1.04 Other Terminology
The various faculty ranks and positions at the University of Georgia may be modified by a variety of terms, including full-time, regular, limited-term, visiting, part-time, joint, adjunct, and courtesy.
1.04-1 Full-time Faculty
§Full-time faculty are budgeted at 100% time (or 1.0 full time equivalent; “FTE”) during their employment period. Regular (1.04-2) faculty are full-time faculty employed on an annual contract. Limited-term (1.04-3) and visiting faculty (1.04-4) do not serve under annual contract but are employed and budgeted at 100% time (1.0 FTE) for their period of employment.
Tenured and tenure track faculty are required to be employed full-time (BOR Policy 8.3.7.2).
Sources:
- Office of Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, January 2019.
1.04-2 Regular
§Regular faculty are employed on an annual contract and are budgeted as full-time employees (1.04-1) during their contract period; a fiscal contract = 12 months budgeted at 1.0 effective full time (EFT), and an academic contract = 9 months budgeted at 0.75 EFT. For the meaning of the term regular and the application of benefits, see the USG Human Resources Administrative Practice Manual, Employee Categories.
Sources:
- Office of Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, January 2019.
1.04-3 Limited-term
§Limited-term faculty do not serve under annual contract but are full-time employees (1.04-1) for their period of employment. Limited-term faculty may be renewed annually for a maximum of two (2) years. Any request for reappointment of limited-term faculty beyond the second year requires strong justification and pre-approval by the Provost and Equal Opportunity Office. (Note: Prior to July 1, 2014, “limited-term” faculty were referred to as “temporary” faculty).
Sources:
- Board of Regents Policy Manual, 8.3.9.3
- UGA Academic Affairs Policy Manual 1.04-1
- Office of Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, January 2019.
1.04-4 Visiting
§The University of Georgia encourages faculty members to invite distinguished persons to come to campus as a visiting faculty member. The term visiting is not a rank; rather it is an adjective modifying established faculty ranks. Typically, visitors are at the ranks of associate professor and professor. However, there is no policy that prohibits visiting assistant professors. A visiting faculty member usually is associated with a department or school for a short time, normally not in excess of one year. Visitors may be researchers, teachers, public service scholars, or any combination thereof. The appointment of a visiting faculty member follows the same procedural steps as that of any other faculty appointment.
1.04-5 Part-time
§Faculty budgeted at less than 100% time, or less than 1.0 FTE, during their period of employment are part-time faculty. For further details on part-time faculty, including their appointment procedures and benefits eligibility, see policy 1.09-9 Part-Time Faculty. If a regular or limited-term faculty member is employed for the entire academic year (August-May), and employed part-time during the summer months, then their summer employment is considered an extension of their academic appointment.
Sources:
- UGA Academic Affairs Policy Manual 1.09-10
- Office of Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, January 2019.
1.04-6 Joint Academic Appointments
§Tenure track faculty at the University of Georgia can hold joint appointment in two or more academic rank units (i.e. promotion and tenure units). Faculty holding this type of joint academic appointment can have an equal budgetary EFT split between the academic rank units or a smaller fraction of budgetary EFT (minimum of .25 for academic contract or .33 for fiscal contract) in an academic rank unit.
Because jointly appointed faculty hold professorial rank in multiple units and must be promoted and tenured in those units, the eligible faculty of the units must vote positively to accept the candidate for joint academic appointment. One of these units must be identified as the administrative home. The administrative home will have lead responsibility on personnel issues, reporting, coordination of reviews, etc. This designation does not alter the responsibility of each unit for good communication with the faculty member or for responsive problem solving. Regardless of the budgetary EFT split, jointly appointed faculty members will have full faculty membership privileges in each of the academic rank units.
This policy does not refer to other types of joint faculty appointments (eg., joint appointment with an academic unit and a center). For information on joint appointments with a center or institute, refer to page 2 of Academic Affairs Policy Statement No. 7, Centers and Institutes.
Procedures for Managing Joint Appointments
- Unit administrators should work together during the recruitment process to appoint a joint search committee and provide information about the startup package, including the source(s) of financial support. The units involved should clearly specify the degree to which each unit will provide support (e.g., basic staff support, office/lab space, supplies, computers and related IT support, professional development, travel, contract and grant support, indirect cost sharing, etc.).
- Any adapted unit criteria for promotion and tenure of jointly appointed faculty member must be approved by a vote of the eligible faculty of each academic rank unit and must be included in the Memo of Understanding (see item 4). Otherwise, jointly appointed faculty members are expected to meet the unit criteria of each of the academic rank units.
- Unit administrators should agree on a work assignment that is mutually satisfactory to each department and the faculty member. Joint appointments work best when a faculty member’s expected research program serves the needs of each department.
- Unit administrators should agree on research, instructional, and service productivity expectations, faculty governance responsibilities (e.g., committee assignments), the format for reporting annual accomplishments, how departmental accounting and other unit procedures are to be handled, etc., all of which should be included in a written Memo of Understanding (MOU) that is approved by the department heads and deans and is shared with all parties. (When possible, these terms should be agreed on before recruitment starts so that they can be shared with the search committee, departments, and all candidates). The MOU should ensure that a new jointly appointed faculty member does not carry a full-time set of responsibilities in each unit, including expectations for faculty meeting attendance, committee service, annual reports, etc. Duplication in reporting of information should be avoided or minimized and reporting deadlines coordinated. The MOU must be included as a standard element in faculty member’s appointment package and promotion and/or tenure dossiers, including post-tenure reviews.
- Unit administrators sharing a jointly appointed faculty member should meet together with the faculty member to clarify performance expectations, standards, and criteria. They should also meet jointly as part of the annual performance review process.
- In promotion and/or tenure reviews, all promotion and tenure granting units (PTUs) in which a faculty member is jointly appointed must participate in the review using the promotion-tenure criteria of their PTU or using the adapted unit criteria approved by the eligible faculty on appointment and included in the candidate’s MOU (see item 2) and consistent with the Guidelines for Appointment, Promotion and Tenure. The deadlines of the academic unit that occur first will be followed by the partner academic units.
- Unit committees involved in the annual evaluation, merit pay recommendations, and reappointment, promotion and tenure recommendations of jointly-appointed faculty members must be informed of the agreed upon expectations, standards, criteria, practices and procedures for individual cases. Unit administrators must make collective recommendations on all salary matters. The deadlines of the academic unit that occur first will be followed by the partner academic unit(s).
- While jointly appointed faculty will generally have a single office in one of the units, consideration should be given to providing space in the secondary unit(s), especially if the units are distant from one another. This may be a laboratory or shared office space.
- When faculty are jointly appointed in two or more units, deadlines for salary recommendations and submission of reappointment, promotion and tenure documents may differ. Unit administrators involved in joint appointments should consult with each other and reach mutually acceptable agreements regarding deadlines.
- Jointly appointed faculty should be informed in advance of the agreed upon routing of concerns if issues arise and if joint appointment arrangements need to be reviewed and/or clarified.
- Disagreements on promotion and/or tenure shall be handled in accordance with the Guidelines for Appointment, Promotion and Tenure. Instances in which unit votes disagree on reappointment prior to the award of tenure shall be referred to the appropriate dean or if deans disagree to the Provost for adjudication. Jointly appointed faculty have the same rights as all faculty to use established avenues of appeal and grievance in seeking to resolve conflicts and problems.
Resources:
- Points to Address in Memorandum of Understanding for Joint Academic Appointments
- Sample Memorandum of Understanding for Joint Academic Appointments
Sources:
- Office of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, January 22, 2014.
1.04-7 Adjunct
§Adjunct faculty have expertise that allows them to contribute to the teaching, research, or service mission of the institution. This policy defines adjunct faculty and outlines procedures for their appointment and rank elevation.
- These unpaid affiliate faculty positions are for individuals who are not employed by UGA, or for classified staff employed by UGA who have the credentials and/or overall qualifications to hold faculty status.
- Adjunct faculty must have academic credentials and accomplishments consistent with the requirements for their appointed rank. Eligible faculty members in the appointing unit must vote by secret ballot to recommend approval of each adjunct appointee.
- To appoint an adjunct faculty member, a hiring proposal must be processed in UGAJobs according to the standard procedures for faculty hired without a search. The adjunct candidate must successfully complete a background investigation prior to his/her appointment date.
- If existing UGA faculty depart and their home unit wishes to recommend them for adjunct appointment, the adjunct rank will be equivalent to the most recent UGA rank held by the departing individual and it will not be necessary to submit a transcript or curriculum vitae with the hiring proposal.
- The appointing unit must review and vote on each adjunct appointment every five years, and, through position management in UGAJobs, indicate if the adjunct appointment is to continue for another five-year period.
- The rank of an adjunct faculty member may be elevated after five years in rank, if the eligible voting faculty in the appointment unit recommend by secret vote that his/her achievements are consistent with the unit promotion criteria and university rank requirements. The candidate’s CV and a recommendation letter from the dean/vice president (including results of the appointment unit vote) should be forwarded to the Office of Faculty Affairs. If the rank elevation is approved by the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, the Office of Faculty Affairs will record the change in rank centrally and notify the appointment unit.
- Adjunct faculty members can be appointed to the Graduate Program Faculty with all rights and responsibilities of such faculty.
- Per USG BOR Policy 3.2.1.1, adjunct faculty hold honorary titles. Adjunct faculty members do not have voting rights in departmental, college/school, and University Council meetings. These faculty members may participate in discussion as invited.
- Adjunct faculty cannot earn tenure and are not eligible for benefits.
Sources:
- Board of Regents Policy Manual, § 3.2.1.1
- Office of Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, July 2019.
1.04-8 Courtesy Faculty
§Current UGA faculty who are able to contribute to the mission of an academic unit other than their appointment home may be designated as “courtesy faculty” in the second unit.
- A majority of the eligible voting faculty in the unit must vote by secret ballot in favor of this affiliation. Beyond this, approval and renewal procedures for courtesy faculty must be designed by the unit and should be recorded in their unit by-laws.
- If the unit extends the privilege, courtesy faculty may serve as graduate advisors and graduate committee members. These privileges shall be awarded in accordance with the unit’s guidelines for graduate program faculty.
- Outside of graduate advisory committees, courtesy faculty do not have voting privileges. They do not have assigned work or receive salary support from the courtesy unit.
- Courtesy faculty should be recorded by a department, school or college in the Additional Posts panel in OneUSG’s Manage Faculty Events module. Courtesy affiliations will end when the faculty member is no longer employed by UGA.
Sources:
- Office of Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, January 2019.