Health Programs

VI. Appointment, Evaluation, Reappointment and Promotion

A. Appointment Procedure

The Academic Hiring Procedures apply to appointments in the Health Programs Faculty Appointment System.

1. Position Description

A detailed position description and specific criteria and procedures for reappointment and promotion shall be provided to the Health Programs faculty candidate, together with a copy of the letter of offer.

2. Letter of Offer

The letter of offer for initial appointments shall include information on 1) the length of the initial appointment, 2) the initial salary level, and salary program, 3) the duties expected of the individual and 4) the opportunity for reappointments. A copy of the HP Handbook also shall be provided.  

3. Salaries

See Appendix A (Colleges of Human and Osteopathic Medicine), B (College of Nursing), and C (College of Veterinary Medicine) for salary program information.

Base salaries are paid in twelve monthly installments on the last working day of each month for HP faculty with an annual (AN) appointment. Base salaries for HP faculty with an academic year (AY) appointment are paid on the last working day of each month over the duty period, August 15 through May 15.

B. Annual Evaluation

Health Programs faculty will be evaluated and provided feedback on their performance by the applicable unit administrator. Written annual evaluations are conducted as part of regular reviews related to assignment, planning and salary adjustment.

C. Review for Reappointment

In addition to an annual evaluation, HP faculty are formally reviewed and evaluated for reappointment by the appropriate unit administrator, with the advice of a body of the faculty member's peers (this body shall include HP faculty members). This review process will be completed at least 90 days prior to the end date of an individual’s current HP appointment.

Reappointment evaluations shall be based upon each HP faculty member's specific duties and responsibilities and any additional job responsibilities assigned and/or acquired since the initial appointment. Each faculty member shall be notified when his/her evaluation is to take place, what procedures are to be followed, and what criteria are to be used in the evaluation. This evaluation will take place between the faculty member and the applicable unit/department administrator.

The applicable unit administrator is required to seek advice on the decision to recommend   reappointment from an appropriate academic unit peer review committee (e.g. a unit advisory/ executive committee or Promotion and Tenure Committee) in order to obtain a peer faculty evaluation about the performance of the individual (see Section VII). Unit administrators recommend reappointment to the dean, who will make a recommendation on both the reappointment and the length of that reappointment to the Associate Provost for Faculty and Academic Staff Affairs, who will make the final decision.

If HP faculty duties change as a result of the reappointment evaluation discussion, that information (new expectations and duties) will be reflected in a letter to the individual with a copy to be maintained in his/her personnel file. The Health Programs faculty member will normally be informed of the decision to reappoint shortly after the evaluation and review process has taken place. Formal written notification of a decision to reappoint must be made by the applicable unit administrator to the individual not later than 90 days preceding the end date of the individual's appointment.

D. Decisions Not to Recommend Reappointment

A decision not to recommend reappointment for a Health Programs faculty member does not necessarily imply that a faculty member has failed to meet the standards of the University with respect to academic competence and/or professional performance. This decision may be based, wholly or in part, upon the availability of salary funds and/or departmental or college needs. Such a decision is initiated at the level of the basic administrative unit and the applicable dean. Final decision will rest with the dean of the college and approval of the Associate Provost for Faculty and Academic Staff Affairs.

A Health Programs faculty member who is not to be recommended for reappointment by the unit administrator and dean must be so notified in writing by the appropriate unit administrator no later than 90 days preceding the end date of the individual's appointment. Copies of the notification, which will be initiated by the applicable unit administrator, are to be sent to the dean. Upon written request of the faculty member, the administrator recommending the decision (i.e., the dean) shall transmit in writing the reasons for not recommending reappointment. A Health Programs faculty member not recommended for reappointment by the unit administrator and dean and not receiving proper notification is given an extension of one year. The Health Programs faculty member shall consider this arrangement as official notification of separation from the university at the end of this one year extension.

E. Promotion

1. Process and Reporting Form

Recommendations for promotion in rank in the Health Programs Faculty Appointment System are made in the department and/or unit according to unit, college and university bylaws, policies, procedures, standards and criteria. The faculty, operating in an advisory mode, provides advice to the academic unit administrator in the matter of promotion, as stated in the unit bylaws (see Section VII). Each department, school or unit is required to have procedures and criteria that are clearly formulated and relevant on which to evaluate the performance of faculty members for promotion. Following the recommendations of such peer review bodies, the chairperson or director makes a recommendation taking into consideration peer evaluations, including their quality and other supporting data and information. The chairperson or director is responsible as an individual for the recommendations he or she makes. Deans review independently each recommendation and approve or disapprove, taking into account unit, college and University criteria and other factors such as quality, progress, resources, program needs, proportion of tenured, tenure system and Health Programs faculty in each unit, and other relevant University policies. Deans forward recommendations to the Associate Provost for Faculty and Academic Staff Affairs, who makes the final decision.

Promotions are normally effective on the date of reappointment.

A standard University form is used to document the evaluation of each faculty member to be recommended for promotion.   Areas of evaluation include patient care services (delivery and consultation), instruction (pre-clinical, clinical, resident, post-doctoral, advising), scholarly productivity and research, institutional services (committee service, administrative service), and other areas as specified.

Health Programs faculty must be notified of the opportunity and the process for promotion review.

2. Time in Rank for Promotion

A recommendation for promotion from assistant professor (HP) to associate professor (HP) should be based on several years of sustained and outstanding achievements in clinical patient care services, teaching, scholarship and/or public service as an assistant professor, consistent with performance levels for similar faculty expected at a premier, land‐grant AAU University. The HP faculty member should not consider promotion to be an automatic action.

A recommendation for promotion from associate professor (HP) to professor (HP) should be based on several years of outstanding achievement in clinical patient care service, teaching, research and/or public service as an Associate Professor consistent with performance levels for similar faculty expected at a premier, land‐grant AAU University.

Bearing in mind the University's continuing objective to improve its faculty, the unit and the college must refrain from doubtful recommendations of promotion. The dean is to evaluate carefully each recommendation to insure that it is well grounded and fully justified, prior to forwarding such recommendation to the Associate Provost for Faculty and Academic Staff Affairs.

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