HR/Payroll-6 Reappointment: Community-Based Faculty

Effective Date: January 1, 2011
Last Revised: October 4, 2023
Responsible Party: Toya Pruitt
Persons Affected: Student Program Administrators/Community-Based Faculty/Dean’s Office HR Staff

1.0 Policy/Purpose

Community-based faculty are generally appointed to MSU for three-year terms. The majority of these appointments are adjunct or clinical, also known as “prefix”. Due to the large number of these appointments, MSU Academic Human Resources uses the Mass Update Process to make common changes to these appointments. Changes that can occur using the Mass Update Process include: reappointment to an additional term for faculty who are still actively involved with CHM and express their intent to remain actively involved; promotion to a different adjunct or clinical rank consistent with rank requirements; termination from active status for those no longer actively involved with CHM or CHM-affiliated or sponsored residencies. CHM Human Resources Office and the communities begin preparations in early winter in order to collect the information that will be necessary for the Mass Update Process. The CHM Human Resources Office provides to each Student Program Administrator’s office a list of their adjunct/clinical faculty whose appointments will end in the current year (usually June 30). Faculty who are to be reappointed for an additional term must complete a short Reappointment Application in order to verify their current demographic information, to indicate their desire and willingness to continue as community- based faculty at MSU/CHM, and to update their experiences or curriculum vitae. The reappointment application will be electronic and sent out with a link and QR code for completion. Student Program Administrators facilitate the reappointment applications for the University’s Mass Update Process.

NOTE: The Mass Update Process cannot be used to appoint new faculty, to change a faculty member’s department or to drop the “adjunct” or “clinical” prefix and award a non-prefix appointment.

2.0 Definitions

2.1 Mass Update Process: The university’s method for processing selected changes to the appointments of the large number of community-based faculty.
 
2.2 Prefix appointment: A faculty appointment in the Clinical/Adjunct Appointment System awarded to an individual who is not a regular paid employee of Michigan State University but who teaches or provides other academic services to Michigan State University students. Individuals with professional medical degrees are designated with the prefix “clinical” in front of their assigned rank; others are designated with the prefix “adjunct” in front of the rank (e.g., Clinical Associate Professor).
 
2.3 Mass Update Report: A report of all community-based faculty provided by the CHM Human Resources Office to assist Student Program Administrators in obtaining reappointment applications for reappointment and for processing promotions and terminations.
 
2.4 University Mass Update Forms: Official forms provided by central Human Resources Office that allows the college to reappoint, promote or terminate community-based faculty appointments annually.

3.0 Procedures

3.1 The CHM Human Resources Office sends each Student Program Administrator a list of their community’s faculty whose appointments expire in the current year. No promotions are allowed during Mass Update for faculty currently ranked Clinical Assistant Professor or above.

3.2 The Student Program Administrator (or designee) reviews the list to determine faculty who are actively involved, or expect to be involved, with CHM and are candidates for reappointment. This may involve working with the department or the residencies to make this determination.

3.3 The Student Program Administrator (or designee) contacts each faculty member who should be considered for reappointment and asks them to complete the reappointment application via the Qualtrics link.

3.4 The community-based faculty member completes the reappointment application electronically. The Student Program Administrator or designee assists with and facilitates completion of the applications by the community-based faculty.

3.5 The Student Program Administrator reviews weekly reports for application completeness, completes the Mass Update Report and forwards report to CHM Human Resources Office. 

a. For questions regarding the campus’ of Flint, Midland, Lansing, Southeast Michigan, and Detroit please reach out to CHM.ELFacultyappts@msu.edu.
b. For questions regarding the campus’ of Grand Rapids, Traverse City and Upper Peninsula please reach out to CHM.FacultyApptGR@msu.edu ; CHM.FacultyAppointmentsTC@msu.edu ; CHM.FacultyAppointm1@msu.edu.

 

3.6 CHM Human Resources:

a. Reviews Mass Update Report received from communities for completeness. Resolves any questions or concerns with Student Program Administrators.
b. Completes the official university Mass Update forms for all departments using the information provided by the communities and the Faculty Affairs and Development Office and verifies that a reappointment application has been received. Note that if a reappointment application has not been received by CHM Human Resources, the faculty member’s name will not be put forward to the department or to Central Human Resources for reappointment and the Student Program Administrator will be notified.
c. Sends completed university Mass Update forms to individual departments.

 

3.7 Department:

a. Reviews the completed university Mass Update forms, obtains approval signature from the chair of the department via the Department Chair Approval form and sends to CHM.ELFacultyappts@msu.edu.

 

3.8 CHM Human Resources: 

a. Sends completed university Mass Update forms to central Human Resources for processing.
b. Updates addresses or other information changes in the CHM Information System and/or MSU HR/Payroll system.
c. Completes and sends promotion certificates to Student Program Administrators.
d. Sends an updated list of community-based faculty to Student Program Administrators and CHM Departments.

 

REVISION HISTORY

1.0 - Effective date: 1/1/11 - Revised by T. Pruitt - Original 
1.1 - Effective date: 1/1/13 - Revised by T. Pruitt - New requirements: renewal application for non-prefix faculty; submission of Mass Update Report by CA; change to department role.
1.2 - Effective date: 2/1/14 - Revised by T. Pruitt - Non-prefix  renewal application change:  requested by FAD; change to CHM HR role: no longer providing pre-populated renewal applications; change to community administrator role:  new email address for renewal applications.
1.3 - Effective date: 12/1/16 - Revised by L. Bell - Added new community, Southeast Michigan; renewal app and CV required for all promotions.
1.4 - Effective date: 2/1/18 - Revised by L. Bell - Replaced contact names for each community with new staff names and added note for new promotion policy during Mass Update.
1.5 - Effective date: 4/2/18 - Revised by L. Bell - Changed contact information and process revisions. 
1.6 - Effective date: 2/4/19 - Revised by L. Bell - Updated contact information for GR, TC, and UP.
1.7 - Effective date: 1/27/2020 - Revised by L. Bell - Updated contact information emails for all communities.
1.8 - Effective date: 11/2/22 - Revised by B. Price - Updated renewal application information to include Qualtrics. Updated to include electronic renewal information. Updated to include Detroit Campus. Updated to remove forwarding of renewal app as this will be electronically sent now. Removed: Reviews the renewal applications as they are received and contacts the Student Program Administrator for any missing or incomplete information.
1.9 - Effective date: 10/4/2023 - Revised by L. Monroe, G. Yoder, L. Davis - Removed Non-Prefix information as this is now done prior to the prefix mass update. Updated renewal application to say reappointment application. Updated East Lansing email for communities to return report. Updated to Qualtrics link, instead of paper reappointment application upon request.