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FACULTY APPOINTMENTS
Eastern Kentucky University adheres to the credential guidelines as stated
by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) in the hiring
of full- and part-time faculty. The expectation is that individuals will
have a minimum of 18 graduate hours in the discipline they will be teaching from a regionally accredited institution..
Kentucky state law requires the University to complete a criminal background
investigation on all new hires. Offers of employment are contingent upon
a satisfactory background check. Additionally, the University has elected to verify education credentials. Offers of employment are contingent upon satisfactory education credentials verification.
There are eight kinds of appointments to the faculty: (1) temporary,
(2) probationary, (3) tenure, (4) visiting faculty, (5) lectureships,
(6) clinical, (7) adjunct, and (8) retirement transition program.
1. Temporary Appointments
Temporary appointments are normally for replacements for regular faculty
members, visiting faculty, and part-time teaching assignments. (A separate
handbook has been developed for part-time instructors.) Temporary appointments
are for limited periods of time and for special purposes including outside
funded projects. Time served in a temporary appointment may count toward
tenure requirements if followed by a full-time probationary appointment
or promotion.
Faculty appointed at the rank of instructor also have temporary appointment
status since they cannot obtain tenure as an instructor.
2. Probationary Appointments
- Initial full-time appointments at the rank of assistant
professor or above are probationary.
- Probationary appointments are made annually.
3. Tenure Appointments
- Applicability. The provisions for tenure are applicable
to each professor, associate professor, assistant professor, and instructor.
- Eligibility. A faculty member shall be eligible for tenure
after completing a five-year probationary period of continuous full-time
service at Eastern and attaining the rank of assistant professor or
above. Leaves of absence may not be counted toward the five years of
full-time service, but they shall be considered as continuous service.
A faculty member may thus take a year's leave of absence after four
years, return, and after an additional year be eligible for tenure.
Previous service in other institutions normally does not count toward
tenure requirements. For faculty employed at mid-year, the probationary
period does not begin until the beginning of the next academic year.
- Tenure Recommendations. Recommendations for tenure originate
in the department in which tenure is granted. The President recommends
approval of tenure to the Board of Regents, which has the authority
to grant tenure. For complete details of the tenure review process,
see the section entitled "University Promotion and Tenure Policy" in
this section of the Handbook.
4. Visiting Faculty Appointments
The Board of Regents has established the visiting instructor, assistant,
associate, and professor ranks to accommodate four types of appointments:
- For individuals who are employed, usually on a one-year
basis, to serve as replacements for faculty members who are on leave.
- For individuals who are recruited and employed in relationship
to an outside-funded project and whose continued employment is contingent
not only on successful performance but also on continuation of funding.
- For individuals recruited for positions in units where enrollment
trends are either downward or unstable or where program changes that
will affect staffing needs are anticipated.
- For individuals who are recruited for teaching during the
summer terms or for teaching assignments of a shorter duration.
With the exception of 4.d. above (summer terms or periods of shorter
duration), visiting appointments may be made for up to a maximum of three
one-year appointments. The fringe benefits provided individuals serving
on such appointments shall be the same as those for faculty serving in
regular appointments, except that they are not eligible for sabbatical
leaves or continuation of benefits while on leave without pay. Individuals
shall be evaluated in keeping with dates established for regular faculty
appointments.
If a person serving on a visiting appointment subsequently receives
a tenure-track appointment, a determination will be made through appropriate
channels and with the concurrence of the appointee how much, if any,
of the time served in the visiting capacity will be counted toward promotion
and tenure. This will be done at the time of the tenure-track appointment
and will be made a matter of record with copies placed in appropriate
files.
Visiting appointments are limited to three one-year appointments, with
at least one year to be applied toward tenure and promotion for the individual
who serves three years in visiting status and is subsequently offered
on a tenure-track appointment.
5. Lecture and Senior Lecture Appointments
Lecturer
Lecturers are professionals with appropriate qualifications that satisfy
SACS standards. They are appointed to teaching assignments (a) that regular
tenure-appointed faculty cannot fill, (b) where class enrollments are
unstable, (c) where other appointments are not appropriate, or (d) to
provide unique expertise. Lecturers cannot be tenured; perform any administrative,
service or research duties, or teach less than the equivalent of a 5-5
load each fall and spring semester.
Rationale: The primary objective of a comprehensive regional university
is to maintain the primacy of regular tenure appointments. In rare circumstances,
lecture appointments may be required for the short term or for a longer
period. Lecture appointments may be no more than 10 percent of the total
full-time faculty in a college and when feasible, lecture positions should
be converted to tenure positions. Lecturers cannot be tenured; however,
should a lecture position be converted to a tenure position, the incumbent
lecturer may apply for that tenure appointment competitively, but lecturers
cannot be grandfathered into a tenure position.
Lecturer appointments are on a year-by-year fixed nine-month contract
basis and may be renewed annually for up to three consecutive years. Appointment
contracts must include a detailed description of the specific responsibilities
of the position and evaluation procedures. In order to qualify for one
additional continuation appointment for up to two years, the department
must (a) justify the need for continuation of the lecture position including
provision of enrollment data and trends (for example, FTE-SCH analysis,
(b) provide documentation to support the request, a plan for how the lecturer
will be used in teaching, and evidence of acceptable teaching performance
by the incumbent using normal department evaluation procedures for temporary
faculty, and (c) gain approval of the appropriate college dean before
a continuation contract can be issued.
Senior Lecturer
Senior lecturer appointments have the same responsibilities and terms
as lecturers. Lecturers are eligible for appointment to this rank only
after serving the second year of the continuation lecturer appointment.
Appointment to this rank may be annually for periods up to five years
provided evidence of satisfactory performance and enrollment demand. The
department must (a) thoroughly justify the need for the senior lecture
appointment including providing detailed enrollment data, (b) provide
documentation to support the request, a plan for how the senior lecturer
will be used, and demonstrate acceptable teaching performance by the incumbent,
and (c) gain approval of the appropriate college dean and the Provost
before a senior lecturer contract can be issued. Appointment contracts
must include a detailed description of the specific responsibilities of
the position and evaluation procedures.
Additional Terms
1. Lecturers and senior lecturers will receive compensation comparable
to that of tenure-track faculty teaching similar courses and will receive
comparable health insurance, life insurance, and retirement contributions.
2. Notice of non-reappointment or of intention not to recommend reappointment
will comply with AAUP standards as follows: (a) Not later than March 1
of the first academic year of service, if the appointment expires at the
end of that year or, if a one-year appointment terminates during the academic
year, at least three months in advance of its termination; (b) not later
than December 15 of the second academic year of service if the appointment
expires at the end of that year or if an initial two-year appointment
terminates during an academic year, at least six months in advance of its
termination; and (c) at least twelve months before the expiration of an
appointment after two or more years at Eastern Kentucky University.
3. Departments with lecturers must provide the tools necessary for these
professionals to perform their assigned duties including appropriate office
space, supplies, support services, and equipment.
4. Lecturers and senior lecturers may apply for a full-time tenure-track
position and could negotiate for early tenure by applying some of the
time spent as a lecturer or senior lecturer. However, this is not guaranteed
and must be considered on a case-by-case basis by the department and college.
6. Clinical and Senior Clinical Faculty
Clinical faculty are health care professionals with appropriate degrees/qualifications
that satisfy SACS standards and who hold appropriate professional licensure/certification/registration
The primary responsibilities of non-tenure track faculty members appointed
in this series are to provide direct on-site clinical supervision to students
engaged in clinical practice settings and laboratories. Clinical faculty
cannot be tenured and cannot be grandfathered into a tenure track position;
however, clinical faculty may apply competitively for any tenure track
position that is opened. Clinical faculty cannot teach less than 24 to
32 clinical clock hours per week during each fall and spring semester.
The fifth day is used for grading and for conferencing with clinical students
and other course faculty.
Rationale: The University has a role that involves three functions:
teaching, service, and scholarship. In Health Sciences and potentially
other Colleges, a clinical component is a mandatory part of the educational
experience for students who are in programs that prepare them for licensure
and certification. The practice disciplines are enhanced by having clinically
competent faculty who provide direct supervision in locations where students
have clinical experiences. Colleges such as Health Sciences need adequate
numbers of faculty to provide direct student supervision in legally regulated
faculty student ratios that meet patient safety and accreditation standards.
Appointment of these clinical faculty positions in high demand clinical
programs provides consistent and assured clinical coverage. The addition
of clinically competent professionals well versed in a department's
curriculum, who are highly qualified to meet responsibilities in providing
direct clinical supervision to students, contributes to quality student
learning experiences.
Terms: Clinical faculty shall be appointed on a year-by-year contract
basis that may be renewed annually for up to three consecutive years.
Senior clinical faculty appointments have the same responsibilities as
clinical faculty and may be appointed to this rank after serving the third
consecutive year as clinical faculty or having previously demonstrated
equivalent clinical teaching experience. Senior clinical faculty may be
appointed annually for terms up to five years. A faculty member may be
reappointed in the senior clinical line for additional terms beyond the
five years as needed by the department. All reappointments of clinical
faculty and senior clinical faculty are contingent on the individual's
clinical teaching evaluation and the program's need for clinical
coverage as based on enrollment data and clinical specialist needs. Areas
of activity for appointment and performance review include effective clinical
teaching, practice-relevant activities, and maintenance of clinical currency
and appropriate licensure and certification.
To establish and/or extend a position or additional terms in the clinical
series, the chairperson of the initiating educational unit shall (1) demonstrate
need for such a position based on enrollment numbers and needed coverage
in a specialty area (2) indicate the amount of funding needed for the
position and recommended term of appointment and (3) obtain approvals
of the Dean, and the Associate Provost and/or Provost.
Additional Terms
1. Clinical faculty will receive compensation comparable to that of
tenure-track faculty teaching similar courses and will receive comparable
health insurance, life insurance, and retirement contributions.
2. Notice of non-reappointment or of intention not to recommend reappointment
will comply with AAUP standards as follows: (a) Not later than March 1
of the first academic year of service, if the appointment expires at the
end of that year or, if a one-year appointment terminates during the academic
year, at least three months in advance of its termination; (b) not later
than December 15 of the second academic year of service if the appointment
expires at the end of that year or if an initial two-year appointment
terminates during an academic year, at least six months in advance of
its termination; and (c) at least twelve months before the expiration
of an appointment after two or more years at Eastern Kentucky University.
3. Departments with clinical faculty must provide the tools necessary
for these professionals to perform their assigned duties including appropriate
office space, supplies, support services, and equipment.
4. Clinical faculty may apply for a full-time tenure-track position and
could negotiate for early tenure by applying some of the time spent as
a lecturer or senior lecturer. However, this is not guaranteed and must
be considered on a case-by-case basis by the department and college.
7. Adjunct Faculty Appointments
Adjunct status may be used for persons of established reputation or distinction
in their field for the specific purpose of enabling them to work with
graduate and undergraduate students or as members of special research
teams or as field supervisors in their discipline. Persons so identified
will be designated as adjunct professors or adjunct instructors. All appointments
will be on an annual basis. Nominations will originate in a department;
and prior to approval, the candidate's credentials, personal qualifications,
and present position will be examined. Adjunct faculty will receive no
salary from the University.
8. Retirement Transition Program
The Kentucky Teachers' Retirement System (KTRS) provides that a vested
member who has retired may receive his/her annuity without reduction and
work as much as the equivalent of 100 days per fiscal year. A member is
eligible to retire without a reduction of benefits upon attainment of
age 60 or 27 years of Kentucky Teachers' Retirement System service. Up
to six years of purchased military service may be used toward the 27 years
of service. Up to ten years of out-of-state service may be purchased.
If any of the out-of-state service is counted within the 27 years, additional
matching funds must be paid at the time of retirement. A member with less
than 27 years' service may retire at age 55 with a reduction of annuity.
(1) Retirement Transition Program
The primary purpose of the proposed Retirement Transition Program (RTP)
is to assist academic planners as they more effectively reallocate resources
to meet program objectives and student needs in an increasingly dynamic
environment. Another significant purpose is to provide an appropriate
career transition for experienced professionals. As a resource reallocation
activity the RTP will be pursued only when it is in the best interest
of the University and has the approval of the Department Chair, the Dean,
and the Provost/VP for Academic Affairs. The implementation of the RTP
will not result in additional instructional staffing in Academic Affairs.
(2) Eligibility
2.1 Faculty eligible to apply for RTP consideration must be eligible
and elect to retire under any approved institutional retirement system
(i.e. KTRS or Optional Retirement Program (ORP)).
2.2 Faculty must have tenured, full-time status to be eligible to apply
for RTP consideration.
2.3 Faculty must have provided ongoing evidence of quality in performance
in teaching and any other assignment areas.
(3) Terms of Employment
3.1 RTP faculty are, non-tenured contract faculty teaching a 12-hour
load for the contract year. [Twelve hours is the maximum, full-time teaching
load for purposes of RTP calculations and funding. For RTP faculty with
non-teaching assignments, KTRS allows retired employees to work up to
100 days per year. A day of work is considered by KTRS to be "any period
of employment exceeding 3.5 hours in a given day."]
3.2 RTP's run for specified terms of one, two or three consecutive academic
years. There are no renewals to an RTP at the end of the specified term.
3.3 The specific teaching assignment for a RTP faculty member is understood
to be determined by the Department Chair based on the scheduling and curriculum
needs of the department.
3.4 RTP salary will be up to a maximum of 37.5% (or 3.125% per credit
hour) of applicant's 9-month base salary upon retirement. Since their
contract is a special status contract (see item 1 under eligibility),
RTP faculty are only eligible for any across the board component of annual
salary increases in the years subsequent to their retirement. Any such
salary increases will have no impact on retirement system longevity nor
contribute to any increased average salary since retirement is already
being drawn.
3.5 RTP participants are considered part-time employees and are not
eligible to accrue sick leave time and are paid for the courses actually
taught (if an RTP faculty teaches 3/4 of their annual teaching assignment,
their salary will be 3/4 of the base amount). Any RTP faculty member who
may not be able to meet their teaching obligations must inform the Department
Chair, College Dean, and the Provost as soon as possible to insure that
their class will have coverage.
3.6 RTP employees will be paid evenly over the academic year if their
teaching load is being distributed evenly. If they are teaching more courses
in the Fall, they have the choice of being paid evenly over the year or
proportionally to their course load. If they are teaching a majority of
their courses in the Spring, they will be paid proportionally to their
course load.
(4) Expectations
4.1 The RTP is primarily designed as a teaching activity. No additional
service or research responsibilities are expected and RTP participants
do not serve on standing university committees. In some cases, academic
administrators may determine that the best interests of the academic unit
may be served by an RTP wherein teaching duties are combined with administrative
duties, service and/or research.
4.2 RTP faculty may be required to relocate their offices if the Department
Chair determines the reallocation of office space will contribute to meeting
the goals of that academic unit.
(5) Procedures and Timetables
STEP ONE (Second Friday in September): Receipt
of RTP from all interested faculty. Faculty members considering an RTP
should consult with their Department Chair, review the Faculty Handbook,
and consult the EKU Office of Human Resources regarding benefits before
submitting a request. Some benefits are restricted to full time faculty
members and some will be shifted from EKU to KTRS or other retirement
providers. The format of a RTP request is a memo presented to the Department
Chair and then routed through the regular administrative channels. This
memo should outline the teaching load as envisioned by the applicant.
STEP TWO (Second Friday in October): Determination
by the Department Chairs of matches between academic unit needs and applications.
These reviews will include assessment of faculty replacement needs. This
assessment must ensure that the quality of departmental teaching, advising,
and services will not suffer as a result of this RTP. The assessments
should consider the impact of the RTP on the department. Specifically
it should address the impact of the RTP on:
- Advising loads.
- The quality of teaching in the department, including class size.
- Percentage of courses taught by part time faculty.
- Committee assignments.
- The percentage of faculty on RTP.
- Any special conditions, such as space, computers, or faculty travel.
STEP THREE (First Week in November): The Chairs'
assessments will be appended to the original RTP requests and forwarded
by the Chairs to the respective Deans who shall review the requests in
view of the needs of the colleges and the impact on the various departments.
The Deans will then forward the requests and their recommendations to
the Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs.
STEP FOUR (Second Friday in November): The Provost/Vice
President will forward the requests, along with his/her recommendations,
to the President.
STEP FIVE (First Friday in December): The President
will take these recommendations and, working in consultation with appropriate
administrators, determine how the needs of programs and students will
best be met by utilizing RTP faculty.
STEP SIX (Second Friday in December): The President's
recommendations, pending Board of Regents' approval, will be communicated
to academic administrators and relevant faculty.
STEP SEVEN (SPRING - BOARD MEETING): The Board of Regents considers
the President's RTP recommendation.
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