Instructional Academic Staff Committee

of the Faculty Senate

First Report and Recommendations

March 11, 2006

Committee Members

                   Kerrie Hoar (chair), IAS in Biology

                   Suzanne Anglehart, IAS in Microbiology

                   Phillip Bice, IAS in Accountancy

                   Bonnie Bratina, Faculty in Microbiology

                   Kathleen Dailey, IAS in ESL Institute

                   Peggy Denton, Faculty and Chair of Health Professions

                   Michael Durnin, IAS in Exercise & Sport Science and Athletics

                   Sandra Koster, IAS in Chemistry

                   Don Socha, Faculty and Chair in Modern Languages

Background:

            In May 2005, the Faculty Senate approved (with one exception) the recommendations brought forward by the Instructional Academic Staff Task Force.  As a result, the Instructional Academic Staff (IAS) Committee was established as a new Faculty Senate standing committee in Fall 2005 to address the many and varied issues that concern IAS on campus.  The committee has been charged with:

• considering and recommending policies affecting the academic staff status, salary, appointment types, titling, career progression, workload and working conditions.
• considering and recommending the practices and procedures for implementing those policies.
• monitoring Human Resources’ progress in collection and disseminating information on these policies and procedures.

Committee History:

            The IAS Committee began working on IAS issues in October 2005, with biweekly meetings thereafter.  The first task of the committee was to prioritize IAS issues by order of importance. IAS policies from other UW System schools were examined.  The committee recognized a variety of issues, but titling seemed to be the logical place to start.  The adoption, description and implementation of a consistent set of titles would be necessary before any other recommendations regarding IAS could be made.

In December 2005, the Provost’s office presented the committee with a proposal to address a variety of IAS issues.  The IAS Committee worked in conjunction with the Provost and Human Resources to develop recommendations for titling, career progression and workload.  On February 23, 2006, the committee presented these recommendations at an Open Forum.  The discussion at this forum was spirited and raised many issues, questions and concerns (See Attachment D.)   As a result, the committee has decided that workload needs further study before we are comfortable making a recommendation to the Faculty Senate.  The committee has, however, agreed upon a set of values that it feels should be incorporated into such a workload policy.  These values, along with possible wording and questions/concerns that remain are outlined in Attachment C.  The IAS Committee requests Faculty Senate feedback on this topic.

Titling and Career Progression:

The committee was able to make use of the extensive titling and career progression research done by the College of Science and Allied Health IAS Task Force in 2003-04.  Our committee modified that report to develop title descriptions and career progression criteria that we believe are sufficiently broad enough to encompass the vast majority of IAS on campus. As a result of collaborative efforts between the Provost’s office, the IAS Committee and Human Resources, all parties are in agreement with the recommendations that are being put forth for titling and career progression.  However, a source of funds for implementation has yet to be identified.

The recommendations for titling and career progression are based on the idea that IAS titles and career progression options should:

·        be equitable for IAS in all departments in the university

·        recognize and reward the unique contributions of IAS to our programs/departments without being overly prescriptive

·        provide a viable career ladder

·        be acceptable to IAS and faculty alike

·        require IAS participation in the promotion process

·        ensure that the process is rigorous, yet achievable

·        provide flexibility for departments to customize as they desire.

Recommendations:

1. Titling: 
   1. The IAS Committee recommends the adoption and use of both the Lecturer and the Clinical Professor title series.  The IAS Committee unanimously agreed on the title rank descriptions shown in Attachment A.   These title rank descriptions are based on the UWS title series outlined in UPG #1. 
   2. The IAS Committee recommends that this new titling system be implemented immediately in order to be accurately reflected on the 2006-07 AY contracts for both new hires and current IAS.  Current IAS will meet with their department chair to determine which title series and rank best fits that individual.  When necessary, salary would be adjusted so that the IAS meets the minimum salary for the new title (see UPG 4.04 Attach. 3).  When the current salary exceeds the minimum salary for the new title, no adjustment in salary will be necessary.

2. Career Progression:
   1.  The IAS Committee unanimously agreed on and recommends the adoption of the General Policies and Criteria for career progression outlined in Attachment B. 
   2. The IAS Committee further recommends that all details for career progression be in place for career progression applications beginning in Fall 2007.  The current Committee would request that the members of the 2006-07 IAS Committee be charged with working on the details of IAS career progression (e.g., timeline, required forms, CP committee membership, etc.)