New tenure-related assistant professors must provide an official statement or certification from the granting institution of the completion of degree requirements or the granting of the degree prior to the start date of their tenure-related contract (September 16 of the appointment year, or August 16 for the Law School).
If the degree documentation is not available at the time the initial contract is issued, the initial contract should be for the title and rank of “Acting” Assistant Professor. When filling out the Request to Offer at the time of initial hire, where a tenure-related faculty member has not been awarded his or her terminal degree, please include the following in the official offer letter in MyTrack or Request to Offer (correction dates where needed):
CLASSIFICATION: Acting Assistant Professor
The classification of Acting will be changed to the classification of Tenure-Track and Tenured with the rank of Assistant Professor upon completion of the Ph.D. degree requirements. Should completion of the requirements not occur by September 16, 2016 (start of first year), a one-year, fixed-term contract will be issued to you for the period of September 16, 2016 (start of first year) through June 15, 2017 (end of first year). Continuation of this appointment beyond June 15, 2017 (end of first year) is contingent upon actual conferral of the degree by June 15, 2017 (end of first year).
Major review to occur during 2018-19.
When the degree is completed, the new faculty member should request official documentation from the granting institution and have it sent directly to the Office of Academic Affairs at the University of Oregon.
When the appropriate completion-of-degree requirements or degree-confirmation documentation has been received, Academic Affairs will forward the official document to the Office of Human Resources Operations (HR).
Alternatively, the department or faculty member can send the official documentation directly to HR Operations, and they will verify the authenticity of the documentation as needed.
HR will prepare the proper documentation to remove the "Acting" designation and route to the Department and School/College for signature. Once signatures have been secured, a revised contract will be issued.
Should the completion of requirements not occur by the start date given on the tenure-related contract, a one-year, fixed-term contract will be issued for the period of September 16-June 15 (August 16–May 15 for the Law School). The issuing department must submit a revised Request to Offer (RTO), fixed-term contract type D, for the one year, using the title and rank of Acting Assistant Professor and the original numeric position number. The RTO packet must be submitted through the regular channels, including the Dean’s or Director’s Office.
The tenure-related contract can be issued at any time during the fixed-term year. The tenure clock starts with the beginning of the second academic year. Tenure credit for the year served on the fixed-term contract is optional.
