Office of Academic Affairs, University of Wisconsin System
Academic Personnel Officers Meeting, March 24, 2000
INSTRUCTIONAL ACADEMIC STAFF DISCUSSION - SUMMARY NOTES

Introduction
Academic Personnel Officers from each UW institution met with representatives of UW System Administration on March 24, 2000. The purpose of the meeting was to obtain input to help guide efforts in response to the recommendations made in the Board of Regents 21st Century Study, Teaching Academic Staff in the UW System. The meeting provided a means to discuss Instructional Academic Staff (IAS) personnel policies at each UW System institution. Discussion was facilitated by UW System representatives and was guided by a series of questions organized into four thematic areas: titling, hiring, job security, and policy administration (see attached). The following key points emerged from the discussion:

• Personnel officers are aware of the full array of available IAS titles.
• Institutional complexity and instructional need influence the number of titles used.
• IAS are most often hired to fill short-term, immediate needs.
• Recruitment for short-term IAS is limited in scope to local searches.
• Full-time workload expectations range from 12-15 credits of instruction with limited expectation for service or research.
• Conversion from IAS to faculty is not common, but it does occur under special circumstances.
• Fix-term appointments are made initially for most IAS. There is significant variability among institutions in changes to continuity status for continued service.

The information that follows provides additional detail of the discussion; however, it is not intended to be a comprehensive report of policies and practices at UW institutions.

Titling
The use of IAS titles varies among institutions. A limited number of titles are used by several institutions as a reflection of instructional need. IAS often fill short-term needs for instruction and consequently are appointed as lecturers. Doctoral institutions used a wider array of titles to reflect the nature of IAS work, such as clinical and research IAS.

The determination of titles is typically done at the department level in concert with the Personnel Office at each institution. In many cases, the initial assignment of title to a position is initiated at the department-level and/or at the school/college-level.

Instructional need and IAS credentials influence titling. Some campuses have institutional minimum requirements such as a master's degree for all IAS positions. Departments and schools/colleges have discretion to set additional requirements at most institutions.

Institutional procedures exist at each institution for the promotion of IAS within the category B titling array. Years of service and performance excellence tend to be the primary criteria used to determine advancement. In most cases, employees or supervisors can initiate consideration for promotion.

Hiring
Generally, instructional needs within a department influence whether a position is determined to be faculty or instructional academic staff. If department needs are primarily instructional, with limited or no research or service expectations, positions are likely to be identified as IAS. Tenure management plans at two institutions also impact this determination. Departmental needs are typically channeled through the school/college deans for review and approval.

The scope of the search conducted for an IAS position varies by campus. For part-time IAS positions, local searches tend to be the most common. When IAS positions have longer-term implications, or when they are full-time, many institutions conduct regional or national searches. All institutions have recruitment activity procedures in place. Several campuses advertise locally and regionally at various times of the year to build a pool of IAS candidates. Affirmative action processes guide all recruitment and hiring activities.
Examples of IAS being converted to faculty (tenured or tenure-track) were reported at several campuses. The practice of conversion was not common and when if was reported, special circumstances influenced the change. Frequently, IAS are invited to apply for available faculty positions.
Workload expectations for full-time IAS range from 12-15 credits of teaching, with limited or no expectations for research. Some institutions have services expectations for full-time IAS. Departments vary in their service expectations. It was reported that many IAS choose, on their own, to become involved in activities other than teaching.

Job Security
The most frequent type of appointment for lecturers is fixed term. At some institutions, the fixed term contract becomes renewable after a period of time, e.g., 3 years or more. Years of service also determine when a rolling horizon contract is offered to IAS at some campuses. Institutions make limited use of indefinite appointments for IAS. Some institutions have a maximum number of service years for IAS, e.g., seven years. Still other campuses report that deans choose to limit length of service to two years. When the maximum is reached, the IAS has no opportunity for future appointment. The length of contract parallels the length of teaching assignment at most campuses. If the appointment is to teach during the fall semester, the IAS appointment is made for one semester. Most often, individuals are made aware of contract situations and opportunities for continuity status change by central personnel administration.

Policy Administration
Most institutions have three governance bodies in place to promulgate policies - faculty, academic staff, and student. Policies related to IAS are at various stages of review at each campus. The policies at each institution might be characterized as dynamic, since most campuses indicated they regularly reviewed and revised them on an as needed basis. Typically, IAS policies are communicated at the time of appointment and are also available on each institution's web sites.

Contact Information
For more information, contact Larry Rubin, Assistant Vice President, Office of Academic Affairs, University of Wisconsin System, 1604 Van Hise Hall, 1220 Linden Drive, Madison, WI 53706, 608-262-4717, lrubin@uwsa.edu
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