Inside Iowa State: Iowa State University

January 17, 2003

Proposed policy would include adjunct appointments in non-tenure-track policy

A single policy to cover the new non-tenure-track appointments and existing non-tenure-track adjunct appointments was introduced at the Faculty Senate meeting Jan. 14.

Last spring, the senate approved a non-tenure-track policy, which provides job security and advancement opportunities for many who, in the past, were hired as temporary instructors. Under the policy, non-tenure-track faculty are hired under four titles: lecturer, clinician, senior lecturer and senior clinician. About 232 faculty were hired under the new non-tenure-track policy, which went into effect fall semester 2002.

However, the policy does not cover the 30 faculty who have been holding adjunct positions at the university. Adjunct positions range from assistant professor to full professor, with the term "adjunct" signifying that the person, because of special personal or departmental circumstances, is neither tenured nor tenure-eligible.

Under consideration by the senate is a single policy to cover all non-tenure-track appointments.

Renewable appointments
The proposed policy would provide those in adjunct appointments with many of the same job securities provided under the new non-tenure-track policy. For example, lecturers and clinicians may receive up to three-year contracts, renewable for a total of six years. If they are promoted to senior positions, they may receive up to five-year contracts that can be renewed indefinitely.

Currently, those in adjunct positions are limited to seven years at the university. Under the proposed plan, adjunct appointments could be for up to five years and would be renewable indefinitely. Those in adjunct positions also would receive one-year notices if their appointments would not be renewed, unless the appointments are only for one year.

In addition, tenure-line faculty would be responsible for selecting, reviewing and renewing adjunct positions, just as they are for the lecturer and clinician positions.

New caps
A significant change in the proposed policy would be caps on the percentage of those in non-tenure-track positions conducting research and engaged in professional practice.

The current non-tenure-track policy limits the amount of instruction that can be conducted by non-tenure-track faculty to 25 percent in a department and 15 percent for the university overall. The proposed policy would apply those caps to include all three areas of faculty activity: instruction, research and extension/professional practice.

Search concluding
In other business, athletic director Bruce Van De Velde provided an update on the athletic department. Van De Velde said 23 percent of the university's student athletes were on the dean's list in 2002, and 42 percent had a 3.0 grade average.

Asked about the progress of filling the administrator position for women's athletics, Van De Velde said the search is in the final stages and he expects to bring three finalists to campus in late January and hopes to make an offer in early February.