Early Bird

Faculty Employment Handbook update

What you need to know about changes and new policies for the 2019-20 document that’s now live.

August 26, 2019

The Faculty Employment Handbook for 2019-20 is live – and with it come a few key changes.

First, astute readers may note that certain sections are no longer included in the document. For example, previous versions had chapters titled “Role and Mission Statement” and “Shared Governance Statement,” among others. These Board-level policies are now housed in the Policy Library.

The second major change is that four new policies have been added. Each policy underwent rigorous review by relevant constituencies, including the Faculty Employment Handbook Committee, before being approved by President Janine Davidson, Ph.D. 

The four new policies are:

1. Reassigned Time for Department Chairs Returning to Faculty, Section II.L.4.c;

This policy allows department chairs returning to teaching after a minimum of three or six years as department chair to receive reassigned time at 25% or 50%, respectively, of their course load to develop course materials and to prepare for scholarship activities.

2. Reassigned Time for Administrators Returning to Faculty, Section II.M;

This policy allows administrators returning to teaching after a minimum of six years in an administrative role to receive 12 credits of reassigned time to develop course materials and to prepare for scholarship activities.

3. Promotion for Faculty Serving in Administrative Roles, Section II.I.5;

There are many instances in which a faculty member is asked to step forward into an administrative role. This section of the new handbook spells out the procedures for a faculty member in an administrative role to apply for promotion in academic rank, e.g., promotion from associate to full professor. The procedures identify the expectations for performance in the areas of teaching, scholarship and service, as well as detailing the levels of review for such promotion portfolios.

4. Disciplinary Procedures and Sanctions, Section X.

This sections replaces “Ch. XVII. Disciplinary Procedures and Sanctions” from the old handbook. The policies and procedures set forth in this section empower supervisors to manage incidents of faculty misconduct at the department or college levels, while ensuring strong due-process protections for all faculty.

Please note that the two policies pertaining to reassigned time (for chairs and for administrators) include procedures requiring that applications for the reassigned time be reviewed and approved at multiple levels. Therefore, the 2019-20 procedural calendar specifies the timeline for the submission, review and approval of reassigned-time applications for chairs or administrators returning to faculty status in fall 2020.