Continuing Appointment
TEMPORARY APPOINTMENTS
A temporary appointment is one that can be terminated at will by the appointing authority. Pursuant to Article XI, Title F of the Policies of the Board of Trustees, temporary appointments are ordinarily given only when service is to be part-time, voluntary, or anticipated to be for one year or less, or when an employee is appointed to a position which has been vacated by an employee on approved leave. The funding source should not be the sole reason for giving an employee a temporary appointment. Although there are no notice requirements for employees regarding renewal of their temporary appointments, as a courtesy, the University generally gives one month's notice to employees on a temporary appointment. The specific procedures regarding renewal are described below under "Renewal Procedures for Temporary or Term Appointments."
Renewal Procedures for Temporary or Term Appointments
As noted previously, both the Policies of the Board of Trustees and the Agreement with UUP require that specific notice be provided to persons on term appointments relative to the renewal or non- renewal of their term appointments. Although there are no notice requirements for employees regarding renewal of their temporary appointments, as noted previously, the University does provide notice to employees on temporary appointments regarding the renewal or non-renewal of their appointments.
The Office of Human Resources Management is responsible for insuring that the notice requirements of the Policies and the Agreement are met for persons on term appointments and also that the campus notice procedures are satisfied for persons on temporary appointments. The renewal notices for eligible employees are generated by information maintained on the computerized Personnel Data System. Each time a person on a term or temporary appointment is appointed or reappointed, a "renewal notification date" based upon the notice requirements for that person is entered into the Personnel Data System. At appropriate times throughout the year, reports are generated listing those persons who are due for review of their appointments during the next two to three months. Based upon these reports, either a "Term Appointment Notice" or a "Temporary Appointment Notice" (see
Exhibit I) is prepared listing the affected employee's supervisor, department, account, name, title, term (or temporary) ending date, renewal notification date and maximum (or minimum) period of renewal. Accompanying the notice is a "Change of Status Request," Form HRM-3 (download this form) on which the renewal/non-renewal decision is to be recorded.
Procedure for Completion of Form HRM-3
- The initiating department should complete all applicable unshaded areas on the form including the department, account number, line number, employee's name and social security number and the recommendation regarding renewal or non-renewal. The form should be signed by the department head under "approvals."
- In arriving at a recommendation, the immediate supervisor should consider the appropriate policies on fiscal, organizational and personnel resource allocations, as they may apply to his/her area of responsibility.
- Written evaluations and/or recommendations pertaining to reappointment which are prepared by an immediate supervisor, Department Chairperson, Dean, Vice President, or other persons serving in a supervisory capacity in a direct line must be sent to the employee at the time they are prepared to satisfy the requirements of the UUP Agreement under Article 31, Section 31.1 (Personnel Files). If there are no narrative materials accompanying the Form HRM-3, this requirement may be satisfied by providing the employee with a copy of the HRM-3. If there are additional narrative materials, the employee should be provided a copy of them with their copy of the HRM-3 at the time the recommendation is sent forward to the next administrative level. Copies of written evaluations and/or recommendations prepared at subsequent administrative levels should also be provided to the employee at the time they are prepared to satisfy the requirements of the UUP Agreement cited previously.
- In addition to the provisions of Section 31.1 of Article 31 of the UUP Agreement the provisions of Section 31.6 are also applicable to the reappointment process. This Section requires that where a file of evaluative materials is developed by a committee or committees of academic or professional employees which may exist to evaluate and make recommendations with respect to reappointment of an academic or professional employee, and where such file is submitted to the President for consideration, the employee to whom the file pertains shall have the right to examine the file and file a statement in response to any item contained in the file. If such a file is generated as part of the reappointment process, and the file is sent forward with the recommendation for renewal/non—renewal, the Office of Human Resources Management will afford the employee the opportunity to review the evaluative file prior to submittal to the President. However, statements solicited in connection with an employee's reappointment and any documents which would identify the source of the statements shall not be made available to the employee unless the respondent has provided a waiver of confidentiality as provided in Section 31.2 of Article 31 of the UUP Agreement. In order to ensure that the necessary review process takes place, the entire file should be forwarded to the Office of Human Resources Management prior to submission to the President. This latter evaluative material is distinct from the evaluation and/or recommendation prepared by a person serving in a supervisory capacity in a direct line as outlined under Item #3 (above) which is subject to the review procedure contained in Section 31.1 of Article 31 of the UUP Agreement.
- Once all the necessary file reviews have taken place and all the appropriate approvals have been obtained, the Office of Human Resources Management will confirm each final action by letter through the department to the affected employee.
TERM APPOINTMENT
As defined in Article XI, Title D of the Policies of the Board of Trustees, a term appointment shall be an appointment for a specified period of not more than three years which shall automatically expire at the end of that period, unless terminated earlier because of resignation, retirement or termination.
Renewal of Term: Term appointments may be renewed for successive periods of not more than three years each. The specific procedures regarding renewal are described under "Renewal Procedures."
Notice: The Policies of the Board of Trustees and the Agreement with UUP provide the following notice requirements in the event a term appointment is not to be renewed upon expiration:
- Forty-five calendar days prior to the end of a part-time service term appointment;
- Three months prior to the end of a term expiring at the end of an appointee's first year of uninterrupted service within the University, but not later than March 1 for terms ending in June, July or August;
- Six months prior to the end of a term expiring after the completion of one, but not more than two years of an appointee's uninterrupted service within the University, but not later than December 15 for terms ending in June, July or August; and
- Twelve months prior to the expiration of a term after two or more years of uninterrupted service within the University.
PART TIME SERVICE TERM APPOINTMENT
Part-time service term appointments are appointments which are granted to persons who have served on a part-time basis for six consecutive semesters. Part-time service term appointments are subject to a non-renewal notice requirement of forty-five calendar days. However, part-time service term appointments do have an "escape clause" permitting the withholding of salary and benefits when classroom enrollment is inadequate.
FIVE YEAR SERVICE TERM APPOINTMENT
Five-year term appointments are appointments which may be granted only to persons who serve in a professional title listed in Appendix A of Article XI of the Policies of the Board of Trustees. The first three years of a person's initial University employment in a title listed in Appendix A must be in a regular term appointment. Upon completion of a total three years of consecutive service on a regular term appointment basis, further appointment in such title shall be for a five-year term appointment. Five-year term appointments are subject to the same notice requirements as regular term appointments.
PROBATIONARY APPOINTMENT
Pursuant to Article XI, Title E, a probationary appointment is a one-year appointment granted to a professional employee who changes from one professional title to a different professional title. The employee retains all rights to his/her former professional title pending successful completion of the one-year probationary appointment in the new title.
Procedures for Probationary Appointments
As stated previously, a probationary appointment is a one-year appointment granted to a professional employee who changes from one professional title to a different professional title. There are two circumstances which necessitate a probationary appointment. The first circumstance is when an employee's position is reclassified from one professional title to another professional title. In this circumstance, the Office of Human Resources Management will automatically confirm a probationary appointment once the final reclassification action receives all necessary approvals.
The second circumstance requiring a probationary appointment occurs when a professional employee is transferred or promoted from their current professional position to another professional position with a different title. This circumstance generally would be governed by the same procedures as those applying to a new hire and thus would be subject to the requirements stated in the section on "Professional Service Employment Procedures." This would include the requirements to file an AP-2A, a recruitment plan, an "Announcement of Professional Vacancy" and whatever other advertising may be appropriate. Once these requirements are completed and the selection procedure has resulted in a current employee being offered the job, the actual appointment is initiated on an "Appointment Request' (Form AP-1). The appointment type on the form should be checked as "probationary." After all the necessary approvals have been obtained, a probationary appointment letter for the affected employee will be prepared and forwarded through the appointing department. The appointment letter will also confirm the employee's probationary leave from their current position during the term of the probationary appointment.
Although there are no specific notice requirements in the Policies or the UUP Agreement relative to the completion of a probationary appointment, our local campus procedure is to notify an employee of the successful/unsuccessful completion of their probationary appointment one month before its completion. The Office of Human Resources Management will send the appropriate notice to the employing department approximately three months before the one-month notice date. Depending upon what the employee's appointment status was prior to accepting the probationary appointment, completion of the probationary appointment may result in the employee receiving a term or, if the employee previously held a permanent appointment, a permanent appointment assuming the title the employee is in is one eligible for permanent appointment. The notice from the Office of Human Resources Management will provide instructions regarding the appropriate appointment options concerning an employee who has successfully completed a probationary appointment.
PERMANENT APPOINTMENT
A permanent appointment is defined in Article XI, Title C as "an appointment of a professional employee in a professional title, except those titles listed in Appendix A of this Article, which shall continue until a change in title, resignation, retirement, or termination." The specific eligibility requirements for permanent appointment are described in Section 4 of Title C. Generally, permanent appointment is only available to a professional employee who has completed seven consecutive years of full—time service as a professional employee, the last two years of which have been in the professional title in which permanent appointment is being granted. Further employment of such an employee must be on the basis of permanent appointment.
See Permanent Appointment Procedures.
CONTINUING APPOINTMENT
A continuing appointment is defined in Article XI, Title B as "an appointment to a position of academic rank which shall not be affected by changes in such rank and shall continue until resignation, retirement, or termination. "The eligibility requirements for continuing appointment for the various levels of academic rank are described in Section 3 of Title B.
Procedures for Continuing Appointments
The Office of Human Resources Management is responsible for ensuring that academic employees who are approaching the completion of the service requirements for consideration for continuing appointment are notified in a timely manner to satisfy the requirements of the Policies of the Board of Trustees and the Agreement with UUP. Eligible employees are generally considered for continuing appointment during the academic year preceding the last year for which they are eligible for a term appointment. The specific eligibility requirements for continuing appointment are contained in Article XI, Title B, Section 3 of the Policies of the Board of Trustees.
Guidelines Concerning Continuing Appointments
The guidelines concerning the consideration of academic employees for continuing appointment and the required format for recommendations for continuing appointment are contained in a document entitled
Administrative
Procedures for the Preparation of Recommendations for Promotions and
Continuing Appointment published by the Provost's Office.
