2.2 Faculty Contracts

All faculty contracts include the policies and procedures governing faculty employment as described in Part II (Section 2.0 and subsections: "Contractual Policies and Procedures").

2.2.1 Types of Contracts 2.2.1.1 Term Contracts

Term contracts are limited to the term of employment stated in the contract and carry no presumption of renewal.  Term contracts do not lead to tenure.  Should a faculty member with a term appointment subsequently receive a probationary appointment, the length of the probationary period prior to tenure review is determined in accord with Section 2.3.6, "Initial Rank and Length of the Probationary Period." Compensation and responsibilities are ordinarily worked out and agreed upon in writing between the appointee and the divisional dean [and/or the dean of the School of Theology], in consultation with the department chair. See Sections 2.1.3 and 2.1.4 for a further description of term appointments.

Although a part-time, term-contract appointment might be appropriate for many years in succession, full-time faculty members are ordinarily either tenured (receiving a continuous contract; see Section 2.2.1.3 below) or on tenure-track (receiving a probationary contract; see Section 2.2.1.2 below).  Full-time term contracts are routinely limited to no longer than three years.

In special circumstances (for example, for summer teaching), ranked faculty of the college [university] may receive term contracts in addition to their regular contracts.

Full-time, term-contract faculty will receive annual departmental reviews.

2.2.1.2 Probationary Contracts

Probationary contracts are given to tenure-track faculty members (see Section 2.1.1), and are renewable annually.  (See Section 2.6.1 for the definition of probationary status.) Any decision by the college [university] not to reappoint a probationary faculty member must follow the procedures described in Section 2.13.3, "Non-reappointment of Probationary Faculty."

2.2.1.3 Continuous Contracts

Continuous contracts are given to faculty members who have been granted tenure. (See Section 2.6, "Tenure Policy and Procedures.")  Continuous contracts are subject to the terms and conditions of employment that exist at the time of issuance of annual contracts (see Section 2.2.4) by the college [university] as described in Section 2.0.  A faculty member with a continuous contract is entitled to annual contract renewal unless either the faculty member or the college [university] has terminated the contract in accord with the procedures of Section 2.13, "Separation."

2.2.2 Locus of Appointment

All faculty appointments by probationary or continuous contract have as their locus of appointment their academic department [and/or the School of Theology], as stated in their contract. Faculty members teaching in the core curriculum or other interdisciplinary programs shall have their locus of appointment in one of the academic departments.

2.2.3 The Contract Year

Ordinarily, the contract year for faculty members begins with the first day of the fall faculty workshop and ends with spring commencement and submission of final grades.

2.2.4 Issuance and Return of Contracts

Except for initial appointments or after third-year review (see Section 2.13.3.1) or in situations of financial emergency (see Section 2.13.5) or by mutual agreement of the Assembly and the president, all probationary and continuous contract offers for the subsequent academic year must be issued by the college [university] on or before April 1 and be signed and returned on or before April 15, or the first working day thereafter. If a contract offer is not accepted by April 15 (or by 15 days after the date of issuance of contracts, if that occurs after April 1) and if special arrangements have not been made with the provost by that date, the offer automatically expires.

These same policies ordinarily apply to the renewal of term contracts.  When it is not possible to determine by March 1 whether the term position will be continued for the following year, the provost notifies the faculty member in writing of the date by which a decision will be made. The provost then either notifies the faculty member of non-renewal in writing or issues the new contract by the date specified in the previous letter.

2.2.5 Special Note on Members from Religious Orders

The provisions of the Faculty Handbook apply equally to faculty members who are members of Saint Benedict's Monastery, Saint John's Abbey, or other religious orders, even though such faculty members are technically agents of their order rather than employees of the college [university].