve as the primary unit for purposes of tenure and promotion. In addition, some colleges and schools are divided into primary units that are not departments or programs, but that may have distinct needs and policies.

Regular faculty: All faculty eligible for membership in the Faculty Senate of the University of Colorado, as defined by Regent Law 5.A.2(A)(2).

Rostered faculty: Faculty who appear on a primary unit’s personnel roster with a position number.

Working titles: Faculty titles developed by CU Boulder in accordance with University of Colorado APS 5060 to accommodate the specific requirements of CU Boulder’s disciplines. Working titles do not replace official faculty job titles that have been approved for use by all University of Colorado campuses, but they are noted in the individual’s personnel record.

III. Policy

A. Official job titles. CU Boulder uses the official job titles approved by the University of Colorado for all faculty. APS 5060 defines each faculty job title and whether this position is at-will or may be limited or indeterminate. The official job titles used for non-tenure-track faculty in teaching and librarian positions at CU Boulder typically fall into the categories enumerated below. However, this list of official job titles is not exhaustive, and other job titles approved for faculty on non-tenure-track appointments may be used if appropriate.

1. Supplemental faculty appointments: these faculty appointments may range from less than 50% to full time. Supplemental faculty are employees-at-will. Lecturers are appointed on a semester-to-semester or annual basis, or on a shorter basis for shorter-term courses. Faculty in residence, including Scholars in Residence and Artists in Residence, may be appointed on a semester-to-semester or annual basis, or for multi-year appointments for up to four years.
2. Clinical faculty appointments: these faculty members participate in a broad range of teaching and/or clinical activities and provide service to the university and the community, based upon their clinical obligations. They participate in research and scholarly activities to a limited degree. Appointments may range from less than 50% to full-time. Clinical faculty members are usually employees-at-will. If clinical faculty members are engaged in greater than 50% clinical activity, then they may be on a limited appointment. Clinical faculty members with multi-year contracts, as permitted by state law, shall have limited appointments. Job titles of clinical faculty include Clinical Instructor, Clinical Senior Instructor, Clinical Assistant Professor, Clinical Associate Professor, and Clinical Professor.
3. Instructor-track faculty appointments: these faculty members primarily engage in teaching. Individual schools and colleges may require or allow these faculty members to perform scholarly and/or leadership and service activities, but must make clear distinctions between faculty in this track and tenure-track faculty in terms of job qualifications, work assignments or expectations. Instructor-track faculty members may be employees-at-will; however, instructor-track faculty members who engage in 50% or more teaching activity may be appointed to limited or indeterminate appointments. Instructional faculty with multi-year contracts, as permitted by state law, shall have limited appointments. Job titles of instructor-track faculty include Instructor, Senior Instructor, and Principal Instructor.

B. Working titles in the Teaching Professor series for instructor-track faculty. Instructor-track faculty with multi-year contracts and limited appointments of 50% or greater are given working titles in the Teaching Professor series. CU Boulder uses the following working titles for instructor-track faculty in the Teaching Professor Series.

Teaching Assistant Professor: A teaching assistant professor holds the rank and position of instructor.

Teaching Associate Professor: A teaching associate professor holds the rank and position of senior instructor.

Teaching Professor: A teaching professor holds the rank and position of principal instructor.

C. Approval and assignment of working titles. CU Boulder working titles for non-tenure-track faculty in teaching and librarian positions may be added or discontinued by means of a revision of this policy. An individual is assigned a working title by the supervising administrator (e.g., chair, director, dean) when appointed to a qualifying position as defined in this policy and in the procedures associated with this policy. Hiring units or individuals with questions concerning the rights and privileges of faculty official job titles or working titles should consult their dean’s office or the Office of Faculty Affairs.

D. Roles and hiring of lecturers and faculty in residence vs. instructor-track and clinical faculty. Lecturers and faculty in residence play a different role on campus from instructor-track and clinical faculty members. Lecturers and faculty in residence help meet changing student demands as enrollments change, as faculty vacancies occur and as educational needs shift. They make an important contribution to teaching on campus, but their role is typically restricted to teaching, and their position is contingent upon changing needs. When units need part-time or temporary employees to teach classes, they should hire lecturers or faculty in residence. Instructor-track and clinical faculty members in teaching and librarian roles contribute over a number of years, and sometimes over an entire career, to the teaching, clinical and service missions of the university; they may pursue their own research or creative work alongside their university duties, work that may enrich their contributions. The nature of the instructional mission of the Boulder campus is such that each college and school has a different need and pattern of employment of lecturers and instructors. Accordingly, the different colleges and schools use these titles differently based on specific disciplines and attach different expectations and compensation to these titles based on faculty members’ skills, experience and work responsibilities. Schools and colleges must regularly assess their needs for continuing, perhaps career-long, contributions to their missions by non-tenure-track faculty members. In those cases, and in those cases alone, positions should be created for instructor-track or clinical faculty members.

E. Multi-year contracts. Instructor-track or clinical faculty members with a 0.5 FTE or greater teaching assignment or librarianship assignment may be eligible for a contract of up to three years. The amount of a faculty member’s position that constitutes the teaching assignment or librarianship assignment is determined by the faculty member’s annual merit formula. When hiring into an instructor-track or clinical faculty position that meets this definition, the primary unit may first offer the faculty member a one-year appointment and then move the faculty member to a multi-year contract upon satisfactory performance during the one-year appointment. A multi-year appointment as defined in the letter of offer does not automatically convey, or obligate CU Boulder to provide, a multi-year contract.

F. At-will appointments. With the exception of positions that qualify for placement on a multi-year contract, all non-tenure-track faculty positions are considered by the University of Colorado and by the state of Colorado to be at-will appointments. All appointment letters of at-will employees must carry a description of at-will status. Nothing described in this policy or the procedures associated with this policy is meant to nor may it be interpreted to conflict with the at-will status of these job titles.

G. Consistency of pay. Schools and colleges must ensure that employees with similar titles and similar responsibilities within the same discipline are paid in a consistent manner by using the same per-course or per-credit-hour pay basis for all, or by using a pay system consistent with CU Boulder Human Resources policies and procedures and based on job-related education, training, and experience; seniority; merit; and/or quantity or quality of production.

H. Working conditions. The campus should work to integrate all non-tenure-track faculty into the university community and should provide them with working conditions conducive to the performance of their duties.

I. Participation in shared governance.

1. Primary unit: instructor-track and clinical faculty members should be considered as continuing members of their primary unit. They should participate as appropriate in the governance of the primary unit, in particular in relation to curricular matters. The bylaws of the primary unit should define the voting rights of instructor-track and clinical faculty.
2. School or college: The bylaws of any school or college faculty shared governance group should define the voting rights of instructor-track and clinical faculty.
3. Boulder Faculty Assembly (BFA): according to the BFA bylaws, members of the assembly must be members of the University of Colorado Faculty Senate. Membership in the Faculty Senate is defined by Article 5.A.2(A)(2) of the Laws of the Regents and by Article 1.A.2(a) of the Faculty Senate Constitution. Among the non-tenure-track faculty with teaching and librarian positions, those who have appointments of 50% or greater in the ranks of instructor, senior instructor, principal instructor, artist in residence and scholar in residence, as well as clinical faculty and tenure-track and tenured faculty, are members of the University of Colorado Faculty Senate. Lecturers with any percentage appointment and non-tenure track faculty with appointments of less than 50% are members of the faculty but are not members of the Faculty Senate.

J. Annual merit evaluation. Rostered instructor-track and clinical faculty members on multi-year appointments are reviewed as part of the annual merit evaluation process. Primary units must include provisions for evaluation of rostered instructor-track and/or clinical faculty (as applicable to the unit) in their annual merit evaluation standards and procedures, which must be in writing and must be easily accessible to all faculty. All procedures for annual merit evaluation must conform with the procedures included with this policy.

K. Reappointment and promotion. Primary units must include provisions for instructor-track and/or clinical faculty (as applicable to the unit) in their reappointment and promotion criteria and procedures. These criteria and procedures must be in writing, must be easily accessible to all faculty and must conform with the procedures included with this policy.

L. Non-renewal of instructor-track or clinical faculty appointment. Non-renewal of appointment is not dismissal. If an instructor-track or clinical faculty member feels they have been denied reappointment unfairly, by a process that has been arbitrary, capricious, retaliatory, inconsistent with the treatment of peers in similar circumstances, or based on personal malice, they may appeal the non-renewal. An appeal procedure must be established in all schools and colleges to expeditiously hear appeals regarding non-renewal while the instructor is still a member of the university community.

M. Dismissal for cause. Regent Law 5.C.4(C) defines dismissal of a non-tenure-track faculty member for cause as subject to campus policies and the terms of the individual’s letter of offer or employment agreement. Grievances for dismissals for cause are handled according to campus policy.

N. Termination for reasons of program discontinuance. Instructor-track and clinical faculty positions may be terminated in accordance with Regent Policy 5.F.1 and campus policy on academic program discontinuance. In accordance with Regent Policy 5.F.1, one year’s formal notice will be given to all instructional, research and clinical faculty members whose appointments are to be terminated for reasons of program discontinuance, provided they have at least seven years of continuous half-time (0.5 FTE) service to the university.

IV. HISTORY

This policy’s precursors include:

• The BFA "Instructors' Bill of Rights” (ratified April 2, 1998)
• Instructor and Lecturer Rank Faculty: Guidelines for Appointment, Evaluation and Promotion (adopted by Academic Affairs, March 9, 1999)
• Report of the BFA/Academic Affairs Task Force on Instructors issued during the 2007–08 Academic Year
• Report and Recommendations of the BFA Ad-hoc Committee on the Status of Instructors (March 12, 2010)
• A major revision to the Academic Affairs guidelines (approved March 29, 2011)

The revised 2011 Academic Affairs guidelines formed the basis of this policy and the procedures that carry out this policy.

End of policy

 

Procedures for Appointment, Evaluation, Promotion, and Appeal of Non-Renewal for Non-Tenure-Track Faculty in Teaching and Librarian Positions

1. Appointment

a. Lecturers and faculty in residence

1. Appointment as a lecturer, scholar in residence or artist in residence is an at-will appointment and is subject to the limitations and restrictions defined by Colorado statute and by University of Colorado policy.
2. Appointment as a lecturer is normally for a semester or an academic year, but may be for shorter terms for the purpose of teaching shorter-term courses.
3. Appointment as a scholar in residence or artist in residence may be for any length of time between a single semester (or shorter term for the purpose of teaching shorter-term courses) and four years.
4. Scholars in residence or artists in residence who hold multi-year appointments are not eligible for multi-year contracts.
5. New or vacant positions for lecturer or faculty in residence appointments (including internal promotional opportunities and rehires) must be announced or posted publicly in accordance with CU Boulder Human Resources policies and procedures.
6. The qualifications of faculty hired into lecturer or faculty in residence positions must meet or exceed faculty qualifications as defined in the Assumed Practices policy of the Higher Learning Commission, CU Boulder’s accreditor.
7. The establishment of a hiring committee is recommended but not required for appointments to lecturer or faculty in residence positions.
8. A lecturer or faculty in residence appointment is made through a letter of offer that describes, among other things, appointment start and end dates, salary, renewal and reappointment, and annual merit formula (as applicable).

b. Instructor-track and clinical faculty

1. Appointment as a part-time instructor-track or clinical faculty member, or as a full-time instructor-track or clinical faculty member not qualifying for a multi-year contract, is an at-will appointment and is subject to the limitations and restrictions defined by Colorado statute and by University of Colorado policy.
2. Multi-year appointments for instructor-track or clinical faculty positions are typically for three years. A multi-year appointment as defined in the letter of offer does not automatically convey, or obligate CU Boulder to provide, a multi-year contract.
3. A multi-year contract of up to three years may be offered for an instructor-track or clinical faculty position with an appointment of 50% or more if at least 0.5 FTE of the position comprises a teaching assignment or librarianship assignment. The amount of a faculty member’s position that constitutes the teaching assignment or librarianship assignment is determined by the faculty member’s annual merit formula. An instructor-track or clinical faculty position provided with a multi-year contract is not an at-will position.
4. When hiring into an instructor-track or clinical faculty position that is eligible for a multi-year contract, the primary unit may first offer the faculty member a one-year appointment and then move the faculty member to a multi-year contract upon satisfactory performance during the one-year appointment.
5. New or vacant positions for instructor-track or clinical faculty appointments (including internal promotional opportunities and rehires) must be announced or posted publicly in accordance with CU Boulder Human Resources policies and procedures.
6. The qualifications of faculty hired into instructor-track or clinical faculty positions must meet or exceed faculty qualifications as defined in the Assumed Practices policy of the Higher Learning Commission, CU Boulder’s accreditor.
7. The establishment of a hiring committee is recommended but not required for an appointment to an instructor-track or clinical faculty position.
8. An instructor-track or clinical faculty appointment is made through a letter of offer that describes, among other things, appointment start and end dates, salary, renewal and reappointment, and annual merit formula (as applicable).
9. A multi-year contract for an instructor-track or clinical faculty appointment, if offered, defines, among other things, the terms under which termination with cause and termination without cause would take place.

 

2. Pay and salary

a. Lecturers and faculty in residence: Academic units, working with their deans’ offices, shall establish a pay scale for lecturers and faculty in residence within the primary unit, defined on a per-course or per-credit-hour basis, taking into consideration experience and the nature of the assignment and in accordance with CU Boulder Human Resources policy. Lecturer, scholar in residence and artist in residence pay should not be indexed by instructor-track or clinical faculty salaries; instructor-track and clinical faculty members have duties and roles on campus that are different from those of lecturers and faculty in residence.

b. Instructor-track and clinical faculty: CU Boulder sets a minimum salary for 100% full-time instructor-track and clinical faculty members (based on a 9-month appointment in most units, but on a 12-month appointment in units where the standard instructor-track or clinical faculty appointment is for 12 months).^[1] Based on that minimum salary, each college and school must establish a salary range for 100% full-time instructor-track and clinical faculty within their unit. In larger colleges, starting salaries may be discipline-specific. Instructor-track and clinical faculty members on less than 100% time appointments shall be paid proportionately. Initial salaries for senior instructors will normally be greater than those earned by instructors in their initial appointments, and initial salaries for principal instructors will normally be greater than those earned by senior instructors. For clinical faculty, initial salaries for clinical associate professors will normally be greater than those earned by clinical assistant professors in their initial appointments, and initial salaries for clinical professors will normally be greater than those earned by clinical associate professors in their initial appointments. Salaries for rostered instructor-track and clinical faculty members on multi-year appointments shall be eligible for annual merit increases as part of the regular faculty merit assessment process.

 

3. Benefits

a. Lecturers, scholars in residence and artists in residence are provided with the same health care benefit options available to other faculty ranks once an individual teaches for a semester at 50% full-time or greater. Benefits are not provided to an individual whose lecturer or faculty in residence appointment falls below 50% full-time. Lecturers and faculty in residence are not eligible for retirement benefits (other than FICA) because they are not continuing faculty members and thus do not have appointments that extend up to the vesting date. Lecturers and faculty in residence with simultaneous appointments in two or more units will be eligible for benefits if the sum of their appointments is equivalent to 50% time or greater as defined by the unit of their earliest-dated active appointment. In such cases, the obligation for notifying in writing all units of appointments that sum to 50% or greater rests with the employee. Costs of benefits will be borne by each unit on a proportional basis.

b. Instructor-track and clinical faculty members at 50% time or greater receive health and retirement benefits consistent with those offered to tenured and tenure-track faculty. Health benefits and retirement are not extended to those instructor-track and clinical faculty members whose appointments are initially or fall below 50% full-time. Instructor-track and clinical faculty members are entitled to leave (sick leave, parental leave, vacation leave, military leave, etc.) in accordance with Regent Policy 11.E and University of Colorado Administrative Policy Statement (APS) 5062. Depending on the type of leave required, different leave benefits and procedures may apply depending on whether the faculty member is on a 9-month or a 12-month appointment.

c. Hiring authorities or candidates should direct questions regarding benefits to the Benefits and Wellness division of the University of Colorado Department of Employee Services.

 

4. Privileges, instructional support, and eligibility for awards and administrative positions

a. Lecturers and faculty in residence are eligible for parking, bookstore, recreation center, library and University ID privileges as permitted by specific campus policies. Support for the instructional responsibilities of lecturers and faculty in residence will be provided, including access to supplies, staff support and space for meeting with students. Lecturers and faculty in residence shall be eligible for most teaching awards. Lecturers and faculty in residence may be eligible for a Special Graduate Faculty appointment allowing them to teach graduate courses and/or serve on graduate thesis and dissertation committees, in accordance with Graduate School Rules. Lecturers and faculty in residence are encouraged to participate in faculty governance to the full extent permitted by primary unit bylaws and the rules of college/school governance groups and the Boulder Faculty Assembly.

b. Instructor-track and clinical faculty members are eligible for parking, bookstore, recreation center, library and University ID privileges as permitted by specific campus policies. Support for the instructional responsibilities of instructor-track and clinical faculty members will be provided, including access to supplies, staff support and space for meeting with students. Instructor-track and clinical faculty members are eligible for most faculty teaching and service awards and may apply for most faculty development fund programs offered to tenured and tenure-track faculty, such as travel or research/creative work awards. Instructor-track and clinical faculty members may be eligible for a Special Graduate Faculty appointment allowing them to teach graduate courses and/or serve on graduate thesis and dissertation committees, in accordance with Graduate School Rules. Instructor-track and clinical faculty members are encouraged to participate in faculty governance to the full extent permitted by primary unit bylaws and the rules of college/school governance groups and the Boulder Faculty Assembly. Administrative units at all levels should consider applications from rostered instructor-track and clinical faculty for any administrative position (excluding those that involve personnel actions concerning tenured and tenure-track faculty) where the terms of that position and of the faculty member’s base appointment are in accord.

c. In addition to the privileges, support, and eligibility for awards and administrative positions afforded to all instructor-track and clinical faculty members, senior instructors and principal instructors on the instructor track, along with clinical associate professors and clinical professors, are eligible to apply for semesters of differentiated annual merit formula. Faculty members who have completed six years (twelve semesters) in rank (at 100% time appointment) as a senior instructor, principal instructor, clinical associate professor or clinical professor will be eligible to apply for a differentiated annual merit formula for one semester. If granted, the differentiated annual merit formula will reduce the formal teaching responsibilities of the faculty member to one three-credit course (or its equivalent) for that semester. The purpose of this annual merit formula adjustment is to allow these faculty members time to update their pedagogy and instructional and/or clinical skills and to develop new curriculum and/or clinical initiatives. The faculty member on differentiated annual merit formula is expected to remain on campus and serve the campus full-time as otherwise defined by the appointment letter. Faculty members with appointments of less than 100% (but at least 50%) full-time shall be eligible for this benefit on a prorated basis. For example, a 50% faculty member holding one of these positions will be eligible to apply for a differentiated annual merit formula after 24 semesters. Application for a differentiated annual merit formula assignment is made to the primary unit chair or director and must be approved in writing by the dean.

d. Senior instructors and principal instructors on the instructor track, along with clinical associate professors and clinical professors, are eligible for emeritus status upon retiring.

 

5. Evaluation

a. Lecturers, scholars in residence and artists in residence may be evaluated by primary units in a number of ways, including Faculty Course Questionnaires, class observations, class interviews and/or the Faculty Report of Professional Activities. A written statement of policy should be provided by the primary unit at the beginning of employment.

b. Rostered instructor-track and clinical faculty members on multi-year appointments will be reviewed by the primary unit every year as part of the annual merit process. Annual merit evaluations will be conducted by the unit using criteria and procedures established in writing. Evaluation for annual merit will be based upon the merit weighting defined at the time of appointment, unless it is subsequently modified in writing. Instructor-track and clinical faculty members need to maintain currency in their area of teaching, librarianship and/or clinical practice, and such currency should be demonstrated during the annual evaluation. Each unit should determine the appropriate evaluation measures to be used and any appropriate support for faculty development that may be provided. The criteria used for annual evaluation must be available in writing to all faculty.

 

6. Lecturer positions may be renewed on a term-by-term or annual basis. Faculty in residence positions may be renewed on a term-by-term, annual or multi-year basis. Primary units should show due consideration for lecturers and faculty in residence by making every effort to provide early notification of possible extensions of their appointment and should keep the principle of continuity of employment in mind when making teaching assignments.

 

7. When an individual has been employed in a lecturer, scholar in residence or artist in residence position at 50% or greater for three years, the primary unit, in conjunction with the college or school, may consider whether the position should be redefined as a rostered instructor-track or clinical faculty position. If a long-term relationship between the individual and the campus is desirable, a rostered instructor-track or clinical faculty position should be created. Where the position is temporary and contingent, lecturers or faculty in residence should be employed. Where a unit finds that it has continuing but fluctuating part-time work, it is best not to employ someone beyond three years, because doing so may suggest a guarantee of continuing employment that does not exist. A faculty member who has multiple lecturer or faculty in residence appointments in different units constitutes a different situation: while the individual may have a 50% or greater appointment in total, a single, continuing position is not appropriate.

 

8. Reappointment of instructor-track and clinical faculty

a. Timeline and process: instructor-track and clinical faculty members are reviewed during the last year of the appointment period, preferably during the first semester of that year. The primary unit and the school or college must each establish a timeline for the review process that allows for sufficient consideration at each level of review and, if necessary, time for a faculty member to appeal non-renewal before the expiration of the appointment.

b. Criteria for reappointment

1. The primary unit must establish written criteria for successful reappointment, which should include criteria for teaching or librarianship and other duties performed by instructor-track or clinical faculty in the unit. The components of an individual’s evaluation (e.g., teaching, librarianship, service or clinical duties) are defined by the annual merit formula in the initial letter of appointment. At least three distinct measures of effectiveness and performance must be used in the evaluation of teaching or librarianship.
2. Primary unit criteria for reappointment must define what constitutes "meritorious" and "excellent" performance in each component of evaluation (e.g., teaching, librarianship, service or clinical duties). Instructor-track and clinical faculty members are generally expected to demonstrate excellence in teaching or librarianship, and at least meritorious performance in the other components of their annual merit formula.
3. Reappointment of instructor-track and clinical faculty members will be based on the instructional needs of the unit they are serving as well as the faculty member’s performance.

c. Evaluation procedures

1. Each college or school must establish evaluation procedures for reappointment of instructor-track and clinical faculty, and each primary unit must also establish evaluation procedures. These procedures must be in writing and must be accessible to all faculty members. The primary unit procedures are typically included in the unit’s bylaws or appended to the unit’s criteria for reappointment.
2. The evaluation procedures in all colleges, schools and primary units must include the following elements for reappointment of instructor-track and clinical faculty on full-time appointments.

a. Primary Unit Evaluation Committee: This group of faculty members from within the primary unit is elected or appointed as specified in the unit's bylaws. In small units, the primary unit evaluation committee and the primary unit may be one and the same. The primary unit evaluation committee is responsible for assisting the candidate in assembling the reappointment dossier, soliciting opinions from outside reviewers when appropriate, and providing a written and often an oral summary of the candidate's dossier to the membership of the primary unit. In some units, the primary unit evaluation committee makes a recommendation or reports a vote. In other units, the role of the primary unit evaluation committee is limited to compiling and summarizing the dossier. The written report of the primary unit evaluation committee becomes part of the dossier.

b. Primary Unit: The primary unit is composed of the faculty members of a department, program, division, school or college authorized to vote on matters of appointment, reappointment and promotion. Unless primary unit bylaws or the dean and the provost agree otherwise, only members of equal or higher rank are authorized to vote on instructor-track or clinical faculty personnel cases. The primary unit is charged with evaluating the record as contained within the dossier and making a recommendation to the next level of review. The vote of the primary unit and any accompanying summary or explanation become part of the dossier.

c. Report of the Chair: In some units, the department chair, program director or division head provides a written explanation of the primary unit vote and offers an opinion of the merits of the case. In other units, the report of the chair, director or division head is simply a written communication to the dean that reports the vote and discussion of the primary unit. The report of the chair, director or division head becomes part of the dossier. If allowed by the primary unit's evaluation procedures, the primary unit-level evaluation for reappointment of instructor-track and clinical faculty members on appointments that are less than 100% full time may be conducted entirely by the chair, director or division head or their designee(s).

d. Dean recommendation: The dean, after considering the recommendation of the primary unit and the contents of the dossier, makes an affirmative or negative recommendation and submits that recommendation to the Associate Vice Chancellor for Faculty Affairs for review and submission to the Provost. Deans may employ a faculty advisory or personnel committee to assist in evaluation of candidates.

e. Provost recommendation and Chancellor decision: The Provost submits the dossier with an affirmative or negative recommendation to the Chancellor, who serves as final authority in cases of reappointment and promotion of non-tenure-track faculty.

d. Reappointment term: In most cases, reappointments of instructor-track and clinical faculty members will be for more than one year. However, a reappointment process may result in recommendation of a one-year reappointment period to correct problems in performance. During the course of that year, another evaluation should take place that would result in either a multi-year reappointment or non-renewal of the position.

e. Reappointment procedure for senior instructors, principal instructors, clinical associate professors and clinical professors:

1. Instructor-track and clinical faculty members who are completing the final year of their first multi-year appointment at the rank of senior instructor, principal instructor, clinical associate professor or clinical professor will undergo a formal, but expedited review. The chair and/or dean will review the faculty member’s file. If the faculty member has been meeting or exceeding expectations, as based on multiple measures of teaching or librarianship, then a new three-year contract may be issued. If the chair and/or dean sees the need for a full formal review by the primary unit, that review will be conducted.
2. In all cases, after the first six years in rank as a senior instructor, principal instructor, clinical associate professor or clinical professor, the faculty member will undergo a full formal review by the primary unit. If the faculty member continues to be employed by the university, reviews will alternate between expedited reviews and full reviews, with this six-year timeline for and rigor of the full review being in rough parallel to post-tenure review for tenured faculty.

f. Appeal of non-renewal of appointment: To preserve the employee’s rights to appeal non-renewal, rostered instructor-track and clinical faculty members on multi-year appointments must be notified at least six weeks before the end date in the letter of offer whether (a) they will be renewed; (b) they will not be renewed; or (c) their renewal is still pending. An appeal procedure must be established in all schools and colleges to expeditiously hear appeals regarding non-renewal while the instructor is still a member of the university community. The last level of review of an appeal of non-renewal is the dean of the school or college, who serves as the final authority in cases of appeal of non-renewal of appointment of rostered instructor-track and clinical faculty members.

 

9. Promotion of instructor-track and clinical faculty

a. Timeline for promotion review

1. Up to three years’ credit towards promotion, based on previous academic service, may be awarded at the time of initial appointment in the position of instructor on the instructor track, instructor on the clinical track, or clinical assistant professor. The number of years of credit toward promotion must be stated in the initial letter of offer.
2. Those holding the position of instructor on either the instructor track or the clinical track will normally be considered for promotion to the rank of senior instructor after a period of six years of continuous appointment at the rank of instructor in a 50% or greater appointment. An instructor-track faculty member with a 50% or greater appointment who is promoted to senior instructor is granted the working title of Teaching Associate Professor. A clinical faculty member who is promoted from instructor to senior instructor is not given a working title.
3. Those instructor-track faculty holding the position of senior instructor who have been exemplary teachers and members of the university community may be considered for promotion to the rank of principal instructor. Normally, consideration for promotion to this rank requires at least three years of continuous appointment at the rank of senior instructor. For faculty members with a 50% or greater appointment, the promotion to principal instructor results in the individual being granted the working title of Teaching Professor. The principal instructor position is not available to faculty on the clinical track.
4. Those holding the position of clinical assistant professor will normally be considered for promotion to the rank of clinical associate professor after a period of six years of continuous appointment at the rank of clinical assistant professor in a 50% or greater appointment.
5. Those clinical faculty members holding the position of clinical associate professor who have been exemplary teachers and members of the university community may be considered for the rank of clinical professor after a minimum of three years at the rank of clinical associate professor in a 50% or greater appointment.
6. Promotion of non-tenure-track faculty on the instructor track or clinical track is not mandatory, nor is it a right. There is no expectation that promotion will occur at a particular point in the individual’s career, nor is there an expectation that each such individual should seek promotion. If an individual seeks promotion and is not approved, that decision has no implications for the individual’s current position and status, and that individual may be considered again for promotion at a later date.
7. Although instructor-track and clinical faculty members may, as a matter of convenience, seek promotion at the point of regular reappointment and contract renewal, they may seek promotion in any academic year after they have met the qualifications for length of service in rank and the primary unit criteria for promotion.
8. Promotion materials should be submitted to the primary unit early in the fall semester, on a schedule consistent with reappointments of non-tenure-track faculty.

b. Criteria for promotion

1. The primary unit must establish written criteria for promotion within the instructor track and/or clinical track, as appropriate to the unit. These should include criteria for teaching or librarianship, for service, and for other duties typically performed by instructor-track or clinical faculty in the unit.

a. The criteria for promotion from instructor to senior instructor or from clinical assistant professor to clinical associate professor should include criteria for meeting the standard of “excellent” in teaching or librarianship. Teaching “excellence” typically carries the expectation that the individual has made significant contributions to pedagogy, curriculum and student learning, in the classroom and for the primary unit. Librarianship “excellence” typically carries the expectation that the individual has made significant contributions in the librarian role(s) occupied by the individual: for example, developing collections, providing intellectual and physical access to collections, library-related instruction, outreach to library users, management and supervision of staff or management of material and financial resources.

b. The criteria for promotion from senior instructor to principal instructor or from clinical associate professor to clinical professor should include criteria for a record of distinction. A “record of distinction” carries the expectation that the individual has made a major positive impact in the disciplinary unit (e.g., on pedagogy and curriculum) and on its students, typically one that extends to considerable impact on the campus generally and a role in national or international discussions related to the individual’s focus of teaching or related to curriculum, librarianship and/or pedagogy.

2. The review for promotion should include a rigorous accounting of the faculty member’s teaching or librarianship record, using at least three distinct measures of excellence, effectiveness and performance; an evaluation of the faculty member’s service; an evaluation of any other duties specified in the faculty member’s letter of appointment; and a demonstration of the faculty member’s continued currency in the field.
3. Examples of measures of teaching include, but are not limited to:

a. A record of classroom teaching, including the following:

1. FCQs
2. Peer evaluations of teaching
3. Interviews with students
4. Randomly solicited letters from students in classes

b. Contributions to course and curriculum development

c. Successful teaching innovations

d. Student outcomes

e. Student engagement, as evidenced, for example, through mentoring of students or service on thesis or dissertation committees

f. Letters solicited from students mentored or advised

g. Efforts to incorporate diversity and inclusion in teaching

h. Contributions to the scholarship of teaching and learning, including the following:

1. Contributions to local or national workshops on teaching
2. Relevant publications such as textbooks, lab manuals, articles on pedagogy, etc.
3. Work that improves teaching across multiple units
4. Papers, posters or presentations on pedagogical topics delivered at conferences

i. Practitioner experience that supplements a teaching career

 

4. Examples of measures of librarianship include, but are not limited to:

a. Letters from first-level and second-level Libraries evaluators

b. Letters from Libraries or campus colleagues

c. A record of classroom teaching or other instructional activities, including the following:

1. FCQs
2. Peer evaluations of teaching or other instructional activities
3. Randomly solicited letters from students in classes

 

d. Focused interviews with persons familiar with the individual’s librarianship

e. Contributions to course and curriculum development

f. Successful librarianship innovations

g. Student outcomes

h. Student engagement, as evidenced, for example, through mentoring of students

i. Letters solicited from students mentored or advised

j. Efforts to incorporate diversity and inclusion in librarianship

k. Contributions to the scholarship of librarianship, including the following:

1. Contributions to local or national workshops on librarianship
2. Relevant publications such as textbooks, manuals, articles on librarianship, etc.
3. Papers, posters or presentations on librarianship topics delivered at conferences

i. Practitioner experience that supplements a librarianship career

 

5. Examples of measures of service include, but are not limited to:

a. Leadership and service that have an impact on the unit, school/college, campus and/or national or international communities

b. Outreach to communities and partners beyond the university, including, e.g., non-profits or historically marginalized groups, that draws upon the instructor’s expertise

 

c. Evaluation procedures

1. Each college or school must establish evaluation procedures for promotion of instructor-track and/or clinical faculty, as appropriate to the college or school, and each primary unit must also establish evaluation procedures. These procedures must be in writing and must be accessible to all faculty members. The primary unit procedures are typically included in the unit’s bylaws or appended to the unit’s criteria for promotion. Only positive recommendations for promotion move from level to level.
2. Primary Unit Review: When a non-tenure-track faculty member on the instructor track or the clinical track wishes to stand for promotion, or when the unit wishes to nominate the faculty member and that individual agrees to stand for promotion, the chair/director of the primary unit should call upon the appropriate faculty committee (e.g., the committee typically convened to review non-tenure-track faculty for reappointment) to review the faculty member’s dossier, which will include:

a. A letter of nomination from the chair

b. One or more supporting letters (which may be from outside the unit or campus),

c. A c.v.

d. A teaching statement

e. A service statement

f. A teaching portfolio that speaks to multiple measures of exemplary performance (see above for examples of multiple measures of exemplary performance).

The primary unit will vote on the promotion. If the vote is positive, the case will be forwarded to the school/college.

 

3. School/College Review: The dean will review the faculty member’s dossier and make the final determination regarding the promotion. Deans may employ a faculty advisory or personnel committee to assist in evaluation of candidates.

 

d. Salaries: The campus does not set standard salary increases that come with promotions of instructor-track and clinical faculty. Such increases are discipline-based, and each school or college must have its own consistent practices for salary increases that come with promotions of instructor-track and clinical faculty.

e. Appeal of non-promotion: All schools and colleges must establish a procedure to hear appeals regarding non-promotion. The last level of review is the dean of the school or college, who serves as the final authority in cases of appeal of non-promotion of non-tenure-track faculty.