Introduction
An indefinite appointment is recognition of an academic staff member’s professional development and her/his contribution to the objectives of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Indefinite appointment confers employment security and may be terminated only for cause or for reasons of budget or program. (Indefinite appointment is an employment status analogous to that held by tenured faculty and permanent classified staff.) The review of probationary academic staff members for promotion to indefinite appointment is thus crucial to their employment status at the University.
Promotion to indefinite appointment may not occur until at least one year of probationary service has been completed at UWM. The entire review process must be completed no later than the end of six years of probationary service (as determined by the effective date of appointment). The review and recommendation which leads to promotion to indefinite status originates with the departmental executive committee (or supervisor when there is no executive committee) and the resulting indefinite status is vested in the department in which the individual’s position is budgeted at the time of promotion to indefinite status. Probationary academic staff members not promoted to indefinite appointment by the end of the 7th year of probationary service will be non-renewed as provided in UWS 10.04 and UWM Chapter 106 of the Academic Staff Personnel Policies and Procedures.
Personnel Policies and Procedures
Promotion to indefinite appointment requires a recommendation by the candidate’s departmental executive committee, a recommendation by the Dean/Division Head after consultation with the Instructional and Research Academic Staff Review Committee (herein IRASRC), and a decision by the Chancellor. Upon receipt of a positive recommendation from the departmental executive committee, the Dean/Division Head shall seek the advice of the IRASRC. The committee shall review the recommendation. The findings of the IRASRC shall be reported in writing to the Dean/Division Head. Once approved by the Chancellor, indefinite status is effective at the start of the next Fall or Spring semester for staff on academic year (C) pay basis and the start of the next quarter for staff on an Annual
(A) pay basis.
Review Criteria
The criteria to be used by the IRASRC in reviewing a candidate’s recommendation for promotion to indefinite status are the following:
- Proficiency in teaching or research and in performing duties and responsibilities as defined in the
job description. - Professional growth and development.
- Service, which might include service to the University, community and professional
organizations.
The above criteria are not necessarily weighted equally, but each should have some documentation in the review file.
Review File Preparation
A review file must be prepared which contains the materials described in Items I through XI below (Item XII is optional). It is the right and responsibility of the candidate to prepare and assemble Items I through X, obtaining documents from the official personnel file as necessary.
After reviewing Items I through VIII, the departmental executive committee will prepare the
Departmental Executive Committee Recommendation Summary (Item IX). The IRASRC will take into consideration both the judgement presented in the Departmental Executive Committee Recommendation Summary and the criteria upon which it is based. It is essential that the Departmental Executive Committee Recommendation Summary be based on factual evidence. If the materials submitted to the IRASRC do not adequately substantiate a particular candidate’s proficiency, the departmental executive committee shall provide additional departmental executive committee materials which will clarify that
committee’s recommendation. The candidate may write a Candidate’s Response to the Departmental Executive Committee’s Recommendation Summary (optiona1) (Item XII). As the final step in preparing the review file for transmittal to the Dean/Division Head, the candidate and the departmental executive committee must certify the contents of the file for Items I through X (Item XI).
Item XII is optional; all other items are required. The absence of any required item must be adequately explained in writing or the review file will be returned to the Dean/Division Head by the IRASRC as incomplete.
The review file will be assembled in the order below, with continuous pagination. One electronic copy of the review file will be transmitted to the Dean/Division Head, who will then forward it to the IRASRC in requesting its advice. The official files of the Committee will include a copy of each candidate’s table of contents, resume, executive committee recommendation, candidate’s response to the executive committee (if applicable), and any correspondence related to the candidate’s review.
Contents of Review File
- Table of Contents (See Appendix A for Sample Table of Contents (PDF))
- Resume
- Chronological Listing of Employment Assignments Counted in the Probationary Period at UWM, including the department or school and the name and title of the immediate supervisor, if any, for each employment assignment. This should include course titles, teaching and supervisory load, and enrollment by semester.
- Job Descriptions Covering All of the Probationary Period Employment
- Related Documents Pertaining to UWM Chapter 104 of the Academic Staff Personnel Policies and Procedures:
- The letter of appointment specifying “general position responsibilities”
- Letters of annual reappointment
- Any changes in general position responsibilities specified in writing to the candidate during the appointment period
- All Performance Reviews (see UWM Chapter 105 of the Academic Staff Personnel Policies and Procedures)
- Summary of Teaching or Research Activities, which should include A and B or C, and may include other sections as appropriate
Teaching Academic Staff must respond to A and B and Research Academic Staff must respond to item C.- Contributions in the development and revision of courses and teaching in creative, meaningful ways
- A summary or records of the teaching evaluations used by the department for each semester of appointment
- Contributions to research activities, including but not limited to the following: peer-reviewed publications; reports; grants and contracts; recognition specifically related to research activities; software and hardware development; and scholarly presentations
- Written opinions of academic staff, faculty, and non-educator professional colleagues
- Written statements or recommendations of present and past students
- Supervisory responsibilities: courses directly supervised, supervision of assistants
- Summary of Professional Activities and Service:
- Service to University, college or school and departmental committees
- Services to professional organizations: membership, offices held, committees, etc.
- Awards, honors, and certificates
- Presentations at workshops, institutes, seminars. etc.
- Continuing professional education (CPE)
- Publications, including manuals and teaching aids (single copies of lengthy materials will be sufficient)
- Participation or involvement in student activities
- Departmental Executive Committee Recommendation Summary:
- An assessment of the candidate’s performance as set forth in the relevant job description(s)
- Judgmental statements which indicate the probable future contributions of the candidate
- An evaluation of the candidate’s professional growth and development activities as presented in Item VIII
- An explanation of the omission of any materials requested by the IRASRC
- Candidate’s Request for Open/Closed Meeting
- Letter stating intention of candidate
- Certification of the Contents of the Review File (Items I through IX) by the candidate and the departmental executive committee (See Appendix B for Sample Certification Statement.)
- Candidate’s Response to the Departmental Executive Committee’s Recommendation Summary (optional)
- Editorially Revised Feb. 2016
- Revised September 2018