The University
Senate of
PROPOSAL 04-07
(Voting
Units: Academic)
PROPOSAL FOR CHANGES IN NON-TENURE TRACK INSTRUCTOR AND LECTURER
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 may contribute to the University’s
mission through scholarship or artistic creation. Furthermore, in the
Background
As of October 2006 there are approximately 45 Lecturer lines at
Michigan Tech; however, there are 51 people who serve in this rank (some lines
are shared and some are fractional lines). Two of these lines are occupied by
faculty who were hired for TTF positions but who have not yet completed their
PhD degrees. By academic unit there are 16 Lecturer lines in the COE (nine are
in Engineering Fundamentals alone), 14 lines in the CSA, 7 lines in the SBE, ~3
lines in the SFRES, and 5 lines in the SOT. Some of the Lecturers have been
serving the university long-term whereas others were recently hired to meet
teaching needs in units that have experienced growth in enrollments or were
unable to fill all of their open TTF lines. By seniority, six Lecturers have
served the university for more that 20 years, six have served from 10-20 years,
eighteen have served between 5 and 10 years, and the remainder have served less
than five years.
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
associated duties such as office hours) 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/or
where NTTF lines may be 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 may be expected to advise students, serve on committees, participate
actively in professional societies, and conduct research. In each case, yearly
teaching loads for Lecturers will be negotiated with the Department
Chair/School Dean taking into account the non-teaching or scholarly activities.
Lecturers will be appointed for 2-year
rolling terms, i.e., they will automatically receive a 2-year contract at the
end of each year unless they are informed that their appointment is terminated.
Effectively this means they will have a one-year notification period for
non-reappointment.
Lecturers will be eligible for promotion
to the rank of Senior Lecturer based on criteria established within the
academic units and the recommendations of relevant committees and
administrators at the university. Likewise, Senior Lecturers will be eligible
for promotion to Principal Lecturer. Both Senior and Principal Lecturers will
serve in continuing appointments with a one-year notification of termination. A
salary increment for promotion through the ranks will be awarded to the
affected faculty.
Special Faculty Category
In certain cases, especially where an individual has significant industrial or professional
experience, a new NTTF category will be established—Professor of Practice.
Professors of Practice will be NTTF and will be appointed on a continuing
basis, similar to Senior and Principal Lecturer appointments. Faculty in the
Lecturer ranks will generally not be eligible for promotion to this category,
with the exception being current (AY2006-07) Lecturers whose qualifications are
in keeping with appointment to this rank and for special cases where a person
has achieved significant professional
experience while serving as a Lecturer. Minimum qualifications for Professors
of Practice will be a BS degree with significant professional experience.
Employment Issues
Individuals appointed to the Lecturer and Professor of Practice
ranks are eligible for merit increases according to established university
procedures. Regional searches (at a minimum) will be conducted for NTTF in the
Lecturer and Professor of Practice 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 and Professor of Practice searches. In
some cases, a search for a Lecturer could yield a candidate who is better
qualified to serve as a Professor of Practice or vice versa. Adjustments to
rank title are permitted in these cases without a new search.
Promotion Process for
Lecturers
Each academic unit will establish provisions for the promotion
process through the Lecturer ranks, including promotion criteria and unit-level
review procedures. Provisions will include the establishment of a unit-level
committee, with committee membership parameters determined by the unit. NTTF
faculty in the rank of Lecturer or Senior Lecturer who wish to be considered
for promotion will submit documentation similar to that contained on the F-Form
for TTF in February of a given year. The promotion process will be:
1)
The
Department/School committee makes a written recommendation and forwards with
the documentation to the Chair/Dean.
2)
The
Department Chair/School Dean makes a written recommendation and forwards with
the documentation to the College Dean or Provost as appropriate.
3)
The
College Dean (as applicable) makes a written recommendation and forwards all
documentation to the Provost.
4)
The
Provost reviews the documentation and makes a recommendation to the President.
5)
The
President makes the final promotion decision.
The Provost will oversee the
implementation, including timing, of this proposal. Issues in implementation
will include: 1) unit level development of promotion provisions for NTTF, 2)
adjustment of rank definitions so that they are in compliance with this
proposal, 3) establishment of the appropriate salary increments for promotions
within the NTTF ranks, and 4) review of cases of current faculty in the
Lecturer rank to make changes to appointments as necessary.
Termination
Termination
policies currently in place for MTU contractual employees (e.g., coaches) will
be in effect for NTTF in all categories described previously. The termination
policy currently in effect is found in the following paragraphs.
Termination
Policy for Contractual Employees
The Employee is employed at the will of the
University and this Agreement can be terminated at any time with or without
cause by the University.
a. If the
University terminates the employment other
than for substantial failure as set forth below, or cause, it shall pay
the Employee a post termination stipend in an amount equal to the Employee’s
salary for the remainder of the term of the agreement. The Employee shall not be entitled to any
fringe or other employment benefits after notice of termination. As determined
by the Dean of the School/Chair of the Department, the employee may or may not
be required to continue to serve, with a continuation of benefits, in the same
capacity as originally hired during the notice period.
b. In the event that the University terminates this Agreement due to
cause or the substantial failure on the part of the Employee to comply with the
obligations which determination shall be made solely by the University in its
good faith discretion, the University shall have no further obligation to the
Employee hereunder. In such event the
Employee will be immediately terminated and will not be entitled to any further
compensation, wages, stipends, post termination payments, fringe benefits or
damages of any nature with the exception of wages actually earned prior to the
date of termination.
Slightly revised and
Adopted by Senate: 25 October 2006
Approved by Administration: 11 December 2006 with NOTE: The Provost will be working with Academic Human Resources on implementation.