7.2. Reappointment at the Same Ranks

We found that, in general, BU’s colleges have a strong record and well-established process for reappointment of NTT faculty at the same rank. The evaluation process is based on the faculty annual reviews during the term of contract and is conducted at the departmental and decanal level; CFA also requests outside professional evaluations. Typical performance dimensions include teaching excellence as evidenced through student evaluations, grade reports and patterns, class observations; leadership in program development and coordination; and scholarly or professional work as evidenced in publications and professional activities.

Contract lengths vary by college. Typically the first renewal is for a 1–2 year contract with subsequent renewals of 3–5 years. In some colleges, however, there have been a sequence of one-year contracts; at SED, e.g., in anticipation of major changes with a new dean coming aboard, clinical faculty were given one-year contracts for the last several years. We believe that longer contracts for faculty with proven academic records will stimulate long-term planning, larger projects involving graduate students, and faculty productivity, and that in general a more uniform policy on reappointment length will benefit the faculty and the University.

Recommendations:

• Colleges should formulate requirements for reappointment specific to each faculty appointment type—i.e., standard, modified (clinical and research), and lecturer titles.
• The decision for reappointment should be based on explicitly stated criteria for one-year appointments and in addition take into account annual performance reviews in case of multi-year appointments.
• Contract lengths for reappointment at the same rank should ordinarily fall into the ranges shown in Table 1.
• Notification should follow the established BU Notification of Reappointments or Non-Reappointment timetable (BU Faculty Handbook, section “Appointment and Reappointment of Faculty at the Charles River Campus, item D, 1”):
  • One-Year Contracts: “Not later than March 1 if the appointment expires at the end of that academic year; or if a one-year appointment terminates during an academic year, at least three months in advance of its termination.”
  • Two-Year Contracts: “Not later than December 15 of the second academic year of service, if the appointment expires at the end of that year; or, if an initial two-year appointment terminates during an academic year, at least six months in advance of its termination.” The Task Force recommends that whenever possible a concerted effort should be made to give a notice of non-reappointment by August 31 in order to allow the faculty more time to seek another academic position.
  • Three- or More Year Contracts: “One academic year before contract expiry. Not later than August 31 in the penultimate year of the appointment.”
• We recommend that for a two-year professorial contract, the notification date in the Faculty Handbook (December 15 of the second year of service) be moved forward to not later than August 31 in the penultimate year of the appointment, similar to the three- or more year contracts. Such a change would allow faculty who are not reappointed to start the search for a position in the fall, when most faculty searches are being conducted. Delaying the search until December will most likely have an adverse effect on the faculty member’s chances of finding a position.