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Major Changes in Non-Senate Instruction Unit (Unit 18) MOU

Department Chairs Forum

October 23, 2003

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Non-Senate Instruction Unit MOU

UC and UC-AFT reached agreement on a new MOU after 3 years of bargaining

Duration of this MOU is from July 10, 2003 through June 30, 2006.

Some provisions of this MOU will be subject to reopener bargaining as soon as April 2004.

UC-AFT has already designated Article 24-Workload as their topic for reopener bargaining in 2004.

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Management Flexibility and Academic Planning

UC has retained most of the management rights, but lost some flexibility. Some examples:

Reduction to appointment percentage now requires at least 30-day notice or pay-in-lieu of notice if as a result of class cancellation

Continuing appointment status, replaces post-six-year/three-year lecturer contract.

Therefore, the key to manage this new bargaining contract is advanced academic planning.

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Non-Senate Faculty (NSF) Appointments: Pre-six-year appointments

UC still has the sole discretion to make a determination regarding:

• Who teaches a course• The duration of an appointment• The assignments of an individual• The assessment of performance

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Non-Senate Faculty (NSF) Appointments: Pre-six-year appointments

UC may consider the following when making NSF appointments:

• Time-limited programs: e.g., faculty fellows program with lecturer appointments limited to two years

• Need to infuse new perspectives or pedagogy as long as the NSF is included in the overall hiring consideration

• Need to employ other academic appointees in order to accomplish the UC’s academic goals: e.g., graduate student training; ladder rank faculty teaching load, etc.

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Non-Senate Faculty (NSF) Appointments: Pre-six-year appointments

These decisions are generally not subject to grievance or arbitration provisions, except to the extent they reflect or result from UC actions that are grievable and subject to arbitration.

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Non-Senate Faculty (NSF) Appointments: Special MOU Provisions related to

Pre-six-year appointments

While pre-six-year NSF appointments are still made at UC’s sole discretion, the University may not engage in any “post-six-year” avoidance practice, such as:

• Policy or practice which restricts access to continuing appointments;

• Pattern of non-reappointment of lecturers in their 6th year

• UC can not hire a lower-paid NSF to teach instead of a higher-paid NSF who has already been teaching the same course.

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Non-Senate Faculty (NSF) Appointments: Continuing Appointments

There are no longer post-six-year/three-year NSF contracts. These are now called “continuing appointments,” similar to the concept of “career status” for staff.

Instructional need is now determined on an annual basis. Instructional need to establish a “continuing appointment” exists when:

There is a departmental need for courses to be taught by NSF in which the NSF has taught;

the NSF is qualified to teach those courses; a continuing appointee is not already expected

to teach that course.

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Non-Senate Faculty (NSF) Appointments: Continuing Appointments

Instructional need will not exist when courses previously taught by NSFs are to be reassigned to:

Senate faculty Graduate Academic Student Employees (ASEs)

whose training is in the same department or related discipline

Unanticipated distinguished visiting or adjunct professors

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Academic Review: Pre-six-year NSFs

• Pre-six-year NSF: appointment is still a term appointment with specific beginning and ending dates.

• UC is obligated to “assess” the pre-six-year NSF’s performance when it has decided to reappoint this NSF.

• This assessment need not be a formal review but must be conducted in accordance with each academic unit’s applicable procedures for assessment of pre-six-year appointees and must be applied consistently within each academic unit.

• UC must notify NSF of the details of the assessment when it decides to reappoint.

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Academic Review: Continuing Appointees

• Post-six-year NSF will undergo an “Excellence” review only once during the 6th year of their NSF appointment.

• Must include a review by a committee at the department or college/school level

• Participation in the committee by a peer NSF with similar expertise is encouraged

• Continuing appointee will under go a merit review every three years.

• There is a process applicable to continuing appointees for Dismissal based on Academic Performance, which may be initiated within a merit review cycle or out-of-cycle by the department.

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New Salary Provisions

• New salary minimums for pre-six-year and continuing NSFs.

• 1-step salary adjustment at 10th quarter reappointment based on longevity. No merit program for pre-six-year NSFs.

• At least a 2-step salary increase if merit decision is positive for continuing appointees.

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Layoffs for NSF Appointees

UC has sole discretion to decide on layoffs or reduction in time if the decision is based on:

• Lack of work: e.g., courses reassigned to senate faculty or ASEs

• Budgetary considerations

• Programmatic changes which results in a lack of work: e.g., if UC decides to enhance the graduate program in a particular area, thus increasing the use of TAs and reducing the need for NSFs.

Caveat: UC must follow a more elaborate process and notice requirements for any NSF layoff and reduction in time.

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Layoffs for NSF Appointees

Each department or equivalent unit is a layoff unit

Seniority is determined within each department.

UC must first try to meet its reduction in staff through:

• Attrition• Retirement• Non-reappointment of pre-six-year NSF • Voluntary reductions in NSF staffing within unit

Layoff is normally done first by skills/knowledge, then by seniority, except when a Continuing appointee and a less senior NSF are teaching the same course

Bumping Right: A continuing appointee, who received a layoff notice, may request UC to consider the qualifications of any less senior NSF(s).

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Notice Requirement for Layoffs or Reduction in time, and Reemployment Rights:

Layoff notice period requirement differs depending on appointment length/history:

Full separation: 12 months for continuing appointees; 30 to 90 days for pre-six-year depending on total length of NSF appointments

Single course cancellation resulting in reduction in time requires at least 30-day notice in advance of the 1st scheduled class meeting. Otherwise, equivalent pay-in-lieu of notice is required.

Reemployment Rights: 3 years for continuing appointee and 1 year for pre-six-year lecturers

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Additional Resources

Non-Senate Instructional Unit (Unit 18) MOU:

http://www.atyourservice.ucop.edu/bargaining_contracts/nsi/

College/School Dean’s Office Academic Personnel Staff

Marianne Beckett, Academic Personnel at Ext: 8-3385; email: marianne.beckett@ucr.edu

Labor Relations Office Ext.: 8-3641