Barnard College Office of the Provost & Dean of the Faculty

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Department Chairs' Timeline
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II. Faculty
A. Department Meetings
B. Appointments and Searches
C. Review, Reappointment, and Promotion
D. Tenure Nomination
E. Leaves
F. Internal Research and Travel Grants
G. Institutional and Individual Sponsored Researc

A. Department Meetings

The Chair is expected to convene department meetings for all full-time faculty members at regular intervals, depending on need and department size, usually at least once a semester.

The agenda for department meetings usually includes issues involving personnel, curriculum planning, teaching assignments, communication or coordination with counterpart Columbia department, student program planning, major advising and events, student honors and prizes, and administrative matters. When possible, and especially when issues are likely to involve considerable discussion, an agenda should be circulated in advance of the meeting.

For some personnel issues, especially those involving review, promotion and tenure nominations, and some appointments, as indicated in the Barnard College Code of Academic Freedom and Tenure [Academic Code], the tenured members of the department meet in executive session.

B. Appointments and Searches

Titles
Officers of instruction are appointed formally by the Provost to provide full-time or part-time instruction at Barnard. The Chair should consult the Academic Code for the qualifications and conditions for the various academic titles and grades of office. They include:

Ladder ranks:

Professor, Associate Professor, Assistant Professor, and Instructor;

Off-Ladder ranks:

Visiting Professor, Visiting Associate Professor, and Visiting Assistant Professor;

Adjunct Professor, Adjunct Associate Professor, and Adjunct Assistant Professor;

Term Professor, Term Associate Professor, and Term Assistant Professor;

Professor of Professional Practice, Associate Professor of Professional Practice, and Assistant Professor of Professional Practice;

Associate, Senior Associate;

Lecturer, Senior Lecturer;

Special Lecturer;

Research Professor; and

Teaching Assistant.

Research Scientist and Research Scholar are non-salaried positions which carry neither teaching responsibilities nor other privileges associated with faculty appointment. They do provide the person with institutional identity for the purpose of conducting scholarly research, along with access to Barnard and Columbia libraries and computing services. Appointment to these titles must have the recommendation of the ATP.

Activating an Appointment for Payroll
After consulting the Academic Code, the Chair should confirm the appropriate academic title with the Provost. Once the details of a new faculty appointment have been confirmed with the Provost, and the candidate has accepted the position, the Chair submits an appointment form (Appendix Acontains the form and detailed instructions for completing it) to the Manager of Academic Administration in the Provost's Office, so the appointment can be formally processed. Appointment forms for adjuncts, part-time faculty, TA's and graders must be submitted no later than September 10 for the fall semester and January 10 for the spring semester.

Length of Appointments
All full-time officers of instruction without tenure, with the exception of Professor, Associate Professor, Senior Associate, and Senior Lecturer, are usually appointed to initial terms of one year or less. The Chair must submit new appointment forms each year for reappointment of all part-time faculty and those full-time faculty in limited-term off-ladder ranks. New appointment forms do not have to be submitted annually for full-time continuing faculty or limited-term off-ladder faculty with multi-year appointments.

Department Procedures on Faculty Appointments
As noted in the Academic Code, recommendations on appointments, reappointments, promotions, and tenure must be made by a majority vote of the department's Professors and Associate Professors holding rank higher than that of the person being considered, except that Assistant Professors, Senior Associates, and Senior Lecturers may vote on non-tenure appointments to equal or lower rank. Recommendations about temporary appointments for one year or less which have to be made when the College is not in session are made by the Chair in consultation with the Provost.

Search Procedures
Appointments, other than temporary and part-time appointments, are made only after public announcement of vacancies and the screening of applicants in accordance with the equal employment opportunity policies of the College and after appropriate consultation with the University according to the terms of the Intercorporate Agreement. (Adapted from Academic Code, Section V.B, p. 15)

No searches can be undertaken nor appointments recommended without the prior approval of the Provost. The authorization process for a search for a full-time member of the Faculty begins with a petition from the Chair to the Provost, submitted no later than March 1 for searches to be conducted in the coming academic year. The Provost consults with the Faculty Budget and Planning Committee, and, upon the recommendation of the FBPC and the Provost, the President decides whether a search may be initiated. If approval is given, the Provost notifies the Chair that planning for the search may begin. For details on what the search petition should contain and on search procedures, refer to Appendix B, "Searches," BEFORE submitting a search petition to the Provost. (A sample timeline to assist in planning of searches is also included in Appendix B.)

Any Columbia member of a search committee must recuse him/herself from winnowing and ranking whenever a candidate affiliated with Columbia University, either as a student, former student, or current faculty member, is considered by the committee. The Chair of the Search may, at his/her discretion, solicit the opinion of the Columbia member of the committee about any such candidate.

C. Review, Reappointment, and Promotion

The Chair should consult the Academic Code for details about the procedures for appointment, reappointment, non-renewal, resignation and retirement. (Section V).

Periodic reviews of faculty serve two purposes. First, a thorough review of a junior colleague's work offers an important opportunity to promote his or her development as a scholar and teacher. Through constructive, informative, and timely evaluations, senior faculty members can contribute significantly to the professional development of their colleagues. Second, periodic reviews are necessary for reappointment and departmental recommendations for tenure and/or promotion.

Each full-time faculty member submits annually a Faculty Personnel Form (Appendix C) to the Chair and to the Provost. The Chair makes use of these forms, along with other data such as teaching evaluations, course syllabi, and scholarly work, to conduct an annual review and to make recommendations regarding reappointment and salary by May 15.

Comprehensive third-year reviews are mandated in the Academic Code (Section V) for Assistant Professors, Associates and Lecturers. See Appendices D and E for the "Procedures for the Third Year Review of Assistant Professors" and "Guidelines on Methods of Teaching Evaluation for Tenure."

Internal Promotions: A full-time Associate or Lecturer is reviewed for promotion by the department no later than the seventh year of full-time service. (Academic Code, Section III) Tenured Associate Professors indicate when they wish to be considered for promotion to the rank of Professor, usually not until they have been in rank for at least five years. See Appendices F and G for "Schedule and Procedures for Recommending Internal Promotions to the ATP," "Internal Promotion Dossier Instructions," and "Format of Curriculum Vitae for Internal Promotion Process."

For budget and planning purposes, Chairs should construct a multi-year profile for the entire department to better prepare for leaves and required reviews, and to make adjustments where needed. Sharing this timeline with the entire department will insure that everyone knows what to expect and when.

D. Tenure Nomination

No later than the sixth year of counted service, an Assistant Professor is reviewed by the department to determine whether the department will make a recommendation to initiate the tenure process. In January of the sixth year, the department must notify the Provost of its decision to pursue a tenure nomination for an eligible Assistant Professor. If the decision is positive, the Chair should see the Appendices E and G, "Guidelines on Methods of Teaching Evaluation for Tenure" and "Format of Curriculum Vitae for Internal Promotion Process." Appendix R, "Guidelines for Tenure Considerations," contains information on referee and comparison lists and preparation of candidate materials, which must be submitted to the Provost�s Office by March 1 of the sixth year.

For other nominations to tenure, e.g. an early recommendation for an Assistant Professor, or a tenure nomination for a non-tenured Associate Professor, or a new hire, the Provost should be consulted about the tenure timetable.

E. Leaves

When preparing the annual instructional budget, the Chair is asked to project anticipated leaves in the department for the following two years. These include Special Assistant Professor Leaves (SAPL), Sabbaticals, Senior Faculty Research Leaves (SFRL), Professional Development Leaves (PDL), and Leaves without Pay, which are often funded by an external grant for research. The Chair is expected to insure that the scheduling of leaves in the department provides for adequate coverage of the instructional offerings. Normally, when conflicts occur, SAPL's and grant-funded leaves for Assistant Professors get priority over other leaves. To assist with planning, the Chair can request that a Sabbatical, SFRL, or PDL be advanced or delayed. In addition, the Chair must approve all applications for SAPL's, SFRL's and PDL's, and indicate what accommodation plans have been made. When unanticipated requests for leave occur, e.g. maternity leave or research grants, the Chair should consult the Provost on accommodation plans.

When an on-ladder faculty member with a five-course load takes a one-semester leave, the leave is normally for the two-course semester, and it is expected that the faculty member will teach three courses in the semester that s/he is in residence. This policy has been amended recently in that a chair may argue on behalf of a faculty member that a particular two-course load represents a "fair half." Such a determination by the Provost could be based on factors such as course enrollments, level, new course status, etc.

Faculty members on College-paid leave are expected to return to the College for at least one year when the leave ends. Failure to do so obligates the faculty member to repay the College for the cost of the paid leave, including salary and benefits.

F. Internal Research and Travel Grants

Faculty applications submitted for travel funds and internal research grants (Appendix H.1 and H.2) require the signature of the Chair. New tenure-eligible Assistant Professors receive additional support for travel to professional meetings and research assistance, as well as teaching reductions in their first year and after the third-year review. For complete details see Appendix I, "Research Support for New Assistant Professors."

G. Institutional and Individual Sponsored Research

All faculty members seeking external funding should contact the Office of Institutional Support (x41894). The Grants Handbook can be found on the website: www.barnard.edu/grants/. The Chair will be notified about all faculty proposals being submitted, and is consulted on the nomination/delegation of faculty to participate in institutional grants. Any request for released time or leave without pay must receive approval from the Chair and the Provost.

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