Higher Education-Know Your Contract By: Jim McClymer, President, Associated Faculties of the Universities of Maine
As scholars we know words have technical meaning beyond that of common usage. The same principle holds true in contractual issues. This document will hopefully help clarify some of that confusion.
“Permanent” Positions - Tenure Stream ranks are Instructor,
Assistant Professor, Associate Professor and Professor. Instructors and Assistant Professors have probationary appointments. Instructors hired after August 16, 2010 are tenure track. Instructors receive a contractually mandated promotional salary increase when promoted to Assistant Professor. There are “Research Faculty” with the titles: Assistant Research Professor, Associate Research Professor and Research Professor. These positions are not eligible for Tenure or Continuing Contract (more on this often-abused term in a moment).
Just Cause - Lecturers, as well as research faculty, earn Just Cause status
after six years of service. NOTE: THERE IS NO EXTRA REVIEW or REQUIREMENTS ASSOCIATED WITH EARNING JUST CAUSE STATUS. Lecturers are the only rank to receive longevity steps. Lecturers may initially be appointed for up to two years and reappointment for up to four years. Typical appointment periods are less. A Clinical rank was recently introduced, exclusively for nursing and other health related fields. The ranks are: Clinical Assistant Faculty, Clinical Associate Faculty and Clinical Senior Faculty. Instead of longevity steps, Clinical faculty will receive at least a 3% raise upon promotion. All other aspects of these positions are identical to that of Lecturers. Clinical Faculty also earn Just-Cause Protection after six years of service. There is no extra review or requirement associated to earning Just Cause Status. Just Cause: Faculty (Lecturers, Clinical faculty and Research faculty) earn Just Cause Status after six years of service. The primary operational impact is that faculty with less than six years of service are provided fixed duration contracts and are considered for reappointment. After six years there is no reappointment process. Members with Just Cause status may only be dismissed for cause. Even members who have not yet served six years have legal and contractual protections.
E FF E C T I V E W A YS
HIGHEROEDUCATION EMERGENCY F ST UD Y I NG RELIEF FUND B E F O(HEERF) R E E X AM S In addition to K-12 schools, IHEs have also felt the severe impact of COVID-19. Faculty, staff, and students continue to struggle to create normalcy in the midst of financial and academic challenges. The HEERF awards public colleges $14 billion to help address these challenges, and NEA supports the following funding priorities to support students, particularly students of color and under-resourced students, and to help protect the IHE workforce.
CANCEL STUDENT DEBT The average borrower graduates with over $30,000 in debt. NEA supports the suspension of student loan payments for the duration of the pandemic and the cancellation of $30,000 of federal student debt for every borrower. The NEA believes suspended payments should still count toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness requirements.
Black and brown students at HBCUs and MSIs have been severely impacted by this pandemic. NEA supports debt cancellation for those who are the most vulnerable due to the pandemic as well as low-income borrowers and students who attend MSIs.
CONTINUE EMPLOYMENT FOR FACULTY AND STAFF
PROVIDE ADDITIONAL FUNDING TO STUDENTS
Faculty & staff should be sustained during this difficult time.
Students are in need of increased financial support.
NEA supports federal funding to continue to pay both full-time and part-time faculty and staff. Students who receive work-study and teaching assistants should be included in the staff category for the duration of the pandemic.
NEA supports the reallocation of all remaining federal student aid funds to students in need of emergency aid as outlined in the CARES Act. This includes the support for community colleges through the Education Stabilization Fund.
SUPPORT UNDOCUMENTED AND DACA STUDENTS
There are also Part-Time faculty represented by PATFA. Academic ranks for part-time faculty are governed by the PATFA contract.
Federal funds should be used to assist all students, regardless of immigration status.
Continuing Contract - Continuing Contract is a term reserved
exclusively for faculty in Cooperative Extension. It is equivalent to Tenure. Cooperative Extension ranks are: Extension Instructor, Assistant Extension. Professor, Associate Extension Professor and Extension Professor. The Instructor and Assistant rank are probationary. Faculty in ALL the above ranks with over six years of service are eligible for extra compensation as part of “Post Tenure Review”, independent of their tenure or continuing contract status.
SUPPORT HBCUS AND MINORITY-SERVING INSTITUTIONS
NEA believes emergency COVID-19 funds for college students should not exclude DACA and undocumented students since the allocation of these funds to colleges are based on enrollment numbers that included these students. N E A T O D A Y . O R G / S C H O O L S - A N D - C O R O N A V I R U S /
Fixed Length - The ONLY remaining Full Time Faculty category is that of Fixed Length appointments. These positions are temporary in nature, with a specified term of up to three years, and only allowed for certain specific reasons.
If you have a contractual topic that you would like to see discussed, please email your suggestion to your AFUM Chapter President. June 2020 • www.maineea.org
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