Note: The term “designation” is used synonymously in University Regulations for “job title.”
a. Some sections of the regulation have been transferred to new governing regulations (e.g., Academic Freedom), into existing regulations, and/or to the Employee Handbook (e.g., information on leaves).
b. Academic Professional (i.e., Lecturers, Research Scientists, Extension Educators), non-tenure track professorial (e.g., Clinical faculty, Research professors, Professor of Practice), Librarian, and Archivist appointments have been restructured under the designation of "Non-Tenure Track Faculty”.
c. New designations for Non-Tenure Track Faculty (i.e., Instructional Professor, Executive) have been added and available ranks for Clinical faculty, Research faculty, and Professors of Practice have been expanded.
d. Recommends Board of Trustees delegate authority to the President for appointing academic personnel
e. Language has been added to clarify and formalize annual performance evaluation for academic personnel.
f. A new fixed-term (3 or 5 year) with rolling contract appointment for Non-Tenure Track Faculty has been added and would replace the current 6-year fixed-term (i.e., extended term) appointment for Academic Professionals (Lecturers, Research Scientists, Extension Educators), Librarians, and Archivists.
Yes. In fact, 2-9 (formerly UW 5-807) specifies that the written record of accountability of a faculty member's teaching, research, creative activities, extension and service include at least the following:
a. the annual faculty update,
b. the annual evaluation of each faculty member's professional performance by the department head and the dean, and
c. plans of expected performance developed by the faculty member in cooperation with the department head or director and approved by the dean.
While one of the purposes of annual performance evaluation is to determine if a faculty member is eligible for a performance-based salary increase when funds are available, this is not the only reason why annual reviews are required. Annual performance evaluations provide faculty with feedback about the extent to which they meet or exceed minimum performance expectations in each dimension of their job description. When properly administered, annual reviews should include a discussion about professional development goals and an update on the faculty member’s job description/workload distributions for the upcoming academic year.
No, annual performance evaluations are not appealable. These evaluations reflect the supervisor’s judgement about a faculty member's professional performance for the previous year. Faculty should acknowledge and be allowed to provide a written response in their personnel file if they do not agree with the evaluation, however.
While the evaluation (i.e., performance rating) cannot be appealed, UW Regulation 2-2 (formerly 5-35) provides the process and methodology for academic personnel to resolve disputes involving actions or inactions by others considered unjust, inequitable, contrary to University regulations or policies, or a hindrance to effective faculty performance. This regulation stipulates that disputes about evaluation, reappointment, promotion, and granting tenure are restricted to a claimed failure to follow the procedures outlined in UW Regulation 2-7 (formerly 5-803).
|
|
Extended-Term Appointment (current) |
Fixed-Term Appointment (proposed) |
|
Length of probationary period |
Normally 6 years in length |
Normally 3 years in length |
|
If granted, length of term/contract |
Extended-term contracts are normally for 6 years. |
Contract for fixed-term appointment is 3 years. For academic personnel at the senior rank, the length of term is normally 5 years. |
|
Renewal of term/contract |
Extended-term appointments may be renewed at the end of each extended-term contract. |
Contract for fixed-term appointments may be renewed annually. Renewal results in the employee sustaining the length of the original contract (e.g., 3 or 5 years) |
No. All academic personnel on fixed-term contracts will retain rights to:
a dispute resolution process, including claims that existing regulations, policies and procedures have been violated, misapplied or misinterpreted,
performance evaluation procedures, including the provision of written responses to performance evaluations and/or decisions about reappointment, fixed-term, and promotion; and
a process to appeal a decision to dismiss for cause prior to the expiration of the contract period, and
a process to appeal when appointment is terminated pursuant to UW 2-11 (Financial Exigency) or UW 2-13 (Academic Program Reorganization, Consolidation, Reduction and Discontinuance).
No. Academic personnel will be allowed to complete their current extended term contract. Consistent with current procedures, a decision to grant a new fixed term with rolling contract will be made during the reappointment review, which takes place during the fifth year of the current extended term. Consistent with UW 2-4 (formerly 5-408), this timeline allows for 12-month notice if a new fixed term is not granted (i.e., the sixth year of the extended term).
A fixed-term review will be conducted by the candidate’s peers in accordance with Standard Administrative Policies and Procedures as well as academic unit and college level policies and procedures.
No. Consistent with current regulations, a promotion decision is separate from a fixed-term decision. Upon promotion to the highest rank, a non-tenure track faculty member is eligible for a 5-year rolling contract. A rolling 5-year contract must be recommended by the President and approved by the Board of Trustees.
In the event of an unsatisfactory (does not meet expectations) annual review, the contract is deemed not to roll. The rolling nature of the contract can be restored only after obtaining two successive years of satisfactory (meets expectations) annual reviews. If an individual receives two annual reviews with an unsatisfactory rating (does not meet expectations), then the contract is deemed not to roll and the faculty member is ineligible for a rolling contract.
Notification periods for all academic personnel are described in UW 2-7 (formerly 5-803). Proposed revisions to UW 2-7 will be released for public comment soon. Check back soon for details.
Yes, non-tenure track faculty may be eligible for fixed-term appointments with rolling contracts.
No, if the faculty member has had annual reviews for the last three consecutive years and performance has been formally evaluated at meeting or exceeding expectations, he or she will be eligible for a fixed-term with rolling contract. A fixed-term review must be completed by peers and in accordance with Standard Administrative Policies and Procedures. Pending changes to the regulation, all faculty appointments must be approved by the President and reported to the Board of Trustees.
Yes, if the faculty member has not received three consecutive annual reviews where performance has been evaluated at meeting or exceeding expectations.
This designation provides the university with greater flexibility in recruiting executive level professionals who can help advance the university’s strategic plan, particularly in the area of entrepreneurship and collaboration in research and teaching that bridge disciplines and engage public concerns. Executive Professor is a designation often used in Business Schools and Colleges.
Professors of Practice bring real-world experience into the classroom. They often help to develop new curriculum that reflects cutting-edge industry technology and practices, participate in research as advisors and act as industry liaisons. Although not exclusively, Professors of Practice are often engineers and industry leaders.
The proposed change to UW 2-1 allows Professors of Practice to carry different ranks in accordance with their professional experiences and impact on the field (i.e., Assistant Professor of Practice, Associate Professor of Practice, Professor of Practice). Advancement criteria would be similar to those for tenure stream faculty and should be articulated academic units’ and colleges’ reappointment, tenure and promotion standards and expectation documents.
At the highest rank, the Professor of Practice could have similar credentials as an Executive Professor. Having two types of designations (i.e., Executive Professor, Professor of Practice) provides the university with greater flexibility in providing modern and relevant titles for professionals in different disciplines.
The hiring process for any full-time benefited academic personnel (tenure track or non-tenure track) is the same (e.g., position requisition, posting the job opening, conducting the search, and making the job offer). Occasionally, academic units or colleges will request an exception to search based on target of opportunity (e.g., a qualified scholar or candidate who meets a pre-determined and pre-approved diversity objective or a distinguished scholar or uniquely qualified candidate who meets a pre-determined research objective and an institutional need has been identified), business necessity, or spousal or domestic partner consideration. In any of these cases, the academic unit and college must follow the exception approval process (see www.uwyo.edu/hr/hiring-toolkit/faculty-and-ap-searches.html).
The university has not limited the number of Executive Professors or Professors of Practice that a college or unit can hire. These designations are not intended to damage the institution of tenure or divert resources from tenure stream faculty. As such, academic units and colleges may wish to limit the number of percentage of appointments to these non-tenure track faculty positions.
No. Faculty and administrators in academic units and colleges will continue to be responsible for nominating faculty for emeritus designation.
Yes. Current procedures will be incorporated into a Standard Administrative Policy and Procedures document.
Yes. The Provost may confer emeritus designation upon non-tenure track faculty and at-will administrators.
Procedures for conducting annual reviews will be outlined in a Standard Administrative Policy and Procedures document. Review procedures for reappointment, tenure, promotion and fixed terms will be addressed in UW 2-7 (formerly UW 5-803) as well as in a new Standard Administrative Policy and Procedures document.
Yes, as long as the procedures comply with those outlined in University Regulations and Standard Administrative Policy & Procedures.
Current academic personnel who hold the designation of Academic Professional will retain that title until their current term (either annual or extended term) has been completed.
Upon reappointment to a new fixed-term, Academic Affairs will work with the colleges and HR to have the category title (Academic Professional) removed from the individual’s record in HCM. Once completed, titles in HCM will be consistent with the appropriate designation in UW 2-1. For example:
The new title for an individual who is currently an “Academic Professional, Associate Lecturer” will be “Associate Lecturer.”
Individuals currently on an Extended Term (ET) will be coded accordingly (e.g., Associate Lecturer, ET).
Individuals currently on the Extended Term Track (ETT; in the probationary period) will have their term adjusted to reflect Fixed Term Track (FTT). [We are exploring the option of having the length of term reflected also, e.g., FTT-3, FTT-5.]
The record for individuals who are not on a fixed-term appointments will only include the title and rank (e.g., Associate Lecturer).
No, non-tenure track faculty will retain their current title/designation/position.
Yes. The Office of Academic Affairs will provide instructions and guidelines for requesting such changes. At minimum, performance expectations (by rank) for the new designations/positions must be established and a formal review of the individual’s professional record must occur before any change in designation can be requested.
No. Fixed-term appointments with rolling contracts are intended to replace the current extended-term appointment structure. There will always be the need for fixed-term appointments without rolling contracts (e.g., annual). For example, a full-time benefited Assistant Lecturer may be employed to fill instructional needs while faculty member is on an academic or calendar year sabbatical or professional development leave.
Yes. However, academic units and colleges will need to establish a sound rationale and plan before requesting a change in term conditions. For example, budgetary factors and funding sources may dictate the length of a fixed-term appointment and/or how many 3- and 5-year rolling contracts can be sustained through an academic unit’s recurring funds.
Once revisions to the regulations have been approved by the Board of Trustees and an effective date has be published, implementation will occur during the following year. For example, if the effective date of the revised regulation is July 1, 2019, processes will be implemented during the 2019-20 academic year and subsequent changes will become effective on July 1, 2020. Note: Academic Professionals on Extended Term contracts will retain their title for the duration of their current term.
If you would like questions answered that you do not see listed here, please email: provost@uwyo.edu.
