ARTICLE XX: APPOINTMENT AND PROMOTION
For the purposes of this Article XX, the following words shall have the following meanings:
1. "Librarian" shall mean any member of the bargaining unit who holds the rank of Library Assistant, Library Associate, Assistant Librarian, Associate Librarian, Librarian or Senior Librarian.
2. "Teaching faculty member" shall mean any member of the bargaining unit who holds the rank of Instructor, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor or Professor.
3. "Visiting Professor" shall mean a full-time teaching faculty member appointed at any rank for a single semester or a single academic year in order to fulfill some special academic need or provide some special enhancement to an existing program. Any such appointment may be made pursuant to the first paragraph of Section B of this Article XX.
Contracts for non-tenured faculty and Librarians are term agreements subject to annual renewal after the completion of the established evaluation period.
The provisions of this Article XX shall be of no application to any person holding an appointment to a part-time position in the bargaining unit at a College other than the Massachusetts College of Art.
B. REQUIREMENTS FOR ELIGIBILITY OF TEACHING FACULTY FOR APPOINTMENT AND PROMOTION
Teaching faculty members may be appointed initially at any rank in keeping with the following requirements. These requirements apply to faculty members in the nine State Colleges; they are of no application to Professional Maritime Faculty and adjunct instructors at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, which are provided for in Article XX-A of this Agreement. Exceptions to these requirements may be made for sound academic reasons in certain specialized areas and under other special circumstances with the approval of the Board of Trustees. Nothing in these requirements should be construed to prohibit the appointment or promotion of an individual of exceptional talent or accomplishment who does not meet all the stated criteria. In considering candidates for exceptional appointments or promotions, the Board of Trustees or the President, as provided in Article VIII, shall pay due regard in the alternative to: (a) evidence of the ability of the candidate to render a unique academic contribution to the College, or (b) evidence of a candidate’s extraordinary competence in the area of his/her discipline or specialty, or (c) evidence that the discipline or specialty of the candidate does not customarily demand fulfillment of those academic degree requirements set forth by the Board as minimum criteria for appointment or promotion to each rank.
1. Requirements Applicable to Teaching Faculty
Unit members hired who possess a terminal degree effective on or before the date of appointment shall be appointed above the instructor level.
a. Instructor
i. A Master’s degree from an accredited institution in the academic or professional discipline to be taught;
ii. Understanding of the teaching and advising process and the application of teaching and advising strategies in the College setting;
iii. Demonstrated potential to fulfill the applicable evaluation criteria; and
iv. For instructors appointed to teach courses in a professional area, two years of appropriate professional experience.
b. Assistant Professor
i. In the case of any person first appointed to a position as a member of the faculty in a State College prior to September 1, 1988, a Master’s degree together with thirty (30) hours of graduate credits from an institution or institutions accredited at the level of such degree in the academic or professional discipline to be taught;
ii. In the case of any person first appointed to a position as a member of the faculty in a State College on or after September 1, 1988, a terminal degree from an institution or institutions accredited at the level of such degree in the academic or professional discipline to be taught;
iii. Understanding of the teaching and advising process and the application of teaching and advising strategies in the College setting; and
iv. In the case of a promotion, meritorious performance as demonstrated by the candidate’s evaluations conducted in accordance with the provisions of Article VIII of this Agreement and by such evaluations conducted in accordance with any procedures in effect prior to the date of execution of this Agreement.
c. Associate Professor
i. A terminal degree from an institution or institutions accredited at the level of such degree in the academic or professional discipline to be taught;
ii. Six (6) years of full-time experience in teaching, at least three (3) of which must have been at an accredited two-year or four-year College or University; and
iii. In the case of a promotion, not less than three (3) years of full-time employment at the rank of Assistant Professor at an accredited four-year College or University and meritorious performance as demonstrated by the candidate’s evaluations conducted in accordance with the provisions of Article VIII of this Agreement and by such evaluation conducted in accordance with any procedures in effect prior to the date of execution of this Agreement.
d. Professor
i. A terminal degree from an institution or institutions accredited at the level of such degree in the academic or professional discipline to be taught;
ii. Eight (8) years of full-time experience in teaching, at least five (5) of which must have been at an accredited two-year or four-year College or University; and
iii. In the case of a promotion, not less than four (4) years of full-time employment at the rank of Associate Professor at an accredited four-year College or University and meritorious performance as demonstrated by the candidate’s evaluations conducted in accordance with the provisions of Article VIII of this Agreement and by such evaluation conducted in accordance with any procedures in effect prior to the date of execution of this Agreement.
2. Application of the Criteria for Promotion
No member of the faculty shall be a candidate for promotion to any academic rank unless he or she shall have first fulfilled the criteria, including, where appropriate, any applicable criteria set forth in the first paragraph of this Section B, that govern promotion to such rank.
No Board shall impose or use any quotas by rank, and no such quota shall govern the eligibility for promotion of any member of the bargaining unit.
C. APPOINTMENT PROCEDURES AND TERMS FOR TEACHING FACULTY
1. Instructors will ordinarily be appointed to successive one-year term contracts and shall be entitled to receive such notice of the non-renewal of any such contract as is provided for in Section F below. Other than a faculty member holding tenure at the rank of Instructor, no one will remain in the rank of Instructor more than five years; prior to the beginning of his/her fifth year, an Instructor will be given written notice that:
a. he/she is to be promoted to the rank of Assistant Professor at the beginning of the next year; or
b. he/she is beginning a terminal one-year appointment.
2. Persons initially appointed above the rank of Instructor may be given initial appointment, without tenure, of one, two or three years. Those initially appointed above the rank of Instructor may not be employed beyond six (6) consecutive years as a full-time faculty member without gaining tenure.
3. Subject to the provisions of Article IX, persons initially appointed at the rank of Associate Professor or Professor may be appointed for an initial one, two or three year term without tenure, or may be appointed initially with tenure. No person initially so employed may serve more than three years as a faculty member, exclusive of a terminal year, without gaining tenure.
4. Persons appointed as Visiting Professors shall be employed for a specific period of time and shall not attain tenure.
5. Precise conditions of employment shall be stated in writing and a copy of the Uniform Letter of Appointment [Appendix N(1) or N(2)] shall be provided to the appointee.
6. Anything in this Agreement to the contrary notwithstanding, the Board may grant to any person, and at any academic rank, an appointment known as a temporary appointment. No such temporary appointment shall be for a period in excess of four (4) consecutive semesters. Every such temporary appointment shall be made in writing and shall terminate on a date that shall be stated therein. Anything in this Agreement to the contrary notwithstanding, such statement of the date of such termination shall be deemed to be due and timely notice of the termination of such appointment, and such termination shall have effect on the date so stated. Anything in this Agreement to the contrary notwithstanding, any person or persons who shall have been granted a temporary appointment pursuant to this provision shall not, during the term of such appointment, be required to be evaluated pursuant to Article VIII of this Agreement; provided, however, that the provisions of Article VIII may be applied to such person if the Board and such person mutually so agree; and provided further that any such application of the provisions of Article VIII shall not be deemed to alter any of the terms or conditions of any temporary appointment that shall have been granted to such person. Notwithstanding the foregoing, every such person or persons who shall have been granted a temporary appointment in excess of one (1) semester in duration, shall be evaluated pursuant to the provisions of Article VIII of this Agreement; provided, however, that any such application of the provisions of Article VIII shall not be deemed to alter any of the terms or conditions of any temporary appointment that shall have been granted to such person. No person granted a temporary appointment hereunder shall be eligible to be considered for tenure, and no person who shall have held a temporary appointment hereunder for four consecutive semesters shall be granted another temporary appointment hereunder unless at least one (1) semester (during which such person may be granted a part-time appointment) shall have elapsed between the former such appointment and the latter.
Prior to making any temporary appointment hereunder, the Vice President shall meet with the Chapter President for the purpose of discussing the reasons therefor.
No person who is a member of the bargaining unit by reason of the fact that he or she holds a temporary appointment of the kind described in this subsection 6 shall be entitled to vote in any election conducted pursuant to the provisions of Article VI or Article VIII of this Agreement.
7. Whenever any member of the bargaining unit, including, for the purposes of this subsection 7, any Librarian, shall apply to be a candidate for any vacant position within the bargaining unit at any Massachusetts State College, such member of the bargaining unit shall be given added consideration as a candidate for such position; provided, however, that such added consideration shall be so given only if such member of the bargaining unit is not, by training and experience, less qualified for such position than the most qualified among all the applicants therefor.
Whenever any member of the bargaining unit, including, for the purposes of this subsection (7), any Librarian, shall apply to be a candidate for any vacant position within the bargaining unit at any Massachusetts State College, such person’s name shall be included on the list of candidates submitted to the President of such College by any screening or like committee, including any such committee constituted pursuant to Section I of Article VI of this Agreement; provided, however, that such person’s name need not be so included unless he/she has the minimum advertised qualifications for the position for which he/she is a candidate; and provided further that nothing in this paragraph shall be deemed to abridge any right conferred by the foregoing paragraph.
Whenever any member of the bargaining unit, having applied as such for a vacant position in the bargaining unit, shall have been appointed to such position, he/she shall retain any such tenure and seniority as he/she shall have had on the date immediately prior to the date of such appointment, and he/she shall retain any and every other such right or benefit as he/she shall have had on such date; and the same shall be retained irrespective of whether such appointment shall have been made at the same or a different State College. No appointment made pursuant to this paragraph shall be deemed to be a transfer for the purposes of Article X of this Agreement.
8. No non-tenured assistant professor shall be a candidate for promotion to the rank of associate professor in any academic year unless he or she is or elects to be a candidate for tenure in such academic year; provided, however, that nothing in this paragraph shall be deemed to obligate any non-tenured assistant professor who is a candidate for tenure in any academic year to be a candidate for promotion to associate professor in such academic year.
Any faculty member who elects to be considered both for promotion to the rank of associate professor and for tenure in any academic year shall be eligible during such academic year to be recommended for both promotion and tenure but shall not be eligible to be recommended for only the one or the other, such that he/she shall be either granted or denied both.
No member of the bargaining unit shall be a candidate for tenure more than once and, if denied tenure on the occasion of such candidacy, shall thereupon be granted a final appointment for the period of the ensuing academic year.
9. This subsection shall be of application only to departments with six (6) or more full-time members.
Except at the Massachusetts College of Art, not more than fifteen percent (15%) of an academic department’s total number of three (3) credit courses and sections shall be taught by part-time employees during an academic year.
At the Massachusetts College of Art, not more than twenty percent (20%) of the total number of three (3) credit courses taught in departments with six (6) or more full-time faculty shall be taught by part-time employees during an academic year.
Not included in the foregoing are courses or sections taught by part-time employees hired to replace unit members on sabbatical leave of absence, on unpaid leave of absence, on reduced teaching loads for the purposes of alternative professional responsibilities or association release time, or any other contractual released time, or any unforeseen emergency.
D. REQUIREMENTS FOR ELIGIBILITY OF LIBRARIANS FOR APPOINTMENT AND PROMOTION
Librarians may be appointed initially at any rank in keeping with the following requirements; provided only that no appointment shall be made at the rank of Library Assistant. For sound academic reasons, exceptions to these requirements may be made in certain specialized areas and under rare and extraordinary circumstances by the Board of Trustees.
1. Library Assistant
a. A baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution in an academic or professional discipline that forms a part of the curriculum of the College at which such appointment is to be made; and
b. Demonstrated potential to fulfill the applicable performance criteria.
2. Library Associate
a. The degree of Master of Library Science from an institution accredited to grant such degrees by the American Library Association; or, for certain specialized professional activities within the Library, a Master’s degree, from an institution accredited to grant such degrees, in a discipline directly related to such a specialized professional activity;
b. Evidence of the potential for a successful career in librarianship at an academic or research library; and
c. Demonstrated potential to fulfill the applicable performance criteria.
3. Assistant Librarian
a. The degree of Master of Library Science from an institution accredited to grant such degrees by the American Library Association;
b. Three (3) years of full-time experience as a librarian and a fully demonstrated professional competence as a librarian in an academic or research library; and
c. In the case of promotion, meritorious performance as demonstrated by the candidate’s annual evaluations conducted in accordance with the provisions of Article VIII of this Agreement and by such evaluations conducted in accordance with any procedures in effect prior to the date of execution of this Agreement.
4. Associate Librarian
a. The degree of Master of Library Science from an institution accredited to grant such degrees by the American Library Association;
b. Seven (7) years of full-time experience as a librarian, at least three (3) of which must have been at an academic or research library; and
c. In the case of promotion, not less than three (3) years of full-time employment at the rank of Assistant Librarian and meritorious performance as demonstrated by the candidate’s annual evaluations conducted in accordance with the provisions of Article VIII of this Agreement and by such evaluations conducted in accordance with any procedures in effect prior to the date of execution of this Agreement.
5. Librarian
a. The degree of Master of Library Science from an institution accredited to grant such degrees by the American Library Association; and a second subject Master’s degree from an accredited institution;
b. Ten (10) years of full-time experience as a librarian, at least four (4) of which must have been at an academic or research library; and
c. In the case of promotion, not less than four (4) years of full-time employment at the rank of Associate Librarian and meritorious performance as demonstrated by the candidate’s annual evaluations conducted in accordance with the provisions of Article VIII of this Agreement and by such evaluations conducted in accordance with any procedures in effect prior to the date of execution of this Agreement.
6. Senior Librarian
a. (i) The degree of Doctor of Library Science from an institution accredited at the level of such degree; or
(ii) An appropriate doctorate other than the degree of Doctor of Library Science from an institution accredited at the level of such degree, and the degree of Master of Library Science from an institution accredited to grant such degrees by the American Library Association; or
(iii) The degree of Master of Library Science from an institution accredited to grant such degrees by the American Library Association and a second Master’s degree from an institution accredited at the level of such degree; and
b. Twelve (12) years of full-time experience as a librarian, at least six (6) of which must have been at an academic or research library; and
c. In the case of promotion, not less than five (5) years of full-time employment at the rank of Librarian and meritorious performance as demonstrated by the candidate’s annual evaluations conducted in accordance with the provisions of Article VIII of this Agreement and by such evaluations conducted in accordance with any procedures in effect prior to the date of execution of this Agreement.
No librarian shall be a candidate for promotion to any of the foregoing ranks unless he or she shall have first fulfilled the criteria that govern promotion to such rank.
E. APPOINTMENT PROCEDURES AND TERMS FOR LIBRARIANS
1. Non-tenured librarians will be appointed pursuant to the issuance of successive term contracts and shall be entitled to receive such notice of the non-renewal of any such contract as is provided for in Section F below.
2. Every person appointed as a Library Associate shall ordinarily be appointed pursuant to the issuance of successive one (1) year contracts. No such person shall remain in the rank of Library Associate for more than five (5) years. Prior to the beginning of his/her fifth year, a Library Associate will be given written notice that:
a. He/she is to be promoted to the rank of Assistant Librarian at the beginning of his/her next year of service, or
b. He/she is beginning a terminal one (1) year appointment.
The provisions of this Section (2) shall not be of application to any Library Associate who elected, pursuant to the provisions of Section C of Article IX of the agreement made between the Board of Trustees of State Colleges and the Association and dated November 6, 1978, not to be eligible to be considered for tenure.
3. Any Librarian who has served for more than five (5) consecutive years as a full-time librarian at any rank may thereafter be given appointments of one, two, three, four or five years; provided, however, that without limiting the foregoing, any librarian initially appointed at a rank other than the rank of Library Assistant may be given an initial appointment and successive appointments of one, two or three years.
4. Precise conditions of employment shall be stated in writing and a copy of the Uniform Letter of Appointment [Appendix N(3) and N(4)] shall be provided to the appointee.
Due notice of an intention not to renew the appointments of librarians and of non-tenured faculty shall be given as follows:
1. Termination after the first year:
Notification by March 15 of the first year.2. Termination after the second year:
Notification by January 15 of the second year.3. Termination after three or more years:
Notification by September 1 of the final year.
1. Eligibility for promotion shall be based on:
a. Fulfillment of the minimum requirements set forth by rank in Sections B and D above;
b. Meritorious performance as demonstrated by the annual evaluations of all teaching faculty and librarians; and
c. Recommendations made in accordance with the procedures contained in Article VIII.
2. Promotions of teaching faculty and Librarians shall take effect on September 1 of each year.
1. When, pursuant to Section F above, notice is given to any teaching faculty member or to any Librarian that his/her contract is not to be renewed, a statement shall be given to him/her setting forth the reasons for such non-renewal. Under no circumstances, however, shall either (1) a notice of non-renewal of contract or (2) a statement setting forth the reasons therefor be so given without the prior approval of the Board of Trustees.
2. All professional appointments to the libraries shall be on a twelve (12)-month basis.
3. All members of the bargaining unit who are employed as Campus School Teachers shall have faculty rank.
I. TERMINATION OF A NON-TENURED FACULTY MEMBER OR LIBRARIAN
Whenever any non-tenured faculty member or librarian is terminated during the term of a term contract of employment, he/she shall first be accorded the following rights:
1. The Board shall give notice to such person that the President has recommended his/her termination; such notice shall set forth the reasons for which the termination has been recommended.
2. Thereafter, at the written request of the person so notified, an informal hearing shall be conducted not sooner than five (5) days following the date on which such notice shall have been received by such person. Any such informal hearing shall be conducted by and before a hearing officer designated by the Board. The person whose termination has been recommended may be represented by a representative of the Association.
3. Thereafter, the hearing officer shall submit a written report to the Board setting forth any findings of fact and his/her own recommendation, together with the reasons therefor, regarding the disposition of the recommendation of termination.
4. As soon as may be practicable thereafter, the Board shall make such final decision in respect thereof as it deems appropriate.
5. The provisions of this Section I shall be deemed to be of application to any librarian who, in accordance with the provisions of Section J, is terminable only for just cause; provided, however, that nothing herein contained shall be deemed to diminish the right of any such librarian to be terminated only for just cause.
J. TERMINATION OF CERTAIN LIBRARIANS ONLY FOR JUST CAUSE
Any librarian who, in accordance with the provisions of Section C of Article IX of the agreement made between the Board of Trustees of State Colleges and the Association and dated November 6, 1978, elected not to be eligible for tenure shall be terminable only for just cause. For the purposes of this Section J, the phrase "just cause" shall not be confined in its meaning to the meaning ascribed to it in Article IX of this Agreement. Any such librarian shall be subject to termination only in accordance with the procedures set forth in the foregoing Section I.
The provisions of this Section J shall be of application to any such librarian only from and after the date on which such librarian shall have completed five (5) consecutive years of service at one or more of the State Colleges, whether or not such service commenced before or after the date of execution of this Agreement.
K. TERMINATION OF CERTAIN PART-TIME UNIT MEMBERS ONLY FOR JUST CAUSE
Any part-time faculty unit member who has served as such at the Massachusetts College of Art and who has held a continuous appointment there of one half-time or more for a pro-rata period equivalent to six consecutive years of full-time service shall be terminable only for just cause as defined in Article IX of this Agreement; provided that any such faculty member shall be reviewed during the pro-rata fifth year by the Departmental Peer Evaluation Committee and the Department Chair with recommendations submitted to the Vice President for continued appointment. Evaluation materials for this review shall consist of student evaluations, an updated resume, course documents, and an updated portfolio. Any such part-time faculty member shall be subject to termination only in accordance with the procedural provisions provided in Section J of this Article.
L. REVIEW BY CHANCELLOR UPON TERMINATION FOR JUST CAUSE
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, any member of the bargaining unit who shall have been terminated for just cause pursuant to Sections I, J or K of this Article XX may, in addition to the remedies provided in Article XI, request that the Chancellor review the decision to terminate his/her employment. In order to initiate such review, the member of the bargaining unit shall address a written request therefor to the Chancellor within fourteen (14) days following his/her having been notified of his/her termination. Such request shall set forth a complete statement of the reasons for which he/she believes that the termination was made without just cause. A copy of such notice shall be provided promptly by such unit member to the President of the Association, the President of the College and the Committee on Employee Relations. The Chancellor may within fourteen (14) calendar days of the receipt of such notice reinstate the unit member upon a finding that such termination was made without just cause. The Chancellor shall do so by notice in writing to the unit member which shall set forth his/her findings fully and completely. In the event of such notice by the Chancellor, copies shall be provided to the President of the Association, the President of the College and the Committee on Employee Relations.
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