HR policy - Reduced FTE Appointments for Ranked Faculty

Ranked faculty may request a temporary reduction in full-time equivalent (FTE) workload for one semester or one academic year. Wisconsin statute and UW-L Faculty Personnel Rules allow for faculty to have any fraction of appointment at or above 50 percent.

Functional Owner	Deans
Executive Sponsors	Provost & Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
Policy Contact	Faculty Senate or Provost’s Office

Who this policy applies to:

Faculty

Rationale:

Wisconsin statute and UW-L Faculty Personnel Rules allow for faculty to have any fraction of appointment at or above 50 percent. (See end of document for statute and personnel rules.) This policy provides options, along with workload expectations and procedures, for part-time appointments.

Ranked faculty may request a temporary reduction in full-time equivalent (FTE) workload for one semester or one academic year. Requests must follow established procedures and receive appropriate approvals. This policy aligns with Faculty Senate and Chancellor endorsed guidelines regarding part time appointments and personnel review.

Policy Detail:

Eligibility and Approval Process

Faculty seeking a reduced appointment must complete the following steps:

Work with their department chair to develop a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).
Obtain endorsement from the department (as determined by by-laws).
Submit the MOU to the Dean for review.
The Dean forwards the MOU to the Provost for final approval.

Workload Framework

Reduced workload agreements should commence with the following faculty workload model used for calculating leave when considering a full semester or full academic year. These percentages may not represent departmental or college considerations of workload for the purposes of personnel review. Review of reduced appointment duties should align with the Faculty Senate policy on part-time faculty appointments.

Workload distribution:

60% teaching (based on 12 credit/contact hours)
40% scholarship/creative activity & service

Teaching workload calculations:

Twelve credits/contact hour equal 60% of total workload.
For example:

Two credit course = 10% workload
Three credit course = 15% workload
Four credit course = 20% workload
Five credit course = 25% workload

Faculty reduced appointments must align with whole courses as determined by the department’s curricular offerings.
Faculty may propose proportional reductions in teaching, scholarship or creative activity, and service, using the distribution as the baseline.
Each MOU must specify:

The total reduced workload percentage (for example, 60% FTE).

Teaching is expected to be F2F unless agreed upon by the department and Dean. Courses in fully online program courses will be online. Modality should not be included in the MOU as needs may change.

The percentage assigned to each workload component.

Example:
60% FTE consisting of 30% teaching (two three-credit courses), 15% scholarship/creative activity, and 15% service.

As teaching is the primary mission of UWL, teaching should be the majority component of the reduced workload agreement.

Duration and Renewal

An MOU may cover only one semester or one academic year.
Requests for continued reduced appointments require submission of a new MOU and approval through the full review process.

Salary and Compensation

Salary will be reduced in proportion to the approved FTE level. Example: A 60% workload corresponds to 60% of base salary.
FTE reduction arrangements should be budget neutral as determined by college instructional academic staff rates. The Dean may be unable to support a request for budgetary reasons.

Evaluation and Departmental Policies

Department bylaws related to teaching, scholarship or creative activity, and service remain in effect.
Expectations and evaluations of scholarly or creative activity must align with:

The Faculty Senate part time work policy, and
The approved FTE percentage in the MOU for each component.

Special Appointments and Leave

Library workload adjustments require approval by the department, Library Director, and Provost.
Faculty combining reduced appointments with sick leave or other forms of leave must consult Human Resources.

Benefits and Retirement

Faculty should consult Human Resources before finalizing a reduced workload agreement to understand the impact of reduced appointments on benefits and retirement.

Relationship to Faculty Personnel Review

Faculty Senate has a part-time tenure policy that guides aspects of review when there is an FTE reduction.
UW System and UWL faculty personnel rules allow probationary faculty to “stop” the tenure clock for several reasons (i.e. childbirth, adoption, elder/dependent care, etc.). A faculty member may request a delay of up to one year. For specific information on stoppage, contact your respective Deans office. For specific information on stoppage as it pertains to an extended leave, contact the Office of Human Resources. Tenure clock stoppage results in extending the probationary period. Personnel rules UWS 3.04 and UW-L 3.04 apply.

Faculty that request a tenure stoppage receive an additional period in which they may be considered for a tenure recommendation – it extends the tenure decision past the original date. This stoppage does not also stop the retention decisions of faculty. Retention decisions continue on their normal review cycle; however, if the tenure stoppage is due to a medical or disability related event, the faculty member should speak to Human Resources about possible impact regarding their retention decisions.

State Statute[AJ1] :

Wisconsin State Statutes (36.13(2)(c)) indicates that:

(c) A tenure appointment may be granted to any ranked faculty member who holds or will hold a half-time appointment or more. The proportion of time provided for in the appointment may not be diminished nor increased without the mutual consent of the faculty member and the institution subject only to sub. (5) and s.36.21.

Faculty tenure appointment percentages of 50-100% is also in the Faculty Personnel Rules

Chapter 3, specifically UWS 3.04.

UW-L Faculty Personnel Rules:

UWL 3.04 Probationary appointments

Responsibilities:

N/A

Links to related information: