Tenured and Tenure-Track Appointments
Assistant, Associate, and (Full) Professor: Appointment as an assistant, associate, or (full) professor is reserved for tenured and tenure-track, regular faculty.
Instructor-NTT: The Instructor-NTT category will be reserved for individuals recruited for either a tenure-track assistant professor or assistant professor of practice position that required a terminal degree but who has not completed the terminal degree before the appointment start date. An individual will be appointed as Instructor-NTT while “ABD” - all but dissertation. It’s expected that the individual’s appointment will be upgraded to assistant professor or assistant professor of practice (as appropriate to original offer) at the beginning of the next academic year or for 12-month appointments the next July 1. Service as an Instructor-NTT is limited to two years, and ordinarily no reappointment beyond two years will be permitted. Time spent as an Instructor-NTT does not count towards tenure for individuals in a tenure track position. Individuals in an Instructor-NTT are eligible for NUFlex and retirement benefits provided the assigned FTE is at least .50.
Professor of Practice Appointments
Assistant, Associate, and (Full) Professors of Practice are non-tenure track faculty members with primarily instructional duties (apportionment of at least 80%, and often 100%, teaching).
As non-tenure-track faculty, Assistant, Associate, and (Full) Professors of Practice are not subject to the 7-year limitation on length of service.
The categories of Assistant, Associate, and (Full) Professor of Practice are described below and such appointments at 0.5 FTE or greater are ordinarily eligible for NUFlex and retirement benefits.
Assistant Professor of Practice: Assistant Professors of Practice are non-tenure-track faculty on term contracts. Contracts for Assistant Professors of Practice may be written for terms of 1 to 3 years and are renewable (or not). These appointments are normally 1.00 FTE but must be at least 0.5. They are eligible for NUFlex and retirement benefits.
Associate Professor of Practice: Associate Professors of Practice are non-tenure-track faculty on term contracts. Contracts for Associate Professors of Practice may be written for terms of 1 to 4 years and are renewable (or not). These appointments are normally 1.00 FTE but must be at least 0.5. They are eligible for NUFlex and retirement benefits.
(Full) Professor of Practice: Full Professors of Practice are non-tenure-track faculty on term contracts. Contracts for Full Professors of Practice may be written for terms of 1 to 5 years and are renewable (or not). These appointments are normally 1.00 FTE but must be at least 0.5. They are eligible for NUFlex and retirement benefits.
Instructor-NTT: The Instructor-NTT category will be reserved for individuals recruited for either a tenure-track assistant professor or assistant professor of practice position that required a terminal degree but who has not completed the terminal degree before the appointment start date. An individual will be appointed as Instructor-NTT while “ABD” - all but dissertation. It’s expected that the individual’s appointment will be upgraded to assistant professor or assistant professor of practice (as appropriate to original offer) at the beginning of the next academic year or for 12-month appointments the next July 1. Service as an Instructor-NTT is limited to two years, and ordinarily no reappointment beyond two years will be permitted. Individuals in an Instructor-NTT are eligible for NUFlex and retirement benefits provided the assigned FTE is at least .50.
Research Faculty Appointments
Research Assistant, Associate, or (Full) Professor: Research assistant, associate, or (full) professor appointments are non-tenure-track appointments paid from grant or other extramural funds. Contracts may be written for terms of 1 to 3 years for Research Assistant Professors, 1 to 4 years for Research Associate Professors, and 1 to 5 years for Research (Full) Professors and are renewable (or not). As non-tenure-track faculty, research assistant, associate, and (full) professors are not subject to the 7-year limitation on length of service. Appointments at 0.5 FTE or greater are ordinarily eligible for NUFlex and retirement benefits.
Lecturer Appointments
Lecturer/T: Lecturers/T are instructional faculty on non-tenure-track term appointments of less than one year (i.e., semester by semester appointments) and/or less than .5 FTE. There is no limit to how often these semester appointments may be renewed. Lecturers/T are not eligible for retirement benefits and would not be eligible for NUFlex participation.
Lecturer: Lecturers are non-tenure-track faculty on term contracts. Contracts for lecturers may be written for terms of 1 to 3 years and are renewable (or not); as non-tenure-track faculty, lecturers are not subject to the 7-year limitation on length of service. Lecturers must be appointed at 0.5 FTE or greater and are ordinarily eligible for NUFlex and retirement benefits.
Postdoctoral Associates and Senior Research Associates
Senior Research Associate: Senior research associate appointments are non-tenure-track appointments paid primarily from grant or other extramural funds. An individual would be appointed to this rank on the basis of qualifications including a doctorate, three years of service as a Postdoctoral Research Associate, and a record of demonstrated superior performance in that position. Contracts for senior research associates may be written for terms of 1 to 3 years, and are renewable (or not), based on the performance and renewal of funding. As non-tenure-track faculty, senior research associates are not subject to the 7-year limitation on length of service. Senior research associates appointed at 0.5 or greater are ordinarily eligible for NUFlex and retirement benefits.
Postdoctoral Associates: Postdoctoral appointments are faculty on non-tenure track term contracts of up to five years; employment as a postdoctoral associate is limited to five successive years. Post-doctoral associates are not regular employees and do not qualify for retirement benefits. If appointed at 0.5 FTE or greater, however, they ordinarily are eligible for NUFlex benefits.
Visiting, Adjunct and Courtesy Appointments
Visiting Faculty Member: Visiting faculty member appointments are non-tenure-track appointments that are ordinarily reserved for faculty members who are on leave from appointments from other institutions or whose extensive professional or other accomplishments warrant such appointment. Appointment as a visiting faculty member at or above 0.5 FTE is limited to three years of service within a five-year period. Such appointments at 0.5 FTE or greater are ordinarily eligible for NUFlex, but not retirement benefits.
Adjunct Faculty Member: Adjunct appointments are unpaid appointments that permit the establishment of a fruitful relationship between the individual appointed and the appointing academic unit. Adjunct appointees are non-tenure-track and are not eligible for NUFlex or retirement benefits.
Courtesy Faculty Member: Courtesy appointments are restricted to individuals holding non-temporary employment elsewhere on campus, and are made to facilitate useful and productive relationships among individuals in different University units. Courtesy appointments are non-tenure-track and do not include compensation or benefits.
Employee Benefits Related to Faculty Titles
NUFlex and retirement benefits are governed by the University of Nebraska's retirement and insurance benefit plans. Notwithstanding any statement in the guidelines above, any faculty appointee with a .5 FTE or greater, not otherwise deemed a 'regular' employee for benefits purposes, is eligible (regardless of title designation) to participate in (1) NUFlex on the first day of the month following the shorter of six full months or one full semester of service; and (2) the retirement plan upon reaching age 26 and two years of service. Participation in the retirement plan is mandatory at age 30, following two years of service. For regular and visiting appointments, prior service with another educational employer may apply towards the two-year service requirement. While every effort has been made to ensure that these guidelines are consistent with the University's benefit plans, the benefit plan documents prevail over these guidelines should any conflict arise.
5/10/1998, revised March 2003, August 2007, January 2019, December 2019, and June 2021.