University Handbook for Appointed Personnel

This University Handbook for Appointed Personnel (UHAP) is an official publication of The University of Arizona. It implements Arizona Board of Regents policy and promulgates rules and information pertaining to appointed personnel of The University of Arizona. The term "appointed personnel" includes faculty members, academic and service professionals, and administrators, as defined herein (see chapters 3, 4, and 5 respectively). All appointed personnel are subject to and governed by the relevant provisions of UHAP.

This version of UHAP supersedes the University Handbook for Appointed Personnel (First Edition, 1988; and Second Edition, 1995) and may be amended from time to time in accordance with policy changes made by the Arizona Board of Regents and The University of Arizona.

Questions concerning the interpretation of any section in this Handbook should be directed to Human Resources.

 

revised 1/2000, 2/2016

ABOR means the Arizona Board of Regents.

ABOR-PM means the Arizona Board of Regents Policy Manual.

Academic professional employees means employees whose Notice of Appointment incorporates the ABOR Conditions of Service for Academic Professionals (ABOR-PM 6-302) who are non-classified employees involved with applied, basic, and integrative research or teaching programs, who require professional and intellectual freedom, and who report to a person holding a position below the level of Vice President. These individuals include librarians, cooperative extensionists, museum curators, conservators, and researchers.

Adjunct is a modifier used with faculty titles that are not eligible for tenure. Adjunct means a position is temporary in nature, or is at a reduced FTE. Adjunct should generally not be used for full fiscal or academic year appointments that are reasonably expected to extend beyond a single year, though units have discretion whether or not to use adjunct when such appointments are at less than .75 FTE. Adjunct may not be used for full academic or fiscal year appointments at .75 FTE or greater.

Administrative personnel and administrators means employees, including vice presidents, deans, and academic department heads, whose Notice of Appointment incorporates the ABOR Conditions of Administrative Service (ABOR-PM 6-101, et seq.) as the conditions of their employment.

Appointment means employment that is evidenced by either a Notice of Appointment or a Notice of Reappointment.

Career-track faculty means those members of the faculty whose Notice of Appointment incorporates the ABOR Conditions of Faculty Service (ABOR-PM 6-201, et seq.), who are not eligible for tenure, and who do not have visiting, adjunct, or global titles. "Career track" is also not used with courtesy or joint titles, as these are secondary titles that do not constitute a career.

Clinical Faculty include Clinical Professors and College of Medicine faculty with clinical scholar titles.

Clinical Professors are career-track, visiting, or adjunct faculty employees whose Notice of Appointment incorporates the ABOR Conditions of Faculty Service (ABOR-PM 6-201, et seq.) who have established themselves by professional experience and expertise over a sustained period of time to be qualified to teach or manage practicum, internship, or practice components of degree programs. Their primary responsibilities include teaching or managing students in the practice requirements of their degree programs in a manner that advances the educational mission of the University in a significant or substantial way. 

Committee on Academic Freedom and Tenure ( CAFT) means a faculty committee that conducts inquiries and hearings regarding recommendations against, or complaints and grievances by or against members of the General Faculty in accordance with ABOR-PM Sections 6-201 and 6-302.

Continuing-eligible academic professional employees means probationary status full-time employees whose Notice of Appointment incorporates the ABOR Conditions of Service for Academic Professionals (ABOR-PM 6-302).

Continuing status academic professional employees means employees whose Notice of Appointment incorporates the ABOR Conditions of Service for Academic Professionals (ABOR-PM 6-302) who have an expectation that the President will renew their appointment for successive appointment periods unless such reappointment is precluded because of their retirement, resignation, dismissal for just cause, or release for budgetary or reorganization reasons.

Courtesy appointments (also referred to as joint appointments) are those that do not involve a split of a faculty member’s FTE salary commitment. Courtesy titles are not eligible for tenure. Such appointments should follow established departmental procedures.

Day means a calendar day. In computing any time period under these policies, the time period expires on the last day of that time period, except when that last day falls on a Saturday, a Sunday, or a University-recognized holiday, in which case the time period will run until 5:00 p.m. of the next day that is not a Saturday, a Sunday, or a University-recognized holiday.

Discrimination means the failure to treat persons equally if the motivation for doing so is based, at least in part, on a protected classification, including race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, or any other classification protected by local, state, or federal law.

Discriminatory action means an employment action that is taken on the basis of a protected classification, including race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, or any other classification protected by local, state, or federal law.

Faculty members means employees whose Notice of Appointment incorporates the Conditions of Faculty Service (ABOR-PM 6-201, et seq.). Faculty members include instructors, lecturers, senior lecturers, principal lecturers, assistant professors, associate professors, professors, professors of practice, research professors, clinical professors, Regents' Professors, or any other employees who otherwise are designated in their Notice of Appointment as holding a faculty position. Faculty members are responsible for the teaching, research, and public service goals and objectives of the University. Faculty members may be tenured, tenure-eligible, career-track, visiting, or adjunct. Any person appointed to a faculty position designated as "visiting," "adjunct," "research," "clinical," or such other title(s), will not be tenured or tenure-eligible and will have no expectation of continued employment beyond the end of their current appointment period.

Full-time means, with respect to tenure eligibility, that an individual holds a .51 or greater full-time equivalent (FTE), regardless of funding.

Full-time Equivalent (or FTE) means a numerical designator for an appointment based on 100 per cent.

General Faculty means members of the General Faculty as defined in Article II of the Constitution of the General Faculty of the University of Arizona.

Global Lecturer and Global Professor are titles used with faculty appointments on the University's international campuses. Global Lecturer is the appropriate title for faculty who are designated campus colleagues because they are employed by a partner institution, while Global Professor is the title to be used for those employed by the University. Like faculty with visiting and adjunct titles, global lecturers and professors serve in enrollment-dependent positions and are not entitled to notices of nonrenewal or annual reviews and will not have ranked titles.

Harassment means a specific form of discrimination. Harassment is unwelcome behavior, based on a protected classification, that is sufficiently severe or pervasive to create an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment for academic pursuits, employment, or participation in ABOR or University sponsored programs or activities. Additionally, sexual harassment, whether between individuals of the same or different sex, also includes unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that is made, either explicitly or implicitly, a condition of an individual's education, employment, or participation in ABOR or University-sponsored programs or activities, or the submission to or rejection of such conduct is a factor in decisions affecting that individual's education, employment, or participation in ABOR or University sponsored programs or activities.

Instructor means employees whose Notice of Appointment incorporates the ABOR Conditions of Faculty Service (ABOR-PM 6-201, et seq.) who are career-track, visiting, or adjunct faculty, and whose primary responsibility is teaching undergraduate or clinical courses.

Joint appointments (also referred to as courtesy appointments) are those that do not involve a split of a faculty member’s FTE salary commitment. Joint titles are not eligible for tenure. Such appointments should follow established departmental procedures.

Just cause for removal, dismissal, suspension, or other disciplinary action includes, but is not limited to:

• Demonstrated incompetence or dishonesty in professional activities related to teaching, service, research, publication, or other creative endeavors;
• Unsatisfactory performance over a specified period of time and failure to improve that performance to a satisfactory level after being provided a reasonable opportunity to do so by the University;
• Substantial neglect of or refusal to carry out properly assigned duties;
• Personal conduct that substantially impairs the individual's fulfillment of properly assigned duties and responsibilities;
• Engaging in acts involving moral turpitude;
• Misrepresentation in securing an appointment, promotion, or tenure at the University; or
• A proven violation of ABOR or University rules and regulations (including the Code of Conduct or any other disciplinary rules). Such violations will be assessed according to the gravity of the offense, its repetition, or its negative consequences upon others.

Laureate is a title that can be used with the approval of the President for emeritus, nontenure, or designated-campus-colleague appointments for faculty with nationally and internationally recognized achievements that will bring strategic benefits to the University.

Lecturers, Senior Lecturers, or Principal Lecturers means employees whose Notice of Appointment incorporates the ABOR Conditions of Faculty Service (ABOR-PM 6-201, et seq.) who are career-track, visiting, or adjunct faculty, and whose primary responsibility is teaching undergraduate or clinical courses.

Multiple-year Appointment means an appointment to a faculty position as a lecturer, senior lecturer, or principal lecturer, assistant/associate/full professor of practice, assistant/associate/full research professor or assistant/associate/full clinical professor, or an appointment as an academic professional employee for a period longer than one academic or fiscal year but not more than three academic or fiscal years.

Nontenure-eligible is the term the Arizona Board of Regents uses for those faculty employees whose Notice of Appointment incorporates the ABOR Conditions of Faculty Service (ABOR-PM 6-201, et seq.) who are not eligible for tenure. The University of Arizona uses the term “career-track” or the “visiting,” “adjunct,” or "global" modifiers in place of nontenure-eligible in its policies and official documents.

Notice or Notify means written notification, given within the appropriate time limit, by: 1) hand-delivery to the employee; 2) regular mail, either to the employee's last known address or to an address to which the employee has specifically requested such notices be sent; or 3) to the employee's official University e-mail account.

Notice of Appointment means the document, signed by the University President, making an initial appointment for an employee. After an employee's original hiring, a Notice of Appointment will issue only upon the occurrence of the following: the appointment of an individual hired as an "Adjunct" or "Visiting" faculty member; the change of or addition to an employee's title; an employee's change in department, college or division; a change in an employee's conditions of service; the awarding of tenure or continuing status; a promotion; or a rehire. Other actions, including salary adjustments and changes in status (e.g., leave without pay, sabbatical leave, change in FTE) will not require a new Notice of Appointment.

Notice of Reappointment means the document, signed by the University President, renewing an employee's appointment.

Part-time means, with respect to tenure eligibility requirements, less than .51 FTE employment with the University.

Personnel matter means a matter related to compensation, appointment, renewal, retention, nonrenewal, award or denial of tenure, promotion, resignation, suspension, dismissal, discipline, and release of appointed personnel.

President means the President of the University of Arizona or the President's designated representative.

Probationary status mean the status of a continuing-eligible employee who will be reviewed for continuing status in accordance with procedures outlined in ABOR-PM 6-302.

Professional and intellectual freedom means the right and responsibility to exercise judgment within the standards of the employee's profession. Professional and intellectual freedom is defined as "academic freedom" for employees involved in teaching or research.

Professional employees are defined under ABOR-PM 6-301, General Provisions and Definitions for Conditions of Service for Academic and Service Professionals.

Professors of Practice means career-track, visiting, or adjunct faculty employees whose Notice of Appointment incorporates the ABOR Conditions of Faculty Service (ABOR-PM 6-201, et seq.) who have established themselves by expertise, achievements, and reputation over a sustained period of time to be distinguished professionals in an area of practice or discipline.

Promotion and tenure criteria mean those written standards established by each department and the University.

Research Professors means career-track, visiting, or adjunct faculty employees whose Notice of Appointment incorporates the ABOR Conditions of Faculty Service (ABOR-PM 6-201, et seq.) who have established themselves by expertise, achievements, and reputation over a sustained period of time to be distinguished scholars and researchers. The primary responsibilities of such employees are to engage in, be responsible for, or oversee a significant area of research or scholarship in a manner that advances the mission of the University in a significant and substantial way.

Service professional employees means employees whose Notice of Appointment incorporates the ABOR Conditions of Service for Service Professionals (ABOR-PM 6-303). They include non-faculty, non-classified employees whose professional activities support the mission of the University in one or more of the following ways: (1) applying specialized, technical or advanced knowledge or experience that typically requires formal advanced education; (2) performing creative, innovative, or imaginative work; (3) providing middle to upper level management of operations through the direct leadership of personnel; (4) having significant impact on the selection, compensation, or evaluation of employees; (5) planning and effectiveness of the work environment; (6) making independent decisions in matters of significance at the University's request; and (7) exercising professional discretion and expertise.

Shared appointments (also referred to as split appointments) are those that involve a split of a faculty member’s FTE salary commitment between departments. Such appointments should be made following the Guidelines for Split Appointments on the Provost’s website to establish shared assumptions on duties and related considerations such as Indirect Cost Recovery. Such appointments should follow established departmental procedures.

Split appointments (also referred to as shared appointments) are those that involve a split of a faculty member’s FTE salary commitment between departments. Such appointments should be made following the Guidelines for Split Appointments on the Provost’s website to establish shared assumptions on duties and related considerations such as Indirect Cost Recovery. Such appointments should follow established departmental procedures.

Tenure-eligible faculty means having an opportunity to be reviewed for tenure.

Termination means the cessation of the employment relationship between the University and the employee for any reason.

Unconstitutional action means a violation of constitutional due process or equal protection or a denial of rights under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.

University means the University of Arizona.

Visiting is a modifier used with faculty titles that are not eligible for tenure. Visiting is used with faculty titles for individuals in temporary appointments or in appointments that are not expected to be renewed multiple times and who have sufficient stature with respect to research, creative activities, or professional or personal achievements such that a "visiting" title is appropriate.

 

rev. 10/05/2023: Included pregnancy in defined terms Discrimination and Discriminatory act to clarify that pregnancy discrimination is prohibited.

rev. 08/03/2023 [non-substantive - added links to ABOR policies, revised gender specific pronouns to non-gender specific pronouns]

rev. 1/13/2020

rev. 9/26/2019

rev. 8/13/18

rev. 6/16/17

The University of Arizona is an equal opportunity, affirmative action institution. The University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or genetic information in its programs and activities. The following persons have been designated to handle inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policies:

Deputy Title IX Coordinator for Faculty and Staff
Mary Beth Tucker
Office of Institutional Equity
Vice President, Equity and Title IX
Old Main, Room 200
Phone (520) 621-9438                           

ADA/504 Compliance Officer
Amanda Kraus
Disability Resource Center
Executive Director, Disability Resource Center
El Portal Building, Room 304
Phone (520) 621-6501           

Anyone who believes they experienced sexual harassment or discrimination should call the Office of Institutional Equity (OIE) to be connected to an individual with expertise in these areas for advice on handling the situation and information on filing a complaint. The University’s nondiscrimination policies, including sexual harassment, are available on the OIE website (http://equity.arizona.edu/).

This chapter covers the conditions of employment for professional employees whose Notices of Appointment specify they are academic or service professional employees. As detailed in Arizona Board of Regents Policy Manual (ABOR-PM) 6-301 and 6-302, academic professional employees are non-classified employees involved with research or teaching programs who require professional and intellectual freedom and who report to a person below the level of vice president, including librarians, cooperative extensionists, museum curators, and researchers. As detailed in ABOR-PM 6-301 and 6-303, service professionals are non-classified employees whose professional activities support the mission of the Board of Regents (hereafter "Board") and the University in one or more of the following ways: applying specialized, technical or advanced knowledge or experience that typically requires formal advanced education; performing creative, innovative, or imaginative work; providing middle to upper-level management of operations through the direct leadership of personnel; having significant impact on the selection of employees, compensation, or evaluation of employees; planning and effectiveness of the work environment; making independent decisions in matters of significance at the University; and exercising professional discretion and expertise.

The Notice of Appointment or Reappointment is the University's official employment contract. The President or the President's designee will determine the type of appointment for academic and service professional employees. The Notice of Appointment for academic professional employees will designate whether they are "continuing-eligible," "continuing status," "limited appointment," "year-to-year," or "multiple-year." The Notice of Appointment for service professional employees will designate whether their appointment is "academic year," "fiscal year," or "limited appointment." Renewals of appointments for all academic professional employees on academic year appointments occur on or about August 15. Renewals of appointments for professional employees on fiscal year appointments occur on July 1. No oral or written communication made prior to or after the execution of a Notice of Appointment or Reappointment that is inconsistent with the Conditions of Service for Academic and Service Professionals in ABOR-PM 6-301, et seq. or University Policy will become a part of the conditions of employment. Appointments and renewals of appointments will be for the period designated in the Notice of Appointment or Reappointment. Appointments become effective when approved by the President. Academic and service professional employees may hold multiple appointments. However, the total appointments can be no more than one full-time equivalent.

If an appointment depends on funding from a source other than state appropriations, that fact will be stated in the Notice of Appointment or Reappointment. Such appointments may be reduced in FTE and/or salary or terminated to the extent the nonstate funding is no longer available. Termination based on lack of funding does not apply to continuing status appointments.

If academic or service professional employees require a license or certification to complete their duties, their appointments are conditional upon obtaining and maintaining the license or certification.

All references to the President in this chapter will include the President's designee.
 

6-301. Conditions of Service for Academic and Service Professionals

6-302  Conditions of Service for Academic Professionals

6-303  Conditions of Service for Service Professionals

Rev. 8/23/2016