Information for new faculty
Department of Mathematics
The University of Akron
October 2010
Welcome to the Department. We hope you have an enjoyable and productive career here.
The purpose of this document is to inform you of the policies and procedures that will
affect you in the next few years, and to help you organize your record-keeping.
There are several documents that you should become familiar with. The Collective
Bargaining Agreement (found at the Akron-AAUP website, www.akronaaup.org) dictates
many of our policies and procedures. It is far too lengthy to read in its entirety, but you
should scan Article 13 RTP, Article 16 Compensation and Article 17 Benefits. Also, on
the departmental website, www.math.uakron.edu, we have the current merit guidelines
and the RTP (Reappointment, Tenure, and Promotion) guidelines.
Merit Activity Report
At the end of every spring semester, you will be asked to provide electronically a ‘Merit
Activity Report’. This is used to determine your merit raise (one component of your total
salary increase, which varies from year to year based on the Collective Bargaining
Agreement). The department chair also uses this information from time to time to report
on departmental achievements. A template is provided on the department website. You
should download a copy and use it to fill in your activities as they occur. If you are not
sure whether a certain activity will count, or where it should be recorded, check with the
chair of the Merit Recommendation Committee. Note that research and service ratings
are based on a 3 year cumulative total, so you should check with the department chair to
find out how pro-rating is handled for the first several years.
Reappointment
The reappointment process is designed to give you annual feedback so that you have time
to address any perceived weaknesses before your eventual tenure application. This way,
your application will be as strong as possible.
The reappointment process spans three semesters. No, really. It starts in a spring
semester, when you submit a letter of intent to be considered for reappointment. In the
following fall semester, the department’s Reappointment Committee reviews your
application (you submit your portfolio near the beginning of the semester), and
administrative approval is completed in the next spring. As an example, to be
reappointed for the 2013-14 academic year, you will submit your letter of intent in Spring
2012, with departmental assessment in Fall 2012 and administrative approval in Spring
2013. This expanded time frame allows each party ample time to conduct its part of the
process. The one exception is your first reappointment – you do not apply for
reappointment in your first fall semester, as reappointment for the second year is
considered automatic (of course, serious improprieties could always result in dismissal,
even after receiving tenure).
The departmental assessment is conducted by the Reappointment Committee (comprised
of the tenured faculty), with an independent assessment by the chair. This committee
reviews your teaching, research and service activities, with teaching and research
counting far more heavily than service. For advice on how to build your application
folder, check with the chair of the Reappointment Committee (who was elected when you
submitted your letter of intent). Some important items to note:
 Keep copies of papers and proposals, especially acceptance paperwork, for
inclusion in your application file;
 In later years, explicitly list which of your accomplishments came in the previous
academic year. The Dean’s Office wants to see current as well as cumulative
records.
The Reappointment Committee generates an assessment letter, provided to you and the
department chair. If the Committee identifies any potential problems in teaching or
research, this will be reflected in the letter. Again, the intention is to provide you with
feedback so that your tenure application (normally submitted at the beginning of your
sixth year) will be as strong as possible.
In the following spring semester, the administrative assessment and approval occurs
(Dean, Provost, President, Board of Trustees). Late in the spring, you’ll get formal
notification of reappointment for the coming academic year. Then you’ll be ready to
apply for reappointment once again . . .
The timeline appears on the next page.
Timeline
Year
First
Second
Semester
Fall
Spring
Fall
Spring
Third
Fall
Spring
Fourth
Fall
Spring
Fifth
Fall
Spring
Sixth
Fall
Spring
Action
Submit letter of intent for
reappointment. Submit
merit activity report.
Submit reappointment
folder, and departmental
assessment.
Administrative approval
and submit next letter of
intent for reappointment.
Submit merit activity
report.
Submit reappointment
folder, and departmental
assessment.
Administrative approval
and submit next letter of
intent for reappointment.
Submit merit activity
report.
Submit reappointment
folder, and departmental
assessment – detailed
assessment with upcoming
tenure application in mind
Administrative approval
and submit next letter of
intent for reappointment.
Submit merit activity
report.
Submit reappointment
folder, and departmental
assessment.
Administrative approval
and submit letter of intent
for tenure and promotion to
associate rank. Submit
merit activity report.
Submit tenure/promotion
folder, and departmental
assessment for tenure and
promotion
Administrative approval.
Seventh
Fall
Submit merit activity
report.
You are now tenured at the
associate rank