Penn State College of Arts and Architecture |

Guidelines for Academic Fixed-Term Appointments

Purpose of Guidelines
The purpose of these guidelines is to review requirements and to recommend "best practices" for academic units to use in the appointment, evaluation, and recognition of Fixed-Term I faculty and Fixed-Term Multi-Year faculty (two to five years). These best practices address the academic unit's need for flexibility in academic staffing, its interest in ensuring academic quality, and the goal of providing consistency, equity, and recognition for faculty members not in tenure-track positions.

Academic Fixed-Term Appointments
Fixed-Term I Appointment. A Fixed-Term I appointment designates those appointments that are full-time for at least six calendar months, but which have a specified ending date. Such appointments are regular, as defined in HR05. The position does not appear as a line item of the departmental budget salary schedule and is not assigned a budget position number on a payroll record. Requests for Fixed-Term I positions must be approved by the Dean. The Fixed-Term I position is funded on a temporary basis, although the original source may be either permanent (such as allocation fund) or temporary (such as salary savings from an unfilled position). Such appointments are discontinued at the stated ending date, but may be renewed.

Fixed-Term I appointments are made for both academic and nonacademic personnel (other than technical service). If such an appointment is academic, a Memorandum of Personal Service form, outlining the terms of the appointment, is completed and given to the incumbent. If such appointment is nonacademic, a Confirmation of Fixed-Term I Staff Appointment form is completed and given to the incumbent (see page 4.8 of the General Forms Usage Guide).

Fixed-Term Multi-Year Appointment. Fixed-Term Multi-Year appointment designates those appointments that are full-time for a minimum of thirty-six weeks, but have a specified ending date. Such appointments are regular. The position appears as a line item on the departmental budget salary schedule and is assigned a budget position number on the payroll record. Requests for Fixed-Term Multi-Year positions must be approved by the Dean and funding must be committed on a permanent basis from the Non-Standing Fixed-Term Multi-Year Academic budget category before appointments can be made. Such appointments are discontinued at the stated ending date, but may be renewed.

Fixed-Term Multi-Year appointments are made for academic personnel. A Memorandum of Personal Service form outlining the terms of the appointment is completed and given to the incumbent.

Fixed-Term Multi-Year appointments may exceed one year in duration, up to a maximum of three years for a single appointment. These appointments are renewable.

Best Practices
Appointments. Fixed-Term I and Fixed-Term Multi-Year faculty are generally hired for specific responsibilities, such as teaching, with no expectation for research, scholarly publication, or creative work. If these faculty are to be assigned responsibilities other than teaching, they should be on tenure-track. (1) Because faculty on Fixed-Term Multi-Year appointments are not expected to perform the same duties as regular faculty, their teaching loads or other specific assignments may vary from those of tenure-track faculty. Units may use unit funds to make appointments of Fixed-Term I and Fixed-Term Multi-Year faculty, but these appointments must be approved by the Dean.

(1) The responsibilities of Fixed-Term I and Fixed-Term Multi-Year appointments will not be affected until the end of the current contract period.

Letters of Offer and Appointment. The letter of offer must establish the parameters for teaching and/or other unit-specific support responsibilities and expectations, as well as identify the resources and other support available to the faculty member. In addition, the letter of offer must include information on expectations and methods for evaluating the faculty member's work. This letter, which comes from the unit head, is to be considered a letter of offer only; the letter of appointment with the contract itself originates from the Office of the Dean of the College of Arts and Architecture. (See attached examples of letters of offer.)

Responsibilities. The policy of the College is to treat all faculty, both tenure-track and fixed-term, in a fair and professional manner. Responsibilities are assigned in consultation with the unit head and will be commensurate with the specific teaching needs of the unit. Thus, the teaching loads for fixed-term faculty are generally heavier than the teaching loads for tenure-track faculty.

Academic Ranks

1. Instructor. An instructor should possess at least a master's degree or equivalent, or be an active candidate for an advanced degree, in an academic field related to his/her teaching specialization.

2. Senior Instructor. A senior instructor should possess at least a master's degree or its equivalent in an academic field related to his/her teaching specialization and must have demonstrated ability as a teacher and adviser and shown evidence of professional growth, scholarship, and mastery of subject matter.

3. Research Assistant. The research assistant should possess a master's degree or equivalent, or be an active candidate for an advanced degree, in an academic field related to his/her research.

4. Senior Research Assistant. A senior research assistant should possess a master's degree or its equivalent in an academic field related to his/her research and must have demonstrated ability as a researcher and shown evidence of professional growth and scholarship in his/her discipline.

Three professorial titles may be given to visiting faculty:

1. Visiting Assistant Professor. The assistant professor should possess a doctoral degree, the terminal degree in the field, or their equivalent in organized research, creative accomplishment, or professional practice and must have demonstrated ability as a teacher, scholar, or professional artist and shown definite evidence of growth in the field.

2. Visiting Associate Professor. The associate professor (or senior research associate) should possess the same qualifications as the assistant professor, but must also give evidence of substantial accomplishment in scholarly, artistic, or professional achievement.

3. Visiting Professor. In addition to the characteristics of the members of the lower ranks, the professor should give evidence of a marked capacity for creative work and of leadership in his or her field of specialization. This rank should be reserved for persons with an established national reputation in teaching and in scholarly, artistic, or professional achievement.

Infrastructure and Developmental Support. As with tenure-track faculty, Fixed-Term I and Fixed-Term Multi-Year faculty must be provided with the training, equipment, services, and facilities necessary to fulfill their responsibilities in a dignified and professional manner. In addition, depending on the judgment of the head and the budgetary constraints of the unit, academic units may provide support for professional development that is directly related to the primary responsibilities of the Fixed-Term I or Fixed-Term Multi-Year faculty. Fixed-Term Multi-Year Faculty are eligible to apply for College Faculty Research Grants.

Performance Review. The department head must evaluate annually the contractual responsibilities of all Fixed-Term I and Fixed-Term Multi-Year faculty as part of the unit's merit review process. In the evaluation of teaching, departments must supplement SRTE's with at least one additional form of assessment of teaching quality. This assessment may include interviews with selected students from the faculty member's classes or observation of classroom or studio teaching by the unit head or faculty.

Promotion. The unit head is responsible for recommending to the Dean promotion in title for fixed-term faculty, and academic units are expected to develop criteria and review processes on which to base such promotions. Fixed-term faculty themselves have the right to request consideration for promotion, though salary increments in connection with their promotion are not automatic. All recommendations for promotion of fixed-term faculty are subject to the approval of the dean.

Notice. No later than two months before the expiration of the current appointment, unit heads must provide faculty on Fixed-Term I and Fixed-Term Multi-Year appointments a letter of intent indicating whether or not the appointment will be renewed. These are the minimum requirements for notification of continuation or termination of fixed-term appointments. In cases of non-renewal of the appointment, notice should be given at the earliest possible time, ideally three to six months, to allow the faculty member as much time as possible to seek new employment.

Governance. Although each unit will decide the role of Fixed-Term I faculty in the unit's governance, Fixed-Term Multi-Year faculty may be included in departmental decision-making processes, including committees, except those dealing with promotion and tenure. The extent of the faculty member's participation in the unit's goverance must be specified in the letter of offer.

Communication. Academic units will include Fixed-Term I and Fixed-Term Multi-Year faculty on mailing lists, listservs, and the like. Unit heads, or their delegates, must formally communicate unit, college, and university policies, especially those regarding teaching and legal responsibilities, to all Fixed-Term and Fixed-Term Multi-Year faculty at least annually, or as updated information is received. Formal orientation sessions, policy handbooks, and unit Web pages are among the recommended ways for disseminating this information.

Community. Fixed-Term I and Fixed-Term Multi-Year faculty are our colleagues. They make major contributions to the mission of the academic units and to our students, especially to undergraduate students. We cannot succeed without their good work. Every effort should be made to involve them in the academic, intellectual, and social lives of the unit.

See University Web site: http://www.ohr.psu.edu/policies/htm (Click on "Human Resources Policies.")

ADDENDA

Salary Payments to Academic Full-time, Standing, and Fixed-Term Multi-year Employees

New full-time employees classified "Academic" and appointed on a continuing basis (including Fixed-Term Multi-Year until the end of their contract) effective with the Fall Semester, will receive their first year's salary in eleven monthly payments, 2/12 in August and 1/12 from September through June. Spring Semester appointments will receive the balance of their first year's salary in six equal monthly payments from January through June. The above arrangements are in effect during the first fiscal year only. Thereafter the annual salary is paid in twelve equal monthly payments.

New full-time, 48-week employees classified "Academic" or "Academic Administrator" (including Fixed-Term Multi-Year until the end of their contract) whose appointments are effective on a specific date rather than with a specific academic period, will have their first annual salary equated to the services to be rendered until the end of the first fiscal year. The payments each month will be 1/12 of their annual salary except the initial month, if the appointment begins other than on the first of the month. Payments for the initial partial month will be computed at the weekly rate times the number of weeks of service rendered. If odd days are involved, the daily rate of 1/7 of the weekly rate applies.

Note: Weekly rates are determined by dividing the annual salary by the number of weeks of the appointment. Daily rates are determined by dividing the weekly rate by 7 and rounding up to the nearest penny.

New full-time, 36-week employees classified "Academic" (including Fixed-Term Multi-Year until the end of their contract) whose appointments are effective on a specific date rather than with a specific academic period, will have their first annual salary equated to the weeks of services to be rendered until the end of the first fiscal year. These appointees will be paid in equal monthly payments from the initial month of employment until the end of the current fiscal year. Thereafter their annual salary will be paid in twelve equal monthly payments.

Salary Payments to Fixed-Term I

Academic Employees Fixed-term academic employees (other than Fixed-Term Multi-Year) will be paid monthly on the last working day of each month. Fixed-term academic employees who are not appointed on an academic period basis but for a specific period of time beginning on a specific date and ending on a specific date, will be paid monthly over the period of the appointment. When computing the fractional payments to appointees, the odd amount (including cents) will be paid in the initial month's pay. All subsequent payments will be in equal amounts.

Payments to new appointees on an academic period basis will be as follows:

Fixed-Term I Appointments (Must be full-time and appointed for six months or more.)
Fall Semester
1/5 of salary each month (5 payments), August through December.
Spring Semester
1/5 of salary each month (5 payments), January through May.

Sample Letters of Offers for Fixed-term Faculty

Dear XXX:

It is my pleasure to welcome you to the School/Department of _________________ in the College of Arts and Architecture at Penn State University.

The official contract will be issued by the University, but this is my understanding of what we have agreed to via telephone today.

Annual salary $X/ nine month academic year

Start Date: 8/17/XX

Ending Date: 5/6/XX

Rank of Assistant Professor

Non-tenure, one-year appointment

Use of a Macintosh computer for your shared office

$X for relocation expenses

No formal student advising assignment.

If your recollection of our agreement differs from the above, please contact me immediately.

I look forward to having you on board.

Dear XXX:

It is my pleasure to welcome you to the School/Department of _________________ in the College of Arts and Architecture at Penn State University.

The official contract will be issued by the University, but this is my understanding of what we have agreed to via telephone on Fri.

Annual salary $X / nine month academic year

Start Date: 8/17/XX

Ending Date: 5/6/XX

Rank: Associate Professor

Your contract will be a Non-tenure, two-year (fixed term, renewable) appointment to teach lighting and stage management and supervise students performing practicum assignments in those two areas.

You will receive the Standard University Benefits package.

Per our agreement, the School of Theatre will make every attempt to accommodate your ongoing free lance work, understanding that during the academic year 2000-2001, you already have commitments that will take you away from campus for a one-week residency during fall semester and for two one-week residencies during spring semester.

You will have exclusive use of a Macintosh computer or PC (your choice) for your office.

You will receive $X for relocation expenses.

You will receive $X from the School of Theatre toward LDI convention each year.

You will receive $X from the School of Theatre toward USITT convention each year.

(The College of Arts and Architecture may provide additional financial assistance for participation in these conventions. You must apply separately to Associate Dean Ed Williams.)

If your recollection of our agreement differs from the above, please contact me immediately. I look forward to having you on board.

Date

Dr. xxx xxxx
address
city, state
zip

Dear xxx:

It is my pleasure to recommend to Dean Durst of the College of Arts and Architecture that you be appointed to the faculty of the School of xxx at the rank of [assistant professor] beginning with the academic year [2001-02]. Your duties as part of this appointment will include the teaching of courses as assigned by the Director of the School. During academic year [2001-02], your responsibilities will include the teaching of xxx and xxx during the fall and spring semesters and with additional duties yet to be assigned. Your remuneration of $xx,xxx will be paid in monthly installments.

Service on the faculty at Penn State includes teaching as assigned by the director of the school or program coordinator, and occasionally the performance of assigned administrative duties. These duties of the faculty, as outlined in the pertinent University documents, help to form the basis on which your performance will be evaluated. We also require that you submit students' course evaluations, the SRTEs, according to our procedures. May I encourage you to examine the PSU Faculty Handbook at: http://www.psu.edu/oldmain/prov/fachand/

The federal immigration law makes employment at Penn State University subject to compliance with certain eligibility, certification, and identification requirements. Please contact Ms. xxx in my office (814/xxx-xxxx) as soon as possible to complete the required I-9 form. Please sign this letter below and return the letter to my office by [July 1, 2001]. Retain the copy for your file. It is important that you contact Ms. xxx soon to complete the forms required for your employment.

Should you have any questions concerning the matters addressed above, I hope that you will contact me promptly. On behalf of the faculty and students I wish to convey my genuine delight in welcoming you to our Penn State community. I look forward to seeing you again soon.

Sincerely,

Director

I am in agreement with the contents of this letter.

Date:
Dr. xxx
Social Security Number:

c: Dean Durst