The Austin Community College Board of Trustees adopted this policy on April 21, 1997. It is a consolidation of a former policies VIII-75, Appointment for Faculty Personnel, (which had been adopted on January 17, 1977 and amended on June 1, 1981 and November 4, 1991) and VIII-62, Faculty Administrative Appointments (which had been adopted on March 4, 1996).

VIII-75. Full-Time Faculty Appointments

(1) Initial appointments: Full-time faculty members shall initially receive a one-year appointment. Subsequent reappointments granted upon favorable evaluation shall be for one year until the faculty member has at least three years of service and two consecutive favorable evaluations, in which case a three-year appointment shall be granted.

(2) Multi-year appointments: Any full-time faculty member who has already received a three-year appointment shall, in each year a favorable annual evaluation is received, be given a new appointment for the following three-year period.

(3) Employment termination: During the term of an appointment, the employment of a full-time faculty member may not be terminated by the College except for good cause as defined in Policy VIII-26.

(4) Evaluation: The President shall maintain administrative rules which specify how and by whom evaluations of full-time faculty are to be conducted, what level of performance is required for an evaluation to be considered favorable in the context of this policy, and how evaluations may be appealed. The appeal process shall be constructed so as to meet any legal requirements for notice and hearings.

(5) Probation: A faculty member is on probation if he or she has a one-year appointment (initial probation) or if his or her most recent annual evaluation was less than favorable (performance probation). If a faculty member receives a less than favorable annual evaluation while on probation, the College may terminate the employment of the faculty member at the end of his or her current appointment without further evaluation.

(6) Rehiring: If a person is rehired as a full-time faculty member at the College within 5 years of leaving such a position, he or she resumes the appointment status held prior to leaving faculty status.