UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH POLICY 02-02-06

CATEGORY:              ACADEMIC AFFAIRS

SECTION:                  Faculty Appointment and Tenure

SUBJECT:                 Non-Tenure Stream Faculty
EFFECTIVE DATE:   July 5, 1988
PAGE(S):                   2

I.    SCOPE

      This policy affirms the criteria and terms for appointment outside the tenure stream.  The

      following is excerpted from the University of Pittsburgh BYLAWS.  (See Appendix A.)

II.   POLICY

      Among the various faculties there are persons who possess special skills contributing

      substantially to the mission of the University:

      -     Who are not hired to devote full-time effort to the University, or

      -     Whose positions are funded for a finite period, or

      -     Whose professional and academic preparations are not complete, or

      -     Who are not expected to perform the same range of duties expected of a tenure-

            stream member of the faculty or to make the same contributions to the University

            community, and

      -     Who are agreeable to a non-tenure-stream appointment without implication of tenure.

      Under these or other exceptional circumstances, appointments outside the tenure stream

      and without tenure may be made at the ranks and with the title of professor, associate

      professor, assistant professor, and instructor.

      In exceptional cases, and with good reasons, a person may apply to leave the tenure

      stream to seek an appointment outside the tenure stream.

      Appointments with the following prefixes to the above ranks, and the following other ranks,

      are outside the tenure stream:

      Prefixes

      -     Visiting: One whose appointment is on a temporary basis, usually for not more than

            one academic year.

      -     Research: One whose primary assignment or contribution is investigative, and who is

            not ordinarily expected to undertake regular teaching responsibilities.

      -     Adjunct: One whose primary employment is outside an academic unit of the University,

            but who is fully qualified professionally and who performs on a part-time basis, duties

            which would otherwise be assigned to members of the full-time faculty.

      -     Clinical: One whose major contribution is as a preceptor of students and trainees in

            clinical skills, whether within the University or in another setting.

      -     Field: One whose primary assignment or contribution is in supervising student field-

            work, who is geographically removed from the University, and who does not undertake

            class responsibilities.

      Ranks

      -     Senior Lecturer: A title reserved for persons of considerable professional attainment,

            of eminence, or with recognized expertise in their fields of scholarship or in the creative

            arts.

      -     Lecturer: The term should be used to designate the "occasional" teacher, whose

            responsibilities are limited and defined in the letter of appointment.

      -     Professor, Associate Professor, Assistant Professor, or Instructor of Clinical (Subject,

            e.g., Medicine): One whose major contribution is usually limited to clinical practice and

            teaching.

      The terms of appointment of full-time faculty members outside the tenure stream may be

      for one to five years and are renewable.

      -     When a decision is made not to renew an appointment of a faculty member who has

            completed less than five full years of continuous service, the faculty member shall be

            notified in writing no later than three and a half months prior to the end of the

            appointment.

      -     When a decision is made not to renew an appointment of a faculty member who has

            completed at least five full years of continuous service, the faculty member shall be

            notified in writing no later than five and a half months prior to the end of the

            appointment.

      -     Faculty members outside the tenure stream who are supported in whole or in part by

            grants must be notified by the applicable time before the termination of the grant as to

            whether or not they will be reappointed should a supporting renewal or replacement

            grant be obtained. Full-time, non-tenure-stream members of the faculty who are

            terminated prior to the expiration of appointment may avail themselves of the appeals

            process described in Section III, D. of the University BYLAWS.  See Policy 02-02-07,

            Termination of Appointment for Cause.

III.  REFERENCES

      University of Pittsburgh of the Commonwealth System of Higher Education - BYLAWS,

      Chapter II, Article II, Section V, "Full- and Part-Time Non-Tenure- Stream Faculty." 

      Adopted by the Board of Trustees, January 14, 1969, and as amended thereafter. Policy

      02-02-07, Termination of Appointment for Cause