PTK Policy Changes Timeline

The NTTF Task Force report provided 21 such recommendations, and the Senate voted to accept the report, review the recommendations, and charge the relevant Senate committees with determining the most appropriate processes and procedures for enacting the recommendations.

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• Senate Bill 12-13-41

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. 

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• Senate Bill 12-13-55

The Senate modified the campus Appointments, Promotions, and Tenure policy such that NTT faculty who achieve the highest rank are eligible for Emeritus status.

• Read the Amended Report
• Senate Bill 12-13-42

The Senate approves the proposal to adopt the name “Professional Track Faculty” for all institutional references to faculty off the tenure track.

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• Senate Bill 12-13-56

The Senate passed revisions to the UMD Policy on the Employment of Adjunct Faculty in order to extend eligibility for certain benefits and provisions to part-time faculty who teach on appointments below 50% FTE. 

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• Senate Bill 13-14-15

The Senate approved a revised Plan of Organization in which representation of full-time PTK faculty will be determined on an apportionment model rather than through single-member constituencies. This change increased PTK representation in the University Senate from 3 to over 30. 

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• Senate Bill 14-15-19

In addition to recommending changes to the system of faculty titles, the NTTF Task Force report also called for campus-wide guidelines for appointing, evaluating, and promoting PTK faculty. The campus-wide guidelines define the basic requirements for unit-level policies, including the requirement that PTK faculty are involved in creating and reviewing unit-level policies, and that committees reviewing PTK promotion cases include PTK faculty.

• Read the Guidelines
• Senate Bill 14-15-09

In recognition of the significant role Professional Track (PTK) faculty play in achieving the institution’s mission, Provost Rankin instituted annual excellence awards for PTK faculty. Winners receive a letter of recognition from the Provost and a $1,000 award.

• More Information
• Recipients

As required by the campus-level guidelines for the Appointment, Evaluation, and Promotion (AEP) of Professional Track (PTK) faculty, all colleges submitted their PTK-AEP policies to the Senate's Faculty Affairs Committee (FAC) for review and approval. To access college policies, click below.

The University Senate passed, and the President approved, revisions to the Policy on Faculty Merit Pay Distribution in order to include PTK faculty in merit review processes, thereby regularizing how merit-based salary increases are determined for faculty both on and off the tenure track.

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• Senate Bill 16-17-13

The Office of Faculty Affairs (OFA) has constituted a PTK Faculty Working Group comprised of PTK and TTK faculty, staff and administrators on behalf of Provost Jennifer King Rice to review and assess current issues related to PTK faculty during the 2022-2023 Academic Year.

• Read more about the Working Group