Professional Track Faculty @ UMD
Enhancing Work Environment & Career Opportunities
Since 2012, the University of Maryland has been actively engaged in improving the work environment and career opportunities for faculty who are not eligible for tenure. In February 2012, the University Senate and the Provost jointly appointed the Task Force on Non-Tenure Track Faculty (NTTF) and charged members to investigate institutional policies and practices, and to survey the campus community, in order to make recommendations on how UMD could better engage faculty off the tenure track.
Click the items on the time line below for more detail and links to relevant documents and policy.
April 2013 | Task Force Report provides recommendations
The NTTF Task Force report provided 21 such recommendations, and the Senate voted to accept the report, review the recommendations, and charge the relevant Senate committees with determining the most appropriate processes and procedures for enacting the recommendations.
April 2014 | Senate approves revised system of faculty titles
Based on several recommendations in the NTTF Task Force report, the Senate’s Executive Committee charged the Faculty Affairs Committee with reviewing the system of titles used for NTTF appointments and to create a unified system to provide promotional ladders for all types of NTTF appointments. The Senate approved the proposed changes to the policy that establishes faculty titles in April of 2014. The revised policy not only created promotional ladders where there had been none, but also regularized details related to appointment criteria and contract length across the set of NTTF titles.
May 2014 | Eligibilty for Emeritus status expanded
The Senate modified the campus Appointments, Promotions, and Tenure policy such that NTT faculty who achieve the highest rank are eligible for Emeritus status.
November 2014 | “Professional Track Faculty” becomes institutional standard
The Senate approves the proposal to adopt the name “Professional Track Faculty” for all institutional references to faculty off the tenure track.
March 2015 | Revisions to Adjunct Policy
The Senate passed revisions to the UMD Policy on the Employment of Adjunct Faculty in order to extend eligibility for certain benefits and provisions to part-time faculty who teach on appointments below 50% FTE.
March 2015 | Apportionment model for PTK representation in the Senate
The Senate approved a revised Plan of Organization in which representation of full-time PTK faculty will be determined on an apportionment model rather than through single-member constituencies. This change increased PTK representation in the University Senate from 3 to over 30.
April 2015 | Institutional Guidelines for PTK faculty appointments and promotions
In addition to recommending changes to the system of faculty titles, the NTTF Task Force report also called for campus-wide guidelines for appointing, evaluating, and promoting PTK faculty. The campus-wide guidelines define the basic requirements for unit-level policies, including the requirement that PTK faculty are involved in creating and reviewing unit-level policies, and that committees reviewing PTK promotion cases include PTK faculty.
November 2015 | Inauguration of Annual Provost's Excellence Awards for PTK Faculty
In recognition of the significant role Professional Track (PTK) faculty play in achieving the institution’s mission, Provost Rankin instituted annual excellence awards for PTK faculty. Winners receive a letter of recognition from the Provost and a $1,000 award.
May 2016 | Review of College-level Appointment, Evaluation and Promotion Policies
As required by the campus-level guidelines for the Appointment, Evaluation, and Promotion (AEP) of Professional Track (PTK) faculty, all colleges submitted their PTK-AEP policies to the Senate's Faculty Affairs Committee (FAC) for review and approval. To learn the status of the FAC review of a college's AEP policy, hover over the college acronym in the table to the right. Faculty should contact their dean's office for a copy of their college's PTK-AEP policy.
Status of College AEP Policies
| AGNR Approved |
ARCH Approved |
ARHU Approved |
BMGT Resubmitted policy under review. |
| BSOS Approved |
CMNS Approved |
ENGR Approved |
EDUC Approved |
| INFO Approved |
JOUR Approved |
PLCY Approved |
SPHL Approved pending final approval by the college. |
September 2017 | Senate Revises Merit Pay Policy to Include PTK Faculty
The University Senate passed, and the President approved, revisions to the Policy on Faculty Merit Pay Distribution in order to include PTK faculty in merit review processes, thereby regularizing how merit-based salary increases are determined for faculty both on and off the tenure track.