School of Nursing: Standard On Faculty Transitions Between Fixed Term Clinical Tracks And Tenure-Track Appointments

The School of Nursing seeks to maintain and, when possible, increase the number of tenured and tenure-track faculty members. The School also seeks to maintain and, when possible, increase the percentage of fixed-term clinical track faculty who are excellent teachers and possess a relevant doctoral degree. In advancing both goals, the SON supports a practice that allows faculty members to transfer once in either direction between appointments on fixed-term clinical and tenure tracks.

Unit Standard

Title

School of Nursing: Standard On Faculty Transitions Between Fixed Term Clinical Tracks And Tenure-Track Appointments

Introduction

Purpose

To be evaluated at next review.

Scope

To be evaluated at next review.

Standard

The School of Nursing seeks to maintain and, when possible, increase the number of tenured and tenure-track faculty members. The School also seeks to maintain and, when possible, increase the percentage of fixed-term clinical track faculty who are excellent teachers and possess a relevant doctoral degree. In advancing both goals, the SON supports a practice that allows faculty members to transfer once in either direction between appointments on fixed-term clinical and tenure tracks.

Fixed-Term Clinical Track to Tenure-Track Transitions

1. A SON faculty member on a fixed-term clinical track appointment may apply for a tenure-track position:
   1. any time the SON has an open search for tenure-track faculty. Or
   2. a search committee may be formed by the Dean to accommodate the interview of a former clinical track faculty member who left the faculty to complete a PhD at the SON, or a current clinical track faculty member who has recently completed a doctoral degree in another school, if the faculty member possesses a curriculum vitae that is comparable to new assistant professors on the tenure track at the SON.
2. The clinical track faculty applicant is interviewed using the same search committee criteria as any other applicant for a tenure-track position. Recommendations to hire into the tenure track are made by the search committee to the Dean.

Tenure-Track to Fixed-Term Clinical Track Transitions

1. A SON faculty member on a tenure-track appointment may apply for a fixed- term clinical track appointment:
   1. at any time up to and including the year a tenure decision would be made if the faculty member seeks a clinical assistant professor one-year appointment, or
   2. at any time up to and including the semester prior to when a tenure decision would be made, if the faculty member seeks a senior clinical track faculty appointment and the SON has an open search underway that would accommodate a multi-year senior clinical track appointment.
2. Under the scenarios above, the faculty member would apply and be interviewed using the same processes used for external applicants.
3. The final opportunity for a tenure-track faculty member to choose the option of a multi-year fixed-term clinical track appointment is during the semester prior to the one in which a tenure packet would be submitted and tenure decision made.
   1. The faculty member notifies her/his Division Chair at the beginning of the semester of the wish to be considered for a three year, fixed-term clinical track appointment.
   2. If a relevant search committee is already in progress, it oversees the interview and evaluation process and makes recommendations to the Chair and Dean.
   3. If an open search is not underway, the Chair and Dean appoint an internal committee comprised of the Program Director(s) for the academic program(s) in which the faculty member would teach, senior members of the Division within which the faculty member would be housed, and faculty who would work most closely with the person in courses where teaching assignments would be expanded.
   4. The search committee evaluates the fit between the needs of the School and the teaching expertise of the faculty member and makes recommendations to the Chair and Dean, using the same criteria as would be used for external applicants.
   5. Upon approval of the Dean, the three-year fixed-term appointment is made by the Chair at the same level rank (that is, clinical assistant professor instead of assistant professor or clinical associate professor instead of associate professor), and APR/APT reviews the faculty member's materials for a multi-year fixed term appointment.
   6. If the faculty member at the assistant professor level wants to be considered for clinical associate professor, and the Chair concurs, the Chair works with the faculty member to prepare the new appointment packet for the APR committee. The APR/APT review follows the process for a multi-year appointment at the clinical associate professor level. APR/APT will try to complete the review in time for the appointment at the new rank (i.e., one year prior to the end of the tenure-track appointment).
   7. The appointment to the clinical track and its associated workload assignment begins one year prior to the end of the tenure-track contract.
4. If the application for transition to a fixed-term clinical track appointment is denied, or the proposed teaching assignments are unsatisfactory to the faculty member, the faculty member and Chair have the option to submit a tenure packet for review in the semester it would be required. Alternatively, the faculty member can use the last year of the tenure-track appointment to seek a position elsewhere.
5. If a faculty member on the tenure track does not seek a clinical track appointment in the above timeframe and subsequently is denied tenure, s/he has the same last year of the tenure-track appointment to seek a position elsewhere.

Exceptions

N/A

Contact Information

Primary Contact

Carol Durham, Faculty Chair

Other Contacts

N/A

Important Dates

• Approved by APR/APT 10/25/2007
• Approved by FEC 11/19/2007