Academic Policy  1405.111 

This policy provides detailed guidelines for initial and successive appointments, evaluation and promotion of non-tenure track faculty.  In particular, this policy provides criteria and procedures for multi-year appointments to non-tenure track instructor, clinical, teaching, research, professor of practice, visiting, and executive-in-residence faculty as defined by Board Policy 405.1 and APS 1405.11 II.D.

Any non-tenure track term of appointment in excess of one year must be merit-based and meet all criteria and procedural requirements addressed in APS 1405.11 and below. Moreover, multiyear, merit-based appointments, in general, are intended for faculty members hired in competitive searches or who have established a notable and consistently strong record of effective performance during their period of service to the University.

As a reminder, any appointment, extension or renewal of an appointment of a non-tenure track faculty member is at the sole discretion of the University.  Considerations may include need for the position and resources of the relevant unit. Non-tenure track faculty do not have a right to a next successive appointment but may be offered a reappointment after the expiration of a current appointment.

This policy is subject to Board of Trustees Policies 405.1 and 405.4, as well as Academic Policy Series 1405.11.

1. Ranks and Duration of Appointment
   
   
   1. Instructor. Appointment as an instructor may be part-time or full-time and is usually on an academic year basis, though the appointment may be for up to a three-year term if the candidate has satisfied a merit-based review process employing evaluative criteria established in departmental and college personnel documents and procedures outlined herein. If successfully completed, in accordance with approved college and department personnel documents, an initial appointment may be considered for renewal for an additional appointment of up to three years. Evidence of highly effective teaching is necessary for extending a multi-year appointment.
      
      
   2. Clinical, Teaching, Research, Professor of Practice, Visiting, and Executive-in-Residence. Appointments may be part-time or full-time. Such appointments may be multi-year appointments if the candidate has satisfied a merit-based review process employing evaluative criteria established in departmental and college personnel documents and procedures outlined herein. The first such merit-based appointment may not exceed three years.
      
      If successfully completed, in accordance with the evaluation procedure set out herein, an initial merit-based, multi-year term appointment may be considered for renewal for an additional appointment of up to three years.  After successful completion of a second three-year term, such merit-based appointments may be considered for merit-based renewal for periods of up to five years.
      
      While these criteria may be supplemented by discipline or unit-criteria adopted by the College and School, any merit-based term appointment of more than one year shall only be recommended when the candidate has consistently demonstrated (or, for initial appointment, shown clear potential for) highly effective teaching and/or, as appropriate to the appointment, a record of highly effective research or service/administration, as well as the ability and willingness to work productively with colleagues.
      
      
2. Procedures for Initial Appointment and Reappointment of Faculty Eligible for Merit-Based, Multi-Year Term Appointments
   
   Any multi-year appointment of non-tenure track faculty, whether an initial or successive appointment, shall include the following merit-based procedures:
   
   
   1. The candidate must submit a written application prior to appointment. Such application shall include a current resume, a description of prior academic and other employment, and supporting documentation of qualification for the position. For multi-year appointments upon initial hire, the process should parallel the process for hiring tenure-track professors, e.g. include letters of recommendation, teaching and/or research demonstrations.
      
      
   2. Such application shall be submitted to the Department Chair/Head and in the case of initial appointment, the chair of the search committee.
      
      
   3. The Personnel Committee shall review and evaluate the application on the basis of merit as determined by the criteria for appointment set out in the departmental and college personnel documents and this policy. Any proposed reappointment shall include, among other things, a review of all annual reviews since the previous appointment. The committee communicates their recommendation to the Department Chair/Head.
      
      
   4. The Department Chair/Head shall provide the Dean with the candidate’s application and the recommendation vote and letter of rationale addressing the criteria for a multi-year appointment from the personnel committee. The Chair/Head will also forward the form (attached herein) that tracks recommendations and signatures.
      
      
   5. The Dean shall make a recommendation to provide a merit-based, multi-year term appointment only after considering the recommendation of the departmental personnel committee and the Department Chair/Head. Colleges may also choose to include consideration by the College personnel committee.
      
      
   6. All multi-year appointments are subject to approval by the Dean and Provost.
      
      
3. Annual Review, Evaluation, and Promotion of Non-Tenure Track Faculty (including Faculty Eligible for Multi-Year Appointments)
   
   
   1. The annual review process for Non-Tenure Track Faculty shall be consistent with that for tenured and tenure-track faculty as set out in APS 1405.11 and College and Departmental personnel documents.
      
      
   2. Non-Tenure Track Faculty at the rank of assistant professor or higher may be considered for promotion subject to criteria and procedures set out in APS 1405.11 and departmental and college personnel documents. However, the opportunity to apply for promotion is not guaranteed.
      
      
   3. Units that wish to consider Non-Tenure Track Faculty for promotion shall follow the same procedures that they would for a tenure-track or tenured professor. As APS 1405.11 stipulates, the faculty checklist is followed, external reviews are required, and the promotion dossier shall be evaluated according to criteria set by the department and college.
      
      
   4. It is recommended that Non-Tenure Track Faculty on a promotion path via a multi-year appointment undergo a comprehensive review akin to a Third Year Review for tenure track faculty.
      
      
   5. If a non-tenure track faculty member on a multi-year appointment receives an unsatisfactory evaluation at the conclusion of an Annual Review that occurs before the final year of a multi-year appointment term, the faculty member’s appointment may be recommended for termination at the end of the academic year in which the recommendation is made. Alternatively, the Dean shall have the discretion to provide the faculty member with a one-year remediation period with an improvement plan prepared by the academic unit. In any event, a second unsatisfactory evaluation during a multi-year appointment shall result in termination of the appointment.
      
      
   6. A termination decision that ends a merit-based, multi-year non-tenure track term appointment prior to the conclusion of the appointment based on unsatisfactory performance may be appealed by the faculty member within five working days, pursuant to Academic Policy Series 1405.11.VII and Board Policy 405.4.2 (C). Expiration of an appointment for a non-tenure track faculty member, and a college/unit decision not to issue a further appointment to a such faculty member, is not subject to these provisions.
      
      
   7. Subject to the foregoing, non-tenure track faculty who receive an unsatisfactory evaluation on the Annual Review should generally not be offered a subsequent appointment.