The phrase "Short-Term Instructional Academic Staff (STS)" may refer to several titles, including associate lecturer, lecturer, faculty associate, visitor, emeritus, L/I faculty, adjunct, and faculty assistant.  James Hovland, L&S Short Term Staff Human Resource assistant (3-8873) coordinates the STS budget process. Requests, Position Vacancy Listings (PVLs), draft letters, and questions about STS should be directed to him. For information about the use of Lecturer titles, please see the attached L&S Policy on Lecturers.

Each year, departments are given the opportunity to request short-term instructional staffing for the following academic year's Fall and Spring semesters.  The Fall STS budget exercise takes place in January/February; the Spring STS budget exercise takes place in September/October.  Requests are sent to the Associate Deans' Office (c/o of James Hovland) using the "L&S Short-Term Instructional Staffing Request Form" (which can be downloaded in MS Word and Wordperfect).  Final approval of such course-related requests depends on adequate enrollment in the requested course(s) and sufficient enrollment in all other courses and final course assignments of faculty and other instructional staff members.  Appointment percentages are determined in the Associate Deans' office based on criteria that include enrollment, number of credits, and TA appointments to a course.

Forward "L&S Short-Term Instructional Staffing Request Form" to the Associate Deans' Office, c/o James Hovland, 301 South Hall. Please include:

B.  Fixed Term-Terminal Instructional Academic Staff

Recruitment and Hiring: Recruiting and hiring fixed term-terminal Instructional Academic Staff is slightly less complex than for continuing (long-term) academic staff and regular faculty. Although the UW-Madison Search Handbook (http://www.ohr.wisc.edu/polproced/srchbk/sbkmain.html) refers primarily to the recruitment and hiring of faculty, it can be a useful guide to the process.  Departments should also consult the "Paper and Request Flow Chart" provided  in Chapter I of this Handbook. Finally, as with faculty hiring, UW-Madison continues to be committed to hiring and retaining a diverse and highly qualified staff, and the Women in Science and Engineering Leadership Institute (WISELI) resource materials provide useful recommendations to ensure that searches for UW-Madison positions elicit diverse and highly qualified pools of candidates from which the best individuals can be selected. WISELI makes a number of resources available online at http://wiseli.engr.wisc.edu/initiatives/hiring/training_hiring.html .

Note: The completion of the following degrees provides eligibility for appointment at the Ph.D. rate: J.D., Master of Fine Arts or Master of Music Performance (for a related appointment), and M.S.W. or M.S.S.W (for clinical social work course instructors).

Position Vacancy Listing (PVL):

All position vacancies must be entered using the on-line Position Vacancy Listing System. Information about the PVL system may be found at http://www.ohr.wisc.edu//Employment/aboutpvl.html, or refer to the links provided in Appendix A of this chapter. To be authorized to use to use the on-line system, complete the authorization form located at http://www.doit.wisc.edu/restricted/authorization/systems.asp and send it to the L&S Human Resource assistant, 206 South Hall.

1. Enter the PVL or PVL waiver using the on-line PVL system http://www.ohr.wisc.edu/ohr/Informationsystems/index.htm. Consult UW-Madison Unclassified Title Guidelines ( http://www.ohr.wisc.edu/polproced/UTG/utg.html) or James Hovland, L&S Short Term Staff Human Resource assistant, concerning appropriate titles.
   
   

   Recruiting? The Provost's Office has issued a memo that highlights resources available to help recruit faculty, staff and students.

   
   
   1. Open recruitment and PVLs are NOT required for the following short-term instructional academic staff appointments:
      
      1. Emeritus (for prior faculty only-D21NN, D22NN, D23NN, D24NN), Adjunct Professors (if less than half time), L/I Professors (if appointment will terminate within a three-year period with no prospect of continuing)
      2. Visiting Professors
         
   2. Open recruitment is NOT required for the situations listed below; however, a PVL Waiver is required for short-term instructional academic staff appointments.
      
      1. Appointments 25% time or less
      2. Emergency appointments (unexpected enrollment, ill faculty, etc.)
      3. Appointments less than six weeks
      4. Temporary appointments to replace instructional staff on leave
      5. Spousal hires, IF final acceptance of a faculty candidate is contingent on the spouse/partner securing employment in the area
      6. Spousal hires, IF retention of a faculty member is contingent on the spouse/partner securing employment in the area
         
   3. The following statements, which also appear on the PVL, are to be included in any advertisement: "Unless confidentiality is requested in writing, information regarding the applicants must be released upon request. Finalists cannot be guaranteed confidentiality. UW-Madison is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. We promote excellence through diversity and encourage all qualified individuals to apply.”
      
2. When the PVL has been released for recruitment and a candidate has been selected, send a copy of the candidate's vita and a draft offer letter to James Hovland (301 South Hall).

Occasionally, short-term positions may be filled through Inter-Institutional Agreements (IIA) or Memoranda of Agreement (MOA). Please consult with James Hovland regarding processing such appointments. For technical details on paperwork, consult with Mary Nuzzo about IIAs and Linda Johnson about MOAs.

Appointment Letter. All short-term instructional academic staff appointments, regardless of funding source, must be reviewed and approved in advance by James Hovland, the L&S Short Term Staff Human Resource assistant. Approved copies of appointment letters for individuals on all funding sources must be attached to the Unclassified Appointment Add or Fund Change Form sent in for payroll purposes.  Departments must include a staffing plan and justification when requesting a reappointment for one or both semesters of the individual's third consecutive year. Please make necessary changes to letters before the final letter is given to the candidate.

A fixed-term terminal academic staff person may be appointed for one or both semesters for three consecutive years. Appointing the same person for one or both semesters for a fourth consecutive year would change the person's employment status from "terminal" to "renewable." If there is a continuing departmental need, funding is available and the individual has proven to be a capable instructor, the college would endorse such a change. Departments should consider all such cases carefully and in advance of a fourth year "default" to renewable status. This means a permanent budget commitment, which carries an obligation of reappointment, and may be ended only for reasons of (1) funding loss (2) budget or program redirection (3) unsatisfactory performance or (4) misconduct. A fixed term-terminal appointment carries no expectation of continued employment. The University has established a minimum notice period for nonrenewal. You are advised to consult with Maggie Sullivan (3-2315), if you need to determine the notice period for any individual academic staff member.

1. Official university title of the position and working title
2. Type of appointment: fixed term-terminal
3. The operational area of the appointment
4. Title and name of the person to whom the employee is immediately responsible
5. A statement of initial rate, salary, and pay basis
6. Percentage of full-time employment
7. Initial evaluation period (dates), if initial appointment in an operational area
8. General duties of the position and PVL number (if applicable)
9. Beginning and ending dates for the appointment and whether renewal is possible

Required Enclosures:

• A copy of University of Wisconsin-Madison Academic Staff Policies and Procedures (ASPP). The ASPP can also be found on the Web at http://acstaff.wisc.edu/doc.html. 
• The Rules of the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System, UWS 8-13, 15, 18, 19, and 21, Wisconsin Administrative Code. The UWS can be found at http://www.legis.state.wi.us/rsb/code/uws/uws.html 
• "Letter of Offer Attachment"
• Benefit Summary. The benefits booklet can be found online at http://www.bussvc.wisc.edu/ecbs/emp-gen-bens-menu.html.
• The Department's procedures for performance review, including evaluation of teaching performance
• Position Vacancy Listing (PVL) or Waiver

Evaluation of Teaching:

In November 2006, the L&S Academic Planning Council, in consultation with the Committee on Academic Staff Issues, approved a policy that requires departments and programs that employ short-term instructional academic staff to have a process in place to evaluate teaching performance by employees in these job categories. For more information, please refer to the L&S Policy for Evaluating Short-Term Instructional Academic Staff.

Visiting, Adjunct, Emeritus, and L/I faculty are members of the academic staff; steps that apply to academic staff hiring and appointments apply to them, except that PVLs and open recruitment are not required for these titles. Regardless of funding source; however, your academic Associate Dean must approve all visiting, adjunct, Emeritus, and L/I faculty appointments. In all cases, send a request, draft letter, and C.V. c/o James Hovland, who will review the appointment and consult with your Associate Dean regarding approval and salary. Sample appointment letters for these titles are provided.

Visiting faculty. No PVL and/or open recruitment is required. This title is based on rank held at the home institution or similar considerations. Visitors cannot be appointed for more than two years. College policy is to pay visitors at their home university rate. A letter stating said salary needs to be provided when submitting a draft letter of offer. A visiting faculty member's appointment can be seen as a visit "to" UW-Madison (without necessarily being a visit "from" another institution). Note that a visit "from" another (home) institution can have implications for fringe benefit eligibility.

Note: If a prospective visiting assistant professor has yet to complete the Ph.D. or other appropriate terminal degree by the date of offer, the appointment will be made as a visiting instructor. The appointment letter should incldue a statement indicating that if all degree work is not complete by the start of the appointment, it will be for one year at the rank of Visiting Instructor at a salary $500 less than the rate to be offered that individual at the rank of visiting assistant professor. Subsequent completion of the degree work will normally bring routine promotion to the rank of visiting assistant professor immediately, but the restoration of some or all of the lost salary differential will ordinarily be made only if the Ph.D. is completed within the first month on the University payroll (on any sort of funding).

Last revised August 24, 2007 .