Non-Tenure Personnel Non-Renewal of Appointment--Procedure for Notifying

This procedure must be used when notifying non-tenure faculty members or other non-tenure personnel, who are employed under written contract, if they will not be offered another contract after the current year.

Policy: Board of Regents Policy Manual, 8.3.4.3: https://www.usg.edu/policymanual/section8/C245/#p8.3.4_notice_of_employment_and_resignation

USG Academic and Student Affairs Handbook, 4.8.1: https://www.usg.edu/academic_affairs_handbook/section4/C691/#p4-8-1_renewal_and_nonrenewal_of_contracts_of_non-tenured_faculty

 

Renewal of Non-Tenured Faculty with Academic Ranks of Instructor, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and Professor

All non-tenured faculty who have been awarded academic rank (instructor, assistant professor, associate professor, professor), are employed under written contract, and who served full-time for the entire previous year have the presumption of renewal of the next academic year unless notified in writing, by the President of the institution or his or her designee, of the intent not to renew. Written notice of intent not to renew shall be delivered by hand or by certified mail, to be delivered to the addressee only, with receipt to show to whom and when delivered and the address where delivered.

Notice of intention to not renew the contract of a non-tenured faculty member who has been awarded academic rank of instructor, assistant professor, associate professor, or professor shall be furnished, in writing, according to the following schedule:

Previous years of service in positions other than the faculty positions with academic rank listed above shall not be included in the calculation to determine the schedule for notice of intention not to renew a faculty member’s contract. Previous years of service in any capacity at institutions other than the current institution also shall not be included in the calculation.

This schedule of notification does not apply to persons holding temporary, limited-term, or part-time positions, or persons with courtesy appointments such as adjunct appointments. This schedule of notification does not apply to Georgia Gwinnett College Faculty.

Non-tenured faculty and other non-tenured personnel employed under written contract shall be employed only for the term specified in the contract, and subsequent or future employment, if any, shall result solely from a separate offer and acceptance requisite to execution of a new and distinct contract.

1. At least three months before the date of termination of the contract in the faculty member’s first year of service with any of the above academic ranks at the current institution;
2. At least six months before the date of termination of the contract in the faculty member’s second year of continuous service with any of the above academic ranks at the current institution; or,
3. At least nine months before the date of termination of the contract in the faculty member’s third or subsequent continuous year of service with any of the above academic rank at the current institution.

Schedule

July - Notification date July 1 for 10 month non-tenured faculty in their third or more years of service. It is recommended that we try to notify the faculty member prior to the faculty contracts being sent in June.

November - Notification date November 1 for 10 month non-tenured faculty non-tenured faculty in their second year of service

February - Notification date February 1 for 10 month non-tenured faculty in their first year of service

May - End of contract

Employment of Lecturers and Senior Lecturers

Full-time lecturers, senior lecturers, and principal lecturers are appointed by institutions on a year-to-year basis.

Lecturers, senior lecturers, and principal lecturers who have served full-time for the entire previous academic year have the presumption of reappointment for the subsequent academic year unless notified in writing to the contrary as follows:

Lecturers, senior lecturers, or principal lecturers who have served for six or more years of fulltime continuous service in those positions at the current institution and who have received timely notice of non-reappointment shall be entitled to a review of the decision in accordance with published procedures developed by the institution. The procedures must be approved by the Chancellor or his or her designee prior to implementation. Additional appeal procedures are contained in the Board Policy Manual.

In no case will the service as lecturer, senior lecturer, or principal lecturer imply any claim upon tenure or reappointment under other conditions than those above.

Previous years of service in positions other than lecturer, senior lecturer, or principal lecturer positions shall not be included in the calculations to determine the schedule for notice of intention not to renew a faculty member’s contract or the availability of a review of that decision. Previous years of service in any capacity at institutions other than the current institution also shall not be included in the calculations.

1. For lecturers, senior lecturers, or principal lecturers with less than three years of full-time continuous service in that position at the current institution, institutions are encouraged to provide non-reappointment notice as early as possible, but no specific notice is required.
2. For lecturers, senior lecturers, or principal lecturers with three or more years but less than six years of full-time continuous service in that position at the current institution, institutions must provide non-reappointment notice at least 30 calendar days prior to the institution’s first day of classes in the semester.
3. For lecturers, senior lecturers, or principal lecturers with six years or more of full-time continuous service in those positions at the current institution, institutions must provide non-reappointment notice at least 180 calendar days prior to the institution’s first day of classes in the semester.

WARNING: A letter from the President to his/her representative authorizing him/her to notify non-tenured faculty that no new contract will be offered must be used whenever the President’s representative issues the notice of nonrenewal. Some courts have held that in the absence of specific written authorization from the President, the notice of nonrenewal is deficient and subjects the sender to damages.

Also, the courts have held that a “conditional” notice of nonrenewal is not sufficient. For example, nonrenewals may not be conditioned on some future eventuality such as promotion, tenure, vacancies, etc.

 

No one other than the Provost has been authorized by the President to issue letters or memorandums of any kind to faculty members informing them that they will not be rehired or issued a subsequent contract. This is a serious legal matter, and procedures are explicit. This is an example of what the letter should look like:

Dear (Non-tenured Faculty Member),

As the authorized representative of President________, and pursuant to Policies of the Board of Regents, I am writing to inform you that no new employment contract will be offered to you for the 20-- - 20-- academic year.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your service to Georgia College & State University and wish you every personal success and professional success in the future.

Sincerely,

Provost

Nothing in this procedure or this memo is intended to replace or change the existing faculty evaluation procedures. Under those procedures, department chairpersons are still responsible for counseling their faculty members as to their standing with the university and informing specifically of any problems they may have in regard to their employment based on that performance. That information should be communicated from the chairperson to the affected faculty member as part of the existing faculty evaluation system. That evaluation system does not constitute a contract or notice of a contract.

Any questions regarding this procedure should be addressed to the Provost in sufficient time to allow resolution prior to the deadline dates for academic year and fiscal year non-tenured faculty appointments:

 

Academic Year (ten month)	Fiscal Year (twelve month)
July 1 – Three or more years of service	September 1 – Three or more years of service
November 1 – Two years of service	December 1 – Two years of service
February 1 – One year of service	April 1 – One year of service

 

 

Updated November 28, 2023