Term Contracts
Lecturers
(Article XX)

Length: Initial term appointments for lecturers will generally be for one year. Lecturer and Senior Lecturer appointments are non-tenure track and most renewals before 1999 were limited to one year, which meant that some 10- and 15-year lecturers went through a perpetual once-a-year ritual of termination and renewal. To address this state of continuing job insecurity, the union negotiated new language in 1999 providing that normal renewal shall be for 2- or 3-year terms for lecturers and senior lecturers with at least 3 years of service. In such cases, a “non-normal” one-year renewal can only be imposed with the specific approval of the Provost.  If you have been given a one-year renewal contract, please contact AAUP-AFT as soon as possible. This is an issue in those departments where, for whatever reasons (management turnover or inattention, among others), some administrators fail to implement the new language. 
 
Responsibilities: Lecturer and senior lecturer are normally teaching positions, and research and publication duties shall not normally be required of those appointed to these positions. Additionally, administrative duties not related to either instructional matters or to student advising shall not normally be required of lecturers and senior lecturers. 
 
Annual Review: In each department, a committee of tenured faculty elected by faculty in that department will provide an annual written review for any bargaining-unit member holding a term appointment.

The appropriate unit administrator may add his/her comments, and shall meet with the bargaining-unit member to discuss the written review. The collective bargaining agreement stipulates that there must be at least two weeks notice of the annual review process, and there must be five days notice of the unit administrators’ meeting to discuss the annual review. Lecturers and senior lecturers shall be reviewed primarily for teaching, with secondary consideration for scholarship and/or service if either of these is included in the bargaining-unit member’s letter of appointment.
 
Notice of Non-Renewal: Written notice of non-renewal has to be provided three months before the expiration of a term appointment.

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AAUP-AFT, Local 6075 - 5057 Woodward Avenue - Suite 3301 - Detroit, Michigan 48202-4050 - Phone: (313) 577-1750 / Fax: (313) 577-8159