At Stanford, the non-professorial academic staff is composed
of the Academic Staff-Teaching (persons holding the titles Lecturer, Senior
Lecturer, and Artist-in-Residence) and the Academic Staff-Research (persons
holding the titles Research Associate, Senior Research Scientist, Senior
Research Engineer, and Senior Research Scholar). For policies and guidelines
pertaining to the Academic Staff-Research, see the Research
Policy Handbook 9.1.
The following policies and guidelines pertain to the Academic
Staff-Teaching. They shall be subject to revision by the Provost from
time to time. Requests for exceptions to these guidelines must be approved
by the Provost’s Office.
All individuals who teach a course for credit at Stanford
University must have a professorial appointment or an Academic Staff-Teaching
or Other Teaching Staff 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. For information
about Other Teaching Staff appointments, see Chapter
9 of this handbook.
Individuals appointed as Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, and
Artist-in-Residence are not members of the Academic Council; they are,
therefore, not normally eligible to act as principal investigators on
sponsored research projects. (See the Research
Policy Handbook 2.4 for information about principal investigatorship.)
Lecturers, Senior Lecturers, and Artists-in-Residence are not eligible
to take sabbatical leaves. Although they may apply as candidates for open
faculty posts, they are not on a tenure line.
I. TERMS OF APPOINTMENT
1. These guidelines, and any modifications thereof, will
be made available to all administrative personnel and academic staff members,
and, upon request, to other members of the Stanford faculty and staff.
2. Academic staff appointments shall be made either:
a. For a stipulated length of time.
b. For a continuing term of appointment. The "continuing
term" is not a tenured appointment. Rather, "continuing term
of appointment" signifies that the individual will be terminated
only for just cause, for lack of satisfactory performance, or for lack
of programmatic need (including budgetary considerations).
c. For the duration of either an administrative appointment
or a specific project.
Academic staff appointed for a stipulated length of time
or for a continuing term of appointment are entitled to the notice provisions
of Article III below. An academic staff appointment made for the duration
of an administrative appointment or a specific project shall, unless otherwise
expressly stipulated, be construed as terminating on the expiration of
the administrative appointment or the project.
A. Lecturer Appointments
The title of Lecturer is used for individuals who perform
a significant amount of the regular instruction with continuing programmatic
need in departments and programs; for persons of special expertise or
scholarly distinction either in the local community or on the non-teaching
University staff who are asked on an occasional basis to give a course
or part of a course in their special fields; and for individuals who
are employed to meet specific departmental needs created by faculty
leaves or unanticipated student load. In all of the above cases, the
needed courses will be well-defined and the goals will be established
by the faculty of the department or program.
Lecturers who serve in positions for which continuing
programmatic need exists teach under supervision by or with guidance
from one or more faculty members and/or Senior Lecturers. Faculty members
in departments and programs are responsible for defining the intellectual
goals of the program at the time the Lecturer position is requested
and for continuing supervision and review/revision of goals.
Lecturer appointments are expected to be full-time to
the extent possible, except that some part-time positions provide the
flexibility needed to accommodate enrollment variation, and some other
needs are only part-time in nature.
Initial appointments of Lecturers at 50 percent time
or more are generally expected to be for one-year terms, and should
be no more than two-year terms, with the possibility of reappointment
after a review by the faculty and Senior Lecturer(s) responsible for
the program for a term not to exceed five years of total service at
50 percent time or more. During the fifth year of employment at 50 percent
time or more, Lecturers may be reviewed for possible reappointment to
an additional five year term or, in those cases in which the needs of
the program meet the criteria, for possible promotion to the rank of
Senior Lecturer by a review committee of no more than six members, at
least three of whom are Academic Council members. There is no limit
on the number of five-year reappointments a Lecturer may be granted
as long as there is an outstanding teaching record and continued programmatic
need.
Lecturers should have annual conferences with department
chairs or their designees to discuss their performance and department
expectations.
Lecturers in positions of continuing programmatic need
should be integrated into the governance of their departments, although
they do not have Academic Council membership. Departments should not
expect Lecturers to take on departmental administration and advisory
roles beyond those associated with the specific programmatic need for
which they were appointed.
B. Senior Lecturer
Appointments
The title of Senior Lecturer is associated with
a demonstrably higher level of responsibility and teaching excellence
than that of a Lecturer, rather than with seniority or longevity; and
there is normally only a limited number of Senior Lecturer positions in
any program.
The primary evaluation of a Lecturer for appointment or promotion to Senior Lecturer is by a review committee appointed by the department, program, or school that consists of no more than six individuals, at least three of whom must be Academic Council members. Appointments at the rank of Senior Lecturer may be for a term of up to five years’ duration or for a continuing term.. Senior Lecturers should have annual meetings with department chairs or their designees to discuss performance and departmental expectations; and departments should carry out regular, in-depth evaluations of Senior Lecturers no more frequently than every three years and no less frequently than every five years.
Senior Lecturers in positions of continuing programmatic
need should be integrated into the governance of their departments,
although they do not have Academic Council membership. Departments should
not expect Senior Lecturers to take on departmental administration and
advisory roles beyond those associated with the specific programmatic
need for which they were appointed.
C. Additional Comments
on Continuing Term Appointments
A Senior Lecturer on continuing appointment is subject
to termination for just cause, for lack of satisfactory performance,
or for programmatic reasons (including budgetary considerations). Although
a department or school may foresee a continuing programmatic need at
the time of appointment or promotion to Senior Lecturer, that need may
change. For example, the department or school may decide to phase out
a particular area altogether. Or an area may simply be phased down,
necessitating a decrease in the teaching staff. Alternately, a department
or school may have had a small program in a specific field, with a few
courses taught by a Senior Lecturer but no graduate training in the
field. The decision might be made to build up the area into a graduate
program or in other ways which would necessitate the appointment of
faculty members rather than teaching staff. Appointment as a Senior
Lecturer on a continuing appointment is, thus, not tenured. Rather,
it is always subject to continuing programmatic need and satisfactory
performance.
D. Artist-in-Residence Appointments
Artists-in-Residence, a rank established by the
Provost in September, 1996, may be appointed at full or part-time for
any term of up to five years, and, depending on programmatic need (including
budgetary considerations) and performance, may be reappointed to an unlimited
number of consecutive terms of up to five years. They may not be considered
for continuing terms of appointment. Artists-in-Residence will have teaching
and/or other responsibilities, such as performance, specified by their
department. Artists-in-Residence will have annual conferences with their
department chairpersons or their designees to discuss performance and
department expectations.
II. PROCEDURES
FOR APPOINTMENTS, REAPPOINTMENTS, AND PROMOTIONS
Appointment recommendations for Lecturers and term appointments
of Senior Lecturers are approved by the Provost or her designate. Promotions
to or appointments of Senior Lecturers for continuing terms are reviewed
by the Provost and the Chair of the Advisory Board and approved by the
President. Appointments of Artists-in-Residence are approved by the
Provost and reported to the Advisory Board and President.
The Appendix D form, “Recommendation
for Teaching Appointment, Lecturers and Other Teaching Staff” should
be used for teaching appointments of Lecturers; Visiting, Consulting,
and Clinical Assistant Professors, Associate Professors, and Professors;
Acting, Visiting and Clinical Instructors; and appointments (By courtesy).
For appointments of Senior Lecturers or Artists-in-Residence, use the
Appendix E form, “Recommendation for Appointment
as Senior Lecturer or Artist-in-Resident.”
There are significant variations in the circumstances
under which individuals qualify for and secure appointments in the Academic
Staff-Teaching ranks. The length of term may vary from one quarter to
continuing term; individuals may serve at part-time or full-time, with
or without salary. The recommendation procedure and form are designed
to insure that an appointee is qualified for his or her specific role,
as well as to provide departments, schools, and the Provost with information
concerning the specific circumstances which warrant the appointment,
the courses to be taught by the appointee, etc. Recommendations submitted
are reviewed in the Provost’s Office. Retroactive appointments
are considered only in unusual circumstances; a person without a valid
teaching appointment should not commence teaching responsibilities without
approval of the Provost.
A. Search Procedures
When a department or school proposes the appointment,
reappointment, or promotion of a salaried Lecturer or Senior Lecturer,
the dean and department chair must be especially concerned with a careful
evaluation of the department’s or school’s programmatic need
for the position. The recommendation should include a brief statement
outlining the programmatic reasons which warrant the appointment and
describing the specific role that the candidate is expected to fill.
Deans and department chairs must also be concerned with
a careful evaluation of the candidate’s teaching ability. For appointments
or reappointments of one year or less, the recommendation should briefly
describe available evidence of the candidate’s teaching abilities.
For appointments, reappointments, or promotions of durations greater
than one year, the recommendation should specify the kinds of teaching
expected of the candidate and provide specific evidence of teaching
performance in those areas, including faculty and student evaluations.
If the candidate is presently at Stanford, the evaluation should include
a summary of teaching commitments for the period of time that the individual
has taught at Stanford (up to three years) with course titles and numbers,
units, and enrollments.
For new appointments as Lecturer or Senior Lecturer
averaging half-time or more for one year or more, departments and schools
are obligated to conduct a search for the position. The search range
should be appropriate to the position and need not be national in every
instance. The method of search should be briefly described on the recommendation
form (e.g., names of institutions contacted, method and extent of advertising,
if applicable). Outside sources consulted for information, and evaluation
of possible candidates should be listed. Candidates seriously considered
should be listed in order of priority. If the recommended candidate
was not the first choice, the recommendation should include an explanation
of the priority.
If the candidate is not a woman or a member of an ethnic
minority included within the Affirmative Action Program, the recommendation
should indicate which candidates do fall within the program and describe
the affirmative action search followed with respect to the recommendation.
Note that all letters and advertisements soliciting applicants must
include a sentence like: "Stanford University is an equal opportunity
employer and welcomes nominations of women and minority group members
or applications from them." The sentence should be sufficiently
strong so that applicants from these groups are encouraged to apply,
but not so strong that individuals who are not members of these groups
are discouraged from applying. It is desirable to notify female and
minority group caucuses of the appropriate professional societies of
the position.
When the recommendation is for less than one year or
averages less than half-time, the department or school should simply
indicate how the candidate and his or her qualifications came to the
notice of the department or school.
B. Appointment Percentage
of Time Considerations
Academic Staff-Teaching are considered full-time when
they work for 3 consecutive quarters (i.e., autumn, winter, spring)
or 2 semesters with pay at 100% time in each quarter or semester. In
this case, they are appointed from September 1 through August 31. Percentages
of full time (e.g., 75%, 50%) for appointments which are made for the
year are determined by the average percentage of time the Academic Staff-Teaching
member works during autumn, winter, and spring quarters.
Members of the Academic Staff-Teaching who are appointed
from September 1 through August 31 may elect to have their salary paid
over a 12-month period and receive University contributions to benefits
plans every month in accordance with their percent time of appointment.
Those who choose to be paid over a 9-, 10-, or 11-month period receive
University contributions to benefits plans every month in accordance
with their percent time of appointment, but must make special arrangements
with the Benefits Office for the employee’s contribution during
periods in which salary is not paid. Academic Staff-Teaching who are
reappointed annually must have their next year’s appointment in
place by July 1 of the current year in order to fall under this provision.
The Lecturer title may also be used for individuals
who are on duty in non-sequential quarters during a single year and/or
whose total service in any academic year averages to less than half-time.
Departments and schools are encouraged to anticipate teaching needs
for the year at the time of initial appointment and, if possible, to
avoid quarter by quarter appointments. Departments and schools cannot
always determine teaching needs in advance (e.g., last-minute enrollments
may necessitate further teaching service, etc.). In such cases the department
or school should recommend a Lecturer appointment for the minimum number
of quarters and at the minimum percent time in each that can be foreseen
as necessary at the time of the appointment. If additional teaching
service is required, the percent time can be increased, or additional
teaching personnel can be hired.
C. A Note on Visas
To hire a person from another country is a significant
action, and the responsibility undertaken should be fully understood.
The limitations and procedures pertaining to immigrant visas should
be reviewed before an offer of long-term employment is made to a non-United
States citizen, whether now residing abroad or in the United States
on a nonimigrant visa. The Director of the Bechtel International Center
has been designated by the President to handle visa matters for foreign
nationals, to advise in matters regarding immigration laws and regulations,
and to execute visa petitions and other visa documents for the University.
Before a preliminary offer of employment is made to a non-United States
citizen and before the recommendation is forwarded to the Provost, the
department chairperson or dean must contact the Director of the Bechtel
International Center.
III. PRIOR NOTICE OF NON-RENEWAL
AND TERMINATION
A. Lecturers, Senior Lecturers, and Artists-in-Residence
holding salaried appointments for a term of one year shall be notified
of non-renewal not later than March 15. Those holding salaried appointments
for terms of two or more years shall be notified of nonrenewal not later
than December 1 of the final academic year of the appointment. Failure
to give timely notice of nonrenewal shall entitle the individual to a
special reappointment for an additional terminal year.
B. When a Senior Lecturer holding a salaried continuing
term of appointment is terminated for reasons of programmatic need (including
budgetary considerations) or lack of satisfactory performance, he or
she shall be notified of termination not later than December 1 of the
final academic year of the appointment. Failure to give timely notice
of termination shall entitle the individual to a special reappointment
for an additional terminal year.
C. When a Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, or Artist-in-Residence
is terminated for just cause, including substantial and manifest incompetence
or professional misconduct, he or she is entitled to 30 days’ written
notice of termination. Such dismissals are reviewed by the Provost’s
Office. In extreme cases, pay in lieu of notice may be given with the
concurrence of the Provost’s Office.
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