Overview of Appointments

Faculty Appointments

For information on the faculty search process, visit the Faculty Search Tutorial Toolkit.

Appointing Faculty

After a recruitment process is conducted by a search committee, faculty appointments are recommended by the department chair or unit administrator to the appropriate dean or director. Deans and directors are delegated the presidential power of appointment for positions at the professor or equivalent and lesser ranks. In IFAS and the Health Science Center, the senior vice-president retains the power of appointment. For E&G units, the senior vice president/provost retains the power of appointment.

• Purpose of the Appointment/ Letter of Offer
  Letters of offer inform new faculty of what is generally expected of him or her in terms of teaching (including extension work), research (other creative activities), service, as well as any other specific requirements and/or other duties involved. This includes the need for quality scholarly activities in order to earn tenure and promotion. The letter should be followed with assignments that will promote productivity in the areas needed to earn tenure and promotion, particularly in the case of the assignment of junior faculty.
• Hiring Authority’s Role
  The hiring authority is responsible for sending the information and required forms to the new faculty.  Please review the faculty appointment checklist  for detailed information on the hiring process. An addendum to the letter must be issued when there is any change made to the initial offer letter.
• The Appointment
  A faculty member’s appointment is conditional until all of these documents have been completed. The hiring department is also responsible for preparing all other appointment documents, obtaining necessary administrative approval, and certifying the salary rate and the number of days for which the employee is to be paid every other Friday. Once a new appointment period begins and the faculty member begins work and is in pay status, the faculty member is considered employed.
• Renewal of Appointments
  Faculty members are officially notified of an appointment renewal by means of a letter. Renewal of appointments take into consideration the effectiveness of the faculty member’s performance in his or her assigned duties. A faculty member who fails to sign or accept the letter of renewal (reappointment), is considered notifying the University of his/her intention to resign from employment and should be advised of this fact in writing.  A letter should be sent to the faculty member regarding this and placed in the faculty member’s personnel file explaining the situation. Please contact Employee Relations to assist with this process.

Faculty Categories, Titles, and Modifiers – When to Use Them?

At the University of Florida, faculty titles are divided into categories driven by the funding of each position. This is important as the type of faculty appointment may determine if a faculty member is eligible for tenure, the type of pay, and benefits he or she may receive.  For a list of all UF faculty title series and specialty tiles, click here.

Faculty Categories

The following are the four faculty categories based on the type of funding for each position.

• Salaried Faculty: Paid by state, grants, or clinical funds
  • Tenure, tenure-accruing, non-tenure accruing, permanent status, permanent-accruing status (IFAS only)
  • Benefits-eligible
  • Typically a recurring position (contractual relationship)
• Temporary (OPS) Faculty: Paid by non-state funds
  • Also known as “adjunct” faculty
  • Non-tenure positions
  • Temporary or short in duration (one term at a time)
  • Benefits include holiday pay and may include health insurance if eligible per the Affordable Care Act
• Courtesy Appointments: Non-paid appointments
  • Can be provided to UF and non-UF employees
  • Four types of appointments: Courtesy, Affiliate, Joint, Affiliated Clinical
  • Non-tenure accruing positions
• Endowed Appointments: Paid by private donation
  • Typically indefinite duration or specific limited period set forth in the offer letter
  • Minimum gifts and ranks are established
  • Benefits-eligible

For guidelines and procedures on endowed faculty appointments, click here.

Faculty Title Modifiers – When Can You Use Them?

UF’s faculty titles can include a modifier used to express certain conditions of an appointment.

Appointments with modifiers:

• Must be advertised as such during the recruitment process.
• Are not eligible for tenure or permanent status and the appointee must be notified of this in the letter of offer. The exception could be the acting modifier.
• Are considered members of the department for the term of the appointment and for the purpose of the assignment of duties and responsibilities. At the discretion of the departmental faculty, an appointee may also attend, speak, and/or vote on departmental matters subject to the policy of the department, college, and/or university.
• Are reviewed annually, with the exception of “emeritus” status.

Review the Faculty Title Modifiers resource to learn more about each type of modifier.

Post-Doc Associate Appointments

A Post-Doc Associate is an individual who has completed a degree program at an institution and is being employed in a department performing research work.

• These positions may be advertised in Careers at UF; however, it is not required.
• If advertised with a posting deadline, any hiring decision must be made after the indicated date.
• Minimum qualification is a PhD.
• Minimum annual salary is $47,476.
• Typically the appointment is for up to four years with any additional years being approved by HR and the Provost Office.

Graduate and Student Assistant Appointments

The University of Florida has two types of student-related titles, graduate assistant and student assistants. These positions are not required to be advertised in the Careers at UF system, which is the University of Florida’s applicant tracking system.

Graduate Assistants

Graduate students are students admitted to an academic program that can be employed in an academic unit for research or teaching. When a graduate student is appointed as a graduate assistant, the appointing department accepts the responsibility for the student’s tuition, which is paid by means of tuition waiver authority, or by means of a transaction within the University’s fiscal management systems.

In order to generate a graduate assistant appointment, the appointing department must meet the parameters set by the Graduate School and Human Resources in relation to graduate assistant titles, registration requirements, minimum salaries, student classification and qualifications. Please review the Principles of Employment of Graduate Students at UF for additional details.

For the most up-to-date information regarding the graduate assistant appointments, visit the UF Graduate School website. For a brief summary of graduate assistantships, visit the Graduate & Student Assistantship Requirements page.

Student Assistants

Student Assistants (STAS salary plan) include undergraduate and graduate students. A Student Assistant is a person enrolled at the University of Florida in a degree program and is being employed in a department performing non-academic work, which differentiates their classification from that of a graduate assistant.

Professional School Series Appointments

A professional school appointment may be for any desired percentage of a full-time (1.0 FTE) position and the assignment should be commensurate with the percentage of time allocated or the degree of effort of the appointment.

This type of appointment is temporary in nature since it is not a regular faculty appointment and is not tenure-eligible. It is provisional because the project or assignment itself is temporary or because upon completion of degree requirements, the appointee will not be offered a re-appointment to the position.

Appointees to these positions do not have a continuing contractual relationship with the University.

Appointees to positions identified by professional status modifiers of “Medical”, “Dental Teaching” or “Legal Writing” must be registered students in the Colleges of Medicine, Dentistry, or Law, and must meet the standards of their respective colleges.

• Medical or Dental Teaching or Research Associate or Legal Writing Associate
  This appointment represents a promotion from the position of Medical or Dental Teaching or Research Assistant or Legal Writing Assistant.
• Medical or Dental Teaching or Research Assistant or Legal Writing Assistant
  The appointee must have completed 30 credits of graduate work.

Pre-Doc Fellow

A Pre-Doc Fellow is a person enrolled in a degree program at UF who receives a stipend from an agency such NIH (National Institute of Health) or Graduate School funds. This appointment does not have an employee-employer relationship and the stipend is typically not for work performed. When appointing a fellow, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is required.

Resident

A person is considered a resident if he/she serves as a member of the house staff or as a trainee of a Health Center professional school.

To appoint a person as a “Resident”, the appointee must be:

• A graduate of an approved program or hold a terminal degree appropriate for the appointment.
• Enrolled in the respective training within his or her selected area of specialization.

The term “intern” usually refers to a resident in the first-year of postgraduate work in the involved specialty.

Resident – College of Veterinary Medicine

• In the College of Veterinary Medicine an “Intern” is a participant in a one-year program. To participate, an Intern must hold a veterinary degree and be a graduate of an accredited veterinary school.
• A “Resident” in the College of Veterinary Medicine must hold a veterinary degree, be a graduate of an accredited school, and have performed an internship or have equivalent experience in private practice.

Post-Doc Associates vs. Post-Doc Fellows

The following is an overview of the difference between post-doc associates and post-doc fellows. This includes the appointment process, documents needed for the appointment, salary guidelines, and benefits.