XI Faculty Roles and Responsibilities in Personnel Matters
XII Faculty Personnel Standards and Procedures
XIII Faculty Roles and Responsibilities in Academic Matters
XIV Appointment and Reappointment Form: Terms and Conditions of Employment
XI Faculty Roles and Responsibilities in Personnel Matters
XII Faculty Personnel Standards and Procedures
XIII Faculty Roles and Responsibilities in Academic Matters
XIV Appointment and Reappointment Form: Terms and Conditions of Employment
XI Faculty Roles and Responsibilities in Personnel Matters
XII Faculty Personnel Standards and Procedures
XIII Faculty Roles and Responsibilities in Academic Matters
XIV Appointment and Reappointment Form: Terms and Conditions of Employment
XI Faculty Roles and Responsibilities in Personnel Matters
XII Faculty Personnel Standards and Procedures
XIII Faculty Roles and Responsibilities in Academic Matters
XIV Appointment and Reappointment Form: Terms and Conditions of Employment
11.1 The faculty shall have primary responsibility in the area of personnel matters. This shall mean the capacity to initiate or review faculty personnel recommendations. Academic administrative officials may make a recommendation or decision counter to the original faculty recommendation only in exceptional circumstances and with compelling reasons in written detail which shall specifically address the content of that recommendation as well as the established standards and criteria.
11.2 The faculty shall have the right to grieve based on the terms and conditions of this Agreement any modification or reversal of such recommendations.
12.1 High professional standards must be the basis for all personnel decisions. Personnel recommendations and decisions shall be made only after a review of all the qualifications and all the contributions of the individual in the areas of teaching; of research, creative or professional activity; and of service. All three areas must be considered but the relative weight to be given each may be determined in the light of the duties of the faculty member. Final decisions are made only after giving serious consideration to all the materials in the basic file as well as to the professional judgments of the departmental personnel committee, which are and ought to be given great weight.
12.2 In order to maintain the academic excellence of the University, current academic standards and criteria for faculty personnel actions, except as modified in this Agreement, shall remain in effect for the duration of this Agreement.
12.3 The faculty at the departmental level shall establish once each year, in timely fashion, a personnel committee to exercise the responsibilities described in Sections 11.1, 12.1, 12.2 and Articles XXI, XXVI and XXXIII. In a department with fewer than three (3) faculty members which chooses to establish a personnel committee the faculty and dean shall agree upon the selection of a specific faculty member or members from outside the department who shall be asked to serve on the committee.
12.4 In each faculty, college or school, there shall be a personnel committee of the faculty to review departmental level recommendations. The committee shall be chosen by procedures established on each campus in a manner designed to represent the interests of the faculty of each faculty, college or school. Said committee shall forward its recommendation to the appropriate dean.
12.5 No faculty member on a personnel committee shall participate directly in any recommendation or decision relating to appointment, reappointment, promotion or tenure at the University of any parent, child, spouse, sibling, parent-in-law, sibling-in- law, child-in-law or stepchild. A faculty member should withdraw from participation in any personnel recommendation or decision involving potential conflict of interest. This provision shall not be subject to Article XXV, Grievance Procedure.
12.6 In reviews for major personnel actions for faculty--reappointments through the tenure decision year, promotion to the ranks of associate professor and professor and the award of tenure--the procedures listed below shall be followed:
(a) Notice of a personnel review for reappointment or tenure shall be sent to the faculty member no later than the end of the third calendar week of the semester in which the review is to be initiated.
(b) As provided in Sections 24.4 and 24.5, a basic file shall be created for each major personnel action. This file shall be supplemented and reviewed at the departmental level and supplemented and reviewed at each successive level of recommendation or decision. The file shall contain the materials listed in Subsection 12.6(f).
(c) The faculty member shall submit to the department/program chairperson/head any and all materials for inclusion in the basic file that he/she believes will be essential to an adequate consideration of the case.
(d) For appointment at or promotion to the rank of associate professor and professor and for all tenure recommendations, the chairperson/head shall solicit outside letters of reference drawn from a list of scholars and/or professionals. The solicited referees shall include scholars and professionals from among those suggested by the faculty member (if he/she wishes to do so), but the list is not limited to those the faculty member suggests.
(e) The materials in the basic file shall be accessible to the faculty member, with the exception of letters of recommendation to which he/she has voluntarily waived access.
(f) The basic file shall contain the following materials:
(1) When the basic file is forwarded from the departmental level it shall contain:
(a) a table of contents;
(b) a current curriculum vitae (including a bibliography and/or comparable list of professional accomplishments);
(c) copies and reviews of published works and/or evidence of other professional accomplishments;
(d) evaluations of teaching effectiveness, including but not limited to those of students;
(e) letters of reference solicited by the chairperson/head and a description of the professional standing of the writers of letters of reference from outside the University and a statement of any relationship the writer may have had to the faculty member;
(f) evaluations of service;
(g) any and all materials submitted by the faculty member;
(h) the recommendation and the numerical vote at the departmental level;
(i) the recommendation of the chairperson/head.
(2) At subsequent levels there shall be added the following:
(a) the recommendation and numerical vote of the faculty, school or college personnel committee;
(b) the recommendation(s) and decision of academic administrative officials;
(c) other materials solicited, submitted or received during the review process, including, by way of example, additional materials submitted by the faculty member, additional letters of reference and/or additional information received in response to the invitations issued under Subsections In reviews for major personnel actions for faculty--reappointments through the tenure decision year, promotion to the ranks of associate professor and professor and the award of tenure--the procedures listed below shall be followed:
(a) Notice of a personnel review for reappointment or tenure shall be sent to the faculty member no later than the end of the third calendar week of the semester in which the review is to be initiated.
(b) As provided in Sections 24.4 and 24.5, a basic file shall be created for each major personnel action. This file shall be supplemented and reviewed at the departmental level and supplemented and reviewed at each successive level of recommendation or decision. The file shall contain the materials listed in Subsection 12.6(f).
(c) The faculty member shall submit to the department/program chairperson/head any and all materials for inclusion in the basic file that he/she believes will be essential to an adequate consideration of the case.
(d) For appointment at or promotion to the rank of associate professor and professor and for all tenure recommendations, the chairperson/head shall solicit outside letters of reference drawn from a list of scholars and/or professionals. The solicited referees shall include scholars and professionals from among those suggested by the faculty member (if he/she wishes to do so), but the list is not limited to those the faculty member suggests.
(e) The materials in the basic file shall be accessible to the faculty member, with the exception of letters of recommendation to which he/she has voluntarily waived access.
(f) The basic file shall contain the following materials:
(1) When the basic file is forwarded from the departmental level it shall contain:
(a) a table of contents;
(b) a current curriculum vitae (including a bibliography and/or comparable list of professional accomplishments);
(c) copies and reviews of published works and/or evidence of other professional accomplishments;
(d) evaluations of teaching effectiveness, including but not limited to those of students;
(e) letters of reference solicited by the chairperson/head and a description of the professional standing of the writers of letters of reference from outside the University and a statement of any relationship the writer may have had to the faculty member;
(f) evaluations of service;
(g) any and all materials submitted by the faculty member;
(h) the recommendation and the numerical vote at the departmental level;
(i) the recommendation of the chairperson/head.
(2) At subsequent levels there shall be added the following:
(a) the recommendation and numerical vote of the faculty, school or college personnel committee;
(b) the recommendation(s) and decision of academic administrative officials;
(c) other materials solicited, submitted or received during the review process, including, by way of example, additional materials submitted by the faculty member, additional letters of reference and/or additional information received in response to the invitations issued under Subsections
12.6 (m-p). When material is added to the basic file beyond the departmental level, the departmental personnel committee (or other appropriate mechanism) and the chairperson/head shall have the opportunity to respond as to its substance and appropriateness; unless it is protected by waiver, the faculty member shall also have this opportunity.
(g) A copy of the table of contents and the two recommendations from the departmental level shall be sent to the faculty member when the basic file is forwarded from the department.
(h) A copy of the updated table of contents and the recommendation of the faculty, school or college personnel committee shall be sent to the faculty member and to the department when the basic file is forwarded to the dean.
(i) A copy of the updated table of contents and the recommendation of the dean shall be sent to the faculty member, the chair of the faculty, school or college personnel committee and the department when the basic file is forwarded to the provost or the chancellor.
(j) A copy of the updated table of contents and the decision of the chancellor and/or the provost shall be sent to the faculty member, the dean, the chair of the faculty, school or college personnel committee and the department at the time the decision is made.
(k) A copy of the updated table of contents and the recommendation of the chancellor and/or the provost shall be sent to the faculty member, the dean, the chair of the faculty, school or college personnel committee and the department when the chancellor or the provost forwards a recommendation for tenure to the President.
(l) A copy of the updated table of contents and the decision of the President shall be sent to the chancellor and/or the provost, the dean, the chair of the faculty, school or college personnel committee, the department and the faculty member when the President has made a decision in the case of a recommendation for tenure forwarded by the campus.
(m) Prior to making a recommendation that may be contrary to either of the recommendations forwarded from the departmental level, the faculty, school or college personnel committee shall consult with the department.
(n) Prior to making a recommendation that may be contrary to either of the recommendations forwarded from the departmental level, the dean shall invite the department to provide additional information for the basic file or clarification of the recommendation.
(o) Prior to making a recommendation or decision that may be contrary to either of the recommendations forwarded from the faculty, school or college level, the chancellor or provost shall invite the dean to provide additional information for the basic file or clarification of the recommendation.
(p) Prior to reversing the recommendation of the chancellor and/or the provost for tenure, the President shall invite the chancellor and/or provost to provide additional information for the basic file or clarification of the recommendation.
(q) A campus academic administrative official shall make his/her recommendation or decision within forty-five (45) calendar days of receipt or the deadline for receipt (whichever is later) of both the basic file, including all relevant personnel committee recommendations, and all additional information or clarifications subsequently requested by the academic administrative official from the department or college. In tenure and reappointment cases, the provost shall notify the faculty member of his/her decision no later than August 15 of the academic year in which the process was initiated. In any promotion case in which the provost receives by May 30 both the basic file, including all relevant personnel committee recommendations, and all additional information or clarifications requested by the provost from the department or college, the provost shall notify the faculty member of his/her decision no later than August 15 of the academic year in which the process was initiated.
12.7 The Employer/University Administration shall not establish a tenure quota. However, the Employer/University Administration reserves the right in making personnel decisions (1) to consider institutional need and flexibility, as well as departmental affirmative action goals (considering the nature of the positive contribution that affirmative action is able to make to the diversity of perspective that is essential to the well-being of the department and the University community) and (2) to establish long- range plans to ensure that institutional flexibility is preserved; provided, however, that:
(a) the faculty shall be given the opportunity to contribute to the development of such plans;
(b) all officially adopted (i.e., by the Board of Trustees) long-range plans from departments/programs, colleges, campuses, and University shall be made available on request to individual faculty members, governance bodies, and the Union; and
- when such plans are used in conjunction with a tenure recommendation or decision, the basic relevance of the plan is to demonstrate that the personnel action is not inconsistent with the long-range interests of the University.
13.1 By virtue of its professional preparation and its central concern with learning, teaching and scholarship, the faculty will exercise primary responsibility in academic matters (e.g., curriculum, subject matter, methods of instruction).
13.2 The enumeration of certain rights and privileges of faculty members in this Agreement shall not be construed to deny or diminish the existing rights, privileges and responsibilities of faculty members to participate directly in the formation and recommendation of educational policy (i.e., academic matters).
13.3 The Employer/University Administration shall maintain and utilize appropriate mechanisms consistent with current practices for eliciting advice from the faculty on academic matters and may charge appropriate faculty groups and individuals with academic responsibilities consistent with the terms and provisions of this Agreement and M.G.L. Chapter 150E.
14.1 The terms and conditions of every appointment to a bargaining unit position shall be stated in the Approved Offer and Acceptance Form. The terms and conditions of every reappointment shall be stated in the approved reappointment form. The appropriate form shall be signed by the department chairperson/head and by the appropriate dean or director of libraries and by other appropriate academic administrative officials as required. The signed form shall constitute the commitment of the Employer/University Administration for the specific bargaining unit appointment or reappointment. The form shall be countersigned by the candidate or bargaining unit member, as the case may be, and such countersignature shall signify said person's understanding and acceptance of the terms and conditions of the appointment or reappointment. Faculty members appointed beginning with the spring semester will be given the option of an initial appointment on a calendar year basis, with a conversion to an academic year appointment basis with no loss of pay the following September.
14.2 The form shall include:
a) a description of the explicit terms of the appointment or reappointment and whether or not the appointment is with tenure or is a tenure track appointment or reappointment;
(b) the effective date of the appointment or reappointment and whether it is a calendar or an academic year appointment or reappointment;
(c) whether the appointment or reappointment is full-time or part-time and, if part-time, the proportion the appointment bears to a full-time appointment;
(d) credit toward tenure, if any;
(e) the expiration date of the current probationary contract term and the tenure decision year if the appointment or reappointment is without tenure and is on a tenure track;
(f) the rank of the appointment or reappointment;
(g) the beginning salary;
(h) a job description indicating the teaching, research or scholarly activity, and service responsibilities for faculty or appropriate counterpart for librarians as set forth in this Agreement;
(i) whether or not the appointment or reappointment is to a bargaining unit position and therefore governed by the terms and conditions of this Agreement; and
(j) whether or not the appointment is a joint appointment and if a joint appointment, the following:
(1) the department(s) that will make the recommendation regarding tenure;
(2) the process by which personnel recommendations will be initiated and acted upon;
(3) the percentage of responsibility in each unit; and
(4) if it is not a joint committee that initiates the personnel recommendation, a statement that the department initiating the personnel recommendation shall invite the other department, in writing, to submit written materials and to make an oral presentation.
14.3 For the duration of this Agreement, the ratio of visiting full-time faculty to full-time faculty shall not exceed the ratio of 1:25 over two consecutive semesters.
- Of those state-funded non-tenure track bargaining unit faculty members who are not replacements for regular faculty and have completed at least six years of full-time uninterrupted service, at least 50% (unit-wide) shall receive multi-year contracts. Unit members in non-tenure track positions shall have the right to be considered for newly created tenure-track positions for which they are qualified. If a faculty member currently in a non-tenure track position has been hired as the result of a national search, his or her position can be converted to a tenure-track position with the concurrence of the Provost or designee and the campus affirmative action officer, after consultation with the department personnel committee.
- The Employer and the Union note with concern the decrease in recent years in the number of tenure system faculty at the Amherst campus. The parties agree to continue to work together to develop approaches to reversing that trend and improving the student/faculty ratio. A joint union-administration committee shall be established for that purpose, and students will be invited to participate in committee deliberations and activities. This committee shall issue a public report no later than February 15, 2002, with annual updates no later than February 15, 2003, and February 15, 2004. The February 15, 2002, report shall include departmental data on (a) the number of fte students, (b) the number of students taught by tenure system faculty, and (c) the number of students taught by all other instructors for 1987-88 through fall 2001 and such other data as committee members deem appropriate. Each subsequent report will add an additional year of data. The reports will consider the underlying causes of these trends and propose measures to restore the ratio of students to tenure system faculty.
This paragraph will not be subject to Article XXV, Grievance Procedure.
15.1 The goals of the University require that the average workload for faculty members consist of three basic elements: (a) the basic instructional workload, (b) research, creative or professional activity and (c) service both on and off the campus.
15.2 Subject to the provisions of this Agreement and to budgetary constraints, the Employer/University Administration shall, as a high academic priority, maintain the goal of achieving a student-faculty ratio appropriate to a high quality of education and fulfilling the mission of the University.
15.3 Instructional workload assignments to faculty members shall reflect (a) the academic needs of the department or program, (b) the faculty member's qualifications and expertise and (c) the faculty member's professional interests.
15.4 The number of classroom contact hours, class size and total number of students taught by each faculty member are expected to vary widely among and within schools and departments, depending on the nature of the subject or activity being taught and upon the amount of teaching assistance provided (in the form of teaching assistants, graders, etc.). The average faculty workload practices of the various departments/programs in the recent past shall remain in effect for the duration of this Agreement.
15.5 The Employer/University Administration recognizes the central fact, common to all institutions of higher education, that, generally, one (1) hour of scheduled instruction by a faculty member requires several hours of instruction-related work that takes place outside the classroom. This includes preparation and ongoing revision of teaching material, remaining professionally up to date, as well as being available to students both through scheduled office hours and other traditional methods of student- faculty contact. These activities are expected of all faculty members and are taken into account in the assignment of instructional workloads.
15.6 The regularly scheduled instructional workload as described in Sections 15.1 through 15.5 may include such nonscheduled instruction as the supervision of internships, fieldwork, dissertations and theses, external degree contracts and competencies, honors projects, independent study programs, instruction in special programs and direction and/or coordination of laboratories and/or multi-sectional courses. In accordance with past practice and procedures, certain faculty members may be involved in precollege programs, continuing and adult education, summer session and extension activities as a part of their basic instructional workload.
15.7 A faculty member shall be assigned courses to teach in his/her area(s) of expertise as much as possible. An individual faculty member's rank, status and seniority shall not be the controlling factors in said assignment of courses.
15.8 The Employer/University Administration recognizes the contribution that can be made by the faculty regarding the development of faculty teaching schedules. Accordingly, within assigned space allocations, faculty teaching schedules shall be developed at the department/program level in accordance with procedures established within said department or program. These procedures shall insure that each affected faculty member shall have prior and reasonable consultation regarding his/her schedule. Schedules must be in accordance with and in response to student needs and the needs of the University's academic program.
These schedules shall then be submitted to the appropriate dean or designee for approval. If the dean or designee wishes to revise the schedule developed by the department/program: (a) an opportunity will be provided for discussion; and (b) reasons shall be provided and they shall not be arbitrary or capricious.
15.9In determining instructional workloads, the faculty member's research commitment, service contributions and prior instructional workload shall be taken into account to determine whether these warrant adjustment of instructional workload.
15.10 Faculty members on active appointment are expected to participate in: (a) student orientation, (b) registration and (c) commencement.
