Hiring & Appointments

To access the offer letter, adjunct and without salary 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.

Departments should use the templates below to issue Community Instructor Appointments. Appointments and renewal requests must be submitted to the Office of Faculty Affairs and will be reviewed and approved by the associate dean for faculty affairs. The Office of Faculty Affairs will notify the community instructor, department head, and clerkship director regarding the outcome of requests for appointment and/or renewal. View additional information regarding the Community Instructor Appointment Policy. 

Required components:

• For a clerkship community instructor appointment, Letter of Recommendation signed by a clerkship director, site director, or course director, and department head.
• For a non-clerkship community instructor appointment, Letter of Recommendation (non-clerkship) signed by the department head. 

Instructions:

Please download a copy of the necessary letter of recommendation template, complete and add signatures, and upload to the Community Instructor Appointment submission form. Requests will be routed for review and approval by the associate dean for faculty affairs.

Additional Community Instructor Resources

• View the list of current Community Instructor Clerkships, LIC's, and Departments
• Supervision of Medical Students During Clinical Activities Policy
• Faculty Expectations: Responsibilities of Faculty Supervisors of Medical Students

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.

Departments must submit an annual review for every full time, paid, faculty member. The annual review should cover the calendar year.

Please note: annual reviews are not required for part-time (<67 percent effort) faculty. Although not required, departments are encouraged to collect and submit annual reviews for unpaid/without salary faculty. The deadline to submit annual appraisals for all faculty members is June 30.

Tenure-Track Faculty (Probationary Faculty)

• SAFE Form and Form 12

Tenured Faculty

• SAFE Form and Form 13 (for associate professors)

Non-Tenure Track Faculty

• Note: This includes all paid and unpaid faculty on the academic track and clinician track.
• SAFE Forms are shared with ms-ofa@umn.edu, and should follow the naming convention: "LastName.FirstName.Rank.Track.YEAROFREVIEW."

Adjunct Faculty Annual Activity Reports

• Departments submit PDF copies of signed Adjunct Faculty Annual Activity Report in a Google Drive folder shared with ms-ofa@umn.edu. Annual Activity Reports should follow the same naming convention: "LastName.FirstName.Rank.Track.YEAROFREVIEW." Reports should be submitted to the department annually by March 15, and departments will submit to the OFA by June 30. 
• OFA will send a request to all departments every year, asking for confirmation of adjunct faculty appointment renewals. OFA will communicate if renewals have been approved and if the department can issue a renewal letter.

Faculty Review Resources

• Annual Review of Probationary Faculty (Form 12)
• Annual Review of Tenured Faculty (Form 13)
• Summary of Annual Faculty Evaluation (SAFE) Form
• Pandemic Impact Assessment Tool
• Annual Goals and Activities Form - not required; for departmental reference only
• Med School 7.12 Part 3: Annual Review of Tenured Faculty

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

• Track Transfer Memo (Updated Jun. 2022)

• Candidate curriculum vitae

Instructions: Make 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.

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:

• Dual Appointments with Departments MOU Template (if requested after hire)
• Dual Appointments with the VA MOU Template (if requested after hire)
• Phased Retirement MOU
• Faculty Out-of-State Remote Work MOU
• Department/College Switch MOU
• Other

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 ms-ofa@umn.edu 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.

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. Departments 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 senior associate dean for faculty affairs and routed for necessary approvals.

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

• University Policy: Faculty Development Leaves
• University Policy: Unpaid Personal Leaves for Faculty and Academic Professional and Administrative Employees

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.

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 Senior 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 (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 of Maximum Period of Probationary Service for Tenure-Track Faculty (Form 1910) - use the form to:

  • Extend appointment by one year due to new parent responsibilities
  • Extend appointment by one year due to caregiver responsibilities 
  • Extend appointment by one year due to personal medical illness/injury
  • Reduce the percentage of my appointment to less than 67% as allowed (refer to Board of Regents Policy: Faculty Tenure, Section 5.3 Definition of Academic Year and Section 3.6 Special Contracts)
  • Other (e.g. effects of the coronavirus pandemic)

Extension requests using this form should be submitted to the Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty and Academic Affairs or emailed to vpfaa@umn.edu.

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.

Tenured Hires
For tenured hires, please follow this guidance:

• When considering a tenured hire, email ms-ofa@umn.edu 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 P&T 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. 

Simply Voting
If the University is still working remotely at the time of your college or campus tenure and promotion meetings, those meetings should be held via video or telephone conference. Proxy, telephone, fax, and email votes are not permitted. If you aren't already doing so, it is strongly encouraged that departments use the confidential electronic voting system, Simply Voting. For access, email survey@umn.edu.

Tenure/Academic/Clinician Track Faculty:

• Template
• Checklist

Medical School Curriculum Vitae - Required for all dossiers/tracks

• CV Template (Updated May 11, 2020)
• Example Works Template
• Guide for Creating Your Medical School CV in Works
• Run Your Works CV Report for Promotion and Tenure

Metrics Resources

• Manifold Impact Analytics
• Web of Science
• Google Scholar

Guidance regarding external reviewers:

• Key elements for writing a letter requesting an external review
• Guide for selecting arm's length reviewers
• Sample External Review List

Sample Letters for Tenure/Academic Tracks:

• Advanced Rank Hire | Academic Track
• Advanced Rank Hire | Tenure

Sample Letter for Clinician Track:

• Advanced Rank Hire | Clinician Track