Criteria for Evaluation of Range Elevation
Temporary faculty shall be considered eligible for review for range elevation if
- they have no more service-based salary increases (SSI) eligibility and have served five years in their current range.
In addition, lecturers and temporary librarian faculty unit employees who have not exhausted SSI eligibility by the beginning of the 2022/23 academic year may qualify for eligibility for range elevation based on sufficient full-time adjusted service (FTAS). For each academic or fiscal year, FTAS is defined as the average time base (FTE) worked over the year, divided by 0.8, and up to a maximum of 1.0 for that year. For individuals working in more than one department at a campus, eligibility is defined separately for each department. FTAS should be added up for every year from 2021/22 to the point where the faculty member entered the current range. Individuals with six or more years of FTAS in their current range as of the beginning of the 2021/22 academic year shall be eligible for range elevation.
The FTAS process to apply for range elevation will remain in effect through the conclusion of the current collective bargaining agreement on June 30, 2024, and will apply to academic and fiscal years 2021/2022, 2022/2023, and 2023/2024. Eligibility for range elevation via FTAS will continue to be based on FTAS earned by the conclusion of the prior Spring semester.
Applications for range elevation should include evidence of effective teaching performance as well as evidence of currency in the faculty member's field.
A terminal degree will be considered a requirement for consideration of elevation to ranges C or D if appropriate to the faculty member’s assignment, based on the faculty member's performance of the essential duties of the position, and if specified as a requirement for employment in the faculty member's appointment letter.
Performance Reviews of Temporary Faculty Members for Range Elevation
Annually, at least thirty days before the file closure date, the Provost's office shall publish a list of all temporary faculty members eligible for range elevation. Those faculty members who wish to be considered for range elevation shall submit a working personnel action file (WPAF) to the college dean's office by the date indicated in the RTP Calendar. On that date, the file shall be considered closed for the purpose of the evaluation. The Provost may extend this timeline for extraordinary circumstances.
Temporary faculty members under consideration for range elevation shall be reviewed by the appropriate department/division/school peer review committee, the department/division chair or school director (if not a member of the department/division/school peer review committee), the college committee, the dean, the Provost, and the President.
At all levels of review in the evaluation process, reviewers are responsible for evaluating the work of the candidates and for making a recommendation regarding range elevation in light of the specific criteria and standards of the college and department/division/school. Reviewers are, therefore, responsible for conveying to other levels of review the relative merit of the individual candidate's performance from the perspective of the candidate's academic discipline. If deficiencies are found, the reviewers are responsible for making recommendations for improvement.
The candidate for range elevation shall be notified of the President's decision no later than April 30.
Range elevation decisions are subject to appeal, as outlined in Article 12 of the Agreement. The Senate shall elect, annually, during Spring Semester, an Appeals Committee consisting of five tenured faculty members, with no more than one from any one college. The committee shall review all range elevation decisions for which an appeal was filed, based on the relevant University, college, and department/division/school range elevation policies. A vote of the majority of the committee is required to overturn a denial of range elevation; decisions of the committee are final and binding on all parties.