Policy: 6.1 Provisional Letters of Employment/Non-Contract Employment/Summer and Mini Letter of Intents/Contracts

Adoption Date: August 6, 2015 Revised

PROVISIONAL LETTER OF EMPLOYMENT

New full-time faculty in the district will receive a Provisional Letter of Employment. Faculty must teach full time for a consecutive fall and spring semester the same academic year with the district before being eligible for a contract. Provisional letters for newly hired full-time faculty may begin two weeks prior to the official contract starting date for faculty. The letter of employment and a copy of the employee’s job description must be signed and returned to the president not later than fourteen (14) days from the date of issue or the offer of employment shall be void. The offer of a letter of employment may be withdrawn by the Board at any time before it is signed and delivered to the office of the president.

NON-CONTRACT EMPLOYMENT

Employees who are not tenured nor employed under the terms of a written employment contract have no property right and may be dismissed at will.

SUMMER AND MINI SEMESTER LETTER OF INTENT

A letter of intent for full-time faculty will be given to faculty being considered for summer and mini teaching assignments. This is non-contract employment. Pay will be determined according to the summer and mini pay policy for full-time faculty (Policy 6.6). The full-time status of a faculty member will change to adjunct the following term after official resignation or retirement if he/she teaches on a part-time basis. Pay will be determined according to the adjunct faculty pay schedule (Policy 9.4).

Faculty who will not be renewed the following academic semester may not be eligible to teach summer and mini terms. If eligible, pay will be according to the adjunct pay schedule (Policy 9.4).

CONTRACTS

An appointment is effective only for the term stated in the contract of employment and no property right is created beyond the term stated in the contract. Contracts may be issued for terms of one, two, or three years. To be eligible for a two‑year contract, an employee must have completed a minimum of five (5) years of continuous full‑time employment with the college. To be eligible for consideration for a three‑year contract, an employee must have completed a minimum of ten (10) years of continuous full‑time employment with the college. To initiate consideration for receiving an annually renewable two or three year term contract, each year an employee must submit a written report of achievements, contributions to the college, and other information that the employee feels may support the request. Employees wishing to request this contract term cannot be conditionally approved if on a disciplinary track. This written report must be submitted to the appropriate division director by February 1 of each year to be considered. Each division director will submit to the instructional administrator by March 1, a list of faculty members recommended for reappointment for one, two, or three-year contracts. The instructional administrator will compile a list of recommendations for the president who will submit a final recommended list to the Board of Trustees for approval.

Official notice of employment status is issued to faculty from the office of the president during April of each academic year. The official offer of employment is made when a completed contract is presented. The preparation of contracts is dependent upon the adoption of the college budget that may be delayed pending the passage of an appropriations bill by the State Legislature or other circumstances. All contracts and a copy of the employee’s job description must be signed and returned to the Human Resources office not later than fourteen (14) days from the date of issue or the offer of employment shall be void. The offer of a contract of employment may be withdrawn by the Board at any time before it is signed and delivered to the office of the president.

Lack of enrollment in the discipline in which a faculty member is employed may result in reassignment, non‑renewal, or cancellation of the contract.

A faculty member may be reassigned at any time if deemed necessary by the college administration and Board of Trustees.

Faculty will be compensated for additional assignments pursuant to the college compensation plan.

OUTSIDE EMPLOYMENT

Full‑time members of the faculty and staff are asked to inform their respective supervisor and cabinet member of any outside employment planned during the term of the individual contract or letter on an annual basis. This outside employment cannot interfere with job duties at Howard College.