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.

FTF respondents - Satisfaction

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

Responses

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