Faculty and Appointments: Screening and Selection, Notice of Initial Appointments, Renewal of Appointments, and Delegation of Authority

REGULATIONS OF THE

UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA

7.004 Faculty and Appointments: Screening and Selection, Notice of Initial Appointments, Renewal of Appointments, and Delegation of Authority.

(1)     Screening and Selection.

Screening and selection of applicants for faculty appointments shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of the University’s rules. The recruitment and selection of highly-qualified and high-quality individuals is one of the most important responsibilities of deans, department chair, and other hiring administrators.

(a)     The selection of candidates shall be based upon the candidates’ qualifications, competency, and other reasonable criteria which may be prescribed by the University, provided that in no case shall such criteria discriminate on the basis of religion, political opinions or affiliation, race, creed, color, age, national origin, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, and veteran’s status as protected under the Vietnam Era Veteran’s Readjustment Act.

(b)     The appropriate personnel shall secure reliable and detailed information on prospective candidates and reach decisions on their relative merits. Final candidates should receive information such as: title and nature of position, approximate salary, type of contract, basic assignment, primary emphasis of department, normal instructional load, and other duties. The candidate should also be provided with information on the University, including the requirements necessary for personnel decisions such as reappointment, salary increases, promotion, tenure or permanent status.

(c)     If practicable, the candidates reaching the final stages of screening should be invited to the campus for personal interviews with departmental faculty and appropriate officials.

(d)     In making preliminary contacts with candidates, it should be made clear that no offer of employment is being made.

(2)     Notice and Offer of Initial Appointment.

(a)     If, after consultation with his/her departmental colleagues, the chair or other appropriate administrator responsible for the initial appointment recommendation decides to recommend that a candidate be offered a faculty position, the recommendation shall be transmitted to the dean and/or other appropriate administrators for review and recommendation and to the Office of the Provost for final approval of the appointment. With the exception of those positions described in subsection (4) of this rule, the authority for final approval of faculty appointments is delegated by the President to the Office of the Provost.

(b)      Once the appointment is approved in accordance with paragraph (2)(a) of this rule, the hiring administrator may then offer the candidate employment by means of a letter of offer of appointment. The appointment shall be conditioned on the return of a duly executed copy of the letter of appointment by a specified date, and contingent upon the completion and execution of the applicable university forms and documents required of new faculty. The administrator directly responsible for the supervision of the position shall be responsible for the appointment, the assignment of duties, and the annual evaluation procedures, as well as other appropriate personnel decisions.

(c)     The initial letter of appointment shall include the following elements:

1.      Date;

2.      Professional Classification System title, class code, rank and appointment status modifier, if   applicable;

3.     Department, program, college, or employment unit;

4.      Salary and administrative salary supplement when appropriate;

5.      Employment period (duration of the appointment and cessation statement, if appropriate);

6.      Special conditions of employment including assignments to a second instructional location, special restrictive covenants of clinical teaching or the like, (Rule 6C1-7.0041, F.A.C.);

7.      The duties and responsibilities the employee will perform in teaching, research, and service or other assigned responsibilities, noting that these may be subject to change based upon the needs of the college, department, or unit, and an explanation and description of the annual evaluative process and criteria used in personnel decisions as set forth in Regulations 7.010 and 7.019. The faculty member’s assignment shall be made in accordance with the policy described in subsection 7.010(1);

8.      The percent of full-time effort FTE assigned;

9.      A statement that in the performance of the contract both parties are subject to the Constitution and laws of the State of Florida and the rules and regulations of the Board of Governors and of the University of Florida;

10.     A statement indicating the tenure or permanent status eligibility of the position covered by the appointment, including conditional tenure status.

11.     A statement regarding the policy on outside employment and activities, conflict of interest and financial interests.

(d)     The tenure accrual status shall be consistent with the FTE of the initial offer of appointment for tenure eligible positions.

(e)     No faculty appointment, including appointments to serve in academic-administrative classifications or administrative positions, shall be for a term exceeding a twelve (l2)-month period ending June 30.

(f)     The appointment of tenured or permanent status faculty member shall be renewed annually subject to the limitations set forth in Regulations 7.003, 7.0l9, and 7.025.

(g)     The appointment of non-tenured or non-permanent status faculty members is subject to renewal or non-renewal in accordance with the appropriate notice provision set forth in the University rules.

(h)      The normal nine (9) month (academic year) faculty contract shall be for thirty-nine (39)

consecutive weeks and a supplemental contract may be offered for all or part of the remaining year.

(i)       If the appointment is for a limited period of time and at the time the appointment is made the University does not expect or intend to renew it, the letter of appointment, or thereafter a letter of reappointment or the Notice of Appointment and/or the Employment Contract shall indicate: “Your employment hereunder will cease on the date indicated. No further notice of cessation of employment is required.” Employees not entitled to written notice of non- reappointment may include, but is not limited to, faculty holding visiting appointments, faculty appointed for less than a year, and faculty with less than five years of continuous service whose salaries are funded through “soft money”, e.g. contracts and grants, sponsored research funds, and grants and donation trust funds. Whenever the foregoing statement has been included in the reappointment letter, notice or contract, the employee shall not thereafter be entitled to any further notice that the appointment will not be renewed. This paragraph (h) does not apply to positions that are tenure or permanent status-accruing or to faculty with five or more years of continuous service whose salaries are funded through “soft money” who shall be provided at least ninety (90) days notice of non-renewal.

(j)     Faculty appointed to serve in academic-administrative classifications or administrative positions, such as vice presidents, deans, directors, or department chairs shall have no rights to continuation in such classifications beyond the term of the appointment period. A faculty member appointed to an administrative classification may be reclassified and reassigned to other faculty or administrative duties at any time during the term of this appointment/employment contract at the pleasure of the University. If the faculty member is reclassified and reassigned, the pay rate and appointment period shall be adjusted to reflect the new responsibilities. Upon cessation of the administrative appointment, tenured or permanent status faculty members shall retain their tenure or permanent status.

(3)     Renewal of Appointments.

(a)     After the initial appointment described in subsection (2) above a faculty member shall be officially notified of the renewal of an appointment by means of a Notice of Appointment, Employment Contract or a letter indicating the renewal of the reappointment.

1.      The appointment of tenured or permanent-status faculty members shall be renewed annually unless terminated for cause subject to the limitations set forth in Regulation 7.025, for permanent status for county extension faculty. The terms of the renewal of appointment shall be consistent with the degree of effort (FTE) and the duration of time (calendar or academic year) of the original appointment in which the faculty member was granted tenure or permanent status.

2.      The renewal of appointment of non-tenured or non-permanent status faculty members shall be in accordance with the renewal notification provision of paragraph (3)(a) of this rule. The terms of the renewal of appointment shall be consistent with the degree of effort (FTE) and the duration of time (calendar or academic year) of the faculty member’s initial appointment or prior reappointment.

a.      Notification of changes in an appointment shall be given in the same fashion as the notification of non-renewal provisions of Regulation 7.0l3, unless:

i.       the faculty member and the appropriate administrator have agreed in writing to such changes as described in paragraph (c) below; or

ii.      the faculty member is not entitled to notice of non-renewal in accordance with paragraph (2)(e) of this rule.

b.      Renewal of appointments, as well as other personnel decisions, shall take into account the effectiveness of the faculty member’s performance in the assigned duties as they relate to the areas of teaching or extension (IFAS), research, and service, and/or based on the requirements of the department.

c.      Notice of non-renewal of appointments or termination of an appointment shall be given in accordance with University rules.

(b)      If the assigned duties and responsibilities of a faculty member change after the initial employment date, the faculty member shall be informed in writing of the change and shall be afforded an opportunity to discuss the change in assignment prior to its effective date.

(c)      Under special circumstances the degree of effort (FTE) and/or the duration of the appointment may be altered by written agreement between the appropriate administrator and the faculty member. Such changes in the appointment shall be submitted through the appropriate administrative channels to the Office of the Provost for approval prior to any change in the appointment.

(d)      A faculty member who signs the employment contract or accept compensation for the employment provided by the appointment shall be subject to the rules and regulations of the University.

(e)      The administrator directly responsible for the appointment and supervision of an academic-administrative classification or an administrative position may choose not to renew, to remove, or to reassign a faculty member at any time during such an appointment. Refer to 7.003.

(4)      Delegation of Appointment Authority. The deans and directors of academic units are authorized to exercise the presidential power of appointment to the following academic ranks and titles, except in the case of IFAS and the Health Science Center where the respective Vice Presidents retain such power as to such categories:

(a)       Assistant Professors, Associate Professors, and Professors;

(b)      Assistant Research Scientists, Associate Research Scientists, and Research Scientists; Assistant Research Scholars, Associate Research Scholars, and Research Scholars; Assistant Extension Scientists, Associate Extension Scientists, and Extension Scientists;

(c)      Assistant Engineers, Associate Engineers, and Engineers;

(d)      Post doctoral Associates and Post doctoral Fellows;

(e)      Medical, Dental Teaching or Legal Writing Assistants and Associates;

(f)      Graduate, Teaching or Research Assistants, Graduate Teaching or Research Associates, and Senior Graduate Teaching or Research Associates;

(g)      Assistants in, Associates in, Senior Associates in;

(h)      Assistant University Librarians, Associate University Librarians, and University Librarians;

(i)       Assistant Curators, Associate Curators, and Curators;

(j)       County Extension Agents I, II, III, and IV;

(k)      University Developmental Research School Instructor and P.K. Yonge Assistant Professors, P.K. Yonge Associate Professors, and P.K. Yonge Professors;

(l)       Lecturers, Senior Lecturers, and Master Lecturers;

(m)     Academic Administrative Classification Titles – reporting through the appropriate administrative channels to a dean or the equivalent;

(n)      Residents and Clinical fellows;

Notwithstanding the foregoing, all appointments or changes in titles shall be forwarded to the Office of the Provost for review and processing.

Specific Authority: 1001.74(4) FS.

Law Implemented: 1001.74(19), 1001.75(3) FS.

History: New 3-26-80, Amended 2-23-82, 3-6-85, Formerly 6C1-7.04, Amended 5-21-89,

6-28-98, 7-5-04, Formerly 6C1-7.004, Amended 7-10-23 (technical changes only).