Multi-year contracts for Instructional Faculty on Athens Campus

The College of Arts and Sciences values the many contributions to teaching and service provided by our instructional faculty. The Faculty Handbook provides for contracts from one to five years in length, renewable annually. The following document guides consideration for multi-year contracts in CAS.

1. Multi-year contracts are not automatic. Eligible faculty can initiate a request for a multi-year appointment with their department chairs. Department chairs are encouraged to discuss with eligible faculty. Department chairs make recommendations to the college. The dean makes the decision to authorize a multi-year contract.
    
2. Typically, newly hired faculty will be on one-year contracts, renewable annually.
    
3. When a recruited instructional faculty member has substantial experience prior to coming to Ohio University, the department chair may recommend a contract of up to three years at the time of hire. The department must provide evidence of sustained excellence in teaching for consideration by the college.
    
4. Faculty at the rank of Assistant Professor of Instruction with an exceptional review as part of the annual departmental review process may be considered for a subsequent two-year contract.  
    
5. Faculty at the rank of Associate Professor of Instruction and Professor of Instruction are eligible for appointments of between one and three years. Faculty at these ranks with at least two years of experience at Ohio University are eligible for appointments of between one and five years. Multi-year contracts following promotion are not automatic, but departments are encouraged to consider them. 
    
6. Consideration for a multi-year contract including the length of the contract depend on the performance of the instructor, student enrollment, the teaching needs of the department and college, and the availability of funds. Important considerations include:
   • a.  Stable enrollment and expected future growth in enrollment, including enrollment growth from other departments and colleges within the university.
   • b.  Most courses in the department should have healthy enrollments based upon what is pedagogically appropriate and should be expected to remain so for the duration of the contract.
   • c.  The faculty member should demonstrate strong performance via thorough annual departmental evaluations using student evaluations, peer evaluations, and other criteria deemed appropriate by the department and discipline.

Last reviewed July 2024