Contract Renewal Policy

Policy Statement

In accordance with Board of Regents policy, the President of Georgia Regents University, or his/her designee, will notify in writing all full-time non-tenured faculty who have been awarded academic rank and are employed under written contract whether or not an employment contract for the succeeding year will be offered to them according to the timeline contained in this policy.

Reason for Policy

All non-tenured faculty are employed on a year-to-year basis. Full-time, non-tenured faculty on the academic track and employed under written contract should be informed well in advance if a contract will be offered for the succeeding year. This policy contains the timeline for notification of renewal or non-renewal of contracts. This timeline is sufficient to allow the faculty to explore other employment opportunities should the faculty’s contract not be renewed.

Affected stakeholders

All entities and persons within the Enterprise that are affected by this policy:
Faculty

Policy Owner

Office of the VP for Academic and Faculty Affairs

Definitions

Academic Rank– Academic professorial rank refers to instructor, lecturer, senior lecturer, assistant professor, associate professor, and professor.

Process & procedures

The following notification requirements apply to those members of the faculty who have been awarded the ranks of instructor, assistant professor, associate professor, or professor:

Tenured Faculty

All tenured faculty members employed under written contract for the fiscal or academic year shall give at least sixty (60) days written notice of their intention to resign to the president of the institution or to his/her authorized representative.

Non-Tenured Faculty with Academic Ranks of Instructor, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and Professor

All non-tenured faculty who have been awarded academic rank (instructor, assistant professor, associate professor, professor), are employed under written contract, and who served full-time for the entire previous year have the presumption of renewal of the next academic year unless notified in writing, by the president of an institution or his/her authorized representative, of the intent not to renew. Written notice of intent not to renew shall be delivered by hand or by certified mail, to be delivered to the addressee only, with receipt to show to whom and when delivered and the address where delivered (BoR Minutes, October 2008).

Non-tenured faculty and other non-tenured personnel employed under written contract shall be employed only for the term specified in the contract, and subsequent or future employment, if any, shall result solely from a separate offer and acceptance requisite to execution of a new and distinct contract.

Notice of intention to not renew a non-tenured faculty member who has been awarded academic rank (instructor, assistant professor, associate professor, professor) shall be furnished, in writing, according to the following schedule:

  1. At least three (3) months before the date of termination of an initial one-year contract;
  2. At least six (6) months before the date of termination of a second one-year contract; or,
  3. At least nine (9) months before the date of termination of a contract after two or more years of service in the institution.

This schedule of notification does not apply to persons holding temporary, limited-term, or part-time positions, or persons with courtesy appointments such as adjunct appointments.

Lecturers and Senior Lecturers

Full-time lecturers and senior lecturers are appointed by institutions on a year-to-year basis.

Lecturers and senior lecturers who have served full-time for the entire previous academic year have the presumption of reappointment for the subsequent academic year unless notified in writing to the contrary as follows:

  1. For lecturers with less than three (3) years of full-time service, institutions are encouraged to provide non-reappointment notice as early as possible, but no specific notice is required.
  2. For lecturers with three (3) or more years but less than six (6) years of full-time service, institutions must provide non-reappointment notice at least thirty (30) calendar days prior to the institution’s first day of classes in the semester.
  3. For senior lecturers or lecturers with six (6) years or more of full-time service, institutions must provide non-reappointment notice at least one hundred and eighty (180) calendar days prior to the institution’s first day of classes in the semester.

Lecturers or Senior Lecturers who have served for six (6) or more years of full-time service at an institution and who have received timely notice of non-reappointment shall be entitled to a review of the decision in accordance with published procedures developed by the institution. The procedures must be approved by the Chancellor or his/her designee prior to implementation. Additional appeal procedures are contained in Section VIII of the Bylaws of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia.

In no case will the service as lecturer or senior lecturer imply any claim upon tenure or reappointment under other conditions than those above.

Except for the approved suspension of the probationary period due to a leave of absence, the maximum time that may be served at the rank of assistant professor or above without the award of tenure shall be seven years, provided, however, that a terminal contract for an eighth year may be proffered if a recommendation for tenure is not approved by the president. The maximum time that may be served in combination of full-time instructional appointments (instructor or professorial ranks) without the award of tenure shall be 10 years, provided, however, that a terminal contract for the 11th year may be proffered if a recommendation for tenure is not approved by the president (BOR Minutes, 1992 –93, p. 188; April 2000, pp.31-32).

Faculty on the research track will no longer (effective fiscal year 2014) be notified in advance if they will receive a contract for the succeeding year.

References & supporting documents

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Appendices

Related policies

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Approved by

President, Augusta University and CEO, AU Health System Date: January 22, 2013
Last Revision: January 22, 2013 Last Review:

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