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Recruitment of Full-Time, Temporary Faculty

All full-time temporary faculty hires (term hires) must be approved by the Associate Dean responsible for managing teaching assignment projections (TAPs) and contingent faculty hiring prior to beginning a search. Term appointments may be for a full academic year or one semester as described below. Based on teaching assignment projections and staffing shortfalls, term appointments can be annually renewable for up to three years, contingent upon performance, budget, and continued need.

The School of Arts & Sciences has three categories of full-time temporary faculty:

  1. Visiting Instructor: full-time temporary faculty with a master’s degree in the discipline or a related discipline hired to teach full-time for a semester or academic year. A normal full-time teaching load for a visiting instructor for the academic year is eight (8) units and for one semester is 3.5 – 4.0 units.
  2. Visiting Lecturer: full-time temporary faculty with a terminal degree in the discipline or a related discipline hired to teach full-time for a semester or academic year. A normal full-time teaching load for a visiting lecturer for the academic year is eight (8) units and for one semester is 3.5 – 4.0 units.
  3. Visiting Assistant Professor: full-time faculty with a terminal degree in the discipline or a related discipline hired to teach full-time for an academic year. A normal full-time teaching load for a VAP for the academic year is six (6) units.

Departments and interdisciplinary programs are encouraged to conduct searches locally for visiting instructors and visiting lecturers if there are qualified persons in the area. Chairs and interdisciplinary program coordinators should reach out to area universities for recommendations on candidates who have achieved at least a Master’s degree in the required discipline. Candidates who have a Master’s degree or who are ABD can be hired as visiting instructors. Candidates with a terminal degree in the discipline or a related discipline can be hired as visiting lecturers.

If the approved request is for a visiting assistant professor, the department or interdisciplinary program must conduct a national search.

The Search Process

All searches, whether local or national, should be conducted by a search committee consisting of at least two continuing faculty familiar with the department or discipline.

For local searches, the search committee should interview and select a qualified candidate based on the curricular needs it is seeking to fill. The teaching load for the position must be clearly communicated to potential candidates. Once a preferred candidate has been selected, the chair or interdisciplinary program coordinator should send the CV and any other supporting materials to the Associate Dean responsible for contingent faculty hiring for review. The Associate Dean will follow up with the chair or interdisciplinary program coordinator if there are any questions. Otherwise, the Associate Dean will draw up a term sheet and contact that candidate to offer the position.

For national searches, the Associate Dean responsible for contingent faculty hiring will provide the department chair or interdisciplinary program coordinator with the current template for job announcements. Draft position announcements should be sent to Associate Dean for review and approval. After the position announcement is approved, the chair or interdisciplinary program coordinator should share the names of the search committee members with the academic employment coordinator so that they are granted reviewer status for applications. The academic employment coordinator will communicate with HR to have the position posted on URTalentWeb. HR will also post the announcement in The Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Ed, and Mid-Atlantic HERC. If departments or interdisciplinary programs wish to post the advertisement in discipline specific venues, they must submit the projected advertising costs to the Arts & Sciences budget director for review and approval prior to posting.

Screening and Interviewing Candidates for National Searches

The search committee should come up with clear criteria for evaluating applications and create a process that attends to equity, inclusivity, and diversity, but a DASA is not required. The search committee should convene after the review date listed in the position announcement and screen applications based on the evaluation criteria. The committee conducts virtual interviews with short-listed candidates. For the top candidates, the search committee may wish to require virtual teaching demonstrations or meetings with students and/or other colleagues in the department or program. There are no campus interviews for term hires.

After the search committee has selected the top candidate for the position, the chair sends the CV and cover letter to the Associate Dean responsible for contingent faculty hiring for review. The Associate Dean will follow up with the chair or interdisciplinary program coordinator if there are any questions. Otherwise, the Associate Dean will draw up a term sheet and contact the search committee’s top choice to offer the position.

After Acceptance

The Associate Dean responsible for contingent faculty hiring will notify the department chair or interdisciplinary program coordinator that the candidate has accepted the position. The department or program should welcome the candidate and provide any additional information about the teaching assignments and office space that might not have been communicated during the interview. The academic employment coordinator will contact the hire about the onboarding process.

Upon Arrival on Campus

The new hire must attend new faculty orientation in August at the start of the academic year of hire. The chair or interdisciplinary program coordinator will be responsible for mentoring the term hire and make sure he/she/they is/are aware of critical A&S and university policies. It is important to communicate the academic standards of the university to the new member of the community and make sure he/she/they has/have developed adequate materials (syllabus, texts, and relevant resources) for each course.

Note that the chair or interdisciplinary coordinator is also responsible for completing the contingent faculty performance review. 

Commuting Stipend

For temporary and restricted term appointments, whether full-time or part-time faculty, who must commute a one-way distance of more than 45 miles, we will allow for a one-time taxable stipend paid at the end of the semester based on the number of days that they travel to campus. Instructors who travel to campus to teach or provide instructional support are eligible for a stipend of up to $900 per semester based on the number of travel days per week e.g. instructors who teach and travel to campus one day per week are eligible for a taxable stipend of $300 per semester and for travel two days per week are eligible for a taxable stipend of $600 per semester. Faculty eligible for such one-time stipend should communicate with the A&S Dean’s office about their commuting schedule and submit this form within 30 days of the end of the semester.