Supplemental Letters for Newly Appointed Faculty
OFFICIAL DIVISIONAL POLICY
Policy regarding Supplemental Letters for Newly Appointed Faculty
Contents
4.0 Policy Manager and Responsible Party or Office
5.0 Departments/Offices Affected by this Policy
6.0 Procedures Related to this Policy
7.0 Related Policies, Documents or Forms
1.0 Introduction
Separate from the official appointment letter signed by the Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs (hereafter, “Provost”), this Policy provides direction for the preparation of all letters and other communications that are addressed to a prospective roster faculty member and describe the details of roster faculty employment for an individual to whom an employment offer has been or will be made.
2.0 Statement of Policy
All appointment letters for new roster faculty appointments shall be issued under the Provost’s signature and are prepared in the Office of the Provost. The appointment letter addresses the following topics: rank, salary, basic terms of appointment, moving expense reimbursement, credit toward tenure and/or promotion (or renewal terms, for a visiting appointment), and stipulations regarding completion of a degree.
All other arrangements (e.g., equipment, start-up funds, summer research stipends) between a faculty candidate and the program, department, and/or school, if any, shall be specified in a separate letter signed by the Dean of the relevant school and copied to the Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs.1 Department chairs and program directors do not have the authority to issue such letters without the signature and the permission of the Dean.
Any written representations regarding base faculty salary, supplemental appointments (e.g., directorships), faculty rank, appointment renewal, and tenure consideration shall be made only in letters signed by the Provost. Department chairs, program directors, and deans shall avoid any verbal or written communication that could reasonably be construed as offering promises or assurances on topics reserved to written communication from the Provost. No one other than the Provost has the authority to make such assurances, subject to the review and determination of the President of the College.
No provision of this Policy shall prevent the President of the College, at any time, from revising any delegation of signatory authority the President might have made to the Provost. Should any provision of this Policy conflict with the terms or provisions of a Presidential delegation of signatory authority (or revocation of signatory authority), the President’s directives shall prevail.
3.0 Effective Policy Date
This Policy takes effect upon its publication on the Academic Affairs website. Some of the contents of this Policy may be separately incorporated in procedures published by the Academic Affairs Division, or promulgated by academic schools, departments, or programs. Nothing about this Policy shall prevent the Dean of an Academic School from approving school policies relevant to communications with faculty candidates, so long as those school policies do not conflict with the current Policy.
4.0 Policy Manager and Responsible Department or Office
Provost (or Provost’s Designee), Office of the Provost
5.0 Departments/Offices Affected by this Policy
Office of the President Office of the Provost
All Academic Deans, Departments, and Academic Programs
Graduate School
6.0 Procedures Related to this Policy
College of Charleston Faculty Recruitment Procedure, Office of the Provost (latest)
7.0 Related Policies, Documents or Forms
Faculty/Administration Manual
8.0 Review Schedule
Approved: September 2016
Next Review Date: October 1, 2021
1 Such letters, when addressed by the Dean, Department Chair, and/or Program Director to a faculty candidate, have been called by various names, including “side letters” and “offer summary letters.” Electronic communications on these topics are subject to the same constraints imposed on the preparations and content of signed letters.