UNR Faculty Senate Meeting
March 15, 2012
UAM Revisions # 12, 49, 52, & 53
12 – Revisions
49 – Advisory Boards and Committees
52 – Committees, Boards and Councils
53 – University Boards and Committees Reporting Line
RATIONALE FOR CHANGE: Minor revisions were made to sections 12 to update procedures for revising
the University Administrative Manual to the current policy. Committee recommended deleting section 49
because the reference to the BOR Handbook no longer exists. Language was added to section 52 to
include commissions and specify that colleges, departments and other units of the University can establish
committees. Committee recommended deleting section 53 because committee names and reporting lines
are subject to change and many are available on university websites.
Revisions
12
Revised: March 2012
The usefulness of the Administrative Manual is dependent upon it being updated continuously. Changes
and additions to the manual approved by the President are made in the Administrative Manual on-line
immediately after approval. Notification of changes are made to the campus community by the Office of
the Provost.
All faculty and staff are encouraged to submit suggestions for revisions through the office of their
respective vice president to the Office of the Provost which forwards the proposal to the Administrative
Manual Policy Review Board.
Administrative Manual Policy Review Board
1. Membership – The President appoints the members upon recommendation of the respective vice
president. The Board consists of a ranking administrator (normally an assistant or associate vice
president) in each of the major administrative divisions of the university plus a representative nominated by
the Faculty Senate and a representative nominated by the Staff Employees Council. Once appointed, a
member has an unlimited term and may continue to serve on the Board until the President appoints a
different individual to represent that administrative division.
2. Chair – The President, in consultation with the vice presidents, appoints the chair of the Board for a twoyear term. At the discretion of the President, an individual can serve as chair for consecutive terms.
3. Meetings – The Board meets on a monthly basis. The Office of the Provost, in consultation with the Chair
of the Board, prepares an agenda comprised of all proposals for changes to the Administrative Manual
needing review. A representative from the unit proposing the change may be invited to attend the Board
meeting to answer any questions about the proposal.
4. Responsibilities – The Board members are charged with reviewing proposals for compatibility and
consistency with other university policies and for any potential implementation difficulties. On a periodic
basis, the Board requests offices responsible for policies to review them for currency and to forward to the
Board any needed updates.
5. Reporting – The Board makes recommendations to the President through the Executive Vice President &
Provost in the form of a memo from the Chair of the Board.
The President and Executive Vice President & Provost review the recommendations from the Board, along
with the recommendations of the Faculty Senate. At his or her discretion, the President may seek further
review from the President’s Council, Faculty Senate Executive Committee, General Counsel, or others.
The President notifies the Chair of the Administrative Manual Policy Review Board in writing after making a
final decision on the proposal for change.
Once approved by the President, in accordance with the procedure above, the Chair of the Board forwards
the approved revised items to the Office of the Provost for placement in the Administrative Manual.
The dates of approved revisions are noted on the revised sections. The Office of the Provost maintains
archival files so that historical information is available if needed about policies in place in earlier years.
Committees, Boards, Commissions and Councils
52
Revised: March 2012
The President, the Executive Vice President & Provost, and other vice presidents may establish and
appoint boards, committees, commissions, and councils, which are referred to as committees in this
manual. The Faculty Senate also appoints its own committees. Colleges, departments, and other units of
the University may also establish committees.
UNR Faculty Senate Meeting
March 15, 2012
UAM Revisions #2,636
2,636 Postdoctoral Fellows
RATIONALE FOR CHANGE: Minor revisions were made to clarify who approves hiring salaries and the
approved amount for salary increases for postdoctoral fellows.
Postdoctoral Fellows
2,636
Revised: March 2012
Postdoctoral Fellow is a temporary advanced scholarly appointment of at least 50%. It is a specialized
education and training position in research or scholarship under the direction of a faculty sponsor(s) for the
postdoctoral fellow’s continuing education and professional growth. The postdoctoral fellow is not
precluded from applying for any grant, contract, or postdoctoral training grants or nationally competitive
postdoctoral fellowships permitted under guidelines of the university research office. The appointment
serves to advance the competence of a person who has recently completed higher professional training
marked by a doctoral degree; recently completed means within the past five years. Those persons
excluded from postdoctoral status are registered, full-time students, candidates for a degree, visiting
scholars who are not at the University for the purpose of receiving further training, or anyone who does not
meet the above definition per Board of Regents Handbook Title 4, Chapter 7, Section 5.
The following policies apply to the hiring and appointment of postdoctoral fellows:
1. A position for a postdoctoral fellow may be filled by conducting a search following all guidelines of the
campus Search Office. Alternatively, a postdoctoral fellow position funded from non-state sources may be
filled under the Postdoctoral Fellow Non-Search Hiring Policy.
2. Job requirements are established by the department subject to approval of the dean and must be in
accordance with university policy as specified below.
3. Completion of a doctoral degree in the appropriate discipline is required. The doctoral degree must have
been completed within the five years immediately preceding the first date of appointment as a postdoctoral
fellow at the University and the individual cannot have held previous positions in the professional ranks.
Exception to the requirement of completion of the doctorate in the past five years can be made in situations
where it can be demonstrated that the individual is changing fields.
4. Employing departments shall ascertain that prospective appointees meet all eligibility requirements prior to
the commencement of appointment. It is the department’s responsibility to obtain and forward to the Office
of Human Resources an official transcript of the highest degree before the first day of employment.
5. All decisions of the academic departments are made without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex,
national origin, age, physical or mental disability, veteran’s status, sexual orientation or other factors, which
cannot be a lawful basis for denying an opportunity for additional training.
6. If the appointee is not a U.S. Citizen, it is the department’s responsibility to document the appointee’s
eligibility to work as a postdoctoral fellow in the United States in accordance with the Bureau of Citizenship
and Immigration Services (BCIS) rules, prior to the desired start date of employment.
7. Hiring salaries are negotiated between the postdoctoral fellow and the faculty sponsor from whom the
individual receives advanced training, and is subject to approval by the department chair, dean and
Executive Vice President & Provost or designeein accordance with the university’s postdoctoral salary
policy.
8. Postdoctoral fellows hired on continuing or renewable contingent on funding appointments are considered
eligible for moving expenses as provided for in the Administrative Manual section 2,540. This is not an
entitlement; reimbursement of any amount of moving expenses for a postdoctoral fellow is at the discretion
of the supervisor, and requires approval of the dean and appointing authority.
9. Appointments are recommended through appropriate administrative channels. The Office of Human
Resources is responsible for monitoring all appointments to ensure they are in compliance with the policies
established for postdoctoral fellows. Terms of appointment usually issued annually for the fiscal year;
however, shorter appointments terms may be offered.
10. Postdoctoral fellows are employed under the terms and conditions specific for postdoctoral fellows. The
contract is an “A” (12 month) contract. Postdoctoral fellows may not be employed on “B” (9 month)
contracts. The contract cannot be for less than 50%.
11. Contracts for postdoctoral fellows who are continuing end on June 30th of each year and are renewed on
July 1st. Contracts for postdoctoral fellows are subject to termination at any time with 30 days notice.
12. The duration of a postdoctoral fellow’s appointment at the University may not exceed five years. The
postdoctoral fellow’s appointment must terminate no later than five years after the initial date of
employment at the University or, if there has been a break in service, no later than the date on which the
cumulative periods of appointment total five years.
Postdoctoral Fellow Salary Policy:
1. Salary levels – The salary range for a postdoctoral fellow is at or above the base salary level for graduate
assistants and below the salary level of assistant professors in the discipline. The minimum salary level for
a postdoctoral fellow at the University is equal to the minimum level set for graduate assistantships,
prorated for FTE. The maximum salary level for a postdoctoral fellow is equal to the minimum level of “A”
contract assistant professors in the discipline in the NSHE salary schedule. An exception to this salary
maximum is allowed in situations where the granting agency funding the postdoctoral fellow provides a
salary schedule that specifies a higher allowable maximum salary.
2. Salary raises – Postdoctoral fellows may receive a salary increase no more frequently than once per 12
months. The salary increase can occur at any time during the year (does not have to be July 1) and
typically coincides with funding cycles tied to the grant providing the postdoctoral fellow’s salary. During
the first 12 months after the initial hire date, a postdoctoral fellow may receive a raise at any time; the next
raise cannot occur for a minimum of 12 months after the first raise. A salary increase up to 10% may be
granted by the dean. A salary increase in excess of 10% must be approved by the Provost’s Office. There
is no obligation to provide a cost of living adjustment to a postdoctoral fellow when COLA is granted to
faculty or classified employees. Neither the faculty nor classified merit policies apply to postdoctoral
fellows.
3. Salary overload – Postdoctoral fellows may receive overload pay to teach a maximum one-course overload
per semester under special circumstances comparable to the provision for overloads for academic faculty,
see sections 2,512 and 2,690. An overload for a postdoctoral fellow requires approval from the faculty
mentor, department chair, dean, and Provost’s Office. Teaching a course should typically be done as an
offload rather than an overload; therefore, justification for an overload should provide information on the
need for the overload and how it benefits the postdoctoral fellow and the department. There is no
restriction on the amount of the salary for the overload except that the overload salary supplement cannot
create a salary total that exceeds the maximum monthly salary level allowed for postdoctoral fellows. The
overload salary is to be paid in the months that the work is done and cannot be spread over additional
months if the sole purpose of spreading the pay is to pay an amount that would be in excess of the
maximum if paid during the months that the work is done.
4. Promotion – A postdoctoral fellow hired without a search, under the Non-Search Hiring Policy, is not
eligible for promotion. A postdoctoral fellow hired through a search can be considered for promotion to a
research faculty position subject to procedures in department and college bylaws. If there are no
guidelines in the unit bylaws, promotion requests need to be reviewed and approved by the department
chair and by the dean before being forwarded to the Provost’s Office for approval. The research faculty
position to which a postdoctoral fellow would be promoted would typically be at rank 0(I) but can be rank
0(II) when appropriate. Request for promotion of postdoctoral fellows can be made at any time during the
year unless unit bylaws specify otherwise. Promotions result in a salary increase equal to 10% of the
salary or the amount necessary to bring the salary to the minimum of the new rank, which ever amount is
greater.
Other:
For situations and policies not specified in Code, bylaws, or the Administrative Manual, postdoctoral fellows
are covered under policies applicable for “A” contract academic faculty.
UNR Faculty Senate Meeting
March 15, 2012
UAM Revisions 2,683
2,683 Faculty Holidays
RATIONALE FOR CHANGE: A policy was needed to clarify holidays for faculty.
Faculty Holidays
2,683
Revised: March 2012
The holiday schedule for faculty is established by the Legislature (NAC 284.255).
Full-time “A” contract faculty (administrative academic) who work a regular Monday through Friday
schedule are entitled to the holiday as listed below.
Holidays are observed (non-contract days) for academic “B” faculty. Holidays are not included in the
number of contract days per semester.
“A” contract faculty who work an alternative or part-time schedule are entitled to the holiday when it falls on
their normally scheduled work-day. If the holiday falls on a scheduled day off, the faculty member is not
entitled to additional holiday time off.
The following are legal holidays per State of Nevada Statute:
January 1
Third Monday in January
Third Monday in February
Last Monday in May
July 4
First Monday in September
Last Friday in October
November 11
Fourth Thursday in November
Fourth Friday in November
December 25
New Year’s Day
Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday
Presidents’ Day
Memorial Day
Independence Day
Labor Day
Nevada Day
Veterans’ Day
Thanksgiving Day
Family Day
Christmas Day