Introduction:

The faculty of the U.W. Centers (hereafter, U.W. Colleges), enjoy the same rights, privileges, and protections afforded the faculty of each institution in the University of Wisconsin System. The general provisions are in Chapter 36 of the Wisconsin State Statutes and in the Wisconsin Administrative Code. Each institution develops rules and procedures, pursuant to the appropriate chapters of the code, for appointments, renewal, nonrenewal, and tenure; for dismissal, layoff, and termination for reasons of financial emergency; for appeals complaints, and grievances; and for reports of outside activities.

Because policy implementation may vary somewhat by campus or department, each faculty member should learn not only the intent of the general policy and procedure, but also the specific expectations of the campus and department.

The U.W. Colleges mission includes an expectation for scholarly and creative activity and professional community service in addition to the primary emphasis on teaching excellence. The U.W. Colleges, therefore, seeks to employ faculty who, because of their graduate school and other experience, exhibit the potential for outstanding teaching, scholarly activity, professional service to the community, and university service. Such a person would be expected to contribute to the achievement of the U.W. Colleges.

Since there are frequently just one or two people in a given department at a particular campus, faculty are frequently required to teach a wide range of courses. Therefore, a candidate's experience in the discipline must be broad as well as deep. Furthermore, the candidate should clearly show the potential for meeting the criteria for tenure.

Types of Appointments:

Faculty: Faculty are persons who hold the rank of professor, associate professor, assistant professor, or instructor in an academic department of the U.W. Colleges. The faculty of the U.W. Colleges, subject to the responsibilities and powers of the Board of Regents, the president, and the chancellor, have responsibility for governance of the U.W. Colleges and the primary responsibility for academic and educational activities and faculty personnel matters.

Instructional Academic Staff: The U.W. Colleges policies mandate that all teaching positions be filled by full-time faculty whenever possible. However, some teaching personnel are given instructional academic staff appointments as associate lecturers, lecturers, or senior lecturers rather than appointments as tenure-track faculty. This occurs when: 1) the position becomes open too late to satisfy normal recruitment procedures; 2) the available candidate(s) does not satisfy the preferred qualifications for the position; 3) the position is less than half-time; 4) the position is a replacement for a faculty member who is on leave or on temporary assignment; 5) enrollment projections or curricular planning for the department and/or the campus do not support a faculty tenure-track appointment; or 6) funds supporting the position are from sources outside the base budget of the U.W. Colleges.

"Adjunct," "emeritus," L/I, "Location/institution" (for faculty from U.W. System institutions), and "visiting" are prefixes which may be appended to instructor, assistant professor, associate professor, and professor. These are instructional academic staff titles and may be utilized only upon approval of the department chair, dean, and office of Academic Affairs.

Procedures for Appointments:

When a faculty position becomes vacant and the Office of Academic Affairs (at the U.W. Colleges central office in Madison) authorizes the campus and department to fill the position, or a new position is authorized, the department chair notifies department members to allow them to request a transfer to the vacancy. If no transfer request is made, a national search begins.

The dean (in consultation with the campus appointments committee) and the department chair develop a position description. The description and a Request to Fill Unclassified Vacancy form are sent to the Office of Academic Affairs. After approval by that office and the Affirmative Action Office, the department chair advertises the vacancy in accordance with affirmative action/equal opportunity guidelines. The department screens the incoming applications and, on the basis of written credentials, prepares a slate of candidates which is forwarded, with vitas for each candidate, to the Assistant to the Chancellor for Affirmative Action. If approved, the slate of candidates and their credentials are forwarded to the campus.

The campus appointments committee reviews the candidates and selects those to be interviewed. The interview costs must be pre-approved by the Office of Academic Affairs. (A pre-interview telephone conference call with the candidates may be used to aid in the screening process). Interviews usually take place on the campus, and the candidates are interviewed by the dean, the campus appointments committee, and the department chair (or designee). Both the campus committee and the department must make a positive recommendation before the dean will recommend the candidate to the chancellor for appointment.

Policies and Procedures for Retention, Tenure, and Promotion of Faculty:

Probationary Appointment: A probationary faculty appointment is authorized by the Board of Regents upon the affirmative recommendation of the appropriate academic department, the campus appointments committee, the dean, and the chancellor, and is held by a faculty member during the period preceding a tenure decision. A probationary appointment does not exceed seven consecutive years in a full-time position or, in the case of a part-time position of at least half-time, the equivalent of seven full time years. A professional leave of absence, sabbatical, or a teaching improvement assignment does not constitute a break in continuous service, but is not included in the seven-year period. (See U.W.S. 3.04; UWC Constitution 5.00).

A probationary appointment may be made initially at the level of instructor or assistant professor. The appointment letter from the chancellor states the particular conditions that must be met during the probationary period. These may be changed only after consultation with the department chair, dean, and Office of Academic Affairs. With split appointments, the letter specifies a home campus and/or home department. Credit for prior service, if granted, also is stated. At the time of appointment, the faculty member is supplied with copies of the campus and department criteria and procedures for retention, tenure, and promotion.

Tenure Appointment: A faculty tenure appointment for an unlimited period is granted by the Board of Regents upon the affirmative recommendation of the appropriate academic department, the appropriate campus committee, the dean, and the chancellor via the president of the U.W. System. Tenure is not system-wide nor based at an individual U.W. College. A tenure appointment is in an academic department of the U.W. Colleges.

Retention and Pre-tenure Review: Consistent with the Wisconsin Administrative Code, the U.W. Colleges provides a maximum seven-year probationary period for a full-time position. Probationary faculty are normally considered for tenure in the sixth year. Tenure considerations, however, are of a continuing nature during the probationary period. Annual evaluations are made for reappointment, and a more extensive evaluation of progress-toward-tenure by the department, the appropriate campus committee, and the dean occurs in the third year. Classroom visitations by at least two department members are required in the first, second, third, and sixth years of the probationary period.

The academic department will review the probationary faculty member first. If the department recommendation is negative, the process is stopped and the faculty member is notified of his/her non-retention by the vice chancellor. If the department recommendation is positive, it is forwarded to the campus committee. Deadlines for department recommendations are:

The campus committee determines its recommendation and forwards both the department and campus recommendations to the dean. Deadlines for campus recommendations are:

If the campus recommendation is negative, the dean notifies the vice chancellor who notifies the faculty member. If the campus recommendation is positive and the dean concurs, the dean notifies the faculty member of the positive retention decision. If the dean does not concur, consultations with the department and campus committee begin. If, following consultation, the dean still does not concur, the dean forwards all recommendations to the vice chancellor who will make the final decision and notify the faculty member. Deadlines for notification of the faculty member are:

Tenure Review: Tenure must be earned by the candidate. Tenure is not acquired solely by years of service. Pre-tenure reviews provide an opportunity for both the department and the campus to inform the candidate of progress toward tenure and to make note of areas where improvement is needed. The absence of concerns, or the indication of satisfactory progress toward tenure, should not be construed as a commitment to make a positive recommendation at the time of the tenure decision. The candidate must establish a record of teaching, scholarly activity, and professional and university service that will lead to continued development as a professional in the discipline and as a faculty member of the University of Wisconsin Colleges. Tenure is the most significant commitment made, and that commitment influences the composition of the department and campus for many years. Therefore, the criteria are rigorous and are the same as those used for promotion in rank to associate professor.

Information regarding early tenure decisions may be found in Senate Policy #35 and tenure for deans in Senate Policy #40.

Criteria for Tenure: The U.W. Colleges senate established minimum criteria for appointment, retention, tenure and promotion (Senate Policy #34). Department and campus criteria for tenure must be at least as demanding as the criteria indicated in the Senate Policy and are sometimes more demanding. Faculty members should receive copies of both department and campus criteria when appointed and use those to guide them during their probationary periods.

The senate-mandated minimum criteria require that the individual must have demonstrated teaching effectiveness. The faculty member should fulfill teaching responsibilities skillfully for preparation and presentation of information in the discipline. Lecture and laboratory preparation and presentation; resourcefulness, imagination, and competence in teaching; evidence of course and/or teaching improvement where the need was indicated by personal or external evaluation; and evidence that students have been provided with a sound background for additional coursework in that or related disciplines will be reviewed, in addition to other considerations.

Also, the minimum criteria for tenure require that the faculty member demonstrate evidence of professional development through research; professional publication within the discipline; presentation of papers at state, regional or national meetings of professional associations; art exhibits or other performances involving outside peer review; active participation in professional meetings or associations beyond attendance; or similar activities in which the professional contribution has been recognized by the faculty member's professional peers external to the U.W. Colleges.

The faculty member also must demonstrate significant achievement in one of the following two areas:

a) University service through contributions at the campus, department, U.W. Colleges, or U.W. System level.

b) Public service to the community in areas related to the academic expertise or professional competence of the faculty member.

Finally, the faculty member must meet all conditions included in the initial letter of appointment to meet the minimum criteria for tenure. Again, department or campus criteria may be more stringent than the above so faculty should consult those criteria.

Timetable for Tenure Decision: By October 1 of the sixth year, departments should notify tenure candidates of the tenure review, the materials that the candidate should prepare, and the November 30 deadline for completion and submission of the materials. By January 25, the department executive committee must make its recommendation. An affirmative recommendation is attained if a majority votes in the affirmative. If the recommendation is affirmative, the campus committee reviews the candidate and develops its recommendation by February 15. If the majority vote of the campus committee is affirmative, the campus and department recommendations are sent to the campus dean. By March 15, the campus dean forwards the dean's recommendation along with the affirmative recommendations of the campus and department committees to the vice chancellor. The vice chancellor reviews the recommendations and all of the tenure review materials and then makes a recommendation to the chancellor who decides whether to recommend the candidate to the Board of Regents. The Board generally approves tenure recommendations at a late spring meeting.

For more detail, see the Criteria and General Procedures for Appointment, Retention, Tenure Progress, Tenure, and Promotion, Senate Policy #34.

Nonrenewal of Probationary Faculty: When a probationary faculty member is informed that the appointment will not be renewed, that faculty member has the right to request and receive written reasons if the request is made within 14 days. The reasons must be provided within 14 days after the request and become a part of the faculty member's personnel file. Within 20 days of receiving the reasons, the faculty member has the right to request reconsideration. A reconsideration is not a hearing, nor an appeal, and is non-adversarial in nature. The faculty member is given 14 days notice of the time and place of reconsideration is given the opportunity to respond to the written reasons and to present any written and/or oral evidence and arguments relevant to the decision. The faculty member receives a written decision within 14 days after the reconsideration proceeding.

When a nonrenewal decision is reaffirmed after reconsideration, a faculty member has 20 days to appeal the decision to the UWC Appeals and Grievance Committee, which ordinarily conducts a review within 20 days of the request. (This time period may be lengthened by mutual consent of the parties or by order of committee). The faculty member is given at least 14 days notice. The burden of proof in such an appeal is on the faculty member, and the scope of the review is limited to the question of whether the decision was based to any significant degree upon one or more of the following factors:

a) conduct, expressions, or beliefs which are constitutionally protected, or protected by the principles of academic freedom;

b) factors prescribed by applicable state or federal law regarding fair employment practices;

c) improper consideration of qualifications for reappointment or renewal.

The Appeals and Grievance Committee reports on the validity of the appeal to the group or officer making the nonrenewal decision and to the appropriate dean, department chair and the chancellor. Such a report may include various remedies. If impropriety is found, cases are remanded for reconsideration by the decision maker in all instances unless the Appeals and Grievance Committee specifically finds that such a remand would serve no useful purpose. The Appeals and Grievance Committee retains jurisdiction while reconsideration is pending. The decision of the chancellor is final unless the Board of Regents exercises its option to review the appeal. (See the UWC Constitution, 6.02, for more details.)

Promotions: The U.W. Colleges minimum qualifications for the ranks of instructor, assistant professor, associate professor, and professor are in Senate Policy #34. Department and campus criteria may be more stringent than institutional criteria and should be consulted.

General faculty guidelines on evaluation for promotion include an appraisal of teaching effectiveness, professional growth, university service, and professional community service. Faculty considering self-nomination for promotion or being nominated for promotion should consult the department chair about specific procedures. General institutional procedures are in Senate Policy #34.

Briefly, names of persons considered for promotion must be submitted to the appropriate department chair, campus dean, and the campus committee for promotions by October 1. The department chair, in consultation with the chair of the campus committee for promotions, determines by October 15 whether promotion consideration is in concert with with department and campus guidelines. All department evaluations must be completed and any affirmative recommendation is sent to the campus committee before January 25. If the department recommendation is negative, the department informs the candidate and campus committee and no new action is initiated in that academic year.

Upon receipt of an affirmative department recommendation, the campus committee considers the promotion request. If the campus committee does not concur with the department's affirmative recommendation, the committee advises the department of its reasons, and an attempt is made to resolve the differences. If no agreement is reached, the department informs the candidate, and no further action occurs. If the campus committee develops an affirmative recommendation, it forwards its recommendation, along with the affirmative recommendation of the department, to the campus dean. All of these actions occur by February 15.

By March 15, the dean forwards the affirmative recommendations of the campus committee and the department, the dean's recommendation, complete documentation, and department and campus criteria for promotion to the vice chancellor. If the dean does not concur with the affirmative recommendations of the campus committee and the department, the dean advises them of the reasons for nonconcurrence.

The vice chancellor reviews the recommendations and all the documentation and transmits a recommendation to the chancellor no later than May 15. The vice chancellor informs the candidate, department chair, dean, and campus committee of the chancellor's decision whether to recommend the candidate for promotion to the Board of Regents. The Board of Regents officially approves the promotion at a meeting during the summer. The candidate is notified officially by the chancellor with copies to the dean, department chair, and campus promotion committee. A salary increment accompanies each promotion. A schedule of personnel actions is included at the end of this chapter.

Annual Evaluation of Faculty for Merit Salary Increases:

Generally, every faculty member, including those on professional leave, is evaluated annually by either the academic department or campus to determine an annual merit rating and performance evaluation. (Faculty members on personal leave are not evaluated or awarded merit salary increases.) Faculty are evaluated for merit salary increases just as for retention, tenure and promotion: on teaching effectiveness, professional activities, university service, and professional community service.

To provide a core of information of common significance, each faculty member is required to complete a Faculty Activity Report (Senate Policy #16) [Note: there is no active hypertext link to Senate Policy #16] covering the preceding two calendar years and send it to the department or campus evaluation committee with other supporting materials by January 5. Faculty members who do not comply with Senate Policy #23 (Student Survey of Instruction--Form and Procedures) or who do not submit a Faculty Activity Report will not receive a merit salary increase. Department and/or campus merit ratings are sent to the faculty member with a written performance evaluation. The distribution of merit dollars is made by a UWC allocational formula consistent with the Board of Regents and UWC Senate Policy #14 (Guidelines for Merit Procedures). Merit salary increases are added to the base salary.

The institutional merit procedures are described in Senate Policy #14 (Guidelines for Merit Procedures), but departments and campuses may have further requirements. Consult with the department chair or campus evaluation committee for the specific procedures.

Discipline-Related Public Service to the Community: As part of the merit, retention, tenure, and promotion evaluations, public service is reviewed. Activities must be clearly related to a faculty member's academic expertise and professional competence. Each department has a written statement clarifying the types of activities that are legitimate public service activities for that discipline and distributes these statements. Furthermore, each faculty member should be informed by the department and campus as to the extent to which these activities will be used in evaluation. (Senate Policy #48).

Dismissal of Tenured Faculty

Ineffective or Inactive Tenured Faculty: All faculty are expected to maintain the quality of teaching, professional growth, and community service required by the department and campus. Deans and department chairs identify possible failure of faculty members in this responsibility. Initially, they will communicate their concerns verbally to the affected faculty member. After this, various steps may be taken, such as peer class visitation or student evaluations, to further evaluate the problem. If possible, the solution will involve a positive remedial course of action, including faculty renewal and development measures, and should evolve through consultation with the faculty member and relevant campus and department committees.

If these efforts are not successful, the dean and/or department chair, in consultation with the appropriate committees, will file a formal complaint or request an informal investigation under UWS 4.01 (Dismissal for Cause). A pattern of ineffectiveness or inactivity is grounds for discipline (UWS 6.01) or dismissal (UWS 4.01). Other disciplinary actions could include withholding merit pay, salary reduction, demotion in rank or reassignment to other responsibilities.

The procedures for such actions are in Senate Policy #47.

Dismissal for Cause: A tenured faculty member may be dismissed on for just cause and only after due notice and hearing. a probationary faculty member may be dismissed before the end of the contract term only for just cause and only after due notice and hearing. The action and decision of the Board of Regents in such matters are final, subject to judicial review. The decision not to renew a probationary appointment is not a dismissal when appropriate notification is given.

The chancellor receives complaints against faculty members. If the chancellor deems the complaint substantial which, if true, might lead to dismissal for cause, the chancellor initiates an investigation within a reasonable time. Before reaching a decision on filing charges, the chancellor offers to discuss the matter informally with the faculty member (UWS 4 and UWC Constitution 6.03). If the charges are filed, written statements are sent to the affected faculty member with details of available appeal procedures. If the faculty member requests a hearing, it is conducted by the UWC Faculty Appeals and Grievance Committee.

Financial Emergency and Layoff: If at any time a declaration of financial emergency is considered in the U.W. Colleges, the Faculty Consultative Committee consults with and advises the chancellor. The chairs of the campus steering committees or their teaching faculty designees are members of the Faculty Consultative Committee.

If financial emergency is declared, the tenured department members, after seeking advice of campus committees and deans, recommend who should be laid off. These recommendations follow seniority, as provided in UWS 5.08, unless a clear and convincing case is made that needs dictate other considerations (UWS 5.07). The seniority policy takes into account three factors: years of service, rank, and tenure. For more information on how seniority is calculated, see Senate Policy #43 [currently a mapping-error].

Any faculty member whose position is recommended for elimination must be notified promptly (UWS 5.09 and 5.10) and is entitled to a hearing before the UWC Appeals and Grievance Committee. The hearing will be conducted according to procedures in UWS 5.11-5.15 (UWC Constitution 6.05).

Appeals, Complaints, and Grievances

The authority and the various functions of the UWC Appeals and Grievance Committees are enumerated in Section 2.03 of the UWC Constitution and defined and discussed in other sections of the Constitution and this handbook. The faculty committee hears appeals of faculty concerning decisions on nonrenewal of probationary faculty (UWC Constitution 6.02), and layoff (UWC Constitution 6.05).

Complaints can be made to a campus dean or to the chancellor by any person or group and about faculty conduct which may violate university rules or policies or adversely affect a person's performance of his/her obligation to the university, but which are not serious enough to warrant dismissal proceedings under UWS 4. The chancellor may dismiss the complaint, invoke disciplinary action, or refer the complaint to the appropriate appeals and grievance committee.

Grievances may be heard by a campus or a department grievance committee. A grievance is a personnel problem involving a faculty member's feeling of unfair treatment or dissatisfaction with actions of administration, faculty or academic staff. These grievance committees have the power to conduct hearings and fact findings related to the grievance and authority to recommend solutions.

Each campus has a committee empowered to hear grievances including those against a dean, those based on personnel recommendations concerning merit salary increases, and those based on promotions not involving tenure when the recommendation of the campus committee or dean is the basis of the grievance. A campus grievance committee makes recommendations to the dean, and when the dean does not concur, to the chancellor. A department grievance committee hears grievances involving the department and makes recommendations to the department chair. When the department chair does not concur, the recommendations go to the chancellor. Grievances may be brought before the UWC faculty appeals and grievance committee only after a campus or department has acted and if the aggrieved faculty member is not satisfied with the action of the department or campus grievance committee. Grievances involving other UWC bodies or officials are brought before a subcommittee of the UWC faculty appeals and grievance committee. If a grievance is not resolved within the U.W. Colleges, the UWC faculty appeals and grievance committee may recommend solutions to the Board of Regents. See the UWC Constitution, Chapter 6, for details.

Inter-Center Reassignment and Transfer

When a program limitation or enrollment decline at one campus necessitates a position reduction, the department(s) examines possible alternatives, including partial or full transfer of an individual to another campus and make recommendations to the chancellor.

After consultation with the appropriate local and department committees, deans and individuals involved, the chancellor may make the reassignment. In cases where relocation of residence is required, the individual shall have the right to at least five months notice prior to relocation. Necessary moving expenses are paid by the U.W. Colleges, in accordance with state policy.

As an alternative to reassignment, the individual involved has the right to a reduced position if one is available at the campus in question. The faculty member who has been reassigned or whose position has been reduced has the right to assume the original position, or portion thereof, at the first available opportunity. In any case, the chancellor notifies the individual of the right to lodge a grievance. Senate Policy #18 [currently a mapping-error] describes the details of involuntary reassignment.

If there is a vacancy at one U.W. College for any reason, all faculty members in that discipline are notified. If a faculty member at another campus wishes to apply for the vacant position, that faculty member may do so before the position is opened for search. If the campus appointments committee, the deans of the involved campuses, and the department recommend such transfer to the vice chancellor, and if the vice chancellor approves, the faculty member can be reassigned to the new position. In making that decision, the vice chancellor will take into account such factors as the strength of the recommendations of the deans of both campuses, the recommendations of the appointments committee, the objections or supporting statements of the department, and the effect of the transfer on the programs and budgets of both campuses.

Since this is a voluntary transfer, there is no obligation to pay for relocation expenses, nor is there any guarantee that the faculty member will be replaced at the previous campus by someone of the same rank, salary or percentage of time. Given multiple requests for transfer to the same open position, the matches between the academic backgrounds of the candidates and the program of the receiving campus are considered first. If these considerations are equal, first choice is awarded by UWC seniority rankings. At all levels of recommendations, the welfare of the U.W. Colleges as a whole is presumed to be the most important factor in deliberations. Such transfers normally are made by the vice chancellor only if all parties support the move. For more detailed information, see Senate Policy #18 [currently a mapping-error].

Endnote:

The dean will notify the probationary faculty member of retention or non-retention when the department, campus, and dean recommendations are affirmative. In all other cases, the vice chancellor notifies the candidate.

This excerpt of Chapter IV of the U.W. Colleges Faculty Handbook (1993-94) is intended to be an on-line, preliminary source of personnel information for faculty of the U.W. Colleges. The only change to the text of the 1993-94 handbook version reflects the 1997 name change of the institution from the 'U.W. Centers' to the 'U.W. Colleges.' Please refer specific questions about policy, procedures and personnel schedules to your Department Chair, Campus Dean, or the Office of Academic Affairs of the U.W. Colleges. Posted on 03-10-98 by Janice Pierce. Last updated on 09-17-98.