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FACULTY HANDBOOK
Chapter 9: Other Teaching Titles:
Acting, Visiting, Consulting, By Courtesy, and Voluntary Clinical Appointments

Last updated: March 23, 2015
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The titles described in this chapter are used for the appointment of individuals to positions that are generally of a limited duration in order to perform teaching services on campus. Academic Staff-Teaching or Other Teaching Staff appointments are not appropriate for individuals who give a lecture or a series of lectures. Such individuals are Guest Speakers and should not have a formal appointment.

Persons holding these titles are not members of the Academic Council, the Medical Center Line, or the Academic Staff, nor do they accrue time toward tenure by length of service. There are significant variations in the circumstances under which individuals qualify for and secure appointments to these ranks. The length of term may vary from one quarter to one year and may be renewable; individuals may serve at full or part-time, with or without salary. The appointment process may vary according to school practice; however, department chairs are responsible for confirming that: a candidate meets the qualifications for the appointment; signs a written offer letter and completes any requisite training.

All individuals who teach a course for credit at Stanford University must have a professorial appointment or an Academic Staff-Teaching or Other Teaching appointment approved for the quarter or term in which the course is offered. This policy applies to other Stanford employees, such as administrators, who engage in teaching activities.

I. TITLES

A. Acting Appointments

1. Acting Instructor

Acting Instructor appointments are generally for one year and are often part-time; no more than three consecutive years of appointment at full time are normally permitted. Individuals at this rank are not yet ready for candidacy for Assistant Professor or Assistant Professor (Subject to Ph.D.) positions. Generally, there is no expectation of a Stanford professorial appointment following an Acting Instructor appointment. Persons holding this title are not members of the Academic Council, the Medical Center Line, or the Academic Staff, nor do they accrue time toward tenure by length of service.

Persons holding this rank may have full charge and responsibility for a departmental course (e.g., one for undergraduate majors). They also may assist in planning and execution of graduate course or seminar.

2. Other Acting Titles

Acting Assistant Professor
Acting Associate Professor
Acting Professor

These acting appointments are generally for one year; no more than three consecutive years of appointment at full-time are normally permitted. Individuals holding these ranks are qualified for the rank of the appointment but hold neither academic positions to which they would be returning nor positions in business or industry which would continue during the Stanford appointment (though in the latter case an individual may be on leave from an industrial position for the duration of the Stanford appointment).

These acting titles are used when individuals are filling in and/or when departments are clarifying their program needs. Persons holding this title are not members of the Academic Council, the Medical Center Line, or the Academic Staff, nor do they accrue time toward tenure by length of service. In some cases, especially at the assistant professor level, the acting appointment is a "holding" position for a period of time during which the department engages in a more careful search; the individual holding the acting appointment may be a principal candidate in the search. However, in general and especially at the associate and full professor levels, the expectation is that the title will be used for appointments of individuals who will have a short-term, non-career association with the University.

Individuals holding these acting titles may teach graduate seminars and participate in (but not direct) graduate research.

B. Visiting Appointments

Visiting Lecturer
Visiting Instructor
Visiting Assistant Professor
Visiting Associate Professor
Visiting Professor

Generally, visiting appointments are for one year, but they may be made from one to six years and are renewable. At all ranks, individuals must have leave from colleges or universities where they hold appointments which will not expire prior to expiration of the Stanford appointment. Individuals hold the visiting rank here that is the same (or the American equivalent) as their rank at their home institution. Persons holding this title are not members of the Academic Council, the Medical Center Line, or the Academic Staff, nor do they accrue time toward tenure by length of service. Individuals holding visiting appointments may teach graduate seminars and participate in (but not direct) graduate research.

C. Consulting Appointments

Consulting Assistant Professor
Consulting Associate Professor
Consulting Professor

Consulting appointments are generally for one year and are renewable. Individuals holding these titles are qualified for the various ranks, but their primary professional involvement is in business, industry, or government (e.g. Geological Survey), and their primary involvement continues during the Stanford appointment. Occasionally, these ranks are used for individuals are self-employed or retired.

Individuals holding consulting appointments may give a single course each quarter, or they may give a series of lectures within a course developed by a member of the faculty. They may teach graduate seminars and direct graduate research, though they may not be principal advisors on masters or doctoral theses. Persons holding this title are not members of the Academic Council, the Medical Center Line, or the Academic Staff, nor do they accrue time toward tenure by length of service.

Honoraria are the characteristic payments, but occasionally salaries are paid.

D. (By courtesy) Appointments

Assistant Professor (By courtesy)
Associate Professor (By courtesy)
Professor (By courtesy)

A special use of the designation (By courtesy) applies to individuals who are not members of the Stanford faculty, but to whom the University wishes to extend a title that conveys a closer tie than Consulting Professor. (Courtesy appointments for individuals who are members of the Stanford professoriate are discussed in Chapter 2, Section 2, IV.B of this Handbook.) This use of the (By courtesy) title is limited to individuals from the following institutions: the Carnegie Institution of Plant Biology, the Hoover Institution, the National Bureau of Economic Research, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, and the Director of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences. Individuals holding (By courtesy) professorial titles are not members of the Academic Council, the Medical Center Line, or the Academic Staff, nor do they accrue time toward acquisition of tenure by length of service. They may offer courses in the courtesy department or school when invited to do so. Their involvement in departmental or school activities will vary according to the policies of the particular unit. Individuals holding (By courtesy) professorial titles do not have departmental voting privileges. (By courtesy) professorial appointments are subject to periodic review according to a timetable worked out at school and departmental levels.

E. Voluntary Clinical Appointments

Clinical Instructor
Clinical Assistant Professor
Clinical Associate Professor
Clinical Professor

Voluntary clinical appointments are made in the School of Medicine only. They are made for varying terms as specified in the Medical Faculty Handbook. The rank of the appointment is determined by the Department in which the appointment is made on the basis of training, experience, scientific contributions, general reputation in the medical community, and specific service to the Department and the School of Medicine. Persons holding this title are not members of the Academic Council, the Medical Center Line, or the Academic Staff, nor do they accrue time toward tenure by length of service.

F. Teaching Specialist

This title is used exclusively in the Department of Athletics, Physical Education and Recreation. Persons holding this title are not members of the Academic Council, the Medical Center Line, or the Academic Staff, nor do they accrue time toward tenure by length of service.

G. Professor of the Practice

This position is appropriate for exceptional practitioners in business and other professions to whom the University wishes to extend a title that conveys a closer tie and longer term commitment than that of Consulting Professor. Appointments to this position will be relatively rare. Candidates for Professor of the Practice shall have terminal degrees in disciplines related to the school’s programs or equivalent professional experience and shall have achieved exceptional distinction as practitioners in such disciplines.  If the candidate will have a primary assignment as an instructor, he or she also must have demonstrated evidence of effective teaching ability.

Professors of the Practice are generally expected to devote a substantial portion of their professional life to the school. This title is not appropriate for individuals who may meet the qualifications but only teach a single course per year.  Individuals appointed to this position may not hold academic positions to which they would be returning or positions in business or the professions which would continue full time during the Stanford appointment. An individual may be on leave from a position for the duration of the Stanford appointment. This title is not appropriate for individuals whose profession is or has been primarily academic.

Involvement in departmental or school activities will vary according to the programmatic need and policies of the particular unit. Persons holding this title may have full charge and responsibility for a departmental course for undergraduate majors. They may teach graduate seminars; however, they may not direct graduate research or be principal advisors on masters or doctoral theses. They are not eligible to act as principal investigators on sponsored research projects.

Appointments may be for terms of up to five years and are renewable. Appointments may be terminated for just cause, when satisfactory performance ceases or for programmatic reasons, including budgetary considerations. Professors of the Practice are considered full-time when they work for 3 consecutive quarters (i.e., autumn, winter, spring). Professors of the Practice may apply for leave without salary. Such leaves must be reviewed for approval by the individual’s dean.

The Provost shall make such appointments to this position in consultation with the Advisory Board. A school may recommend an individual to the Provost by submitting a letter from the dean with the individual’s CV. The recommendation should provide information on the specific responsibilities intended for the candidate and should discuss the evidence of the candidate’s qualifications for the position. Reappointments shall be made through the same process.

JCC
1245 - Professor of the Practice – New (continuing)
9174 - Professor of the Practice – New (temporary)

II. PROCEDURES FOR APPOINTMENTS AND REAPPOINTMENTS

A. Procedures

The form, "Recommendation for Teaching Appointment, Academic and Other Teaching Staff" should be used for all teaching appointments of individuals to these titles. The recommendation should note the circumstances which warrant the appointment. If the candidate is substituting for a faculty member on leave, the name and leave status of that faculty member must be included. If the candidate is recommended for an interim appointment while a search is ongoing to fill a faculty billet, the recommendation should note the position.

Further, the recommendation should provide information on the specific responsibilities of the candidate beyond teaching. All recommendations should briefly discuss available evidence of the candidate’s teaching ability. Finally, the recommendation should explain how the candidate and his or her qualifications came to the notice of the department.

When an individual is proposed for reappointment, whether salaried or nonsalaried, the department or school must submit a new recommendation form rather than a memorandum of reappointment. If the reappointment is for more than one year, or if the candidate will have served for three years during which time no evaluation of teaching effectiveness has been presented, the recommendation should discuss evidence to date of the candidate’s teaching. In most instances, however, the renewal recommendation may simply refer to the original appointment form and need merely update the record (e.g., visa status, current outside employment, future courses, etc.)

B. Notice of Non-renewal or Termination

In the case of those holding the titles described in this chapter, appointments are often made for fixed terms on a temporary basis with no expectation of renewal. Others are made with the possibility of renewal. In cases where the appointment is made with the explicit statement of the possibility of renewal, the notice provisions applicable to Senior Lecturers and Lecturers as described in Chapter 6, Article III of this handbook apply.

III. POLICIES

A. Family and Medical Leave (effective January, 1995)

1. Maternity Leave

California’s Pregnancy Disability Leave Law allows for leave of up to four months due to medically certified, pregnancy-related disability. During Maternity Leave, the individual remains on the regular Stanford payroll at full salary, but she is expected to apply for Short-Term Disability Insurance according to established procedures. (Specific instructions are available in the Benefits Office and should also be available in department and dean’s offices.) The length of Maternity Leave is determined by the individual’s physician, who certifies the number of weeks that she is disabled, both before and after delivery. All disability checks must be endorsed back to her department. Although the disability payments do not cover the full amount of the individual’s salary, they partially reimburse the University account that supports it.

To be eligible for Maternity Leave, an individual must be benefits eligible - that is, she must have worked at Stanford for at least six months at 50% time or more for the period preceding the leave. Maternity Leave does not extend the term of the current appointment.

2. Family and Medical Leave

Stanford’s policy on Family and Medical Leave for those holding other teaching titles follows the guidelines of the California Family Rights Act of 1991 (amended in 1993) and the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993. This legislation provides for up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave in any 12 month period for certain family and medical reasons. Family or Medical Leave may be taken for the following reasons:

  • to care for the individual’s spouse (including same-sex domestic partner), child, or parent who has a serious health condition;
  • for an individual’s serious health condition. (In this case the individual may be eligible or short-term or long-term disability payments.)
  • the birth of a child or the placement of a child with the individual for adoption or foster care.

A serious health condition is defined as any illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition serious enough to involve hospitalization, in-patient care in a residential medical facility, or continuing treatment or supervision by a health care provider.

To be eligible for Family or Medical Leave, an individual must have been employed by Stanford (within the U. S.) for at least 12 months at 50% of full time or more. An individual is not eligible if he/she has used the maximum yearly leave provided by law.

When the need for family leave is foreseeable, requests for Family or Medical Leave should be made sufficiently in advance to allow the school or department to make replacement teaching and other arrangements.

During Family or Medical Leave, the University continues its contributions toward medical and dental group health plans. The individual continues to be responsible for paying his or her own premium. If additional leave is approved beyond the 12 weeks of Family or Medical Leave, the individual must pay the University’s portion of the monthly premium in addition to his or her own premium to ensure continuous insurance coverage. However, Family and Medical Leave does not extend the term of the current appointment.


Provider: Faculty Affairs, Office of the Provost, Stanford University


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