Appointments of Non-tenure-track Faculty and Research Staff

Note: This document is adapted from language existing previously in NIU's former Academic Policies and Procedures Manual. This document is intended to provide guidance, rather than policy, for appointments of non-tenure-track faculty and research staff. See the University's Policy Library, Board of Trustees Regulations, and collective bargaining agreements for other relevant policies and guidance.

Several titles are available for the appointment of non-tenure-track faculty and research staff. These titles carry different assumptions regarding conditions of employment and should be used consistently throughout the University. Except in the case of faculty appointed with the title "instructor" or "visiting assistant professor" pending clearance of a degree or visa contingency, appointments to the following positions do not allow for tenure, and cannot be directly converted to a tenure-track or tenured position. Time served in these positions will not be counted toward tenure in any subsequent tenure-track appointment without the written permission of the provost.

Visiting Appointments

Board of Trustees regulations recognize three professorial ranks--assistant professor, associate professor, and professor. Individuals who meet the Board of Trustees and departmental criteria for appointment at one of these ranks may be appointed to a non-tenure-track visiting position in any of these ranks. A visiting appointment is particularly appropriate when an individual is hired to replace a regular faculty member on leave or temporarily unable to teach. A visiting appointment is also appropriate when a scholar with particular expertise is brought to campus to temporarily make that expertise available to NIU students or to research programs. Visiting appointments are always temporary and may be for no more than one year at a time. Consecutive full-time visiting appointments may not total more than two years (four semesters, excluding summer). Part-time appointments ordinarily will not exceed 75 percent of a full-time equivalent (FTE).

Research Faculty Appointments

Research Faculty appointments in the ranks of Research Assistant Professor, Research Associate Professor, and Research Professor are strictly non-tenure track and non-teaching. Incumbents holding these positions are not eligible to participate in the governance of academic units. These appointments should be primarily supported through extramural research grants, contracts, and other non-appropriated funds. The duration of these appointments may vary from one year to multiple-year terms based on University goals, funding sources and their availability, the nature of the projects, and other contractual agreements in the grants and contracts that support these appointments.

Primary responsibilities include pursuing research, seeking extramural funding as a principal investigator (PI) or co-PI, generating knowledge in the forms of publications and intellectual property, and other documented activities recognized by the disciplines as scholarly work. Incumbents may train graduate and undergraduate students in research laboratories and seek graduate faculty status. Although these appointments are non-teaching, academic units, centers, and institutes may assign these appointees responsibility for seminar and colloquium courses. If special needs for teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in a specialty area arise, separate contractual agreements for part-time teaching will be required.

The basic qualifications for each rank of these appointments are comparable to the research requirements of tenure-track and tenured faculty ranks. For example, a terminal degree in the appropriate discipline documented scholarly productivity, and postdoctoral experience (as appropriate in some fields) will be required for an initial appointment in the rank of Research Assistant Professor. Substantial documented research accomplishments are required for initial appointments in the higher ranks.

Academic units, centers, and institutes, as appropriate, can initiate appointments even though in some cases these appointments may be supported by faculty research grants. In initiating a new position, chairs and directors must create a succinct job description, delineate the required qualifications, and indicate funding sources and length of employment. To maintain standards for these appointments, in addition to the formal approval by respective deans and vice presidents of the units under their jurisdiction, these positions must be approved by the Vice President for Research and Innovation Partnerships (RIPS). The Executive Vice President and Provost (EVPP) will make final approval of employment.

Chairs and directors are primarily responsible for annual performance reviews based on the expectations outlined in the offering letter. However, if research grants from individual faculty members support the position, these members will conduct formal annual evaluations and submit them to the appropriate chairs, directors, and deans. Copies of these evaluations must be submitted to RIPS.

Promotion requirements from one rank to the next must be comparable to the research or scholarly accomplishments outlined in the discipline's tenured and tenure-track faculty appointments. Departments and colleges employing research faculty should draft policies and procedures in their faculty policy manuals related to the promotion of research faculty. Promotion decisions and appeals proceed from the department to college to university levels as outlined in the Faculty Senate Bylaws, similar to processes with tenured/tenure-track faculty, with the Faculty Senate Personnel Committee and EVPP responsible at the university level.

Clinical Faculty Appointments

Clinical Faculty appointments in the ranks of Clinical Assistant Professor, Clinical Associate Professor, and Clinical Professor are non-tenure-track. These appointments will often be primarily supported by extramural research grants and contracts and using other non-appropriated funds. These appointments are distinctly different from tenured and tenure-track positions and purely clinical appointments. The duration of these appointments may vary from one year to multiple-year terms based on University goals, funding sources and availability, the nature of the projects, and other contractual agreements in the grants and contracts that support these appointments.

Primary responsibilities include providing and overseeing the delivery of professional services to individual patients or clients or other engagement in clinical and experiential education and teaching at the undergraduate or graduate levels. The approval process for obtaining graduate faculty status is outlined in the Policy Library. Clinical faculty would be expected to be involved in curricular development within their programs; the employing units would determine other involvement in shared governance.

The basic qualifications for appointment at the rank of Clinical Assistant Professor will be discipline-specific and determined for each position by the responsible academic unit. Substantial documented clinical and teaching accomplishments shall be required for initial appointments in the higher ranks.

As appropriate, academic units, centers, and institutes can initiate appointments. In initiating a new position, Chairs and directors must create a succinct job description, delineate required qualifications, responsibilities, and workload, and indicate funding sources and length of employment. Approval must then be received from the appropriate academic dean(s); final approval of employment will be made by the EVPP.

Chairs and directors are primarily responsible for annual performance reviews based on the expectations outlined in the offer letter.

Promotion requirements from one rank to the next should be comparable to those accomplishments outlined in the discipline's tenured and tenure-track faculty appointments, with the understanding that research expectations will be replaced by clinical expectations. Departments and colleges employing clinical faculty should draft policies and procedures in their faculty policy manuals related to the promotion of clinical faculty. Promotion decisions and appeals proceed from the department to college to university levels as outlined in the Faculty Senate Bylaws, similar to processes with tenured and tenure-track faculty, with the Faculty Senate Personnel Committee and EVPP responsible at the university level.

Postdoctoral Scholars

Postdoctoral scholars advance institutional research and scholarship and enhance professional skills and research training for individuals who recently received a doctoral degree (or equivalent terminal doctoral degree).

Individuals appointed under this classification must hold a recently awarded doctoral degree, generally awarded within the last five to six years.

Postdoctoral appointments are temporary positions that include mentored advanced training to enhance the individual's professional skills and research independence and to support their chosen career path. Mentorship occurs under the supervision of NIU senior faculty or research scholars and scientists.

Postdoctoral scholars may participate in all phases of a scientific or scholarly project and shall pursue publication and results of their work during their NIU appointment.

Postdoctoral scholars do not engage in instruction except on a part-time and occasional basis and are not expected to supervise other professional staff.

Supervisors must prepare a mentoring program for each postdoctoral scholar and review the program with the postdoctoral scholar.  The VP of RIPS will review and approve the mentoring plans as well as approve the position in People Admin (or the current enterprise-wide HR program).

Postdoctoral scholars are exempt from Civil Service under section 36e4 and are classified as temporary Supportive Professional Staff (SPS). Appointments are on a limited-term basis, generally no more than 3-5 years, and are considered training positions.

Senior Research Appointments

The University recognizes appointments with the title of Research Scholar, Research Scientist, Senior Research Scientist or Senior Research Scholar. Doctorally qualified individuals with significant research experience beyond the dissertation may be appointed with such a title by academic departments or research centers to conduct research or scholarship relevant to the University's mission. Individuals carrying these titles will ordinarily be temporary appointments with the expectation that grants or contracts will fund their positions. Such appointments can be renewed indefinitely, subject only to the availability of funds and the University's continued assessment of the appointment as beneficial to the institutional mission. While the criteria may differ, research scholars and research scientists should be evaluated on the same schedule and according to the same process used for departmental faculty.

The title Research Scientist should be used in those disciplines in which "scientist" best describes the activity of a researcher. The title Research Scholar should be used in those disciplines in which "scholar" best describes the activity of a researcher. In either case, the work of the individual so titled will likely be that of the principal or co-principal investigator on a grant or contract. This individual would be expected to engage in activities such as planning, directing, and participating in complex scientific or other scholarly projects, supervising project staff, administering a research project, identifying problem areas, formulating proposals, designing new studies, and developing applications. A research scientist or scholar maintains professional contacts with colleagues in other institutions and professional organizations, reviews literature applicable to current research, prepares materials based on research findings for publication, and, as appropriate, makes presentations to professional and lay groups.

Ordinarily, individuals appointed as research scientists or scholars will not engage in instruction (except on a part-time or occasional basis). The University considers research scholars and scientists exempt from Civil Service under Section 36e4 of the State Universities Civil Service Act.

Research Associate Appointments

Research associates work collaboratively with research faculty to prepare reports, papers, and monographs reporting the results of research and scholarly projects. They work under the direction of senior faculty and research scholars and scientists to carry out research, scholarly, and technical activities, most of which will be externally funded. Such individuals are ordinarily required to have sufficient knowledge of a specific academic discipline (generally evidenced by possession of an appropriate master's degree) to develop or assist in developing research designs; to plan or assist in planning the conduct of research and scholarly operations; to supervise the activities of support personnel; and to write or assist in writing interpretive reports, scholarly articles, monographs, and proposals for additional external funding.

Individuals carrying these titles will ordinarily be temporary because they will typically be appointed to positions funded by grants and contracts. Such appointments can be renewed indefinitely, subject only to the availability of funds. The positions held by research associates often involve tasks that overlap those associated with various Civil Service positions. Research associate positions must therefore be exempted from Civil Service rules under section 36e3 before any attempt is made to fill them. Such exemptions occur on a case-by-case basis and require the approval of Human Resource Services. While the criteria should be determined by the nature of the position, research associates should be evaluated on the same schedule and according to the same process used for supportive professional staff.

Instructor

This title is available for the employment of temporary instructional faculty. Ordinarily, individuals carrying this title will possess an appropriate baccalaureate or master's degree, with some instructors possessing a doctorate. The terms and conditions of employment for most individuals appointed full-time under this title are governed by a collective bargaining agreement. Questions regarding these appointments should be directed to the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs.

Lecturer

This title is used in the College of Law to employ practicing lawyers and judges to teach an occasional class on a part-time basis. The title is not available in other colleges.