Part-Time Instructional Faculty
Date of Current Revision: March 2002
Responsible Officer: Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
- PURPOSE
This policy provides the procedures concerning employment of part-time instructional faculty members at James Madison University.
- AUTHORITY
The Board of Visitors has the authority to enact personnel policies for all employees of the university. Where this authority has not been exercised by the board, it is delegated to the president. - DEFINITIONS
Administrative & Professional Faculty:
Sometimes referred to as 'A&P Faculty', this is a faculty member whose primary responsibility is management or administration but is not teaching (as opposed to instructional faculty). In the past, A&P Faculty were sometimes referred to as 'T&R Administrators.' However, that terminology is no longer used commonly.
At-will employee:
A faculty member who has no legitimate expectation of the continuation of his or her employment relationship with the university.
Expiration:
The natural and automatic termination of a fixed term contract of employment.
Fixed term contract:
An employment contract with a specific termination date or length of duration.
Instructional Faculty:
The members of the faculty who have responsibilities that include teaching, research and service as the majority of their duties. Sometimes referred to as 'T&R Faculty'.
PAR:
Personnel Action Request form.
Part-time faculty:
Faculty members who are employed for less than a full academic year, or who are employed for at least an academic year at less than a full work load for that academic unit.
- APPLICABILITY
This policy relates to the employment of all part-time instructional faculty members, including adjunct and visiting appointments; academic year, calendar year, fixed term appointments and interim appointments.
- POLICY
5.1 All part-time faculty member contracts are for a fixed term, and they expire automatically at the end of the contract term. No notification of the faculty member is needed to effect termination, and the expiration is not an appeal-able action.
5.2 There is no limit to the number of successive fixed-term contracts that may be awarded to a part-time faculty member. A part-time faculty member may be hired each semester for as long as needed by the academic unit.
5.3 Except with the written permission of the Vice President and appropriate dean, a part-time faculty member should not be given a full-time teaching load for more than two academic semesters in a row. Any employment in the next succeeding academic semester should be for a teaching load of less than full-time, so that there are never three semesters in succession where the part-time faculty member carries a full-time teaching load. For the purposes of this rule, the summer semesters do not constitute a break in service, allowing a full-time teaching load in the succeeding fall semester.
5.4 James Madison University does not utilize part-time employment contracts for tenured, tenure-track, or renewable term faculty members.
5.5 A part-time faculty member may be terminated during the term of a contract for misconduct, unsatisfactory performance, or any other reason that does not violate academic freedom. Part-time faculty members do not have any appeal rights for the termination of a contract before its expiration except on the grounds of a violation of academic freedom.
5.6 The Faculty Handbook and all other policies relating to faculty members generally apply to part-time faculty members, unless the policy specifies otherwise. Part-time faculty members are bound by the same responsibilities as full-time faculty members, including academic responsibility, professional ethics, academic honesty and integrity, and the responsibility to abide by all university rules and policies. They also enjoy most of the same privileges, including academic freedom, equal opportunity, and privacy protection as state employees. Part-time faculty members are not eligible for state employment benefits.
5.7 The procedures in this policy must be followed in the hiring, assigning, and separation of part-time faculty members at James Madison University.
5.8 Part-time faculty members are at-will employees.
- PROCEDURES
6.1 Hiring
Part-time faculty members may be hired using an offer letter written from the hiring department to the candidate. Such a letter must contain, at a minimum:
- Dates of employment (first day of the semester and employment termination date)
- Pay
- Rank (most often, 'Instructor')
- Academic unit
- Classes to be taught and class schedule
- A statement that part-time employees do not qualify for state benefits
- A statement that employment is contingent on the class/classes being held, noting that the employment offer may be rescinded if the class/classes are canceled for any reason
- A statement listing the documentation required for hiring (from Policy 2101) if not already submitted
- The academic unit head signature
- The signature of the part-time employee accepting the assignment
6.2 Termination
For part-time faculty members who are terminated during the term of the contract, the academic unit head must generate the PAR immediately upon termination of the faculty member and send the PAR to the Office of Human Resources.
No campus clearance form is needed by the office of human resources for part-time faculty members who are separated from employment with the university. It is the department's responsibility to ensure that all part-time faculty properly clear with appropriate offices. Departmental clearance forms completed by terminating part-time faculty will be retained by the department for its use.
6.3 Assignments
Workload for a part-time faculty member shall be negotiated between the faculty member and the academic unit head, and should be set out in writing each semester of employment, signed by both parties. Changes during the academic year should also be set out in writing and signed.
Generally, part-time faculty members are not required to participate in scholarly activity or service except as specified and negotiated between the faculty member and the academic unit head. - RESPONSIBILITIES
Academic unit heads and direct supervisors are responsible for following the procedures for regarding part-time faculty members.
Deans are responsible for reviewing and approving all part-time faculty practices and procedures used within their colleges.
The Vice President for Academic Affairs is responsible for reviewing and approving all part-time faculty practices and procedures for instructional faculty.
The Director of Human Resources is responsible for processing the PARs regarding part-time faculty members.
- SANCTIONS
Sanctions will be commensurate with the severity and/or frequency of the offense and may include termination of employment. - EXCLUSIONS
The procedures detailed in this policy do not apply to A&P faculty or to full-time faculty members.
- INTERPRETATION
The authority to interpret this policy rests with the president, and is generally delegated to the Vice President for Academic Affairs.
May 2002
Linwood H. Rose, President
Index Terms:
Part-time faculty
Temporary faculty