The University
Senate of
PROPOSAL 28-06
(Voting Units: Academic)
PROPOSAL FOR CHANGES IN NON-TENURE TRACK FACULTY APPOINTMENTS
Non-tenure track faculty (NTTF)
provide essential instruction for thousands of Michigan Tech students each
year. They not only provide devoted teaching and specialized expertise, but
also contribute to the University’s mission through scholarship, research, and
artistic creation. Furthermore, in the
Temporary Teaching Needs
There
are many instances where a Department/School may need to hire someone on a
temporary basis to fill unmet teaching needs when a regular faculty member is
on sabbatical or family leave. These temporary needs will continue into the
future and will sometimes occur on a semester-by-semester basis. The title of “Instructor”
will be reserved for cases such as these. Instructors will have no expectations
placed on them other than teaching and their appointment could be for full-time
or part-time work with contracts of no more than one year. Minimum
qualifications for an Instructor are a master’s degree, or a bachelor’s degree
and professional qualifications.
Continuing Teaching Needs
There
are many cases where NTTF serve in a continuing basis and where NTTF lines are
an established part of the general fund budget. For NTTF in these positions, a
career path should be established so that their contributions are recognized
and appropriately rewarded. The three proposed titles for NTTF in this category
are 1) Lecturer, 2) Senior Lecturer, and 3) Principal Lecturer. Lecturers of
all ranks must be appointed for a minimum of 75% effort and will receive
regular university benefits—appointments of less than this will be made at the
Instructor rank. Minimum qualifications include a master’s degree or equivalent
professional qualifications. Lecturers of all ranks will be expected to advise
students, serve on committees, participate actively in professional societies,
and possibly conduct research.
Lecturers will be appointed
for 3-year terms with no expectation of consideration for reappointment or
promotion. There will be a minimum of a one year notification for
non-reappointment of faculty in the Lecturer rank—this may extend a term of
employment by one additional year if notification was not given at the end of
the second year of the contract.
Senior Lecturers will serve
on a 3-year rolling appointment. An additional 3-year extension will be
considered automatic unless otherwise notified. If they receive notification of
non-extension, they will serve out the remainder of their current contract.
Essentially this means that they will have a 2-year notification period for
non-reappointment.
Principal Lecturers will
serve on a 5-year rolling appointment. An additional 5-year extension will be
considered automatic unless otherwise notified. If they receive notification of
non-extension, they will serve out the remainder of their current contract.
Essentially this means that they will have a 4-year notification period for
non-reappointment.
Initial appointments at the
rank of Senior Lecturer and Principal Lecturer will be for 3 years with a
one-year notification period for non-reappointment (similar to Lecturer
appointments). Their second appointment will be a 3- or 5-year rolling
appointment, depending on rank.
Individuals appointed to
the Lecturer track are eligible for merit increases at the same time as
tenure-track faculty. National or regional searches will be conducted for NTTF
in the Lecturer ranks; no search is required for Instructors, since the
expectation is that they will be serving on a limited, temporary basis. All
policies in place for faculty searches, including Affirmative Action practices,
will apply to Lecturer searches.
Promotion Process for Lecturers
Since
it unlikely that most departments/schools will have a significant proportion of
faculty in the Lecturer ranks, promotion for these NTTF should not require
departmental committees nor revisions of charters, but will be handled by a
university-level committee. The University committee will include a
representative from each of the five colleges/schools and two representatives
elected through the University Senate. This committee will establish the
criteria for promotion to Senior Lecturer and Principal Lecturer. Faculty in
the Lecturer or Senior Lecturer rank will work with their Chair/Dean and apply
for promotion in February of each year. They will compile documentation similar
to that contained on the F-form for TTF. The promotion process will be:
During the 2006-07 academic
year, the University Committee will meet to establish promotion criteria and
will review cases of faculty currently in the Lecturer rank.
Special Faculty Category
In
certain cases, especially where an individual has significant industrial experience,
a new NTTF category should be established—Professor of Practice. Professors of
Practice will be NTTF and will be appointed on a continuing basis, similar to
staff appointments. Individuals in this category will elect either satisfaction
or at will employment. Faculty in the Lecturer ranks will not be eligible for
promotion to this category, with the exception being current (AY2005-06)
Lecturers whose qualifications are in keeping with appointment to this rank.
Termination (other than non-reappointment)
As
with probationary tenure-track faculty, non-reappointment for Lecturers may be
for a number of reasons beyond non-meritorious service such as modification of
programmatic emphasis, enrollment trends, or other factors. A NTTF appointment
(all ranks) will terminate only if and when one of the following circumstances
occurs: 1) retirement, 2) resignation, 3) death, 4) promotion to a new rank, 5)
dismissal for cause, or 6) bona fide financial stringency of the entire
institution so severe as not to be capable of relief by less extreme measures.
Introduced in Senate: 19 April 2006
(Deferred until Fall 2006 by Proposal Sponsor)
See Proposal 4-07