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Home > Faculty : Replacement Instructional Appointments - Term Faculty and P/A Instructional

Replacement Instructional Appointments - Term Faculty and P/A Instructional

Intended as guide to replacement instructional appointments in the College of Liberal Arts.

Replacement instructional appointments include term faculty (adjunct, contract, visiting, temporary), and P/A instructional staff (lecturers and teaching specialists). Appointments may be full- or part-time

Please direct questions to the Office of the Associate Dean for Faculty or CLA Human Resources, both at 612-624-9839.

Governing Documents

Required Approvals

All replacement instructional appointments, full- and part-time, require college approval.

Full-time replacement instructional positions require prior authorization from the college, a requisition specific to the position authorized, and a limited search.

Part-time instructional appointments of new employees require prior authorization from the college and must be made on an appropriate blanket posting. Part-time instructional appointments of returning employees require prior authorization from the college, but do not require a blanket posting.

Blanket Requisitions

Blanket employment requisitions are intended to facilitate the hiring of new part-time replacement instructional staff (term faculty and p/a instructional).

Blanket postings should be prepared for Term Faculty Series (#9902) and Instructional (non-faculty) Teaching Series (#9903) job codes, following the CLA template.

The term faculty series job code (#9902) covers contract, temporary, visiting, and adjunct faulty appointments at the ranks of professor, associate professor, assistant professor, and instructor.

The instructional (non-faculty) teaching series job code (#9903) includes the P&A classifications teaching specialist, senior teaching specialist, lecturer, and senior lecturer.

Units should adhere to the template as closely as possible to ensure the broadest possible application. Blanket requisitions must be refreshed annually.

Authorization to Hire

The existence of a blanket requisition does not constitute authorization to hire. All requests to hire and corresponding offers are subject to review and approval by the Office of the Associate Dean for Faculty and/or CLA Human Resources.

When requesting a hire units will be expected to:

  • Explain the reason for the request and provide a rationale for the appointment, the course(s) to be taught, the desired classification, and the proposed salary (e.g., sabbatical replacement; added section, etc);
  • Identify course(s) to be taught, and the instructor of record and enrollments for the course for the previous four semesters;
  • Provide a complete itemization of expenses associated with the hire (e.g., salary, fringe, immigration fees, etc);
  • Identify source(s) of funding

For each term faculty and P/A instructional appointment a CLA Academic Hiring Authorization form must be submitted, along with the draft offer letter and candidate's curriculum vitae. Please indicate the hiring authority's approval where specified and submit the form by email to clahr@umn.edu. Copies of the authorization will be routed to the hiring unit and CLA Fiscal Administration when approved.

Term Faculty Definitions

  • Adjunct Faculty from Outside the University. Adunct faculty from outside the University are (a) members of the community with expertise or a principal occupation elsewhere who can contribute to the educational experience of our students; or (b) individuals who hold or have held regular appointments at other colleges or universities. Adjunct faculty from outside the University participate in teaching at the University on a limited, part-time basis (0-33%). Appointments may be for a period of one semester to one academic year.
  • Adjunct Faculty from Within the University.These individuals already hold regular faculty appointments elsewhere in the University, and have been asked to provide additional service in another department or college. The title can also be used to recognize cross-disciplinary activity.
  • Contract Faculty. Contract faculty are hired on annually renewable or multiple-year contracts. Contract faculty appointments may continue on a long-term basis, but are appropriate only in the circumstances set for the in the Board of Regents Policy - Faculty Tenure, sections 3.3 and 3.4.
  • Temporary Faculty. Temporary faculty are hired to address temporary short-term situations and normally are appointed for no more than one year. In exceptional cases temporary appoitments may be renewed for a second year only, subject to review and approval by the college and by the vice president for human resources.
  • Visiting Faculty. Visiting faculty are individuals who have a regular faculty appointment at another university or a similar status in a research institution or in government service. Visiting faculty may be used to replace a faculty member who is on leave, administrative assignment, phased retirement, or disability for one year or less or to take advantage of the opportunity to bring to the college for a period of one year or less an outstanding scholar or artist who holds a regular faculty appointment at another institution. Visiting appointments are date-specific and rank is the same as the rank at the home institution.For professionals from government or private agencies, the appropriate rank depends on the person's qualifications and experience.
College of Liberal Arts Magazine