UNIVERSITY OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS
TEACHING FACULTY POLICY MANUAL
Approved by the Board of Trustees
February 22, 2003
NOTE BENE:
This Faculty Policy Manual was approved by the Board of Trustees of the University of the Virgin Islands on February 22, 2003 with the understanding that select sections, so identified by the administration and faculty executive team as needing further work, would be brought back to the Trustees for final ratification as soon as possible, starting with the June 2003 meeting of the Board. Until these changes are approved, this Manual as approved on February 22, 2003 is the official faculty policy manual of the University of the Virgin Islands.
OPERATIONAL NOTES
1. Since the number of years required for tenure eligibility has been reduced from 10 to 7, faculty who feel they may be adversely affected by this new regulation may determine to hold on to the former regulation if they so wish. Such faculty should inform the Office of Academic Administration before June 14, 2003 so that this notation will be placed in their files. It shall be understood that those who do not indicate such to the Office have chosen to utilize the new regulation regarding eligibility for tenure.
2. The newly approved guidelines for the annual faculty evaluations will become effective for the 2003-2004 academic year and will not be used to evaluate faculty for academic year 2002-2003.
3. It is to be further noted that the Appendices were not reviewed by the Trustees and will need immediate attention for possible revisions before taking to the Board at their future meetings.
____________(Signed)_________________
Dr. Gwen-Marie Moolenaar, Provost
February 22, 2003
This document shall be maintained by
the Provost and published in electronic format. Changes will be promptly
entered as soon as required approvals are obtained. Printed copies of each revised document shall be placed in archives in the Provost's Office, the Offices of the campus Chancellors, and the campus libraries.
New faculty members will be issued a
current copy of this document.
CONTENTS
Page
l. Principles 4
2. Full-Time Faculty 4
3. Terms of Employment 5
4. Regular Pre-Tenure Faculty 5
5. Tenured Faculty 7
6. Faculty Responsibilities 11
7. Professional Activities and Scholarly Research 12
8, Outside Activities 13
9. Faculty
Compensation 13
10.
Annual
Evaluation, Advancement in Salary, and Promotion in Rank 16
11.
Qualities Desired in Faculty 20
12.
Leaves of Absence 21
13.
Sabbatical Leave 22
14.
Sick Leave 24
15.
Brief Absences 26
16.
Death of a Faculty Member 26
17.
Retirement 26
18.
Waiver of Tuition Fees for Faculty Members and Immediate Families 27
19.
Termination of Employment by Faculty Members 27
20.
Termination of Employment by the
University 27
21.
Grievance Procedure 30
22.
Nepotism 33
23.
Academic
Freedom 33
This Policy governing the
employment of faculty at the University of the Virgin Islands is based on
principles, which are described below:
a Members of the teaching faculty shall
enjoy the rights and privileges of academic freedom in their teaching and
research. They shall be afforded due
process in all procedures related to appointment, promotion and tenure.
b The University seeks to achieve a
competitive advantage in attracting and retaining an outstanding faculty that
is committed to its mission. (See Appendix
I for the University’s Mission Statement.)
c The faculty must be committed to
excellence in the areas of teaching, research, and public service that support
the University's mission. Because this
is primarily a teaching institution, research in the pedagogy of the academic
disciplines is strongly encouraged, as are activities that enhance the success
rate of students in developing the intellectual skills and competencies that
characterize a well educated UVI graduate.
a Positions-Definitions
i Tenure-based positions are
the faculty positions which constitute the base on which the number of tenured
positions in a division is computed.
ii Non-tenure-based positions are budgeted positions that do not lead to tenure.
b Appointments
The policies and procedures contained in
this manual apply to the employment of the full-time teaching faculty of the
University of the Virgin Islands.
Members of the faculty are employed by the University in accordance with
policies and procedures established by the Board of Trustees.
i Full-time Faculty
Full-time faculty are faculty who
carry a workload equivalent to 24 or more credit hours an academic year
(normally 12 credits per semester). The
full-time faculty of the University are appointed in three principal
categories:
(a) Tenured
Faculty
Tenured faculty are faculty who are on a continuous contract in a tenure-based position absent adequate cause for termination. Eligibility for tenure
and procedures for obtaining tenure are described in Section 5 of this policy manual.
(b) Pre-tenured
Faculty
Pre-tenured faculty are tenure eligible
members of the faculty who are employed in tenure-based positions by contracts
that are renewable at the option of the University. The duration of employment of pre-tenured
faculty shall be fixed by contract.
Contracts of pre-tenured faculty may be for periods of one, two, or
three years. A new contract may be
offered to a pre-tenured faculty member depending on the performance of the
faculty member under an existing or prior contract. Except for terminal contracts and contracts
for visiting faculty, if the University does not intend to offer a new contract
to a pre-tenured faculty member at the expiration of his or her current
contract, notice will be given according to the terms of Section 4c. Section 4 further describes pre-tenured
faculty.
(c) Visiting Faculty
Visiting faculty are employed by contract for periods not normally exceeding one academic year. Contracts may be renewed if funding sources and/or other circ