Duke University - Trinity College of Arts & Sciences

Part-time and Non-Regular Rank Faculty in Trinity College of Arts & Sciences

Sample Appointment Letter From Chair to Non-Regular Rank Faculty

Employment Procedures

Departments maintain criteria for all titles in this group used by the department.⁽¹⁾ Once budgetary permission has been received, departments recruit these faculty through a variety of means that need not (but may) include a national search. Documents in the file of the successful candidate will include, at a minimum, a letter of application, a CV, and a transcript from the university having granted the candidate's highest degree. It may include other scholarly items and letters of reference as determined by the department.

Department chairs and program directors issue candidates appointment letters that state the appointment's title, length, and compensation, describe the appointment's duties, and set a precise reply deadline. The appointment letter should either have appended to it or sent soon after its acceptance a full description of the courses faculty will teach, including the requirement that the instructor prepare course outlines and submit them to the chair (or his/her designee) for review one week prior to the beginning of classes each semester, unless the course has a syllabus predetermined by the department. Candidates are responsible for satisfying all Immigration and Naturalization requirements as well as all requirements of the Internal Revenue Service in order to become eligible to receive pay.

Part-time faculty and some non-regular rank faculty do not qualify for university benefits. In order to receive anything other than federally mandated benefits (e.g., Duke contribution to FICA), faculty must be employed full time and receive pay over, at least, nine consecutive months.

Faculty Orientation

All new part-time and non-regular rank faculty must participate in an orientation session conducted by the department chair or his/her designee. This session will guide new faculty on a walking tour of the department and its facilities, describe conventions or safety requirements for these facilities, introduce new faculty to office staff and departmental officers, and distribute written guidelines and policies for faculty. These written materials will include

1) A copy of this set of policies

2) A departmental directory.

3) A description of departmental office policies and procedures. These will include information about:

a) the availability of secretarial and clerical services,

b) departmental mail,

c) telephone and facsimile usage,

d) computer and internet access and support,

e) how supplemental course materials are to be reproduced and paid for,

f) the availability of student copying facilities in the Bryan Center (departments should not reproduce student copies that they use in their class presentations),

g) how the department distributes information and announcements, and

h) any other departmental policies not included here.

4) An explanation of departmental course sequences and course pre-requisites, where pertinent. The chair will also inform instructors how they may determine that students in their courses have satisfied all prerequisites, if appropriate.

5) Information about class meeting times. Classes at Duke meet at these times:

6) The departmental attendance policy for students or a statement about the variety of attendance policies in the department.

7) A description of the ACES registration system, of how faculty will receive course rosters, of how students add or drop courses during the semester's first two weeks, and of the procedure for permitting students to withdraw from a course.

8) A blank sample teacher/course evaluation form that students will use at the end of the course. All faculty, including part-time faculty, are required to have their students evaluate them and the course at the end of each semester.

9) Policies and forms specific to the department and copies of the University policy on harassment and of the Duke Community Standard.

10) For faculty teaching for the first time, any materials the department finds helpful concerning the commencement of a class and its conduct.

The orientation session should also provide information on the facilities and services provided faculty at Duke, including parking, the Duke card, library services, the bookstore and procedures for ordering books, audio-visual aids and equipment availability, recreational facilities, and varsity athletics.

Faculty Responsibilities to Students

On January 24, 1985, the Undergraduate Faculty Council of Arts and Sciences endorsed the following statement for inclusion in the Faculty Handbook (pp. 6/1 ff.):

"The Duke faculty takes its teaching very seriously. Members of the faculty expect Duke students to meet high standards of performance and behavior. It is only appropriate, therefore, that the faculty adheres to comparably high standards in dealing with students. The following list of specific faculty responsibilities is predicated on the perception that students are fellow members of the university community, deserving of respect and consideration in their dealings with faculty.

"Class attendance. In accordance with the Faculty Handbook, instructors will make every effort to attend all class meetings.

"Course content. Instructors will update their courses periodically to reflect the latest scholarship in the fields they teach.

"Grading. Instructors will make clear at the outset how grades will be determined, what work in the course will be graded, and what standards will be applied.

"Letters of recommendation. Students depend upon faculty recommendations when applying for jobs or graduate school. If a faculty member agrees to write such a letter, it will be prepared promptly, accurately, and thoroughly.

"Office hours. Faculty members will be available in their offices at least two hours per week. If unable to keep those hours, a faculty member will post a note to that effect.

"Scheduling of Examinations, Papers, and Other Exercises. Examination schedules and deadlines for term papers will be established early in the semester and kept.

"Syllabuses. At the beginning of each semester, faculty members will distribute course syllabuses to their classes in order to provide students with a clear prospectus."

Therefore,

1) Part-time faculty should receive a statement of the department's final examination policy. Final examinations must be given at the time published every semester in the official examination schedule. Further, final examinations must be retained by the instructor (or filed with the departmental secretary) for at least one year past the end of the semester.

2) All faculty are required to hold office hours. Instructors must announce office hours at the beginning of the semester and keep them throughout the semester. Unless the department's standard is different, faculty should make themselves available to students at least two hours per week. Office hours should be published in the syllabus, posted on the instructor's office door, and filed with the department office.

3) Faculty are required to meet all classes to which they are assigned. On occasions where instructors cannot meet the class because of illness, family emergency, or professional obligations, faculty must inform the chair (or his/her designee) at least one week in advance of the absence and describe how the work will be made up. In the case of last-minute emergencies, faculty must call the departmental office and ask the secretary to inform the students that the class has been canceled.

4) Faculty must publish a grading policy; the department will furnish one if there is a department-wide standard.

Faculty Supervision and Evaluation

1) Departments will identify individuals to supervise and evaluate part-time and visiting instructors. Departments will also fully describe the procedures for supervising and evaluating these instructors, listing, for example, what kinds of evaluation instruments will be used, any provisions for class observation by the supervisor, and what exhibits and documents the faculty must provide the supervisor to facilitate evaluation.

2) For faculty participating in a multi-section course where requirements are identical, the department will offer a full introduction to the course, to its administration, to its supervision, and to the division of duties among faculty, as appropriate.

[1] Faculty in these categories include the titles of (Senior) Lecturing Fellow, (Senior) Research Scientist, Research Associate, Artist in Residence, Instructor, Scholar in Residence, and any title modified by the words "Adjunct," "Visiting," or "Part-time."