Academic Appointments

Regulations

Academic appointments in the State System of Higher Education are governed by four sets of regulations that define the conditions under which faculty ("unclassified academic employees") may be appointed. Highlights are summarized below.

  1. Board Rules

    The Board of Higher Education Administrative Rules (OAR 580-20-005) separate academic ranks into two categories: graduate rank (Graduate Research Assistant, Graduate Teaching Assistant) and faculty rank (Fellow, Lecturer, Research Assistant, Research Associate, Instructor, Senior Instructor, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor and Professor). The Board Rules further note that "academic rank is assigned to staff members in the unclassified academic service whether the type of service is teaching, research, extension, administration, or other service," without a requirement for assigning rank to all staff members.

  2. Oregon State Board of Higher Education Financial Administration Standard Operating Manual (FASOM)

    The Board's Financial Administration Standard Operating Manual ("FASOM"), Section 10.012-82, allows for faculty to be appointed with "No Rank." In addition, the Chancellor's office has implemented a new class code, 2971 "Unranked," to assist in processing faculty appointments. These facilitate the appointment of faculty in academic support, student support, and administrative support positions with professional titles, with or without faculty rank. A series of professional titles reflecting responsibilities will provide opportunities for greater clarity as well as appropriate recognition and promotion for many professionals in these units.

  3. Oregon Revised Statutes

    The Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS 240-207) designate specific State System of Higher Education positions as unclassified (i.e., faculty) "the President and one private secretary, Vice President, Comptroller, Chief Budget Officer, Business Manager, Director of Admissions, Registrar, Dean, Associate Dean, Assistant Dean, Professor, Associate Professor, Assistant Professor, Instructor, Lecturer, Research Assistant, Research Associate, Director of Athletics, Coach, Trainer." The Revised Statutes include "all...members in the State System of Higher Education...whether the type of service is teaching, research, extension or counseling" as being unclassified. The Revised Statutes thereby provide a primary guide for determining if a State System of Higher Education position should be designated faculty (unclassified) or classified.

  4. Personnel Division Rules

    Under authority granted to the Personnel Division by ORS 240-207, the following positions have also been designated as unclassified: Librarian; Director of Alumni; Director of University Development; General Managers; Directors; Producers; and Announcers of the State Radio and Television Service; Interpreters for Hearing-Impaired Students; Director of Information Services; and Director of Publications.

Use of Professorial Ranks

  1. As mandated by OAR 580-20-005(4), Deans, Vice Presidents and the President shall have the academic rank of Professor.
  2. For faculty hired after September 16, 1990 the professorial ranks (Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and Professor) will be limited to
    1. teaching related positions with an expectation for scholarly accomplishment;
    2. librarians;
    3. faculty on Senior Research appointments;
    4. faculty meriting professorial-level appointments whose principal responsibilities are related to scholarly research.
  3. Faculty in positions that do not have an associated expectation for scholarly accomplishment will be appointed with one of the four following designations:
    1. with professional title but without rank;
    2. at the rank of Instructor or Senior Instructor;
    3. at professorial rank as mandated by state statute for those in administrative positions;
    4. at the rank of Administrative Research Assistant, Administrative Senior Research Assistant, and Administrative Research Associate for faculty in research support or research training positions.

Definition, Use, and Conditions of Faculty Appointments

Faculty appointments are defined as fixed term, annual tenure, and indefinite tenure:

  1. Fixed Term Appointments
    1. Fixed term appointments are made for a specified period of time and are not eligible for tenure. Although fixed term appointments do not require timely notice under the provisions of OAR 580-21-305, notices of intent to reappoint or not to reappoint should be sent by April 1 of the first year of a fixed term appointment and by January 1 of subsequent years. Such notices of intent may be based on the availability of funds. The immediate supervisor of faculty on fixed term appointments is required to provide an annual evaluation of performance after the first year. It should be understood that fixed term appointments are for specified times and no reason for a decision not to reappoint need be given.
    2. Use of Fixed Term Appointments
      1. Upon the adoption of these guidelines the use of fixed term appointments for continuing faculty who are .50 FTE or more on instructional accounts and who hold professorial rank shall be reduced as much as possible, consistent with stable funding and the special needs of academic units.
      2. Fixed term positions should be used for:
        1. faculty in professorial ranks who are less than .50 FTE;
        2. faculty whose appointments are primarily in academic support, student support and administrative support units and usually do not have academic rank;
          1. Professional titles offer an alternative to appointment at faculty rank for fixed term positions when, in the view of the unit administrator and provost or appropriate vice president, a professional position title most adequately describes the responsibilities of the position and qualifications of the individual holding those positions.
          2. These titles also provide alternative opportunities for promotion. A list of appropriate positions and titles must be defined and promotional opportunities in these positions be established and described and the appropriate criteria and procedures developed.
        3. appointments that are temporary, regardless of rank. Positions established with non-recurring funds are defined as temporary. Appointments associated with temporary assignments such as a visiting professor or a sabbatical leave replacement also are considered temporary.
    3. Conditions for Fixed Term Appointments
      1. Initial appointments shall be for an appropriate fixed term period, but typically one or two years. Initial appointments of three years may be granted at the discretion of the provost or appropriate vice provost.
      2. After six years of cumulative full time service, individuals who hold non-ranked appointments in academic support, administrative support, and student support units on multi-year, fixed term appointments shall be eligible to be considered for administrative leave for professional development. Such leave is at the discretion of the provost or appropriate vice president consistent with State System guidelines.

    A fixed term appointment does not foreclose the possibility that a department may wish to consider that faculty member for a tenure-related appointment. In such cases, the years spent under fixed term appointment may be considered as a part of the probationary period for tenure at the time the individual is placed on the annual-tenure track. A mutually acceptable written agreement shall be arrived at between the faculty member and institutional representative as to the extent to which any prior experience of the faculty member shall be credited as part of the probationary period, up to a maximum of three years.

  2. Tenure Track (Annual) Appointments
    1. Conditions Governing Tenure Track

      Annual appointments are given to faculty employed .50 FTE or more who will be eligible for tenure after serving the appropriate probationary period. Only in exceptional circumstances will appointments under 1.0 FTE be tenure track. Termination other than for cause or financial exigency requires timely notice (see OAR 580-21-100 and 580-21-305). Termination other than for cause or financial exigency shall be given in writing as follows: during the first year of an annual appointment, at least three months notice prior to the date of expiration; during the second year of service, at least six months; thereafter, at least twelve months.

      Probationary Service and Consideration for Tenure. Tenure should be granted to faculty members whose scholarly accomplishments are of such quality and significance and demonstrate such potential for long-term performance that the University, so far as its fiscal and human resources permit, can justifiably undertake to employ them for the rest of their academic careers. The granting of tenure should be even more significant than promotion in academic rank, and is exercised only after careful consideration of a faculty member’s scholarly qualifications and capacity for effective continued performance over a career.

      The granting of tenure reflects and recognizes a candidate’s potential long-range value to the institution, as evidence by professional performance and growth. In addition, tenure insures the academic freedom that is essential to an atmosphere conducive to the free search for truth and the attainment of excellence in the University.

      Tenure normally is considered in the sixth year of a tenure-track appointment, with a tenure decision to be determined prior to the beginning of the seventh year. Recommendations to award tenure earlier can be made at the department's discretion. If a faculty member is not awarded tenure at the end of six years, termination notice will be given. The six consecutive probationary years of the faculty member's service to be evaluated for the granting of tenure may include prior experience gained in another institution of higher education whether within or outside of the state system. Ordinarily, this is instructional experience at an accredited institution of higher education. Whether such experience will be included, and to what extent must be decided at the time of initial appointment in a mutually acceptable written agreement between the faculty member and Portland State University. The maximum time to be allowed for prior service is three years.

      The accrual of time during the probationary period preceding the granting of indefinite tenure is calculated in terms of FTE years. An FTE year is the total annualized, tenure related FTE in a given fiscal year. Therefore, the minimum probationary period may require more than six calendar years if the faculty member's FTE was below 1.00 during the first six years. This could occur for various reasons, including initial appointment date after the beginning of the fiscal or academic year (i.e., Winter Term), leave without pay for one or more terms, or a partial FTE reduction during the probationary period. Care should be taken to be sure to consider a person who has accumulated, for example, 5.67 FTE years. Delay for another year would not allow for timely notice. Should circumstances warrant full tenure review prior to the sixth year, this review should include the external peer review as well (cf. IV,A,1,c).

      Indefinite tenure appointments are appointments of .50 FTE or more given to selected faculty members by the institutional executive under authority contained in IMD 1.020 and OAR 580-21-105 in witness of the institution's formal decision that the faculty member possesses such demonstrated professional competence that the institution will not henceforth terminate employment except for (a) cause, (b) financial exigency, or (c) program reductions or eliminations.

      Because tenure is institutional, not system-wide, faculty who have achieved tenure status in one state system institution cannot hereby claim tenure in other institutions of the state system (OAR 580-21-105).

      Annual and Third Year Reviews. Faculty on annual tenure must be reviewed after the completion of the first year of their appointment and each subsequent year. In order to assure that candidates for tenure have a timely assessment of their progress so as to permit correction of deficiencies, there must be a review at the end of the third year. For faculty who have brought in prior service at another institution, the review will not be conducted until the end of at least one complete academic year at Portland State University. As a result of this review, candidates should be given an assessment of their progress toward tenure and of any deficiencies that need to be addressed. The review shall be in accordance with regular department and university procedures and should specifically evaluate the progress of the faculty member in meeting the standards for the award of tenure; however, reviews prior to the sixth year are normally only for evaluative purposes and do not have to include outside evaluation. Upon the completion of the third year review, the faculty member reviewed will be given an assessment of progress toward tenure as perceived from all appropriate administrative levels.