COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES
APPOINTMENT, REAPPOINTMENT, ADVANCEMENT AND
PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF NON-TENURE ELIGIBLE FACULTY
DRAFT
Titles and Appointment Terms for Non-Tenure-Eligible Faculty Members
All Non-Tenure-Eligible (NTE) positions are term appointments that are eligible for renewal. All appointments, reappointments, and advancements of non-tenure-track faculty are subject to approval by the department, college, and university. The chair of the department will forward all initial appointments and positive recommendations for renewal or advancement to the Dean.
The available titles and terms of appointment for non-tenure-eligible positions are summarized below.
Lecturer or Clinician: Part-time and full-time Lecturer and Clinician appointments are made to support the instructional needs and missions of departments. Lecturers and Clinicians will have advanced or professional degrees in their field. Because these are teaching appointments, funding for Lecturers and Clinicians generally comes from the base budget of the hiring unit. The term of appointment for Lecturers or Clinicians is one semester, one year, or multiple years (up to three years per appointment) depending on the need of the hiring unit, and appointments are renewable through procedures outlined later in this document. At the end of six years of instruction at ISU, a Lecturer or Clinician may be considered for advancement the rank of Senior Lecturer/Clinician.
Senior Lecturer or Senior Clinician: Appointments to Senior Lecturer/Clinician are considered only after the individual has served as a Lecturer/Clinician or its equivalent at ISU for six years, and advancements to Senior Lecturer/Clinician appointments must follow the procedures outlined later in this document. Part-time or full-time Senior Lecturer/Clinician appointments are made from the ranks of strong Lecturers and Clinicians to support the teaching needs and missions of departments. Senior Lecturers/Clinicians will have advanced or professional degrees in their field. The term of appointment for Senior Lecturers/Clinicians may be up to five years, and these appointments are renewable through procedures outlined later in this document.
Adjunct Faculty : Adjunct appointments are part-time or full-time term appointments made to support primarily the research and extension needs and missions of departments. Adjunct appointments may be for up to five-year terms, and these appointments are renewable through procedures defined later in this document. All Adjuncts will have terminal degrees for their field, and Adjunct appointments in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences may be at the Adjunct Assistant Professor, Adjunct Associate Professor, or Adjunct Professor level depending on the person's credentials. Individuals with Adjunct appointments may be advanced through these ranks using procedures that are detailed later in this document.
Adjunct appointments may be used with three groups of people. The first group includes experts who are employed outside the university, but who have research, extension, or professional practice responsibilities within the university. Individuals who are faculty members at another university should be appointed as Visiting Professors at a rank consistent with their appointments at their home university. The second group includes individuals not employed elsewhere but whose expertise is relevant to the research, extension, or professional practice missions of departments. The third group includes individuals who are already employed by the university in non-tenure-track P&S positions and who are involved in the research, extension, and/or professional practice missions of a department. Individuals in any of these groups appointed primarily to meet departments' teaching missions should be appointed as Lecturers/Clinicians or Senior Lecturers/Clinicians rather than as Adjuncts.
Research Faculty: Non-Tenure-Eligible (NTE) Research Faculty are employed by the university through research-based appointments, whose funding is external to the university. Although Research Faculty may be part-time employees, they must actually be employed by the university. NTE Research Faculty may be appointed for terms up to five years on any single contract and may be renewed after appropriate review, subject to regular university policies, procedures, and approval. NTE Research Faculty are employees of the university and may hold the rank of Research Assistant Professor, Research Associate Professor, and Research Professor. NTE Research Faculty may be advanced through the ranks using appropriate standards for scholarship performance. The review criteria and process shall be the same as the research criteria and review process for tenure-eligible and tenured faculty. Research Professors are not members of the General Faculty, but they are eligible to be named as members of the Graduate Faculty, enabling them to serve on graduate Program of Study Committees. Academic departments will determine rights and responsibilities of NTE Research Faculty within the department. However, university policy stipulates that they may not hold Faculty Senate positions or represent the faculty on college or university committees.
Policies and Procedures for the Appointment, Evaluation, Renewal, and Advancement of Non-Tenure-Eligible Faculty
Tenure-track faculty shall be responsible for the selection, evaluation, renewal, and advancement of all non-tenure-eligible faculty members. In all cases, these processes will comply with each department's governance document and the policies of the Liberal Arts and Sciences College and Iowa State University. The following principles and practices shall also apply.
Appointments: Established university search processes will be followed in making appointments of Lecturers, Clinicians, Adjuncts, and Research Faculty. Initial appointments may be for a semester, academic year, or multiple years (up to three years for Lecturers/Clinicians and up to five years for Senior Lecturers/Clinicians, Adjuncts, and Research Faculty). All new appointments require a search and approval from the Dean and Provost. Departments who wish to hire Research Faculty will develop procedures involving a faculty committee that will review applications and determine rank consistent with that unit's policies for hiring tenure-eligible faculty. University policy permits hiring Research Faculty without a standard search and also allows for the conversion of current faculty or Professional and Scientific (P&S) employees to convert to a Research Faculty position. Under rare circumstances, as described in Section 3.3.3 of the ISU Faculty Handbook, individuals with a P&S appointment may simultaneously hold the title of Research Faculty. NTE Research Faculty appointments are normally B-base appointments.
Evaluation: Lecturers/Clinicians, Senior Lecturers/Clinicians, Adjuncts, and Research Faculty who are hired for the academic year will be evaluated annually based on the presentation of updated materials according to standard departmental procedures. All Non-Tenure-Eligible faculty members must have a Position Responsibility Statement (PRS). Each department is responsible for developing a standardized procedure for the annual review of non-tenure track faculty. Senior Lecturers/Clinicians, Adjuncts, and Research Faculty with multiple year contracts must be reviewed periodically by tenured/tenure-eligible faculty. Such reviews must occur at least every three years for Research Professors and at least every 6 semesters for other non-tenure eligible faculty. The review process should be described clearly in each department's governance document. Reviews of Research Professors should focus on the faculty member's effectiveness in contributing to the research mission of the department and the ability of the individual to obtain and maintain extramural salary support. A faculty review committee provides a written recommendation for or against reappointment to the department chair. Reviews of other NTE faculty generally focus on effectiveness in contributing to the instructional mission of the department.
Reappointment: Non-tenure-eligible faculty will be considered for reappointment based upon written request and a positive outcome of the departmental evaluation process described in the section above on evaluation. Reappointment reviews for NTE Lecturers, Clinicians, Adjuncts, and Research Faculty follow regularly established departmental procedures, consistent with college and university guidelines. Typically, a review committee comprised of tenured/tenure-eligible faculty provides a written recommendation for or against reappointment to the department chair. The chair must approve reappointments prior to forwarding them for college and university approval.
Positive recommendations for reappointment as a Lecturer/Clinician, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Adjunct Associate Professor, or Adjunct Professor are based on continuing departmental need and a strong performance by the candidate in their areas of responsibility, with potential for excellence. The criteria for reappointment as a Senior Lecturer/Clinician or Adjunct Professor are generally demonstrated competence in teaching and, again, continuing departmental need. The criteria for reappointment as an NTE Research Faculty are research performance commensurate with the current rank, ongoing departmental need, and demonstrated ability to maintain extramural salary support,
Persons with Senior Lecturer/Clinician appointments or multiple year adjunct appointments must be given one year's notice of the intent to not renew. Because Lecturer/Clinician appointments are for a finite period, no special notice of intent to not renew is required. NTE Research appointments may be terminated without cause at any time due to lack of external funds to cover salary and benefits through the term of the contract (subject to federal guidelines when applicable).
Advancement: Advancement of Lecturers/Clinicians and Adjuncts does not occur through the promotion and tenure process used for tenure-eligible faculty or on the same timeline. Rather, it occurs on a different timeline and through separate processes of faculty review at the department, college, and university levels.
The rank of Senior Lecturer/Senior Clinician is achieved through advancement from the rank of Lecturer/Clinician after completion of a minimum of six years of service (full or part-time) at ISU and a positive formal departmental review. Departments do not normally hire faculty at the Senior Lecturer/Senior Clinician level.
After six years of accumulated teaching service at ISU, Lecturers/Clinicians are eligible for advancement to the rank of Senior Lecturer/Senior Clinician. Normally this review will take place during the sixth year. Recommendations for advancement to Senior Lecturer/Senior Clinician are based not only upon performance but also upon staffing needs of the department in curricular areas of specialization. Advancement to Senior Lecturer/Clinician requires demonstrated excellence in teaching and continuing need in the department, as reflected by the department's willingness to make a multiple-year commitment.
Advancement in rank for persons with Adjunct appointments is also based on demonstrated excellence in their area of responsibility, which usually is research/extension/professional practice rather than teaching.
The LAS NTE Advancement Dossier Template must be used in any advancement evaluation for Lecturers or Clinicians and for Adjunct Faculty whose primary responsibilities are in teaching. Adjunct Faculty whose primary responsibilities are in research/extension/professional practice should use the LAS Research Faculty Advancement Dossier Template. Both dossier templates are available on the college web site www.las.iastate.edu/faculty_and_staff/forms/). The appropriate tenured/tenure-eligible faculty committee in each department will review the candidate's advancement dossier and make recommendations to the department chair. Recommendations from the department chair will be forwarded as part of the advancement dossier for approval by the college and university consistent with the published timeline for such reviews. In general, recommendations for advancement to Senior Lecturer, Senior Clinician, Adjunct Associate Professor, and Adjunct Professor are due in the college in early February.
Research Faculty may be advanced to the next rank (associate or full) upon completion of a successful review by the appropriate tenured faculty committee (generally the department's promotion and tenure committee). The evaluation will use the same standards, procedures, and timeline as the department uses for assessing research scholarship among tenure-eligible faculty. The LAS Research Faculty Advancement Dossier Template must be used in such reviews, and it is available on the college's website (www.las.iastate.edu/faculty_and_staff/forms/).
Current continuing Adjunct Instructors/Assistant Professors/Associate Professors/Professors are construed to have "continuous appointment subject to termination only for cause" (see Procedures Governing the Status of Long-Term Non-Tenure-Track Faculty, Iowa State University, Office of the Provost, 10/8/90).
Current continuing Adjunct Instructors/Assistant Professors/Associate Professors/Professors are construed to have "continuous appointment subject to termination only for cause" (see Procedures Governing the Status of Long-Term Non-Tenure-Track Faculty, Iowa State University, Office of the Provost, 10/8/90).
