3.3 - Types of Appointments
3.3.1 - Regular Appointment
A regular appointment is an appointment to a tenure-track position. It normally begins as a three-year appointment and, if college performance and development expectations are met, may be renewed for two additional two-year terms and may eventually lead to tenured status.
3.3.2 - Term Appointment
A term appointment is an appointment which expires on a definite date beyond which the college bears no formal obligations to the appointee except those required by law. A term appointment does not lead to tenured status. A person with a term appointment can be considered for subsequent regular appointments.
3.3.3 - Visiting Appointment
A visiting appointment is a term appointment to a person on leave from a position to which they will return at the end of the visiting appointment.
3.3.4 - Reduced-Load Appointments
A reduced-load appointment is a regular or term appointment which involves teaching on a less than full-time basis but not less than 50% of a full load. Such an appointment differs from a part-time appointment in that it is an appointment to the teaching faculty and it carries other faculty responsibilities beyond teaching. Conditions that apply to such appointments are the following.
3.3.4.1 - Other Responsibilities
Reduced-load appointees shall participate in the non-teaching responsibilities of the faculty in proportion (roughly) to their teaching load.
3.3.4.2 - Franchise
Reduced-load appointees shall have the franchise in both the department and the faculty. Their vote shall not be pro-rated.
3.3.4.3 - Appointment
The procedures for new appointments with reduced-load status are the same as those for full-time appointments. Moreover, the credentials and qualifications for reduced-load appointees shall be the same as those for full-time appointees.
3.3.4.4 - Change in Status from Full-Time to Reduced-Load
Persons on full-time appointments may request reduced-load appointments either for a designated period of time or indefinitely. Before granting or denying the request, the president and Board of Trustees shall seek the advice of the appropriate department and its chairperson, the academic deans and provost, and the Professional Status Committee. If a request for a reduced-load appointment for a designated period of time is granted, and if the employment of the person making the request is continued beyond that period (as in the case of tenure or successful, regular reappointments), full-time employment will resume at the end of the period. If a request for indefinite reduced-load status is granted, reappointments or, in the case of tenure, continuous employment will involve a teaching-load of not less than 50% of a full load. No changes in the degree of load may be made without the consent of the faculty member and the provost.
3.3.4.5 - Change in Status from Reduced-Load to Full-Time
A reduced-load appointment does not in itself imply any special consideration towards future full-time reappointment. In particular, if a full-time, tenure-track position opens in a department which has a person on a reduced-load, the reduced-load appointee shall have no special rights to fill the full-time position.
Faculty on a reduced-load appointment may, upon the recommendation of the appropriate department, its chairperson, and the academic dean and provost and with the advice of the Professional Status Committee, be reappointed with full-time status.
3.3.4.6 - Tenure for Reduced-Load Appointees
Reduced-load appointees with regular appointments may be considered for tenure to a reduced-load position after seven years of teaching. Tenure to a reduced-load time position does not preclude annual appointments which exceed reduced load.
3.3.4.7 - Tenure for Reduced-Load Appointees to Full-Time Positions
Persons whose teaching career is a combination of full-time and reduced-load appointments may be considered for tenure to a full-time position after the equivalent of seven years of full-time service and completion of three years of full-time appointment which must immediately precede the year of eligibility for appointment with tenure (the year in which the review occurs plus two years).
3.3.4.8 - Change in Reduced-Load Tenured Position to Full-Time Tenured Position
Persons tenured in reduced-load positions, who at a later date wish to have a tenure appointment to a full-time position, will be eligible for consideration for appointment with tenure to a full-time position provided the conditions in Section 3.3.4.7 are met and a full-time tenure track position is open.
3.3.4.9 - Salary and Benefits
Faculty with reduced-load appointments may be eligible for some of the benefits, pro-rated, depending on FTE load. Details are found in Chapter 7.
3.3.4.10 - Sabbatical
Reduced-load appointees are eligible for sabbatical leave after six years of teaching. The sabbatical salary shall be prorated according to the average teaching load in the previous six years. For faculty members who have taken a family care leave during the preceding six years, this average will be calculated using only the years that did not include the leave.
3.3.4.11 - Travel
Reduced-load faculty are eligible to receive funds for attending professional conferences, etc. on the same basis as full-time faculty except that the funds granted shall be prorated in accord with teaching load.
3.3.5 - Shared Appointments
Two persons may be appointed to share a single position. For most purposes (salary, benefits, evaluation, etc.), each person is considered to have a reduced-load appointment and the conditions of Section 3.3.4 apply to each. However, the following special conditions apply:
- It is not required that each of two persons have at least a 50% teaching load if they share at least a full teaching load.
- Faculty sharing a single faculty position will be provided with the facilities and technical support necessary to carry out their teaching, research, and advising as effectively as possible, within the budgetary restraints of a single position. These restraints could mean sharing of facilities or technology in cases where this would be feasible and when space and budget limitation make it necessary.
- In assigning student advisees and forming departmental and college committees, expectations for two persons sharing one position should not exceed those for one person holding the same position. Additional assignments may be made, however, at the request of the individuals. Department chairs should take particular care to limit college expectations in non-teaching as well as teaching assignments so as not to exceed the proportion of full-time work assigned to each individual.
- Each appointee to the shared position is considered a voting member of the department and the college, but must observe the college's policy on employment of relatives, Section 6.7.
If an additional opening is declared in the department in which two individuals currently share a single position, the usual procedures for the conduct of a national search will be followed. Individuals holding reduced-load appointments may apply for such an opening, but they will receive no special preference over others, and the college will be under no obligation to add to their teaching assignment rather than hire another candidate. Selection from among the pool of applicants will be made by the department, the dean, and the Professional Status Committee on the basis of departmental needs and candidate qualifications.
3.3.6 - Part-Time Appointments
Part-time appointees are members of the teaching staff; however, they are not members of the faculty. The appointments are normally for one semester. The appointment procedures and guidelines for salary are available in the Provost's Office.
3.3.7 - Adjunct Appointments
An adjunct appointment is a term appointment to an adjunct position.
3.3.7.1 - Eligibility for Adjunct Status
Persons are eligible for adjunct status if they:
- have served as a part-time instructor at Calvin College for at least five years and ten courses; or
- have the professional qualifications for faculty membership and serve a special role in an academic department; e.g., teach a course on a special topic, or provide expertise to the faculty; or
- have an appointment with an institution with which Calvin College is affiliated and operates a joint program; or
- are members of the faculty who have teaching responsibilities in an academic department outside of their primary appointment; e.g., an administrator who teaches in an academic department or a faculty member who teaches in another department.
3.3.7.2 - Appointment of Adjuncts
Adjuncts who do not hold that status by virtue of their positions will be appointed in a manner similar to persons with term appointments: a department recommendation based on letters of recommendation, interview, evidence of Christian commitment, and qualifications for the assigned responsibilities.
The appointment will be for a maximum of two years and reappointment will be based on performance evaluations and recommendations from the department and academic dean.
3.3.7.3 - Remuneration of Adjuncts
The remuneration for adjuncts will vary depending on their assigned responsibilities. The remuneration can range from no remuneration to an amount equivalent to faculty on regular appointment. For example, those with adjunct status by virtue of their position will normally receive no remuneration. Those whose only responsibility is teaching will be paid on the scale for part-time teaching. They will be placed in an assimilated rank on the same basis as faculty on regular or term appointment and the full range of salary within that rank is available to them as they gain experience. The adjuncts who have responsibilities beyond teaching may be compensated for the additional duties, although the compensation will normally be less than full-time faculty. Finally, those with special assignments will receive compensation as determined by the provost.
3.3.7.4 - Responsibilities of Adjuncts
The adjunct may serve the department in a variety of ways: teaching courses, conducting seminars, giving advice on curricular matters, doing clinical classes, counseling students, or serving as resource persons. The responsibilities as approved by the academic dean will be specified annually. When these include teaching, the amount of teaching will be determined each semester.
3.3.7.5 - Privileges of Adjuncts
The adjunct will be granted the privileges which are normally offered to nonenfranchised members of the staff.
3.3.7.5.1 - Department
Adjuncts do not have the faculty franchise. Departments may grant privileges; such as, participating in department meetings and activities but without a vote on personnel matters.
3.3.7.5.2 - Development
Adjuncts who teach regularly are eligible to participate in on-campus faculty development activities. They are also eligible to apply for travel funds for professional development in the area of their responsibility in proportion to their teaching load and as funds are available.
3.3.7.5.3 - Facilities
The department will provide facilities appropriate to the exercise of the adjunct's responsibility when on campus.
