The Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between the University of Oregon and United Academics requires that career non-tenure-track faculty (NTTF), tenure-track, and tenured (TTF) bargaining unit members holding joint or multiple appointments have a memorandum of understanding at the time of hire or assignment:
- Specifying expectations for review, merit, promotion, and/or tenure review;
- Identifying how the review, merit, promotion, and/or tenure process will be handled among the units.
The unit heads will consult with each other and establish which unit should be the primary unit, most likely based on the greatest amount of FTE. If the FTE is equally divided, they will designate one of the units as the primary unit. The MOU is not valid unless approved in writing by the faculty member, the unit heads, and the provost or designee.
For consistency in treatment of all faculty at the UO, non-bargaining unit career NTTF and TTF with joint or multiple appointments should have an MOU at the time of hire or assignment consistent with this guidance.
Definitions (CBA Article 20, Sec. 25 & Article 19, Secs. 9 & 10)
- Joint appointments: The CBA defines a joint appointment as an appointment that spans two or more units.
- Multiple appointments: The CBA states that a multiple appointment describes when a faculty member has separate appointments in two or more units.
TTF Joint and Multiple Appointments
In addition to the above guidance, the MOU for tenured faculty members must specify that the primary unit is responsible for the faculty member’s post-tenure reviews. As a part of the review the primary unit must take into consideration input from appropriate reviewers (e.g. faculty, chair, dean) of the secondary unit, including performance reviews, teaching evaluations, service, and research evaluations.
This template is offered to assist units in fulfilling the MOU requirement for TTF with joint and multiple appointments.
Career NTTF Joint and Multiple Appointments
In addition to the above general guidance, units should also consider the following when making joint or multiple appointments for career NTTF.
- Determine if the faculty member is already employed by the UO. If so, confirm whether they are employed as instructional or research faculty, their rank(s), and the amount of FTE assigned for each appointment. The sum of combined appointments should not exceed 1.0 FTE. Consult HR for additional clarification.
- Hiring a current FLSA non-exempt employee as a career or pro tem NTTF in a joint or multiple appointment as a faculty member (instructional or research) is highly discouraged. If an arrangement of this nature is a business necessity, please consult with HR in advance to ensure a proper understanding of the wage and hour legal requirements for combining exempt and non-exempt positions.
- A joint appointment will have the same rank and classification.
- An MOU is required for a career NTTF in a joint or multiple appointment. However, an MOU is not required for pro tem NTTF who have joint or multiple pro tem appointments.
This template is offered to assist units in fulfilling the MOU requirement for career NTTF with joint or multiple appointments.