2014/15 Fixed Term Faculty Committee Nancy C. Fisher, Ph.D. Chair Report to UNC Chapel Hill Faculty Council April 24, 2015
2014/15 Fixed Term Faculty Committee
Nancy C. Fisher, Ph.D. Chair
Report to UNC Chapel Hill Faculty CouncilApril 24, 2015
Fixed Term Faculty Committee 2014/15
Deb Aikat Journalism
Nancy Fisher (Chair) Medicine
Susan Irons English and Comparative Literature
Chris McLaughlin Government
Tara Moon Clinical Laboratory Science
Adam PerskyBruce Cairns
PharmacyChair of Faculty
Also:
Clare Counihan Women’s Center – website design
Sarah Birken Health Policy/Gillings – data analysis
• Of 3406 UNC-CH faculty, 44% (1496) have fixed-term appointments. This does not include adjunct faculty.
http://oira.unc.edu/files/2014/01/Current-Statistics.pdf
Tenured42%Tenure
Track14%
Fixed-Term44%
Representation of Fixed-Term Faculty at UNC
Last year:
•The Fixed-Term Faculty Committee worked to advance the title of “Teaching Professor” to replace “Master Lecturer” in the College of Arts and Sciences.
Use of Clinical/Research Titles
A&S
Dentis
try
Info
/Lib
Med
icin
e
Phar
mac
y
Social
0
100
200
300
400
500
Clinical/Research Assistant Professor
Clinical/Research Associate Professor
Tota
l n
um
ber
Use of Lecturer Title
A&S
Gov
erne
mt
Jour
nalis
m
Pub H
ealth
0
100
200
300
400
500
LecturerSr Lecturer
Tota
l n
um
ber
2014 Survey objectives•Determine awareness of FTF to their own numbers and representation in faculty governance
•Determine satisfaction levels and perception of UNC’s support of FTF
•Collect data on contract length•Develop list of Best Practices•Open-ended questions to mine issues not included elsewhere in the survey (still under analysis)
Please indicate how aware you were -- before receiving this survey -- of each of the following:
‘Teaching Professor’ in A&S
FTF on Exec Committee
Appointment Documents
Advocacy 43% FTF at UNC
UnawareA little bit awareVery aware
Although policies are clearly outlined, the message is not getting to the faculty
On the web: Appointment Documents: Policies for Fixed-Term Faculty: University: http://provost.unc.edu/policies/
Actions•Develop Fixed-Term Faculty Website with
links to relevant information.•Link this site to the Faculty Governance
site.
Sala
ry (i
nclu
ding
ben
efits
)
Job
Secu
rity
Vaula
tion
Prom
otio
n Crit
eria
Reten
tion
Growth
Pot
entia
l0
10203040
Frequency of responses regarding specific professional challenges of Fixed-Term Faculty at UNC - sample: FTF with one
year contracts who have been at UNC for 5-10 years (N=110).
PositiveNeg-ative
Fre
qu
en
cy o
f re
sp
on
ses
51% of FTF responding have one-year contracts or less
No Contrac
t
One year
Two year
s
Three
years
Four years
Five Years
or more
Length of Contract by Years of Service – FTF at UNC-CH responding to 2014 survey
The majority of Fixed-Term Faculty have one-year contractsLonger contracts are granted to a few with more years of service
“One other reason to worry about one-year contracts is academic integrity. If a FTF on a one year contract sees something that shouldn't be happening, are they in any position to report it?”
Years of Service to the University
Contract Length
< 1 year 1 year
1 – 5 years 3 years
> 5 years or Associate Professor/Senior Lecturer level or above
5 years
Recommendations for contract length standardization campus-wide
Sala
ry (i
nclu
ding
ben
efits
)
Job
Secu
rity
Vaula
tion
Prom
otio
n Crit
eria
Reten
tion
Growth
Pot
entia
l0
10203040
Frequency of responses regarding specific professional challenges of Fixed-Term Faculty at UNC - sample: FTF with one
year contracts who have been at UNC for 5-10 years (N=110).
PositiveNegativeNeutral
Fre
qu
en
cy o
f re
sp
on
ses
Valuation
Some Fixed-Term Faculty reported a lack of: •Departmental Inclusion•Mentoring and clarity on professional
progression•Development opportunities•Working conditions
•This environment creates a sense of detachment from the University Community and feeling of a lack of value.
•The Lecturer titles and one-year contracts for longtime and dedicated colleagues adds to this.
Valuation
•“Fixed-Term Faculty in some departments don't get choice in what they teach and often are prepping lots of new courses rather than being able to focus on the same routine.”
Why should we do something about supporting Fixed-Term Faculty?
•Culture can be slow to change but the numbers of Fixed-Term Faculty on campus is rising swiftly. •This is national conversation
Conclusions from the survey• Fixed-Term Faculty were largely unaware of their
own numbers, representation on Faculty Council or informational resources available regarding appointment policy
•63% of Fixed-Term Faculty were Satisfied or Very Satisfied with their positions at UNC
• Top issues concerning Fixed-Term Faculty are salary equity, length of contracts, valuation, promotion criteria, retention and growth opportunities.
• The majority of Fixed-Term Faculty have only one-year contracts, even those who have served at the University for over 10 years.
•Some Fixed-Term Faculty are not well supported by their departments resulting in a feeling of lowered valuation.
RECOMMENDATION: Encourage Best Practices for Fixed-Term Faculty at UNC
•Standardize length of contracts and provide adequate non-renewal notice
•Communicate standards and criteria for promotion, providing clear professional progression
•Provide career development resources and opportunities
•Encourage participation in department activities at faculty level
Work to continue
•2014 Fixed-Term Faculty Survey analysis
•Disseminate the list of best practices• Institute longer contracts for Fixed-
Term Faculty campus-wide•Continue moving forward with
renaming Lecturers to professional titles in A&S
•Compare internal survey to Fixed-Term Faculty data from COACHE survey
•Hold listening sessions campus-wide