Academic Policies

There are three types of academic appointment: renewable, term and tenure.

• Renewable appointments are made with the prospect of renewal at the end of an appointment period.
• Term appointments are concluded at a stated appointment end-date, unless written confirmation of renewal is provided.
• Tenure appointments are made without term.

Your appointment type can be found in both appointment offer letters and appointment confirmation letters. Refer to the Academic Staff Handbook for more information.

All appointments are renewed through a recommendation from your department chair to the Dean, followed by the Dean’s approval. Appointment renewals are recommended prior to the end of their current term – typically at the end of the academic year: June 30.

An area of excellence is selected jointly by a faculty member and their department chair or center director. An area of excellence should represent a candidate’s major area of achievement and impact.

Yes. Although in most cases an individual will maintain a consistent academic focus over time, the activities of a faculty member may change, resulting in a new area of excellence or a different emphasis on written scholarship. These changes should be discussed with chairs, chair designees or center directors as appropriate.

Almost all candidates will be evaluated based on a single area of excellence. Only rarely, when both impact and quantity of contribution are comparable in two areas of excellence, and each independently would meet the standard for promotion to the next rank, should two areas of excellence be proposed.

No one but you and those directly involved in processing your promotion need be aware of your selected area of excellence and significant supporting activities. You will have the opportunity to discuss your progress towards promotion at your annual faculty review with your chair or chair designee. Additional consultation is available through the OFA.

The new guidelines for promotion recognize that funding to conduct research may come from a variety of sources and that, depending on their field, individuals may be more or less likely to serve as a principal investigator. Documentation of a candidate’s intellectual contributions to the original ideas, design and analysis of a project will be a key element of their evaluation. In addition to providing resources for conducting research, obtaining competitive, peer-reviewed funding is also an important marker of a candidate’s reputation and recognition. At senior levels, the presence of sustained funding over time is an important factor in evaluation for promotion. As a practical matter, this will involve NIH funding in most cases.

By university policy, all academic appointments, except those with tenure, are made with start and end dates.

All academic staff members are entitled to be informed when their appointments will not be renewed. The length of this non-renewal notification depends upon employment status and length, and may be either six or 12 months.

A recommendation for any academic appointment originates in your primary academic department. The chair of your academic department is authorized to recommend an academic appointment subject to final approval by the Dean.

Academic staff members do not accrue sick time or receive personal days. However, they are specifically entitled to generous short-term disability benefits and liberal leave policies.

Full-time employed academic staff members accrue vacation at the rate of two days per month for a total of 24 days per academic year. Vacation accrual is pro-rated for part-time employment. For further information, please refer to the Academic Staff Handbook: Benefits.

A faculty member may decide to resign for a new position elsewhere or for family reasons. Minimum notice is not generally prescribed, but some faculty members agree to provide a minimum amount of notice according to their appointment offer letters.