Professional Track Faculty

The term "Adjunct" has a very specific meaning within the University's Policy on Adjunct Faculty (II-1.07(A)), namely part-time instructional faculty who are paid by the course, or whose appointments are less than 50% FTE ("Full Time Equivalent"), or who are ineligible for benefits.

Since 2012, the University of Maryland has been actively engaged in improving the work environment and career opportunities for faculty who are not eligible for tenure.

While many opportunities for professional development are applicable to both tenure-tenure track faculty and professional track faculty, other professional development is tailored specifically for professional track faculty.

The PTK Excellence Awards were established by the Provost to recognize professional track faculty members for consistently excellent contributions in core academic areas: teaching, research, and service. The award includes a $1,000 stipend and recognition from the Provost.

Formed during the 2024-2025 Academic Year, the primary function of the Advisory Group is to provide overall guidance to OFA and the Provost on matters that are relevant to PTK faculty at the University of Maryland.

During the 2010-2011 Academic Year, the University formed the Task Force on Non-Tenure Track Faculty in order to address a number of issues regarding non-tenure track faculty employed by the University.

A timeline of significant changes to Professional Track Faculty policies.

Based on several recommendations in the NTTF Task Force report, the Senate’s Executive Committee charged the Faculty Affairs Committee with reviewing the system of titles used for NTTF appointments and to create a unified system to provide promotional ladders for all roles of NTTF appointments. The Senate approved the proposed changes to the policy that establishes faculty titles in April of 2014. The revised policy not only created promotional ladders where there had been none, but also regularized details related to appointment criteria and contract length across the set of NTTF titles.