Prior to employment at the beginning of the University's academic year/term, each employee shall receive an individual appointment letter. The appointment letter shall indicate the following:
(a) the type and period of appointment, including the beginning date and ending date;
(b) the basic monthly salary of the employee for the term of the appointment;
(c) the employee's title;
(d) that the employee's appointment is subject to the availability of funds, to the laws of the State of Illinois, and the Policies and Regulations of the Board of Trustees and the University, including the terms of any applicable collective bargaining agreement.
Any modification in the employee's terms of appointment will be reflected in a revised letter that will be issued to the employee.
a. All appointments of Instructors shall be contingent upon program need, funding availability, and professional qualifications. All decisions relevant to program need, funding availability, and professional qualifications will be made by Department Chairs. Decisions regarding the qualifications of current Instructors who seek consideration for possible new assignments shall be made in consultation with the affected Instructor.
b. If no member of the bargaining unit has the qualifications to fill a position required by program need, a Department Chair may offer an Instructor appointment to a non- bargaining unit member.
c.Any Instructor who receives an annual evaluation of unacceptable (evaluation score = 1) shall not be eligible for reappointment. Additionally, any Instructor who receives two annual evaluations of below average (evaluation score = 2) in any three-year period shall not be eligible for reappointment. All evaluations of 2 (below average) shall require a Remediation Plan in accordance with Article 6.7.
d. All members of the collective bargaining unit will be issued contracts of not less than 9-months' duration and any contracts for less than 9 months will be changed to
9-months. In those cases in which uncertainty over future funding or enrollment prevents NIU from making a firm commitment to a full 9-month contract, the contract shall include the following language allowing for early termination depending on program needs:
This contract is subject to termination as of December 31, 20__ in the event that the Department Chair determines that program needs do not warrant continuation of the position beyond the initial 4.5-month period. In the event that this provision is exercised by the Department Chair, notification shall be provided to the Instructor no later than the Friday before the scheduled finals week of the given fall semester.
Determinations related to "program need" with respect to the exercise of the contingency clause shall be made by the respective Department Chair.
a. By February 15 of each academic year, Instructors shall notify in writing the Chair of the Department in which they hold their appointment if they wish to be considered during the subsequent academic year for any available appointment for which they are qualified.
b. If an employee's address and/or phone number changes between February 15 and the beginning of the subsequent academic year, it shall be the employee's responsibility to notify the Department Chair in writing of that change.
c. By March 15, the Department Chair shall develop a listing of all Instructors wishing to have employment in the department in the subsequent academic year, provided that evaluations conducted in accordance with Article 6, Section 1, make them eligible to be considered for reappointment.
a.All Instructors with declared interest and eligibility for appointment during the subsequent academic year shall be placed on the primary roster, on the secondary roster, or in the employment pool. The rosters and the pool shall be created in a manner described below.
b.All Instructors on the primary roster will have the title of Instructors or Faculty Assistants. To be on this roster, employees must have (a) five or more years of NIU service at 50 percent or more time and (b) three above average evaluations or better during the last three years. Within the roster, employees with the highest overall evaluation scores shall be hired first subject to the conditions of Section 3.2 of this Article. All employees on the primary roster shall receive notification of their rehiring status on or before April 16.
c.All Instructors on the secondary roster will have the title of Instructors or Faculty Assistants. To be on this roster, employees must have (a) two or more years of NIU service at 50 percent time or more and (b) three average evaluations or better during the past three years (two consecutive evaluations of average or better in the case of Instructors first entering the secondary roster). Within the roster, employees with the highest overall evaluation scores shall be hired first subject to the conditions of Section 3.2 of this Article. All employees on the secondary roster shall receive notification of their rehiring status on or before the Friday of Finals Week of the Spring Semester as defined by the academic calendar.
d.Instructors or Faculty Assistants who are not on the primary or secondary roster shall be included in an employment pool. To be in this pool, employees can have (a) any number of years of NIU service and (b) any combination of annual evaluations except those that would disqualify them for rehiring. Department Chairs will consider prior evaluations of employees' performance in making hiring decisions. Notification will be as soon as possible. Individuals without prior service at NIU may be included in the employment pool.
e. Use of Rosters and Pool
(1)When determining to whom to offer an appointment, the Department Chair shall give first preference to employees whose names are on the primary roster, second priority to those on the secondary roster, and third consideration to those in the employment pool. All appointments are subject to the conditions of Section 3.2 of this Article. Subject to program need and Instructor qualifications, the Instructors will be re-hired from primary and secondary rosters on a full-time basis (unless otherwise specified in the Instructor’s most recent Declaration of Interest) before proceeding to the next qualified Instructor in the order on the roster.
(2)Subject to the conditions of Section 3.2 of this Article, employees with identical mixes of evaluation scores within the same roster will be hired in order of in-unit service at the University.
(3)Years of service are determined on the basis of the number of academic years of service that will have been completed prior to the start of the next academic year. For example, Instructors completing their second consecutive academic year of in-unit service would be placed on the secondary roster, assuming their evaluations allow for such placement. This is equivalent to four consecutive semesters of service, excluding summer and intersession terms. Rosters are compiled in late spring to govern rehiring decisions for the following academic year.
The following examples for Instructors with appropriate evaluations and no breaks in service are consistent with this Agreement:
| Initial Employment | Secondary Roster Placement |
Primary Roster Placement |
|---|---|---|
| Spring 2006 | Spring 2008 | Spring 2011 |
| Fall 2006 | Spring 2008 | Spring 2011 |
| Spring 2007 | Spring 2009 | Spring 2012 |
| Fall 2007 | Spring 2009 | Spring 2012 |
Other situations will be governed by the appropriate sections of the Agreement.
(4) For each academic year, evaluation scores comprising the evaluation mix shall be derived from the three academic years immediately preceding the academic year in question (two in the case of Instructors first entering the secondary roster). In cases where a break in service has occurred, the three most recent evaluation scores shall be considered to comprise the evaluation mix.
Instructors on either roster who receive an annual evaluation of 2 (below average) shall be removed from the roster and placed in the employment pool for the following year.
(a)If an Instructor is removed from the primary roster and placed in the employment pool upon receiving a below average evaluation, and then receives an evaluation of 4 (above average) or 5 (outstanding) for the following year, this Instructor will be placed on the secondary roster. If this Instructor then receives a second consecutive 4 or 5, he/she will be returned to the primary roster.
(b)If an Instructor is removed from the secondary roster and placed in the employment pool upon receiving a below average evaluation, and then receives an evaluation of 4 (above average) or 5 (outstanding) for the following year, this Instructor will be placed on the secondary roster. Subsequent roster placement shall be determined by the rules in Section 3.4 above.
An Instructor who is placed on the primary roster as per Section 3.4b above and who then receives an annual evaluation of 3 (average), shall, if the new evaluation of 3 causes the sum of the three most recent evaluations to fall below 12, be placed on the secondary roster. This Instructor will remain on the secondary roster until the subsequent total of his/her most recent three evaluations is 12 or more (or until a below average evaluation disqualifies him/her for placement on either roster as described above).
| Primary Roster | Secondary Roster |
|---|---|
| 555 | 55 |
| 554 | 54 |
| 544 | 53 |
| 444 | 533 |
| 553 | 443 |
| 543 | 44 |
| 43 | |
| 433 | |
| 333 | |
| 33 |
(5) All offers of appointment shall be conveyed in writing by the appropriate College Office to the Instructor’s home address (subject to Section 3.3b of this Article). Employees shall have ten (10) days from the date of the offering letter to respond to offers made on or before Friday of Finals Week of the Spring Semester as defined by the academic calendar. Offers of appointment that are made after this date, but prior to July 16th, shall have a three-week response time. Offers made after July 15 will contain a specific deadline for written response.
If an Instructor fails to respond to an offer in the required time, the College may offer the position to the Instructor next in line for the position, subject to the conditions of Section 3.2 of this Article. An Instructor on the primary roster who so fails to respond shall be considered along with members of the secondary roster for any subsequent positions, and an Instructor on the secondary roster shall be considered along with members of the employment pool for any subsequent positions. The College (or its designee) may, at its sole discretion, extend the response deadline to any Instructor.
(6)Temporary appointments shall be for a specific period of one academic year or less. There shall be no presumption of renewal or extension of temporary appointments. Each temporary appointment is a separate, non-continuous appointment.
Optional single, renewable three-year appointments may be issued to eligible bargaining unit employees at the sole discretion of the appropriate College Office. These three-year appointments may only be issued to bargaining unit employees who satisfy all of the following eligibility requirements below:
1)Must be on the primary roster, as defined in Section 3.4 (b) of this Article
2)Must have evaluation scores of 4 (Highly Satisfactory/Above Average) or 5 (Outstanding) for each of the past three years
If an evaluation score of 3 (Satisfactory/Average) or below is issued at any point during the three-year appointment term, the appointment term shall automatically be converted to the standard one-year appointment and subject to all other provisions contained in Article 3.
Three-year appointment letters shall include language allowing for withdrawal of the three-year appointment, upon notification by the appropriate College Office, in the instance of financial exigency and/or upon assignment of the responsibilities of the position to tenured or tenure-track faculty.
If the University fails to notify Instructors who are placed on the primary or secondary rosters of their reappointment status for the next academic year on or before the applicable dates for those individuals as stated in Sections 3.4 of this Article, then these Instructors shall be offered appointments for the next academic year at the same or higher percent time as the current academic year. Failure to notify Instructors who are placed in an employment pool of the status of their rehiring shall not result in any obligation to hire these Instructors for the next academic year.
a. In accordance with Board of Trustees’ Regulations, persons who are on the secondary roster or in the employment pool shall "be limited to no more than five (5) consecutive full-time temporary appointments." However, the President may authorize an extension of these limits on a case-by-case basis upon request with justification by the University Contract Administrator. The President for the University is authorized to make such appointments in accordance with Board Regulations and as necessary and justified by prudent financial management and/or program need. The title of Faculty Assistant will not be subject to the five-year rule. For purposes of calculating service time as influenced by the five-year rule, the date of August 16, 1994, shall be considered the in-service date for all members of the bargaining unit carrying the title of Instructor.
b. Employees who are affected by the five-year rule but are otherwise eligible for employment may not be re-appointed for more than 75 percent time (or equivalent) during the very first semester after they have completed five (5) consecutive years of full-time employment at the University.
c.Employees who have their appointments reduced to 75 percent time (or equivalent) as a result of the five-year rule shall not lose their seniority because of their reduced appointments. Moreover, service during the academic year in which these reduced appointments occur shall be counted toward seniority in the same manner as if the reductions had not occurred.
d.All appointments that are served while Instructors are on the primary roster shall not count against the five-year rule. Moreover, appointments served while employees are on the primary roster shall be treated the same as any other break in consecutive years of full-time service regarding the subsequent applicability of the five-year rule.
e.Section 3.7 of this Article shall remain in effect only as long as the University Board of Trustees retains the five-year rule as a Board Regulation pertaining to Instructor appointments falling within the bargaining unit.
a. Breaks in Service
A break in service occurs when an Instructor ceases employment and leaves the University. Transfers out of the Bargaining Unit that maintain employment at the University are not considered breaks in service and are governed by Article 7 (Transfer). For purposes of determining years of service, any break in service of two academic years or less shall be ignored, with applicable previous service and seniority maintained as if no break had occurred. Breaks in service of greater than two academic years shall be interpreted as initiating a new period of employment with no credit for service or seniority given for employment occurring before the break began.
b. Visiting Faculty Appointments
In accordance with NIU guidelines, individuals who meet NIU Board of Trustees and academic department criteria for appointment at the rank of Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and Professor may be appointed to a non-tenure track position in a "Visiting" capacity. Individuals who receive Visiting appointments must possess the appropriate terminal degree for the discipline. Visiting appointments have an anticipated term of one year or less.
Visiting faculty may be excluded from the Instructors’ bargaining unit under one of the following conditions:
1)Replacement for a specific tenured or tenure-track faculty member temporarily on leave;
2)To fill a tenure-track position pending completion of a search;
3)Hiring a scholar, artist, or professional with special expertise or acclaim;
4)Exclusions cited in IELRB Case #92-RC-0029-C.
To remain excludable from the Instructors’ bargaining unit, a Visiting appointment exceeding one year in duration must involve duties that include specialized research and service expectations associated with the ranked faculty appointments of Assistant, Associate, or Full Professor. Visiting faculty appointments (excluded from the bargaining unit) should not exceed two years.
When a Visiting faculty appointment does not meet the exclusionary conditions described above, the Instructor designation should be used instead. Teaching loads for Visiting Faculty that would result in a 50 percent or greater appointment will be considered to qualify the individual for inclusion in the bargaining unit after the first year of employment as long as these appointments are also consistent with the unit description. The title for individuals in these situations would then change to "Instructor," although the University may allow them to continue to use the nomenclature "Visiting Professor" in correspondence and curriculum vitae.
By September 15 of each year, NIU will inform UPI of any Visiting Faculty appointments of 50% time or more that are excluded from the bargaining unit by the above criteria.
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