Unit 18
February 13, 2014
Academic Personnel Certificate Series
Barbara Aguirre
Director, Academic Employment and Labor Relations
752-2090 blaguirre@ucdavis.edu
Key Concepts in Higher Education
Labor Law
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State law (HEERA) permits higher education employees to organize and
select an exclusive representative
Bargaining units are defined by a “community of interest” among employees
University is required by law to recognize and bargain with the exclusive
representative of a bargaining unit over “terms and conditions of employment”
Bargaining results in a “collective bargaining agreement” (CBA, MOU,
Contract)
CBA guides the relationship and interaction of the University with the
members of the bargaining unit in almost all interactions between hiring and
separation
If a represented employee or the union believes the University has violated
the CBA, issue may be addressed by informal discussions, grievance, or
unfair labor charge
Union has the right to request information necessary to enforce the CBA
Individual University administrators should avoid: interfering with exercise of
rights, retaliating for union activity, violating CBA, establishing past practice
outside of the CBA
Represented UC Academic Units
Unit 18: Non-Senate Instructional appointees, including:
 Lecturers/Senior Lecturers (not Lecturers with Security of
Employment or Lecturers w/o Salary)
 Supervisors of Teacher Education
 Child Development Demonstration Lecturers
Unit 17: Librarians
Both Unit 17 and Unit 18 are represented by UC-AFT
(University Council-American Federation of Teachers)
Both CBAs are administered by Academic Affairs (with help
from Labor Relations)
Represented Academic Units
(cont’d)
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BX: Academic Student Employees---currently Teaching
Assistants, Readers, Tutors, Associate-Ins. Stay tuned
for efforts to organize Graduate Student Researchers
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PX: Post-Doctoral Scholars
Both units are represented by UAW (United Auto
Workers).
Both CBAs are administered by Labor Relations, with
help from Graduate Studies
Terminology
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Contract, CBA, MOU
NSF: Non-Senate faculty (also IX, Unit 18, Lecturers)
Pre-6: A lecturer in the first six years of employment in a
specific department
Continuing Appointee: A lecturer who has been
reappointed after six years of service in a specific
department
Annual Assessment: yearly evaluation of a pre-6
lecturer who is being considered for reappointment
Continuing Appointment Review: Thorough review
before reappointment beyond 6 years; also known as
“excellence review”
Where’s the MOU?
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No more printed contracts
Go to: http://www.hr.ucdavis.edu/policies/
Scroll to “IX”
More questions?
1.
2.
Contact Dean’s Office
Contact Academic Affairs
Interpreting the MOU
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We frequently encounter questions that are not
clearly addressed or answered in the MOU.
In such a situation, contact a colleague or ask the
academic personnel specialist in the Dean’s Office.
If the MOU is silent, we might consider:
1. Does the APM cover the subject?
2. Do we have an existing practice?
3. What makes sense?
4. What did the bargainers intend?
Key Unit 18 Concepts
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Count quarters/semesters in same dept on same
campus
Appointment percentage is determined by Instructional
Workload Credit (IWC) assigned to individual courses
There is an automatic salary increase at the beginning of
the fourth year
After six years and a thorough performance review, a
Lecturer may become Continuing Appointee
Continuing Appointee has a right to a particular
appointment percentage
Continuing Appointees are eligible for merit reviews and
increases
Article 7a–Pre-6 Appointments:
Accumulating Quarters
Counting quarters and semesters toward eligibility
for Continuing Appointment is:
 By department, program or unit
 At a single campus
 At any appointment percentage time in a Unit 18
title.
 Accumulated quarters can be lost if there is a
break in service
 Summer Session? Mostly no, but maybe….
Planning for Appointments,
Reappointments, and Reviews
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Planning and assessment of instructional need is crucial
Begin with departmental determination of course
offerings and teaching needs
If the planning process reveals a need for a lecturer,
then current lecturers are considered (qualifications and
performance)
If currently appointed lecturers cannot satisfy the need,
conduct a recruitment according to departmental plan
If possible, the need for lecturers for the upcoming
academic year should be known, and appointment
letters issued, by June 1 (or as soon thereafter as
possible)
More on Planning…
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Each School/College has guidelines for
appointments and assessments. Consult the
guidelines for help in:
1.
2.
3.
Assessing instructional needs
Determining best method for instructional delivery
Evaluating performance
Consult about changes to guidelines---Notice to
union is sometimes required
Overall view of Appointment
Process
Initial Appointment
Annual Review of Performance
map
Continued Appointment
unless resignation,
layoff, or dismissal
Reappointment
Non-Reappointment
Fourth Year Salary Bump
Needs Assessment
Merit Review
Every Three Years
No Needs
Non-reappointment
Need Confirmed =
Excellence Review
Positive Review by CAP and VP =
Continuing Appointment
Initial Appointments of Pre-6
Lecturers
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Eligibility for Appointment:
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2.
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4.
Demonstrated experience in teaching
Possesses advanced degree in the relevant field
Not currently a registered student at any UC campus
May not have been denied tenure at any UC campus within 5 years of
Unit 18 appointment
Some departments have special programs that encourage the appointment
of their own students who have recently received their PhD. Such
programs must serve the department’s academic plan and must have
gone through appropriate “consultative processes.”
Appointment Process
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Lecturer appointments follow the standard process:
establish a need, search for the best candidate, review
proposed appointment in the department, submit
appointment for Dean’s decision
Planning is important, but last minute needs arise. It
may be useful to conduct a “generic” search to establish
a pool of candidates to fill temporary needs
The MOU does not cover recruitment. Refer to APM
UCD-500
If you have Continuing Lecturers who do not have 100%
appointments, consider whether they are qualified to
teach the proposed course
Items of Special Interest to the
Union
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Appointment letter for pre-six year NSFs with annual
appointments should be issued by June 1 each
academic year or as soon as practicable
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Do an annual appointment, if possible
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If department reappoints an NSF to a term by term
appointment and the Lecturer’s previous appointment
was for an academic year, UC shall provide a copy of
the reappointment letter to UC-AFT and be prepared to
explain why change in appointment was made
Pre-6 Reappointments
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Pre-6 reappointments are year by year, with “no
expectation of reappointment”
However, the reappointment decision should be based
on departmental need and the Lecturer’s qualifications
and performance.
Do not base reappointment decisions on a desire to
keep a lecturer from accumulating quarters or a desire to
hire someone new at a lower salary
Dean has reappointment authority, based on request
and recommendation from department
Don’t keep someone whose performance is not excellent
or likely to become excellent
Assessment of Pre-Six Lecturers
A reappointment should always be preceded by
some kind of a performance assessment
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UC is not required to have a formal review process for
all pre-six Lecturers who seek reappointment
Technically, UC is required to assess a pre-six
Lecturer only when considering the lecturer for
reappointment (is there a need?)
Before assessment occurs, the Lecturer shall be
notified in writing of the review criteria, the form of
assessment that the department, program, or unit will
follow for reappointment and when the assessment
will occur
Document your communications about the
reappointment process
Pre-6 Reappointments: Assessing
Performance when Need Exists
The assessment should determine whether
the pre-6 lecturer has shown:
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Demonstrated competence in the field
Demonstrated ability in teaching and
other assigned duties*
Pre-6 Reappointments
There is no need to assess or reappoint a pre-6 Lecturer in
situations where teaching needs will be met by:
 Senate faculty
 A graduate student in the same or related discipline
 An unanticipated distinguished Visiting or Adjunct Professor
Or when:
 Department faculty determine that academic need requires
appointment of someone new to satisfy a need for
intellectual diversity
 The courses the Lecturer has taught or is qualified to teach
will not be offered the following year
Pre-6 Reappointments,
Continued
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Each school/college has established procedural
guidelines; Be sure to follow and apply them
consistently
Input from a qualified Continuing Lecturer is
encouraged, but not required
Document reasons behind reappointment
decisions, especially any negative information
There is a salary increase upon reappointment
to a fourth year--- don’t let the increase influence
the reappointment decision
Process for Initial Continuing
Appointments
Pre-Six Year NSF who have completed 6 years
(18 quarters or 12 semesters) will be eligible for
consideration for Continuing Appointment provided
that:
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The University determines that there is
instructional need in the department/program/unit
for what will be the NSF’s 7th year of service.
If there is Instructional Need, the NSF must be
found to be excellent as a result of an academic
review (the Excellence Review).
Initial Continuing
Appointments
CONFIDENTIAL DRAFT
Process for Initial Continuing
Appointments: Instructional Need
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Instructional Need exists when the University determines
that a course(s) taught by the Lecturer will continue to be
taught in what will be the Lecturer’s 7th year of service
and/or there are other courses to be taught and the
Lecturer is qualified to teach them.
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Typically, the Lecturer has already taught the course(s)
but this is not absolutely necessary for a finding of
Instructional Need.
Process for Initial Continuing
Appointments: Instructional Need (cont’d)
What if there is no instructional need?
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If there is no instructional need for the Lecturer,
no excellence review should be conducted and
the Lecturer’s employment in that department
will end as of the appointment end date. If this
happens---consult with Academic Affairs!
Process for Initial Continuing
Appointments: Timing of Assessment
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The Instructional Needs Assessment must be completed
at least 12 months prior to the end of the 12th semester
or 18th quarter
This timing is linked to deadline for the completion of the
excellence review, which is typically completed in the
academic year following the year in which the needs
assessment was conducted
For a Lecturer who teaches year round, the needs
assessment will be completed by the end of the 10th
semester or 15th quarter of service (during the 5th year of
service).
Process for Initial Continuing
Appointments: Timing of Assessment (cont’d)
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Where the Lecturer teaches intermittently (ie. one
course each Spring) the 18th quarter or 12th semester
of service may not be the year immediately following
the Lecturer’s 5th year of service.
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In this instance, the University can perform the needs
assessment later, so long as it is completed 12
months prior to the completion of the 18th quarter or
12th semester, which allows for a more accurate
assessment of need.
Process for Initial Continuing
Appointments: Example for the Timing of
Assessment
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Lecturer completes 15 quarters of teaching in
the same department in Spring Quarter 2011 but
is not scheduled to teach 18th quarter until
Spring 2013.
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Rather than having to complete the needs
assessment by the end of the 15th quarter (2011),
in this instance the department has until Spring
Quarter 2012 to complete the needs assessment.
Process for Initial Continuing
Appointments:
Excellence Review
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The Excellence Review is an academic review
used to determine whether the Lecturer is
qualified to be a Continuing Appointee.
There can be no Continuing Appointment
without a positive excellence review.
The revised contract states that the excellence
review must be completed in the academic year
in which the NFS completes the 18th quarter or
12th semester of service.
Initial Continuing Appointment:
Excellence Review
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The Department must notify the Lecturer, in
advance and in writing, of the timing, the
process, and the criteria for the excellence
review
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Each School/College and department have
their own guidelines; be sure to follow them
consistently and carefully
Initial Continuing Appointment:
Excellence Review
The criteria for a Continuing Appointment is
teaching excellence, which may be
demonstrated by:
 Assessments by current and former students
 Assessments by departmental faculty
 Descriptions of classroom observations
 Evaluation of new instructional techniques
developed by the Lecturer
Initial Continuing Appointment:
Excellence Review
Reviewers should consider:
 Lecturer’s command of the subject matter and continued
growth in mastering new topics
 Lecturer’s ability to organize and present course
materials
 Lecturer’s ability to awaken in students an awareness of
the importance of the subject matter
 Lecturer’s ability to arouse curiosity in beginning
students and to stimulate advanced students to do
creative work
 Achievements of the Lecturer’s former students in their
field
Process for Initial Continuing
Appointment
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A committee shall review and make recommendations
about a Lecturer’s performance pertaining to the
Excellence Review for Continuing Appointments. The
Committee shall be at the department level, except
where not practicable, in which case it will be as close to
the departmental level as is practicable. Such
committees will be comprised of academic appointees
who have sufficient knowledge of the Lecturer’s
expertise.
The University shall make reasonable efforts to ensure
that a qualified Lecturer will participate on such review
committees.
Continuing Appointments—
What do they mean?
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If a Continuing Appointment is awarded, the
appointment is continuous unless terminated
by layoff, dismissal, or voluntary separation
The performance of Continuing Appointees is
reviewed every three years in the merit
review process.
If performance drops off, consult with
Academic Affairs.
Establishing the Continuing
Appointment Percentage
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The Continuing Appointment base is “the percentage
appointment as initially set by the department in which
the Lecturer is appointed to a Continuing Appointment”
Normally, the base appointment will be equal to the
appointment percentage during the previous academic
year
A base appointment may be temporarily augmented for
one year to meet unexpected needs
Be sure to provide a written description of the
appointment
How do we set the percentage? Welcome to the world
of IWCs!
Instructional Workload Credit
(IWC)
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Important Term: Instructional Workload Credit
is a critical term established by the contract.
It is often referred to as an “IWC.”
An IWC is a measure of effort expected to
present a particular course. IWCs are set at
the time the course is approved, but can be
changed with the approval of the Vice
Provost and notice to the union.
Instructional Workload, cont.
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100% appointments may not exceed 9 IWCs
for a quarter campus or 6 IWCs at a
semester campus.
For certain programs the maximum IWCs
may be lower. Maximum number of Writing
and Foreign Language instructional courses
that can be assigned to a 100% appointee on
quarter campus is 8.
Instructional Workload:
Equivalencies
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Any additional assigned duties must be separately
compensated .
For these assigned duties, UC must provide
equivalencies based on actual work required, which can
be some percentage of an IWC (e.g. .75 IWC).
For example, if a Lecturer is assigned committee work,
curriculum development, or advising duties, an
equivalency should be provided and the appointment
percentage will increase.
Except in very rare circumstances with approval from the
Vice Provost, appointments may not exceed 100% for
the year.
Instructional Workload: Enforcement
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Workload is a matter of great interest to the union.
Schools/Colleges have their own mechanisms for
establishing an IWC for a course---changes are not
common.
However, workload might change if there are enrollment
changes, additional writing requirements, etc.
If workload changes are proposed, notify Academic
Affairs.
The Vice Provost, Academic Affairs, must approve IWC
changes, after notice to the union.
Workload Enforcement –Union Rights
Only the UC-AFT can file a grievance based on the
following:
An
allegation that UC materially increased the amount of work
associated with an instructional offering or other assigned duty.
Examples of what “materially increase” looks like, e.g., increase
grading-intensive course enrollment from 20 to 25, requiring weekly
quizzes & added two papers etc.
Union has the burden of proving that, after being apprised of the
increase by the UC-AFT and/or the NSF, the University failed to
direct/implement a modification that would alleviate the increase in
workload.
Until grievance is resolved, NSF must perform the assigned duties.
Workload Enforcement –Union Rights
(cont’d)
 If matter goes to arbitration, arbitrator’s scope is
limited to whether there was a material increase
in the workload and whether UC modified the
assigned duties to mitigate the change.
 Arbitrator does not have the authority to assign
an IWC value to the instructional offering at
issue (i.e. she believes course should have 1.25
IWC rather than 1).
 The most arbitrator can do is order UC to
reconsider the assigned IWC
Ending a Continuing
Appointment
A Continuing Appointment ends when there is:
 Resignation/Retirement
 Layoff
 Dismissal based on:
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2.
Just cause (misconduct)
Poor teaching performance
Layoff and Reduction in Time
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Layoff is an involuntary separation from
employment due to lack of work, budgetary
considerations, or programmatic change that
results in lack of work.
Layoff typically refers to full separation while
Involuntary Reduction in Time (‘RIT’) refers to a
course reduction resulting in a lower
appointment percentage.
Layoff and Reduction in Time
Seniority
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Order of layoff and/or RIT in this contract must
be first based on special skills, qualifications, or
abilities and then by seniority.
Seniority is based on academic terms (quarters)
on pay status at any % of time in the bargaining
unit in same department.
If there is a tie between NSF based on this
calculation, tie-breaker is based on the number
of academic terms at 50% appointment or
greater.
Layoff and Reduction in Time:
Notice Requirement
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This MOU requires advance notice for RIT and layoff from 30
calendar days up to full 12 months for full separation of a
Continuing Appointee.
If RIT is for one IWC or one course (since certain courses > 1
IWC), notice must be at least 30 calendar days prior to the
first day of assigned duties, 60 days for a RIT over one course
Advance notices are to be issued based on the first day of
instruction for the quarter in which the layoff or RIT will be
effective. Lecturers paid 9/12 (and who receive pay in
advance of service) may be asked to repay any salary paid for
instruction that would have taken place after the effective date
of the layoff.
University must provide a copy of the layoff notice to the union
within one business day of issuing the notice to the Lecturer.
Layoff and Reduction in Time:
Alternatives to Layoff
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UC is obligated to consider alternatives to
layoff.
Alternatives include:
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attrition
non-reappointment of pre-six NSF prior to
resorting to layoff
If Union agrees, department may invite all
NSF in department to volunteer for layoff—
don’t even think about this without contacting
Academic Affairs!
Layoff and Reduction in Time:
Rehire Rights
Lecturers who have been laid off or reduced in time have
re-employment rights as follows:
 Rehire rights are triggered when the University
decides to fill a vacancy in the same department and
title code from which an NSF has been laid off.
 If there is no substantial difference in qualifications,
rehire is in reverse order of layoff (last out, first in).
 Rehire rights for Continuing Appointees expire two
years from the date of layoff.
 For Pre-6 Lecturers, the reemployment period is equal
to the duration of the Lecturer’s appointment from
which s/he was laid off.
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Discipline and Dismissal:
Poor Performance
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If there is a “significant decline in the quality of
the Continuing Appointee’s performance,” the
unit head (Chair) may determine that a
remediation program is necessary
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The Unit Head must discuss the problem with
the Lecturer and then follow up with a
remediation plan that identifies the areas where
improvement is necessary and a reasonable
time within which the improvement must occur
Discipline and Dismissal:
Poor Performance, continued
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At the end of the “reasonable time” period, the
Unit Head determines whether the Lecturer has
satisfied the requirements of the remediation
plan (“RP”).
If the Lecturer has satisfied the requirements of
the RP, nothing else need be done.
Important Note: Fact that RP was in effect
should not disqualify NSF from a merit increase
if the unit head determines that elements of RP
were satisfied.
Discipline and Dismissal:
Poor Performance
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If improvement is not satisfactory, the University may
conduct a review for potential dismissal
The University must notify the Lecturer and the union in
writing that a review will take place
The review process mirrors the “excellence review” in terms
of the composition of committee and the process by which
performance is evaluated. The Lecturer will be evaluated on
 Command of subject matter and continued growth in
mastering new topics;
 The ability to organize and present course materials;
 Whether or not the requirements identified in the
remediation plan have been met
Discipline and Dismissal:
Misconduct
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Discipline may be letter of censure,
suspension without pay, reduction in pay, or
dismissal for misconduct/dereliction of
academic duty.
With exception of a letter of censure, all
disciplinary actions require a notice of intent.
All discipline must be based on a finding of
“just cause.”
Consult with Academic Affairs on any
disciplinary issue
Summer Session
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Summer Session has its own article because it is not a
regular academic term and certain terms and conditions in
the MOU do not apply during summer
In the past, summer instruction did not provide credit toward
the 18 quarter count for eligibility for Continuing
Appointments. Now, quarter credit will be provided if:
 The course was taught by a Lecturer during the regular
session and is now only offered during summer session,
and the course is a required course for UC students
 Even if the criteria are met, a Lecturer cannot get more
than two semesters or three quarters of credit in a 12
month period
Leaves (Sick Leave)
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Generally speaking, because most Lecturers are
academic year appointees and they do not
accrue sick leave.
As academic year appointees, however, they are
covered by APM 710 which provides paid
medical leave for certain academic employees
who don’t accrue sick leave.
Fiscal year Lecturers on pay status > 50%
accrue up to one day of sick leave per month.
On-Line Instruction
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If your department is planning on developing
an on-line course, and if the course has been
taught by a lecturer in the past, please make
sure your dean’s office is aware and that
Academic Affairs is consulted.
Office of the President is developing
guidelines to help us avoid conflict with the
union over this issue---stay tuned.
CONFIDENTIAL DRAFT
Tips
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If you are going to familiarize yourself with
any part of the MOU, read article 7a, 7b, and
7c (Appointments)
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Consult, consult, consult. We did not talk
about grievances, but they are no fun.