Procedures for Appointing and Promoting Clinical/Professional Faculty

Requests for the establishment of Clinical/Professional Faculty positions must originate within the academic unit and receive approval by the head, dean and the Chancellor or Provost, as the case may be.

The request must be consistent with the policy on Clinical/Professional Faculty Appointment and Promotion (VI.F.10) and define the nature of the activity of Clinical/Professional Faculty that distinguishes them from tenure-track faculty.

When establishing Clinical/Professional Faculty positions, the required degrees, qualifications and experience will be determined by the appointing department or school. All Clinical/Professional Faculty must have a primary commitment to assist the unit in meeting its programmatic need for clinical services, instruction, engagement and/or the professional development of students. Additional requirements must be included for each designation as follows:

• Instructor: The candidate must exhibit documented expertise in clinical instruction or professional practice and be qualified to participate in the educational programs of the unit.
• Assistant Professor: The candidate must exhibit documented expertise in clinical or professional practice and be qualified to participate in the educational programs of the department. When appropriate, the unit may require the candidate to have specialty certification prior to being appointed.
• Associate Professor: The candidate must exhibit documented expertise in clinical instruction or professional practice, be qualified to participate in the educational programs of the department or school and demonstrate evidence of excellence in teaching. In addition, the candidate is expected to have scholarly accomplishments with a demonstrated or emerging prominence in his or her field at the state, regional, national or international level as appropriate.
• Professor: The candidate must exhibit documented expertise in clinical instruction or professional practice, demonstrate a high level of professional and scholarly accomplishment and have achieved recognition by his or her peers at the state, regional, national or international level as appropriate.

Upon gaining approval for the establishment of Clinical/Professional Faculty positions, academic units may appoint Clinical/Professional Faculty within the allowable appointment limits applicable to their campus, college, school and/or department. The following guidelines pertain to appointments:

• Searches or search waivers are required for these positions.
• Clinical/Professional Faculty will be appointed as salaried members in their specific department or school. The sum of all faculty and staff appointments the individual holds with the University, when added to the Clinical/Professional Faculty appointment, must equal at least half-time (50%).
• The initial period of appointment is up to three years. Contracts for individuals at the rank of instructor or assistant professor may be renewed for terms not to exceed increments of three years. Contracts for individuals at the rank of associate professor or professor may be renewed for terms in increments of up to five years. Appointments are made at the discretion of the head and with approval of the dean and the Provost or Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, as the case may be, based on successful performance assessments.
• A notice of at least six months in advance of contract expiration is required in the event of non-renewal during the first three years of employment; a minimum of 12 months’ notice is required for non-renewal associated with subsequent contracts.
• Clinical/Professional Faculty members are expected to provide at least six months’ notice of intent to resign.
• There will be no transfers between any other faculty classification and Clinical/Professional Faculty appointments. However, faculty holding a position of one type will be allowed to apply for a declared, open position of another type and be considered through the normal national search and screening process.
• Professional development funds will be provided to Clinical/Professional Faculty at the discretion of the head and dean.

• Annual Merit Review: Clinical/Professional Faculty members are eligible for annual merit increases in accordance with the annual salary policies approved for each campus. Determination of merit increases will be based on an annual merit review. Clinical/Professional Faculty will be reviewed according to the same time frame and following the same procedures and processes that are used for the annual merit reviews of tenure-track and tenured faculty in their respective department or school.
• Promotion Review: Clinical/Professional Faculty members are not subject to the probationary periods applicable to tenure-track faculty. They may be considered for promotion when their departmental colleagues and the head/chair believe they evidence the record to be promoted. This process frequently occurs on a timeline similar to that for tenure-track faculty members. Clinical/Professional Faculty members are eligible for promotion in rank from instructor to assistant professor to associate professor to professor. Criteria for promotion are established by each college or school.

Policies and procedures for promotion within the Clinical/Professional Faculty ranks must be established by each individual college or school in conjunction with the Provost Promotion and Tenure Guidelines (as amended or superseded). Recommendations for changes in rank will follow the timeline for Panels A and B, in accordance with guidelines issued annually by the Provost. Each regional campus may choose to establish these policies and procedures at the campus level.

Centrally-allocated salary increments for promotion are to be consistent with those associated with promotion for tenure-track faculty.

At least one Clinical/Professional Faculty member at the professor level will sit with the Primary and Area Committees when Clinical/Professional Faculty are considered for promotion. At least one Clinical/Professional Faculty member at the associate professor or professor level will sit with the Primary Committee in review of promotion of Clinical/Professional Faculty instructors and assistant professors. When this minimum number of Clinical/Professional Faculty is not available in the candidate’s department, additional Clinical/Professional Faculty full and/or associate professors shall be appointed by the chair of the area committee to which the primary committee reports, following consultation with the appropriate department head.

On the West Lafayette campus, consistent with existing University policy, after approval by the Primary and Area Committees, the promotion document will be forwarded to the Office of the Provost for consideration by Panel B. The names of candidates recommended for promotion by Panel B will be forwarded by the Provost to the President, who in turn makes his/her recommendations to the Board of Trustees for final action.

On the regional campuses, final recommendations will be forwarded by the Chancellor to the Provost for approval prior to recommendation to the President.

The procedures for termination for cause as outlined in the Principles and Policies for Academic Freedom, Responsibilities and Tenure, and Procedures for Termination of Faculty Appointments for Cause (Executive Memorandum No. B-48), as amended or superseded, apply to Clinical/Professional Faculty.

July 1, 2014: Procedures established in support of the policy on Clinical/Professional Faculty Appointment and Promotion (VI.F.10).