For all Faculty and Staff in the AAUP Bargaining Unit.
These titles are used for tenure-track and tenured positions usually appointed for a nine month period. Normally, the maximum time one may spend in the tenure-track is seven years. The By-Laws of the University of Connecticut describe the qualifications for appointment and promotion to each rank.
To provide continuing medical benefits for nine month faculty, their salary is paid out over a twelve month period on a bi-weekly basis. Faculty positions that require year-round work are compensated the equivalence of 11 months, and the twelfth month is considered vacation time.
University policy permits nine, ten, and eleven month faculty to earn no more than the twelve month equivalent of the faculty member’s base annual salary over the course of a year (See the Policy on Extra Compensation for Full-Time Faculty in AAUP).Both outside consulting and professional practice require prior University approval.
University Professor
This title is awarded by the University’s Board of Trustees to tenured nine month faculty members for outstanding scholarship and distinguished service to the University. As of 2019, the title has been bestowed on 29 faculty members throughout the University’s history.
Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor
The By-Laws describe the qualifications and selection process for this faculty rank:
“i. The title “Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor” should be reserved exclusively to recognize faculty who have achieved exceptional distinction in scholarship, teaching, and service while at the University of Connecticut.
“ii. The Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor title will be conferred as a result of a peer review process. The Review Committee will solicit and evaluate all nominations. The Review Committee will obtain detailed information including materials from external sources and recommend candidates to the Board of Trustees via the Provost.
“iii. The title will normally be awarded to three persons per year. Up to five persons per year may be recognized when the total number of Board of Trustees Distinguished Professors drops below 5% of the full professors on the active faculty” (Article XIV.D.3.e).
Additional information is available directly from the Office of the Provost.
Professor
The By-Laws describe the qualifications for this faculty rank as follows:
“(i) Service here or elsewhere as an associate professor of at least five years except when there is evidence that he/she is of superior ability as compared with other associate professors.
“(ii) Evidence that he/she is regarded by colleagues within and outside the University as a capable, mature teacher, and a recognized scholar” (Article XIV.D.3.d).
Associate Professor
The By-Laws describe the qualifications for Associate Professor as follows:
“Continued growth in the qualities desired in all faculty members, especially evidence that he/she is keeping abreast of the times in method and subject matter, and a consensus among colleagues that the faculty member is making a substantial contribution to the advancement of knowledge in his/her field” (Article XIV.D.3.c).
Assistant Professor
The By-Laws describe the qualifications for Assistant Professor as follows:
“(i) The possession of the appropriate terminal degree.
“(ii) A record of success in his/her work. Information considered may include the judgment of colleagues, information from students, and occasionally the progress and achievement of his/her students”
(Article XIV.D.3.b).
The text continues with the following note regarding assistant professors:
“Continued reappointment of a person in a tenure track position, after it is clear that he/she will not become eligible for permanent tenure, cannot be justified on grounds of immediate convenience. In his/her own interest and that of the University, he/she should be released after the customary notice” (Article XIV.D.1).
Instructor
The By-Laws describe the qualifications for Instructors as follows:
“(i) Training or experience appropriate to the performance of his/her assigned responsibilities. In many cases, this will mean the possession of, or evidence of, substantial progress toward the appropriate terminal degree.
“(ii) A consensus on the part of those qualified to judge that the faculty member's training, experience, and interest in his/her subject are appropriate for the performance of the duties to be assigned.
“(iii) For certain types of teaching, it may be more desirable to appoint persons whose qualifications will not ordinarily entitle them to advance into the upper levels of rank and salary.
“Note: Two years is regarded as the maximum length of service in the rank of instructor for those in a tenure track position” (Article XIV.D.3.a).