General Appointment Types/Principles

The types/terms of appointments can vary according to a number of factors, including duration of appointment, permanent or temporary, etc.  The most commonly used types of appointment are defined as follows:

  1. Academic Year Appointments: Shall consist of two semesters for a total of nine months with service required for the period August 16 through May 15 (with no allowable vacation). They are always paid over a twelve-month basis with exceptions for the following:
    1. Initial-partial term appointment.  An employee may request irrevocable approval for acknowledgment of financial hardship.  If approved, the employee may receive compensation during the initial-partial academic year only, paid over the period of service rather than a twelve-month period.
    2. Final term appointment.  An employee who is retiring in the coming academic year may choose to receive their final salary paid over the period of service rather than over a twelve-month period; however, this irrevocable election for a period of payment must be made prior to the payroll calculation for the first monthly payment in the final year of service.
    3. Temporary/visiting appointments are paid over a nine-month period or on a pro-rata basis for shorter periods.
  2. Annual Appointments: These are twelve-month appointments. Staff members on annual appointment perform academic duties for eleven months and receive one month of paid vacation
  3. Ten-Month Appointments: These require ten months of service paid over twelve months with no allowable vacation.  They are generally available to academic professional employees, but under certain circumstances, they can be applied to a non-tenured faculty position.  Typical service dates are from two weeks prior to the academic year to two weeks following the academic year.  Dates of no service may vary so a written statement (offer letter) specifying the service period must be signed by the unit head and employee.
  4. Summer Appointments: Faculty employed on a nine-month or ten-month appointment may receive additional appointments not to exceed two months for nine-month and one month for ten-month appointments. Summer appointments for nine-month employees occur during any two-month period from May 16 through August 15.  For ten-month employees, the “summer appointment” period may vary depending on the period of non-service e.g., non-service may be during the months of December and January, resulting in a “summer appointment” during the month of January.