Academic Appointments

Personnel Information: Academic Appointments

Disclaimer: The UF Faculty Handbook is provided as a general reference rather than the official source of university policies and guidelines. For your convenience, links to official UF documents are provided.

Contact Periods

The university operates on a modified semester system with two semesters during the academic year and three summer terms, identified as Terms A, B, and C. Faculty are employed for contractual periods. The employment period for instructional faculty is normally nine months (two semesters or 39 consecutive weeks). Employment periods differ for faculty in the P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School, the Health Science Center, and IFAS.

Graduate Faculty Appointments

See Graduate Faculty Procedures for Appointment

Emeritus Status

See UF Regulation 6C1-7.003 (pdf)

Evaluation

See UF Regulation 6C1-7.010 (pdf) and CBA Article 18

Renewal of Appointments

See UF Regulation 6C1-7.004 (pdf) and CBA Article 12

Non-Renewal of Appointments

See UF Regulation 6C1-7.013 (pdf) and CBA Article 13

Faculty members who desire to obtain release from a position are requested to submit a letter of resignation to the chair or supervisor. Three months notice should be given, whenever possible. When a faculty member fails to return to employment at the conclusion of a leave or fails to sign or accept the university's renewal of appointment, the faculty member will generally be considered to have resigned from employment.

Retirement

Human Resource Services

Tenure, Permanent Status, and Promotion:

See UF Regulation 6C1-7.019 (pdf) and CBA Articles 19 and 20

General Information

Tenure, a status granted by the Board of Trustees, is attained by a faculty member in an academic department through distinction in teaching, research, extension, or other scholarly or creative activities, and service and contributions to the university and to the profession. It assures the faculty member immunity from reprisals or threats due to an intellectual position or belief that may be unpopular. A tenured faculty member has the status of a permanent member of the faculty and will remain in the employment of the university until the faculty member voluntarily leaves, voluntarily retires, is dismissed for cause under Rule 6C1-7.048, is discontinued from employment pursuant to the layoff provisions of the university rules, or dies.

Permanent status is similar to tenure in that it provides assurance of a continual appointment for County Extension faculty and P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School faculty subject to certain requirements as described in UF Rule 6C1-7.025 (pdf). Consideration for permanent status is based on performance of faculty duties and responsibilities.

Promotion shall mean the appointment of a faculty member to a higher academic rank in recognition of distinguished performance as a faculty member. Responsibility for promotion decisions has been specifically delegated to the President by the Board of Trustees.

Criteria for Tenure, Permanent Status and Promotion

See UF Regulation 6C1-7.019, Section 4 (pdf)

The criteria for promotion or for granting of tenure or permanent status shall be related to the performance of the work which the faculty member has been assigned to do and the faculty member's duties and responsibilities as a member of the university community. These criteria recognize three broad categories of academic service:

instruction - including regular classroom teaching, direction of theses and dissertations, academic advisement, extension programs, and all preparation for this work including study to keep abreast of one's field
research or other creative activity including scholarly, peer-reviewed publications
professional and public service

In most cases, promotion and tenure should require distinction in at least two of three categories, one of which should be the faculty member's primary responsibility, and acceptable performance in all areas. "Distinction" means appreciably better than the average college faculty member of the candidate's present rank and field. (See UF Regulation 6C1-7.019, Section 4 - pdf)

Review Process

Faculty eligible for tenure and/or faculty should consul the most recent University Guidelines and Information Regarding the Tenure, Permanent Status and Promotion Process. In addition, each college, school and department has developed clarifications of the university criteria for tenure and promotion. Candidates should consult with their department, school or college for additional information.

Junior Faculty Mentoring Program

Each college and equivalent academic unit shall establish a mentoring program for faculty in the tenure probationary period. This must include consultation assessing the faculty member's progress toward tenure. No college or equivalent academic unit mentoring program shall require any written assessments by the mentor.

Mid-Career Review for Tenure-Accruing Faculty

The department will initiate a mid-career review of each tenure-accruing faculty member toward the end of the faculty member's third or fourth year. The chair and the faculty will define the departmental review process, but this will include, at a minimum, a substantive assessment of an updated curriculum vita and teaching evaluations of the faculty member. The tenured faculty in the department shall review the progress of the faculty member and provide input to the chair, who shall share this information with the faculty member. The dean or director will also review the faculty member's record and provide an assessment.

Sustained Performance Evaluations

See UF Regulation 6C1-7.019 (pdf) and CBA Article 18

Suspension, Termination, and Other Disciplinary Action

See UF Regulation 6C1-7.048 (pdf) and CBA Article 30

Appeals and Grievances

Informal Resolution or Informal Appeal Procedure

Faculty are encouraged to seek informal resolution of their complaints. This may be accomplished by meeting with the person responsible for the action giving rise to the complaint, and if the matter is not resolved, appealing to the person's supervisor or chair, dean or director, appropriate vice president, or the Provost. Normally, grievances or other formal review procedures should be filed only after informal resolution has proven unsuccessful. (See UF Regulation 6C1-7.041 Section 2 (pdf))

Grievance Procedure and Methods of Grievance Resolution

The term "grievance" means a dispute or complaint alleging a violation of the rules of the university concerning tenure, promotion, non-renewal and termination of employment contracts, salary, work assignments, annual evaluation, lay-off and recall, and other benefits or rights accruing to a faculty member pursuant to university rules or by law. In disciplinary grievances, the burden of proof is on the university. In all other grievances, the burden of proof is on the faculty member. The purpose of a grievance procedure is to provide a prompt and efficient collegial method for thereview and resolution of grievances.

Faculty outside the bargaining unit may elect one of several methods of grievance resolution as appropriate. Consult UF Rules 6C1-7.041, 6C1-7.042, 6C1-7.0441 (pdf). For those in unit, Article 31 of the Bargaining Agreement provides details on grievance procedures and filing deadlines. This is the exclusive grievance procedure for those in unit. If a grievant seeks resolution of the matter in any other forum, whether administrative or judicial, the university may decide not to entertain or proceed further with the grievance.

Employment Records

See UF Regulation 6C1-1.019 (pdf)

The university maintains employment records on its employees. The custodian of employment records of faculty, the Director of Human Resource Services, may release limited access records only under the conditions and to the persons set forth in Rule 6C1-1.019, to the President (or designee) in the discharge of official responsibilities, or upon order of a court of competent jurisdiction. A faculty member may make arrangements to view these records upon request.

Leaves

See UF Regulation 6C1-1.201 (pdf) and CBA Article 24

Faculty members are afforded a variety of types of leave, including annual leave (twelve-month faculty only), sick leave, military leave, holidays, Family and Medical Leave, administrative leave for jury duty, and unpaid parental leave. General information about leave can be obtained from Human Resource Services.

Professional Development Leave

Faculty are eligible for professional devlopment leave after six years of continuous full-time service to the university. Professional development leave provides eligible faculty with the opportunity to take a period of time for professional renewal, planned travel, study, formal education, research, writing, employee development, certification, or other experience of professional value. Application for professional development leave is made through the respective dean or director. (See also CBA Article 23)