Instructions for Completingthe Faculty Contract Request Form, Making a Contract Offer, and Processing an Official Contract

  1. Completing the Faculty Contract Request Form

The faculty contract request form should be completed by the hiring manager and approved by the appropriate Dean(s) and CAOprior to making a verbal offer to any faculty candidate. The faculty contract request form includes all of the items that a hiring manager should include in a verbal offer to a faculty candidate. Several components of a verbal offer require pre-approval by the President (e.g., advanced academic rank, administrative appointment, early promotion and tenure eligibility, and research start up package), which the CAO will obtain, if the CAO and President concur with your request. To facilitate completion of this form, this guide walks the hiring manager through each itemon the contract request form. The hiring manager must respond to each and every item on the faculty contract request form.

  1. Making a Contract Offer

After the CAO has approved the faculty contract request form, the CAO will scan or send the signed request form with all the appropriate documentation back to the Dean. The Dean or his designee can then make a verbal offer to the faculty candidate based on the terms included in the approved faculty contract request form. When making the verbal offer, the hiring manager must explain that the offer is contingent upon successful completion of a background and pre-employment screening process.

  1. If the faculty candidate wants to modify the start date, this should be reflected on the faculty contract request form. If the start date is after September 1 for a particular academic year, the year of eligibility for promotion and tenure consideration must be modified to be consistent with the instructions provided below.
  2. If the faculty candidates requests a higher salary, a shorter period for eligibility for promotion, or a higher academic rank than approved, the Dean must seek approval from the CAO. These type of requests will most likely require approval from the President.
  3. Any other requests for modification of the terms of the contract offer must be approved by the CAO and President.
  1. Requesting an Official Contract

After the verbal offer has been accepted by the faculty candidate, the hiring manager should forward the faculty contract request form with all supporting documentation of the President’s approval (when needed) to the Human Resources Department, which will conduct a pre-employment background and pre-employment screening. They will contact the faculty candidate to get his/her approval for the background check. Once the checks are completed and found to be satisfactory, Human Resources will forward the faculty contract request form to the Vice President of Administration, who is responsible for preparing the official contract using a standardized University template. She will obtain 2 copies of the contract, signed by the Executive Vice President & COO or the President & CEO. These will be forwarded to the Dean. The Dean is responsible for forwarding the contracts to the faculty candidate with a cover letter that instructs that faculty candidate to review, sign, and forward one original signed contract back to the Dean. Once the Dean receives the signed contract, he/she should copy it for the college’s files, and forward the original to the Human Resources Department.

If the faculty candidate requests any modifications to the contract before signing it, e.g., change in start date or other terms, the Dean should discuss this with the CAO. In general, a new contract will need to be sent to the faculty candidate for signature. Crossing out and revising start dates, annual salary rates, startup packages is not allowed.

  1. Step-By-Step Instructions for Completing the Faculty Contract Request Form

Date: Insert the date that you are submitting the contract request form to Human Resources.

Personnel Requisition Number: Insert the Personnel Requisition Number assigned for this position by UltiPro Recruiting. If you need help finding this number, check with Human Resources.

Name (with credentials): Insert the full first name, middle name, and last name of the individual to be hired. After the name, insert the appropriate degree and/or board certification/fellowship credentials. (e.g., John Doe, DO, FACS; Jane Smith, Pharm. D., BCPS, FCCP).

Hire Date: Insert first day of employment at MWU.

Department/College: Insert the name of the department and the college at which the individual will work.

Reports to: Insert the supervisor’s name and title for this faculty position.

Rank/title: Insert the academic rank of this faculty position. Choose from: lecturer, instructor, assistant professor, associate professor, or professor. Some colleges include a “clinical” modifier to the academic rank.

For any faculty hires above the level of assistant professor, obtain the President’s approval and attach a copy to the faculty contract request form. To receive approval, provide CV, justification and any relevant data to the President for review.

FTE: Insert the FTE status, which should range from 0.1-1.0 FTE (4 hours to 40 hours/week). If less than 1.0 FTE, the faculty person’s salary will be appropriately prorated and reduced. (Please specify both academic and Clinic FTE if applicable.)

Annual salary: Insert the annual salary that has been prorated for FTE status or reduced contract year, as appropriate and as approved in your budget. Please consult Vice President/Human Resources and Administration prior to making offer if you are unsure of the appropriate salary range. Any proposed salary above the HR approved range must be pre-approved by the CAO and President before an offer is made.

Work year (number of months faculty candidate will be employed annually): Choose from 9, 10, 11, or 12 months. Most new hires work year round or 12 months. However, upon the candidate’s request, a shorter work year or reduced contract, i.e., 9-11 months may be considered. If less than 12 months/year, the faculty person’s salary will be prorated and reduced. A 1.0 faculty person works 40 hours/week, 52 weeks during the year. A 1.0 faculty person, who works 9 months during the year, will work 40 hours/week from September-May. A faculty member will only be paid while working. They will provide MWU with any required monthly insurance premiums. See Human Resources policy website, Reduced Contract, for more information. All reduced contracts must be approved by the CAO and VP/HR and Admin.

Administrative Appointment and Stipend (if applicable): Insert the standard stipend for the applicable administrative appointment. To ensure that your hiring plan isappropriate, you should check with Human Resources to ensure that the title and stipend you plan to offer are consistent with existing University practices. In addition, prior to appointing a department chair, program director, or assistant/associate dean, you must have the candidate interviewed in person or over the phone by the Presidentand CAO before completing this contract request form.

Initial term of contract: Thestandard contract year extends from July 1 through June 30. The initial term of a contract should be 2 years or as close to 2 years, as possible.

  • If the faculty person starts prior to January 1 of a calendar year, the initial term of the contract should be 1.5 to 2 years. For example, if the faculty person starts in August 2016, the initial 2 year term of the contract will extend through June 30, 2018.
  • If the faculty person starts after December 31 of a calendar year, the initial term of the contract will be 2.5 years at most. For example if the faculty person starts in February 2016, the initial term of the contract will extend through June 30, 2018.

Tenure/Non-tenure Track: Specify if the faculty candidate will be in the tenure track or the non-tenure track based on the availability of the vacancy in the budget.

Specific credentials required as a condition of employment: If specific credentials (licensure, degree, board certification, etc.) are required as either a condition of employment because it is an accreditation standard or state law requirement, please indicate.

  • Human Resources will conduct an initial background check for the credentials specified before it prepares a contract.
  • If the faculty candidate will be offered a contract before he/she has earned the specific credential, respond “Yes” and provide a deadline date when he/she must provide documentation that the minimum degree or credential has been earned. It is the responsibility of the supervisor to track the completion of the specific credential by the deadline date.
  • If the faculty candidate will be appointed to a different faculty rank or will switch tracks once the specific credential has been earned, please specify those conditions.

Is this faculty person being hired into a position with a higher than usual starting salary (e.g., has administrative responsibilities but will not receive a stipend, will be hired as a CDMA clinic faculty member as opposed to a CDMA college-based faculty member): Respond “yes” if this applies.

Earliest date eligible to apply for advancement in rank: According to the MWU Faculty Handbook section on Eligibility for Promotion in Rank, “a faculty member should normally meet the minimum eligibility criteria set forth below” before applying for advancement in rank:

Completion of:

  1. One year at the rank of lecturer before advancement to the rank of instructor.
  2. Two years at the rank of instructor before advancement to the rank of assistant professor.
  3. Four years as assistant professor before advancement to the rank of associate professor.
  4. Five years as associate professor before advancement to the rank of professor.

When choosing the earliest date to apply for advancement in rank, insert a month and year.

Consideration for the most appropriate month and year should include the following:

  1. Faculty members seeking promotion must meet the qualification standards for the rank sought. Do not choose a month/year shorter than the minimum eligibility criteria above, if the faculty member will have excessive difficulty meeting the qualification standards during that shortened time interval.
  2. The application cycle for promotion consideration starts on December 1 of each year, and the faculty member must submit a dossier by February 1 of the following year.
  3. The faculty member seeking promotion must complete the minimum years of employment prior to the start of the application cycle for promotion. A University contract year starts on July 1 and extends through June 30. If a faculty member’s first day at work is on or beforeSept. 1, this partial year will be counted toward the minimum eligibility criteria (as described above). Hire dates after Sept. 1 will not be counted toward the minimum eligibility for the first partial year.
  1. Example: If an assistant professor begins employment at MWU in August 2016, the assistant professor is first eligible to apply for promotion in December 2020.
  2. Example: If an assistant professor begins employment at MWU in October 2016, the assistant professor is first eligible to apply for promotion in December 2021.
  1. If the faculty member was previously on faculty at another accredited college or university, the hiring manager may give credit for serving at that faculty rank by shortening the minimum time to apply for promotion at MWU. When this is done, the hiring manager must provide an explanation for the shortened minimum time on the Faculty Contract Request Form and obtain prior approval from the President and CAO.

Earliest date eligible to apply for tenure: According to the MWU Faculty Handbook section on Eligibility for Tenure:

  1. Ordinarily, a faculty member is eligible for tenure consideration after a probationary period in a tenure track position at MWU. The probationary period begins with a faculty appointment in the tenure track. By special arrangement, the probationary period may be deemed to include full time or pro rata service at other regionally accredited colleges and universities. Although a faculty person may apply for tenure before the sixth year, the probationary period shall ordinarily not exceed six full time academic years of service.
  2. Application for promotion in rank and tenure may occur simultaneously or independently. The application procedure is identical for promotion and tenure.

In general, the month/year that was used for the earliest date eligible to apply for promotion and the earliest date eligible for tenure should be the same.

For faculty candidates who were tenured at another regionally accredited college or university, you may consider shortening the minimum time to apply for tenure at MWU; however, the minimum time should never be less than 2 years and approval must be obtained from the President.

MWU clinic credentialing required? If the faculty candidate will work in any MWU-owned and operated clinic, and will bill insurance carriers for services provided, you should select YES. This will signal to Human Resources that this faculty person will need to complete a credentialing application, which will expedite credentialing with various insurance carriers.

Relocation allowance (if applicable): Insert the standard relocation allowance based on faculty rank, as specified on the Human Resources policy website. No exceptions to the rule are permitted.

Approval of research start-up allowance: Be sure to get the President’s and CAO’s approval of the start-up package. Attach a copy of the President’s approval to the contract request form. Need must be justified.

Other criteria: Include any other relevant information for Human Resources or Vice President of Administration.

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New Section for CAO Review Only

Will the faculty candidate need assigned research laboratory space on campus? Space allocation for new faculty hires should be clearly defined and articulated during the recruitment process. Typically, new hires that replace an existing faculty member will be assigned research space that has already been allocated to the departing faculty member. Any requests for new space must be submitted to the MWU Research Space Allocation Committee in writing with supporting documentation demonstrating that the new hire has potential for growth and development of a research program. If renovation is needed, this should be detailed in the request. In general, the Dean should not expect any renovations to be done.

Will the faculty candidate conduct research on live animals? The types and numbers of animals to be utilized by the new faculty member should be identified. The Dean and CAO should check with the ORSP to determine if the Animal Facility can accommodate the species identified and the numbers.

Will the faculty candidate conduct research in the MWU Clinics? Space allocation for new faculty hires should be clearly defined and articulated during the recruitment process. If renovation is needed, this should be detailed in the request. In general, the Dean should not expect any renovations to be done.

Will the faculty candidate require major new pieces of equipment? If the faculty candidate requires major pieces of equipment (over $20,000/piece) that exceeds the proposed research start up package, the Dean should discuss this with the CAO to see if or how these items might be funded within the proposed timeline of when the equipment will be needed.

Are there any potential chemical or biological risks of the research projects proposed by the faculty candidate? Potential risk to faculty and staff working in the faculty candidate’s research laboratory should be identified. For example, does the research involve toxic chemicals, human pathogens or require BSL laboratory certification.

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Revised 4/5/2016