Annual vs. quarterly appointments

Definitions

• Annual appointment: An appointment spanning an entire academic year* with fixed salary** and FTE.
• Quarterly appointment: An appointment that spans no more than one quarter at a time with a fixed salary and FTE representative of the workload assigned in that quarter.
• Multi-year appointment: An appointment that spans multiple academic years and has a fixed salary and FTE for the duration of the multi-year appointment.

* consistent with service period norms for the appointing college/school
** remaining eligible for salary increases as appropriate and consistent with university policy

Expectations

• A unit offering an annual appointment does so with the understanding that the offer of employment—inclusive of salary, FTE, and a duration spanning the academic year—is a commitment which is not subject to change due to low enrollment or budgetary constraints.
• If the unit extends an offer of employment that is accepted, they must honor the contracted FTE and salary for the term of appointment. If a class is cancelled, the unit can reassign duties, but they cannot rescind the appointment in whole or part.
• The stable FTE over a year-long commitment is what distinguishes an annual appointment from a quarter-to-quarter appointment.
• Changes to the terms of an annual appointment must follow provisions of the Faculty Code.
• The annual workload assignment is averaged over the entire academic year. The unit shall look at the entire year’s workload and assign an FTE representative of the total effort.
• In offering an annual appointment for a lecturer, the unit shall have assessed its instructional need and assigned a course load such that teaching occurs in each quarter of the academic year. Scholarship and service components may also exist, but teaching is the primary responsibility.
• While the course load in a given quarter may be higher than in other quarters for an annually-appointed lecturer, the FTE reflects the overall average assignment.
• If a unit intends to fluctuate FTE from quarter to quarter, the individual should be given a quarter-to-quarter appointment—as allowed for by policy—with an offer letter(s) that spells out the monthly rate of pay, appointment percent, and end date for each quarter of employment.

Exceptional Circumstances

Where there is an unforeseen instructional need due to exceptional circumstances, a unit may:

Assign additional course(s) to a part-time faculty member with an existing annual appointment
Annual appointment 50% or greater, the unit should use period activity pay, commensurate with the increase in effort

Annual appointment less than 50%, the unit may temporarily adjust the FTE upward, commensurate with the increase in effort, and then decrease it to the original FTE at the conclusion of the additional course. The FTE increase and subsequent decrease should be initiated through the Change Job > Data Change > 01 – Data Change – Voluntary FTE Change (Staff and Academic) business process. This will trigger a review by the UWHR Office Partner.

Assign additional course to a part-time faculty member with an existing quarterly appointment
The quarterly-appointed faculty member shall receive an amendment to their original offer letter clearly stating the increase in course load and the revised total compensation for the quarter. The salary increase should be commensurate with the increase in effort. The amendment should be loaded into Workday so that it can be referenced during Change Job > Data Change > 01 – Data Change – Voluntary FTE Change (Staff and Academic) business process.

Relationship of Start/End Dates

Remember: an annually-appointed faculty member should have a static FTE that does not change from quarter to quarter and which reflects the total workload assignment for the academic year. A quarterly-appointed faculty member may have FTE that differs quarter to quarter. If a faculty member has consecutive quarterly assignments, they should be reappointed for each consecutive quarter.

Position Reappointment

• Use reason code: Change Job > Data Change > 02 – Reappointment (Academic Only)
• In “start date” field enter the start date of NEW quarterly assignment
• Change end date to the end of the new quarter
• Update FTE percentage

Academic Appointment Reappointment

• Use reason code: Update Academic Appointment > Update Academic Appointment > Reappointment
• In “start date” field enter the start date of NEW quarterly assignment (Only applies to quarterly appointments)
• Change end date to end of new quarter
• Update roster percentage

Faculty appointed on an annual basis should have start and end dates aligning with the academic year consistent with the table below:

*   The start date of an annual appointment with a 12-month service period may be earlier if the initial appointment is meant to align with Summer Quarter Term A. It would be expected that the end date would then extend to 6/30 of the following year (e.g., Start date 6/16/19 – End date 6/30/20).

Faculty appointed on a quarterly basis should have start and end dates that align with the assigned quarter consistent with the table below.

Quarter Appointed

** Due to the unique nature of summer quarter (e.g., split terms, funding model), there is flexibility with summer quarter appointment start/end dates. Appointees with a 9-month service period may also teach summer quarter commensurate with unit need.