Ranks Outside the Tenure Structure (OTS)
Appointment, Reappointment and Promotion
The purpose of this document is to provide the resources to understand faculty appointment, reappointment and promotion processes in the School of Arts & Sciences (A&S). The information provided here is a summary of policies and guidelines established across the University for various faculty position types and ranks.
Three documents govern the hiring, reappointment and promotion of faculty at Brandeis University. Tenure-line faculty and outside the tenure structure faculty (OTS) have their titles and attributes defined in the Faculty Handbook, which is periodically updated and stored on the Provost’s website. Tenure and promotion processes are laid out in detail in the Handbook for Tenure-line faculty. While OTS faculty are defined in part in the Handbook, their reappointment and promotion processes are explained in greater detail in the Contract Faculty Guidelines, issued in 2009. The vast majority of part-time faculty are in the Union (there are limited exceptions); their contracts are governed by the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
The term "OTS faculty" covers a number of position types. The type of position is determined by the dean in their authorization to search/hire. Position types in A&S include the following:
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Ongoing ("renewable") appointments: predominantly full-time and multi-year (but can be part time and may involve an initial appointment of one year). Faculty occupying these positions usually come to Brandeis through a national search.
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Ongoing ("renewable") percentage-FTE appointments: part-time and multi-year. These positions are held by well-established or distinguished professional practitioners who join academia. They are appointed at the rank of associate professor of the practice or professor of the practice, respectively, on a multi-year basis.
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Temporary per-course appointments: Predominantly part-time (union-eligible) and up to one year (but can multi-year). Temporary per-course appointments may also be full-time (and possibly multi-year) but, as full-time appointments, they would not be union-eligible. These positions are typically short-term as they provide cover for temporary absences and/or address an anticipated, short-term increase in demand for courses in a particular area of the curriculum. Part-time, per-course appointments are paid at the CBA-specified per-course rate. Responsibilities include teaching; they do not include service. Where ongoing demand for a course (with healthy enrollments) materializes over time, these appointments have the potential to become multi-year.
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Temporary percentage-FTE appointments (union-eligible): Part-time and predominantly one year (but can be multi-year). These positions are typically short-term as they provide cover for temporary absences and/or address an anticipated, short-term increase in demand for courses in a particular area of the curriculum. They are paid a percentage of a full-time salary and include service responsibilities in addition to teaching.
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Temporary full-time appointments: Full-time and predominantly one year (but can be multi-year). These positions are typically short-term as they provide cover for temporary absences and/or address an anticipated, short-term increase in demand for courses in a particular area of the curriculum. They are paid a salary and include service responsibilities in addition to teaching.
Additional Definitions
- CBA: Collective Bargaining Agreement, the agreement between the university and part-time unionized faculty
- FTE: Full-time Equivalent
- OTS: Outside the Tenure Structure, a designation for all professorial ranks granted without tenure
Academic Rank
- Instructor
- In A&S, the OTS version of this rank is typically only used in the Department of Mathematics.
- Lecturer or Senior Lecturer
- Assistant Professor, Associate Professor or Professor — see "Lecturer or Senior Lecturer"
- Visiting Faculty
- In-Residence
- Associate Professor of the Practice or Professor of the Practice
- Adjunct (prefix to Rank)
- In A&S, adding "Adjunct" as a prefix to a rank denotes a faculty member whose primary employment is outside the university
- Assistant Research Professor, Associate Research Professor or Research Professor
- In A&S, the research professor ranks denote faculty whose primary responsibility is the conduct of externally funded research
Instructor
- Appointment:
- Authorization to conduct national search from dean
- Typically a one-time, three-year appointment
- Refer to Faculty Handbook and Contract Faculty Guidelines
- Reappointment: Reappointment does not typically apply
- Promotion: Promotion does not typically apply
Lecturer or Senior Lecturer
Visiting Faculty
Appointment
- Authorization to hire from dean
- Appointment of 1-2 years
- Refer to Faculty Handbook and gift agreement (where applicable)
Reappointment
- Authorization to hire from dean
- Appointment of 1-2 years
Promotion
Promotion does not typically apply
In-Residence
Appointment
- Authorization to hire from dean
- Appointment of 1-2 years
- Refer to Faculty Handbook
Reappointment
- Authorization to hire from dean
- Appointment of 1-2 years
- Refer to Faculty Handbook
Promotion
Promotion does not typically apply
Associate Professor of the Practice or Professor of the Practice
Adjunct
(prefix to Rank)
Appointment
- Authorization to hire from dean
- Appointment of 1-2 semesters
- Refer to CBA
Reappointment
- Authorization to hire from dean
- Appointment of 1-2 semesters
- Refer to CBA
Promotion
Promotion does not typically apply
Assistant Research Professor, Associate Research Professor or Research Professor
Appointment
- Authorization to hire from dean
- Appointment contingent on external funding
Reappointment
- Recommendation from department/program to dean
- Reappointment contingent on external funding
Promotion
- Recommendation from department/program to dean
- Promotion contingent on external funding