The recruitment and initial appointment process shall be carried out according to the following rules and procedures.
Section 1: Eligibility
All department members shall be eligible to take part in the
recruitment and initial appointment process described in this article,
except:
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the incumbent in the position to be filled if declared ineligible by vote of the department, and
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candidates for the position who are already department members.
If the vacancy is that of a department chair, the department shall
elect one of its eligible members to act as department chair in all
matters relating to recruitment and initial appointment.
Section 2: Position Description and Vacancy Announcements
By majority vote of the full department membership (defined in Section 1 above), a statement shall be adopted specifying:
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the responsibilities to be assigned,
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the corresponding competencies required in the person filling the vacancy, and
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what type of contract is desired.
The vote may reaffirm a previous statement of such responsibilities and competencies.
The college dean and the department chair, in consultation with the
Chancellor, the Vice Chancellor, and the department, will then determine
whether the appointment will be a regular academic year (or
twelve-month) contract, or an academic staff contract.
After the type of contract has been determined, the department shall
then invite appropriate faculty and appropriate students to recommend
candidates, and the position shall be advertised widely in suitable
media. That notice shall include a statement of the university's
commitment to Affirmative Action and Equal Employment Opportunity
recruitment policies, and a statement indicating whether the appointment
is to be filled by someone holding a regular academic year (or
twelve-month) contract, or an academic staff contract.
The department will keep in mind that where layoffs have occurred
because of fiscal emergency, no person may be employed at the
institution within three years to perform reasonably comparable duties
to those of a faculty member laid off, without first offering
reappointment to the laid-off faculty member without loss of tenure,
seniority, or other rights.
Section 3: Department Search and Screen Committee
The evaluation of candidates and the final selection to be proposed
to the Chancellor will now proceed under one of two sets of
circumstances:
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If the number of department members who may participate in the
evaluation of candidates is reduced to fewer than three (3) because of:
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the size of the department, and/or
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the limitation on department membership for the purposes of this article that are identified in Section 1 above, and/or
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the physical unavailability of department members because of
illness, being on vacation, or like cause, then the dean shall, after
consultation with all the remaining department members, appoint
additional faculty to the search and screen committee to make a
committee of at least three (3). The additional faculty member(s) so
appointed shall be members of a department or departments whose academic
discipline is as nearly related as possible to the discipline of the
department with the vacancy.
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If the number of department members who may participate in the
evaluation of candidates is not reduced to fewer than three (3) because
of any or all of the factors identified in a, then the department shall
vote to constitute itself as a search and screen committee, or to
designate certain members of the department to constitute such a
committee, provided that in the latter case at least two are so
designated.
By whichever means (a or b) that a search and screen committee is
established, the college dean shall, at his or her discretion, serve
with the committee as consultant. Faculty and students shall be invited
to offer their evaluation of the candidates. If condition a prevails,
the final selection shall be made by a majority vote of the three (or
more) member committee on an affirmative motion. If condition b
prevails, the final selection shall be made by a majority vote of the
entire department on an affirmative motion.
Section 4 Dean's and Vice Chancellor's Action
The department's recommendation shall be forwarded to the dean for
consideration. If the dean finds the department's recommendation
acceptable, the dean will forward the recommendation to the Vice
Chancellor. If the Vice Chancellor finds the dean's recommendation
acceptable, the appointment procedure outlined in Section 5 below will
commence.
If the dean does not find the department's choice acceptable, the
dean shall ask the department chair to convene a meeting of all
department members, and they shall discuss the matter together. If,
after the consultation, the dean's adverse judgment remains unchanged,
the department shall retrace whatever steps outlined in Sections 2 and 3
above are necessary, and offer another recommendation.
If the Vice Chancellor does not find the dean's recommendation
acceptable, the dean and Vice Chancellor shall discuss the matter
together. If the Vice Chancellor's adverse judgment remains unchanged,
the department will retrace whatever steps outlined in Sections 2 and 3
above are necessary, and offer the dean another recommendation.
Section 5: Offering a Contract
When the Vice Chancellor accepts the dean's recommendation, the
department chair and the dean, in consultation with the Vice Chancellor,
shall negotiate the terms and conditions of the appointment, including
duration of the appointment, salary, rank, starting date, ending date,
probation, tenure status, and any credit that shall be given to prior
service, among other matters they may regard as appropriate. If the
candidate offers a verbal acceptance of an appointment on these terms,
the Vice Chancellor, as the Chancellor's designee, shall send to the
candidate a letter of appointment including the terms as specified
above, a copy of the department's profile of duties to be performed, and
an explanation of institutional and system rules and procedures
relating to faculty appointments, as well as a form for the appointee to
sign indicating formal acceptance of the appointment. If the
appointment is subject to advance approval of the Board of Regents, a
statement to this effect must be included in the letter.
Section 6: Types of Appointment and Length of Probationary Period
Faculty appointments may be for the academic year or twelve months and shall be probationary or tenured.
The maximum probationary period shall be seven (7) years as provided
in UWS 3.04. The maximum for a part-time position of at least half-time
shall be ten (10) years. No one holding less than a half-time
appointment is eligible for tenure. A leave of absence, sabbatical
leave, or teacher improvement assignment shall not constitute a break in
continuous service, nor shall it be included in the probationary
period. Any shortening of the probationary period or counting of prior
service must be based upon the recommendation of the department or its
functional equivalent and approved by the Chancellor or his designee.
All initial academic staff appointments shall be of a type specified in Policies and Procedures Governing Academic Staff.
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