Continuous Employment for Professional Faculty

• Nearly all professional faculty will transition, with the exception of law enforcement and athletic coaches.
• To verify your appointment type, log in to your MyOregonState Employee Dashboard. Click on "Online Services Employee Dashbaord." Scroll down to Employee Summary and expand the tab. Look for the term Employee Class. Most Professional Faculty Employee classes will transition at this time, with the exception of law enforcement and athletic coaches.
  • UE - Uncl Non-Teach 9-11mo .5+ FTE
  • UF - Uncl Non-Teach 12mo .5+ FTE
  • UG - Uncl Non-Teach 9-11mo < .5 FTE
  • UH - Uncl Non-Teach 12mo < .5 FTE
  • UT - Uncl Hourly, All Appts
  • UY – OSU Fed Non-Fac 12mo .5+FTE
• At this time, no other employee classes will transition to continuous employment. Learn more about employee classes.

The professional faculty appointment will transition. Any other appointments will remain unchanged.

• No. At-will employment means an employer can release an employee at any time for any reason not prohibited by law.
• OSU’s continuous appointment model ensures advance notice if employment is ended due to reorganization, redeployment of funds, or lack of funding. In some cases, professional faculty will be entitled to more advance notice than under the current fixed-term appointment model.

The Faculty Senate Executive Committee (FSEC) tasked a workgroup to consider additional ways in which to support professional faculty. The committee performed an analysis Spring 2020 through Fall 2020. The analysis showed broad support for the transition from fixed-term contracts to continuous employment. The FSEC then recommended transition to President Alexander and Provost Feser, who accepted the recommendation and tasked Faculty Affairs and University Human Resources with further defining the process to implement the new appointment model.

Eligible professional faculty will receive a Notice of Transition to Continuous Appointment in April or May of 2021. Notices will be issued via DocuSign. You will need to log in to DocuSign with your OSU credentials to access the letter. Once logged in, you can download or save a copy for the notice for your records.

Existing professional faculty appointments that will continue in fiscal year ’22 will transition on July 1, 2021. New and updated OSU policies will apply to these existing appointments on July 1 as well. OSU will begin offering new professional faculty appointments with continuous employment on April 1, 2021. New and updated OSU policies will apply to these appointments on the same date.

No.

Yes. Transition to continuous employment does not change that important relationship.

• The unit’s Human Resources Strategic Partner (HRSP) will work with unit leadership to confirm appointments that will transition.
• Existing professional faculty should assume that their appointments will transition.

• Beginning July 1, the university will no longer offer fixed-term contracts for professional faculty, except in the case of some law enforcement and athletics contracts.
• Only the small number of professional faculty who are notified before July 1 that their appointments will not be renewed will remain fixed-term until their appointments end later in the year.

Professional faculty response to the Faculty Senate workgroup and survey indicated that the annual renewal process causes unnecessary anxiety, hinders recruitment and impacts retention. The transition to continuous employment is timed to address those concerns, not to respond to the pandemic.

The University of Oregon made similar changes a few years ago. The continuous employment model is common to many public universities.

• The term “non-renewal” will be retired for professional faculty. Instead “separation” and “termination” will be used. While the wide majority of professional faculty separate from the university through voluntary resignation or retirement, a small number are separated involuntarily due to non-renewal or unacceptable performance or conduct.
• Both now and in the future, involuntarily terminations require a proposal that undergoes multiple reviews before a decision is made.
• Professional faculty impacted by involuntary terminations due to reorganization, reutilization of funds or lack of funds are eligible for advance notice.

• Both now and in future, any proposal to involuntarily terminate a professional faculty position undergoes robust review before a final decision is made. The process includes steps to ensure the department is acting in good faith and honoring employee’s due process or alignment with policy in matters related to involuntary termination.
• Employees will continue to have advance notice rights if the involuntary termination is due to reorganization, reutilization of funds or lack of funds. Additionally, Faculty Affairs and University Human Resources collaborated last year to build a toolkit for employees impacted by involuntary job loss.

• Faculty Affairs and University Human Resources are co-facilitating information forums throughout March and April 2021. Visit the transition webpage for a schedule and to register. Pre-recorded sessions will also be available for you to view shortly.
• This page will be regularly updated with new information as well.