Term Faculty & P/A Instructional Appointments

Under revision for 2007/08. Information current as of date indicated. Please direct questions to the Office of the Associate Dean for Faculty or CLA Human Resources, both at 612-624-9839.

Governing Documents

• Board of Regents Policy - Faculty Tenure
• Guidelines for Recruiting and Appointing Academic Personnel
• Administrative Policy on Academic Appointments
• College of Liberal Arts Collegiate Plan for Implementation of the Administrative Policy on Academic Appointments

Blanket Requisitions

To facilitate the hiring of replacement teaching staff, academic units in the College of Liberal Arts should prepare blanket employment requisitions for Term Faculty Series (#9902) and Instructional (non-faculty) Teaching Series (#9903) job codes.

The term faculty series job code (#9902) covers contract, temporary, visiting, and adjunct faulty appointments at the ranks of professor, associate professor, assistant professor, and instructor.  The instructional (non-faculty) teaching series job code (#9903) includes the P&A classifications teaching specialist, senior teaching specialist, lecturer, and senior lecturer. 

• Blanket Requisition Template - Term Faculty Series (9902) and Instructional (non-faculty) Teaching Series (9903)

Units are encouraged to adhere to the template as closely as possible to ensure the broadest possible application.  Units will be expected to refresh and update blanket requisitions annually. Blanket requisitions should be submitted to clahr@umn.edu.

Authorization to Hire

The existence of blanket requisitions does not constitute authorization to hire.  All requests to hire and corresponding offers are subject to review and approval by the Office of the Associate Dean for Faculty and Research and/or CLA's Office of Human Resources. 

When requesting a hire units will be expected to:

• Explain the reason for the request (e.g., sabbatical replacement; added section, etc) and provide a rationale for the requested classification;
• Identify course(s) to be taught, and the instructor of record and enrollments for the course for the previous four semesters;
• Provide a complete itemization of expenses associated with the hire (e.g., salary, fringe, immigration fees, etc);
• Identify source(s) of funding

For each term faculty and P/A instructional appointment a CLA Academic Hiring Authorization form must be submitted, along with the draft offer letter and candidate's curriculum vitae. Please indicate the hiring authority's approval where specified and submit the form by email to clahr@umn.edu. Copies of the authorization will be routed to the hiring unit and CLA Fiscal when approved.

• CLA Academic Hiring Authorization

Term Faculty Definitions

• Adjunct Faculty from Outside the University. Adunct faculty from outside the University are (a) members of the community with expertise or a principal occupation elsewhere who can contribute to the educational experience of our students; or (b) individuals who hold or have held regular appointments at other colleges or universities. Adjunct faculty from outside the University participate in teaching at the University on a limited, part-time basis (0-33%). Appointments may be for a period of one semester to one academic year.
• Adjunct Faculty from Within the University.These individuals already hold regular faculty appointments elsewhere in the University, and have been asked to provide additional service in another department or college. The title can also be used to recognize cross-disciplinary activity.
• Contract Faculty. Contract faculty are hired on B-term (nine-month) annual renewable or multiple-year contracts. Contract faculty appointments may continue on a long-term basis, but are appropriate only in the circumstances set for the in the Board of Regents Policy - Faculty Tenure, sections 3.3 and 3.4.
• Temporary Faculty. Temporary faculty are hired to address temporary short-term situations and normally are appointed for no more than one year. In exceptional cases temporary appoitments may be renewed for a second year only, subject to review and approval by the college and by the vice president for human resources.
• Visiting Faculty. Visiting faculty are individuals who have a regular faculty appointment at another university or a similar status in a research institution or in government service. Visiting faculty may be used to replace a faculty member who is on leave, administrative assignment, phased retirement, or disability for one year or less or to take advantage of the opportunity to bring to the college for a period of one year or less an outstanding scholar or artist who holds a regular faculty appointment at another institution. Visiting appointments are date-specific and rank is the same as the rank at the home institution.  For professionals from government or private agencies, the appropriate rank depends on the person’s qualifications and experience.

Last updated 25 April 2008