Reclassifications

Reclassifications pertain to existing employees within the same department. Reclassifications can be lateral, upward or downward.

Lateral reclassifications are those whereby the faculty member is given a title that is at the same level of the title they currently hold. Below are some, but not all, applicable examples:

Entry Level	First Promotion	Second Promotion
Instructional Assistant Professor	Instructional Associate Professor	Instructional Professor
Research Assistant Professor	Research Associate Professor	Research Professor
Clinical Assistant Professor	Clinical Associate Professor	Clinical Professor
Lecturer	Senior Lecturer	Principal Lecturer
Assistant Professor of the Practice	Associate Professor of the Practice	Professor of the Practice

 

Track reclassifications are those that change the track of the faculty member. Changes from tenure-track to academic professional track can be done as a reclassification and not as a new hire. Changes from academic professional track to tenure-track would typically be considered a new hire.

Upward reclassifications are in essence promotions which require following the rules for all Promotion and Tenure matters; Assistant to Associate or Associate to Professor. See applicable P&T university and college guidelines.

Downward reclassifications are for the most part demotions and are generally associated with disciplinary/performance matters.

Changes in title may also be a result of a search for an open position for which an internal candidate applied and was selected. In this case, this is a new hire and not a reclassification.

Faculty Reclassifications

Faculty members with no interruption in their employment are considered “existing faculty”. Therefore, a title change is generally viewed as a reclassification.

When reclassifying an existing faculty member, Faculty Affairs does not require a criminal background check for the faculty member.

Submit Faculty Reclassification requests for Vice Provost of Faculty Affairs approval through the “Request for VPFA Review and Approval” custom workflow in Adobe Sign.  The request must include the following documentation:

• Memo from the department head, through the dean, to the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs containing:

  • The reasons for the proposed change of title (please detail if changing faculty track)

  • Confirmation how the change in title does not constitute a promotion

  • Current title

  • Proposed title

  • Proposed salary

  • Proposed duties and responsibilities as compared to those under the existing title

  • Teaching/service load

  • Appointment term (start and end date)

  • Detailed teaching assignment

• Copy of the original appointment letter containing the title to be changed

• Updated curriculum vitae

• Signed acceptance of faculty member (offer letter)

• Appropriate tenure form signed by the department head, dean and employee for the proposed position

• Credentialing is required and needs to be approved before the individual starts teaching. Note that credentialing must be completed by the department by logging into the Faculty Affairs Portal and selecting the “credential” tab.

• If a faculty member is going from a tenured position to an academic professional track position, the separation agreement is also needed.

Reclassification from Staff Position to a Faculty Position

Staff reclassifications into faculty positions are not reclassifications. As a result, this is a NEW hire and must be processed through the Faculty Affairs Hiring Portal.