Non-tenure-track faculty, including clinical faculty, extension faculty, lecturers, and research faculty, make vital contributions to UMass Amherst’s core mission of education, research, and public service. On OFD’s Supporting NTT Faculty page you will find professional development programs and opportunities to connect with colleagues, such as mutual mentoring incubators, support for completing the AFR or applying for a Professional Development Fellowship, and promotion writing groups. This page also includes resources, such as campus academic personnel policy and the 2020 COACHE Special Focus Report on NTT Faculty, and information about upcoming and past events. In addition, NTT faculty members are invited to participate in the other Sustainable Careers programming relevant to their career stage, as well as our Leadership Essentials, Scholarly Writing, and Mutual Mentoring Programs. Set your own course with the wind in your sails.
Upcoming Events
Mutual Mentoring Incubators for NTT Faculty
A supportive network of mentors is vital at every stage of a sustainable faculty career. OFD’s mutual mentoring incubators for non-tenure-track faculty provide a unique opportunity to build a new network of colleagues for support. Groups meet regularly throughout the fall semester and often continue to meet in later semesters. Together at each meeting members check in, describe challenges, solve problems, and share strategies for professional development.
Faculty interested in joining a mutual mentoring incubator should complete the interest form by Friday, September 20th. For further information, please contact OFD senior fellow and associate director Jason Hooper at @email.
Professional Development at UMass Amherst
- AFR Workshop
- Professional Development Fellowship
- Promotion Writing Group
- Academic Personnel Action Deadlines & Policy
Are you new to completing the Annual Faculty Report and Evaluation (AFR) and curious about its structure and purpose? Have you ever wondered about how to document an achievement? Would you like an opportunity to ask questions in a supportive space with other faculty? These workshops, held annually in late September and early October, provide both guidance and time to begin working on your AFR.
Although completing the AFR might feel like a chore, it serves important goals. Your AFR showcases your accomplishments over the last year. It's an opportunity for self-reflection and a basis for discussion among departmental and other colleagues during annual review, contract renewal, and promotion.
All faculty members with an appointment at 50 percent FTE or greater must complete the 2023–24 AFR in the Academic Personnel Workflow System (APWS) by the October 15, 2024 deadline. Faculty document their teaching, student advising, research and creative activities, and service as appropriate to their appointment.
Are you considering applying for a Professional Development Fellowship? In this workshop, held each spring semester, you will learn about the application process and characteristics of what makes a successful application. A panel of recent fellowship recipients will share their application tips and strategies and there will be time for questions. A video of the spring 2024 workshop is provided below.
Professional Development Fellowships provide a paid one-semester release for non-tenure-track faculty (not including those with access to sabbaticals or those who are funded entirely on grants or contracts) who have completed six years of service. Professional Development Fellowships support professional development activities that directly relate to the faculty member’s job responsibilities and/or advance important initiatives for their department or college.
View the Zoom recording of "Planning for a Non-Tenure-Track Professional Development Fellowship" originally delivered on May 2, 2024.
In the weeks leading up to the first day of the spring semester, OFD offers an annual Promotion Writing Group for lecturers and senior lecturers preparing for promotion. Faculty gather to share ideas and strategies while working on their materials. Meetings are facilitated by OFD senior fellow and associate director Jason Hooper at hooper@umass.edu.
For more information on promotion for non-tenure-track faculty, please visit the MSP's webpage for workshops and relevant resources: https://umassmsp.org/workshops/
This workshop is open to all NTT faculty—it is intended for lecturers and senior lecturers preparing for promotion to senior lecturer or senior lecturer II.
For more information regarding academic personnel action deadlines and academic personnel policy, including the collective bargaining agreement with the Massachusetts Society of Professors (MSP), please see the links below:
COACHE Survey Results & Special Reports
OFD's Supporting NTT Faculty programming was originally developed by Christiane Healey, Senior Lecturer II in Biology, as a part of her Chancellor's Leadership Fellowship with OFD. This work was inspired by the experiences of UMass Amherst non-tenure-track faculty who shared their thoughts in focus groups and through the Collaborative on Academic Career in Higher Education (COACHE) survey in 2020, including a Special Focus Report on Non-Tenure-Track Faculty.
The Delphi Award
UMass Amherst was recognized as a 2023 Delphi Award finalist for the university’s successful work toward supporting non-tenure-track, contingent, and/or adjunct faculty. The application was led by Christiane Healey, Senior Lecturer II in Biology, as a part of her Senior Faculty Fellowship with OFD, with participation from the Massachusetts Society of Professors, and the Provost's Office. You can read the case study here: “The University of Massachusetts Amherst Model: A Comprehensive Strategy for Enhancing Non-Tenure-Track Work Environments and Student Outcomes.”
Senior Fellow and Associate Director, Senior Lecturer II, Department of Music and Dance