Definitions
Administrative, Appointing and Instructional Departments
A faculty member can have more than one appointing department, but will only have one administrative and instructional department.
If the faculty member has more than one appointment, then each department in which the faculty member has an appointment is an appointing department.
The administrative department is the department that takes the lead in determining the terms and conditions of the faculty member’s employment. If a faculty member has a joint appointment, a memorandum of understanding will indicate which department will be the administrative department. The instructional department is where the faculty member’s instructional allegiance lies.
If a faculty member, who has multiple appointments, changes the effort mix between appointments, then the units are able to change both the instructional department and administrative department designation. See Changes and Additions to Appointments for instructions on how to do this.
There are several terms that are commonly used to describe faculty. Regents Bylaw 5.01 defines several of these terms.
Tenure/Tenure Track, Clinical Track, and Lecturers (LEO) may be referred to as Regular Instructional Faculty, and/or Faculty.
Research Professor Track, Research Scientist Track, Librarians, Curators, and Archivists may be referred to as Regular Non-Instructional Faculty and/or Faculty.
Visiting Titles, Adjunct Clinical, Adjunct Lecturers (not LEO) are referred to as Supplemental Faculty.
Clinical Track Faculty
Clinical faculty members can have the following titles: clinical professor, clinical associate professor, clinical assistant professor, or clinical instructor. Clinical faculty have appointments of fifty percent effort or greater and are without tenure.
Standard Practice Guide 201.34-1 further defines these titles and indicates who makes the appointment (i.e. the President, Chancellor in Flint or Dearborn, on recommendation of the chair or director of the appropriate academic department or program and the dean of the appropriate school, college, or division).
Only units whose faculty have adopted policies for the clinical track and have been authorized by the Board of Regents may appoint people to these titles.
School/Colleges Authorized to Appoint Clinical Instruction Faculty
- Taubman School of Architecture and Urban Planning
- School of Art and Design
- Ross School of Business
- School of Dentistry
- School of Education
- School for Environment and Sustainability
- School of Information
- School of Kinesiology
- Law School
- Medical School
- School of Music, Theatre and Dance
- School of Nursing
- School of Pharmacy
- School of Public Health
- Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy
- School of Social Work
- UM-Flint School of Health Professions and Studies
- UM-Flint School of Education and Human Services
Faculty Governance
Governing faculty, as defined in the Regents Bylaws, consist of professors, associate professors and assistant professors. In addition, the policies and bylaws of each school may include other faculty on their governing faculty. Refer to specific schools for these policies.
Regents Bylaws Chapter 5 states that the governing faculty are “in charge of the affairs of the school…” Section 5.02 and 5.03 in the Regents Bylaws defines the governing faculty as well as the powers and duties of the governing faculty.
The deans and executive committees are defined in Section 5.06 in the Regents Bylaws Chapter 5. If the Board of Regents has created an executive committee for a school, it will be defined in the Regents Bylaws Chapter XI, sections 11.01 through 11.66
Research Faculty Track
Research Scientists
An academic or research unit may appoint research scientists to support the research activities of the university if a policy to authorize such appointments has been adopted by the school, college, division, or research unit in accordance with the bylaws of that unit and has been approved by the vice president for research. Research scientist appointments are not appointments to the tenured or tenure-track instructional faculty. The following titles may be used for research scientist appointments: research scientist, associate research scientist, assistant research scientist, and research investigator. Further definition of the rights and responsibilities of research scientists, not inconsistent with the Bylaws of the Board of Regents, may be addressed by the bylaws of the academic or research units. Research scientist appointments and promotions are recommended by the appropriate instructional unit and school, college, division, or research unit and are approved by the vice president for research, the chancellor (Dearborn or Flint), and the president. The vice president and secretary of the university shall maintain a list of those schools, colleges, divisions, and research units that are authorized to make research scientist appointments.
Research Professors
An academic or research unit may appoint research professors to support the research activities of the university if a policy to authorize such appointments has been adopted by the school, college, division, or research unit in accordance with the bylaws of that unit and has been approved by the vice president for research and the appropriate provost. Research professor appointments are not appointments to the tenured or tenure-track instructional faculty. The following titles may be used for research professor appointments: research professor, research associate professor, and research assistant professor. Further definition of the rights and responsibilities of research professors, not inconsistent with the Bylaws of the Board of Regents, may be addressed by the bylaws of the academic or research units. Research professor appointments and promotions are recommended by the appropriate instructional unit and school, college, division, or research unit and are approved by the vice president for research, the appropriate provost, the chancellor (Dearborn or Flint), and the president. The vice president and secretary of the university shall maintain a list of those schools, colleges, divisions, and research units that are authorized to make research professor appointments.
Schools, Colleges and Division
In this manual the term “school” is used to represent the University’s 19 schools, colleges and the Division of Kinesiology on the Ann Arbor campus.
Tenure/Tenure Track Faculty
Tenure and tenure track faculty can have the following titles: professor, associate professor, assistant professor and instructor. Standard Practice Guide 201.34-1 defines these titles and indicates who makes the appointment (i.e. Board of Regents on recommendation of the dean and the Provost, or the President on recommendation of the dean). Only units authorized by the Board of Regents may appoint people to these titles.
Faculty members who have one of these titles and to whom the Regents have not yet awarded tenure are considered tenure track. The tenure clock refers to the number of years a faculty member may serve in a tenure track appointment prior to being granted tenure or, if tenure is denied, includes his or her terminal year of appointment. The Provost’s Office has established guidelines regarding University of Michigan Policies that govern the tenure clock.
These guidelines, which include references to pertinent Standard Practice Guides, can be found at the U-M Office of the Provost: Faculty Tenure Review. It is the responsibility of the school, normally the dean’s office, to keep accurate records of where each tenure track faculty member is on both the University’s tenure clock as well as the school’s tenure clock.
There are occasions when appointments to the titles of professor, associate professor and assistant professor are made without tenure and are not tenure track. An example of this would be when a professor has a courtesy appointment in another school. When there is no intention that the appointment will be a tenured one, it is designated in the HRMS system as “NOT”, not on track. While the titles remain the same, the job codes of these titles that are designated as “not on track” will end with a “1”.
University Year (U-Yr)
Tenure/tenure track faculty and clinical faculty are appointed on either a University Year basis or a twelve month basis. The term University Year is mentioned in Regents Bylaws Chapter 5 section 5.01 and refers to two terms in a year. The University of Michigan’s University Year refers to the fall and winter term. Faculty members appointed on a University Year basis on the Ann Arbor Campus are appointed for the nine months starting September 1st and ending May 31st. Standard Practice Guide 201.04 section 1 contains a definition of University Year. Tenure and tenure track faculty appointed on a twelve month basis have a work expectation of eleven months with one month vacation. To convert the compensation of a twelve month appointed faculty member to the compensation for a University Year appointment the appropriate fraction to use is 9/11ths. There are occasions, such as for grants or specific school policies where the fraction used is 9/12ths. Faculty members have their nine month University Year salary paid out over twelve months from July 1st thru June 30th. Faculty terminating at the end of an academic year will receive salary through June 30th of that year. The University will continue contributions to benefits through May 31st for medical, group life and LTD. Retirement contributions will continue through June 30th.
Related Information and Standard Practice Guides
Standard Practice Guide 201.13, Rules concerning acquiring the protection of Regents’ Bylaw 5.09 by accumulating years of service.
Standard Practice Guide 201.88, Notice of Non-Appointment. This SPG outlines the commitments the University provides as to the Notice of Non-reappointment that it will provide to instructional appointees, and what appropriate notice it expects individuals deciding to end their instructional relationship with the University would provide their department or unit.
Standard Practice Guide 201.92, Tenure Probationary Period: Effects on Tenure Clock of Childbearing and Dependent Care Responsibilities.
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Key Contacts
Academic Human Resources
2072N Administrative Service Building
Campus zip 1432
Contact person: Tammy Deane
(734) 763-8938
Office of the Vice Provost for Academic and Faculty Affairs
3074 Fleming Administration Building
Campus zip 1340
Contact person: Debbie Walls
(734) 764-0151
Human Resource Records and Information Services (HRRIS)
4073 Wolverine Tower
Campus Zip 1281
Office of the Vice President for Research (UMOR)
4080 Fleming Building
Campus Zip 1340
(734) 764-5409
Equity, Civil Rights, and Title IX Office
2072 Administrative Services Building
Campus zip 1432
Contact Person: Tami Strickman
(734) 763-0235
International Center
603 E. Madison
Campus zip 1370
(734) 764-9310
Office of Cost Reimbursement (for effort certification)
6000 Wolverine Tower
Campus Zip1287
(734) 764-3843
Resources
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Wolverine Access for HR Submittal Forms
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