Hiring & Appointments

The Office of Faculty Affairs manages several personnel documents that support Medical School faculty throughout various stages of their academic careers. This page includes links and templates to assist faculty and staff as they submit requests for approval, including new faculty offer letters, without salary appointment requests, annual reviews, probationary period extensions and track transfers.

Faculty Appointment Types and Tracks

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APPOINTMENT REQUEST TEMPLATES & FORMS (Hiring Requests; Paid Offer Letters; Adjunct, Without Salary & Community Instructor Appointments)

To access the appointment request templates and forms, including the hiring request process, offer letter approval, and adjunct, without salary and community instructor appointment templates and submission forms, navigate to this page and click the Log In link in the upper right hand corner of the page to login with your x.500.

COMMUNITY INSTRUCTOR DATABASE

Community Instructor Faculty Appointment Database

The Community Instructor Faculty Database is an online faculty database designed to provide easy access and public viewing of all active Community Instructor Appointments (CI). The Office of Faculty Affairs (OFA) will track and manage all appointments internally and will update the database on a weekly basis.

Additional Community Instructor Resources

TRACK TRANSFER

Submit all Track Transfer Requests using the templates and form below. For more information on Track Transfer Requests, please refer to the Track Transfer Policy.

Required Components

InstructionsMake a copy of the Track Transfer Memo, customize it based on the candidate, add the necessary departmental signatures, and upload documents to the Track Transfer Request Form.

Signatures will be routed for approval and the documents will be delivered to the return emails automatically after final approval through a service called DocuSign. Please download the fully signed copy of the documents.

NOTE: DocuSign will prompt you to open a free account that stores your documents after you receive your first signed document. We recommend opening a free DocuSign account associated with your University of Minnesota email to maintain all signed documents associated with your email.

MOU Approval

Per Medical School Policies and Procedures, the following Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) should be submitted to the Office of Faculty Affairs for review and approval by the dean:

MOU Submission Instructions

  1. Make a copy of the required components using the above templates and customize based on the faculty member. 
  2. Send the draft MOU to [email protected] for pre-review ahead of submission. 
  3. After OFA pre-review is completed, collect faculty member and department head signatures and upload the final MOU along with any additional documentation needed to the MOU Approval submission form.

Using a service called DocuSign, signatures will be routed for approval. Documents will be delivered to the return emails automatically after final approval. Please download the fully signed copy of the documents.

NOTE: DocuSign will prompt you to open a free account that stores your documents after you receive your first signed document. We recommend opening a free DocuSign account associated with your UMN email to maintain all signed documents associated with your email.

LEAVES

For more information on faculty leaves, please refer to the Medical School Leaves Procedure.

For sabbatical leaves, requests are due to the Office of Faculty Affairs by May 15 before the start of the academic year of the leave request. Department or human resources staff (not the faculty member) should submit information through the Leave Request Form, attaching the relevant form(s) signed by the faculty member and the relevant personnel within the department. The leave will be reviewed by the associate dean for faculty affairs and routed for necessary approvals.

For other faculty development or unpaid personal leaves, refer to the following University policies:

Faculty Considerations for Reducing to Part-Time Employment

The University of Minnesota Medical School is committed to supporting and retaining faculty as we see and respond to ongoing concerns around faculty fatigue, burnout, and managing family, caregiving, and personal commitments and responsibilities.

The University of Minnesota and the Medical School provide many existing options to support faculty when reducing full-time appointments, including consistent appointment and promotion policies that are equitable for part-time and full-time faculty members; probationary period extensions; as well as paid and unpaid options for short-term and longer term leaves.

This information and resources are meant to provide additional options for faculty to think about as they consider ways to build balance into their lives.

Emeritus Status Requests

All tenured faculty members who retire from the Medical School after at least five years of employment at the University and at an age where retirement is allowable under University policy are eligible for emeritus status. See the Board of Regents Policy: Faculty Emeriti.

Departments should submit a Request for Emeritus Status that includes a signed letter from the department head confirming that the retiring faculty member has met the requirements for emeritus status. The associate dean for faculty affairs will review the request, and send notice of emeritus title and status to the faculty member, department head, HR manager and submitter.

NOTE: DocuSign will prompt you to open a free account that stores your documents after you receive your first signed document. We recommend opening a free DocuSign account associated with your UMN email to maintain all signed documents associated with your email.

PROBATIONARY PERIOD EXTENSION REQUESTS

Probationary (tenure-track) faculty may request an extension to their probationary period due to special circumstances. Extensions may be granted for one year at a time and may not exceed more than three years total. 

Extension requests using this form should be submitted to the Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty and Academic Affairs or emailed to [email protected].

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Extensions of the Probationary Period for Tenure-track Faculty. 
Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Evaluation Processes for Faculty and Continuous Track Appointments.

Advanced Rank and Tenured Hires

For advanced rank hires or appointments at associate professor or professor on any track, please follow this guidance:

  • When considering an advanced rank hire or without salary appointment, submit a Rank Review Request with the candidate's CV to request a rank/track review by the associate dean for faculty affairs.
  • OFA will respond with feedback regarding the proposed rank and track.
  • Once confirmed, a preliminary offer can be made that includes the Advanced Rank Hire contingency.
  • Abbreviated dossiers should have bookmarks and should be structured in the same way as a promotion dossier. 

For tenured hires, please follow this guidance:

  • When considering a tenured hire, submit a Rank Review Request with the candidate's CV to request a rank/track review by the associate dean for faculty affairs.
  • A preliminary offer can be made after it has been established that there is clear support for the tenured hire among the department faculty.
  • Include a brief, one-paragraph Rank/Track Rationale on the Offer Letter Approval request form (see Offer Letter dropdown above) describing the candidate, the rationale for offering tenure and justification of how they meet  a specific need in the department.
  • Abbreviated dossiers should have bookmarks and should be structured in the same way as a promotion dossier.
  • These guidelines apply only to faculty (internal or external) who are being hired as an associate or full professor with tenure.
  • OFA will submit the abbreviated dossier to the Provost's Office for review. Once reviewed, the dossier will be queued up by the Provost's Office for approval in the next available Board of Regents docket. 

View this diagram to see the process/review cycle of advanced rank hires.  

Simply Voting
Virtual college or campus tenure and promotion meetings may be held via video or telephone conference. Proxy, telephone, fax, and email votes are not permitted. If you aren't already doing so, departments are strongly encouraged to use the confidential electronic voting system, Simply Voting. For access, email [email protected].

Abbreviated Dossier Resources (Advanced Rank Appointments)

Abbreviated dossiers are used to confirm advance rank (associate or full professor rank), tenured, spousal and exceptional no search hires. Abbreviated dossiers must be submitted directly to the OFA depending on the faculty member's hire date:

  • 90 days before the faculty member's start date for tenured associate professors and professors.
  • 30 days before the faculty member's start date for associate professors and professors on the academic, clinician, and tenure-track (probationary faculty).

These abbreviated dossiers will be reviewed by the Medical School's promotion committees: Tenure/Academic TracksClinician Track. Abbreviated dossiers are reviewed in accordance with the appropriate track statements: Tenure, Academic Track, Clinician Track.

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Abbreviated Dossier Template

Tenure/Academic/Clinician Track Faculty: