Faculty and Staff Handbook

FACULTY RANGE ADJUSTMENT PROGRAM

Article XXI (J) of the State-wide Agreement between the State of New Jersey and the Council of New Jersey State Colleges Locals, AFT, AFL-CIO for July 1, 1999 to June 30, 2003, provides in part (Sub Section 4) the following:

A range adjustment program will be established at each College/University where full-time faculty are employed. Full-time faculty members who meet or exceed the merit-based criteria established for range adjustments are eligible to be considered for and may apply for a range adjustment within rank. The merit-based criteria will be established by the College/University and published for the understanding of affected employees. The procedures for consideration will be negotiated between the College/University and the Local Union. The procedures for consideration utilized at the College/University, if universally applicable, or in a division, department or similar unit in which the faculty member is employed shall be fairly and equitably applied to all applicants and nominees.

The following guidelines, criteria, and procedures have been established by the University for implementation of the range adjustment program for eligible full-time faculty members at William Paterson University.

1. General Guidelines

1. The President of the University or his/her designee, after consultation with the Union, shall announce the number of available range adjustments at each rank, on or before October 1st.
   
   
2. Applications will be filed and processed in the spring of each academic year based on the established calendar for the Faculty Range Adjustment Program. The President, after negotiations with AFT, Local 1796, shall develop a calendar setting forth range adjustment procedures which shall be published and distributed annually to all eligible full-time faculty. Candidates shall adhere to the dates set forth in the calendar.
   
   
3. Faculty members interested in applying for range adjustments should review Article XXI (J) of the Statewide Agreement and the Faculty Range Adjustment Program included herein. William Paterson University shall provide copies of the Faculty Range Adjustment Program, the List of Eligibility (as provided at the beginning of each academic year) and calendar to all faculty members.
   
   
4. Although the review committees may request additional information to assist in their evaluation, it is the responsibility of candidates to provide the documentation to support their record of activity in rank or range across the merit-based criteria. Documentation of activity at a prior rank, range or employment activity at William Paterson University, or another organization or institution of higher education shall not be submitted as evidence of meeting the merit-based criteria. The Administration will provide to the UFRAC a list of applicants, which will include faculty appointment date, last promotion and/or range adjustment date(s), if any, and a printed copy of the Faculty Range Adjustment Program.
   
   
5. The Administration will provide a list to all faculty members notifying them of their eligibility status. Prior to distribution of such list, the Administration will provide to the Union for its review this list, which will include faculty appointment date, and last promotion and/or range adjustment date(s) if any.
   
   
6. All range adjustment applications are reviewed initially at the department level. On or before the date set forth in the established calendar, applications must be submitted to the Department Chair who will forward the portfolio to the Department Faculty Range Adjustment Committee (DFRAC) for review, recommendation and transmittal to the University Faculty Range Adjustment Committee (UFRAC).
   
   
7. The DFRAC Chair forwards the department’s recommendation to the UFRAC for review, recommendation, and transmittal to the Provost and Executive Vice President.
   
   
8. Candidates for range adjustments shall not serve on either their department DFRAC or UFRAC during their candidacies.
   
   
9. The names of faculty who receive faculty range adjustments shall be included in information provided by the University to the All-University Promotion Committee.

II. Faculty Range Adjustment Program - Eligibility

1. Full-time faculty members who have completed at least four years in their current rank or range, and who have not been promoted or received a range adjustment within the preceding four years shall be eligible to apply for range adjustments.
   
   
2. Promotion from Instructor to Assistant Professor as a result of completion of a terminal degree or equivalency will not be considered a "promotion" for purposes of this policy. Time at the Instructor rank will be counted toward completion of the four-year waiting period in rank required to apply for a Faculty Range Adjustment.
   
   

3. A full-time faculty member shall not be awarded a promotion and range adjustment in the same academic year.
   
   III. Faculty Range Adjustment Program Merit-Based Criteria
   
   A. To be eligible to apply for a range adjustment within rank, a faculty member shall:
   1. meet professional responsibilities,
   2. exceed criteria (be exceptional) in teaching, and
   3. exceed criteria (be exceptional) in one of the following and meet criteria (be effective) for the other:

   a. research/scholarship/creative expression,

   b. university/community service.

B. The candidate shall indicate, on the required form, the category in which s/he considers him/herself to be exceptional (exceed criteria) (subsection C-1-c). The criteria are defined in the Faculty/Staff Handbook, Faculty Promotions, IV-C, 1-6 and Scope of Assessment, Attachment I.

C. Candidates shall provide documentation of their performance on all three merit-based categories of criteria outlined in III-A above during the previous four years in rank or range. Candidates may choose to submit evidence of their performance on the merit-based criteria for their entire length of service in their present rank or range.

D. Evidence of achievement of the merit-based criteria in a prior rank, range or employment activity at WPUNJ, other organization, or institution of higher education shall not be submitted for consideration of a range adjustment.

IV. Procedures

Candidates shall develop a portfolio that includes the required Faculty Range Adjustment Application Checklist, a curriculum vita, two student and two peer teaching evaluations from the previous four semesters of application (excluding the semester in which the application is made), a cover letter indicating the candidate’s accomplishments related to the specifically applicable merit-based criteria and supporting materials and documentation the candidate chooses to submit to the department chair who will forward it to the DFRAC chair.

1. The DFRAC is an elected committee of tenured faculty members, with the exception of the department chairperson, who shall be a member (ex-officio, non-voting) whether or not tenured, unless the chairperson is expressly elected by the faculty of the department to the DFRAC.
   
   
2. The application for range adjustment is reviewed first by the DFRAC. The DFRAC is responsible for certifying that the candidate is eligible for a salary adjustment review and the portfolio contains the required documentation. Candidates will submit their portfolios to the department chair who will forward it to the DFRAC chair.
   
   
3. The DFRAC shall review the portfolio and submit its recommendations in writing to the University Faculty Range Adjustment Committee.
   
   
4. Where there is more than one candidate from the same department, the DFRAC shall list the candidates in alphabetical order.
   
   
5. All candidates’ range adjustment portfolios shall be forwarded by the DFRAC to the UFRAC with the written reason(s) for a positive or negative recommendation.

B. University-level Review: Role of University Faculty Range Adjustment Committee (UFRAC)

C. Review by the Provost and Executive Vice President

1. The UFRAC shall forward to the Provost and Executive Vice President a list of the candidates recommended for range adjustments equal to the number of available range adjustments at each rank.
   
   
2. The Provost and Executive Vice President shall review the candidates’ portfolios, consult with the appropriate college Dean, and meet with the UFRAC to discuss his/her recommendations, including any that may differ from those of the UFRAC. The Provost and Executive Vice President shall send to the President a list of candidates recommended for range adjustments, equal to the number of available range adjustments at each rank.
   
   
3. If the Provost and Executive Vice President’s recommendations differ from those of the UFRAC, he/she shall send to the President and to the chairperson of the UFRAC the UFRAC recommendation list, as well as his/her own, and give reason(s) for the difference(s).

D. Presidential Review

1. The President shall review the candidates’ portfolios and the recommendations submitted by the Provost and Executive Vice President and the UFRAC in making his/her decisions in the matter of range adjustments.
   
   
2. The President shall meet with the UFRAC and shall discuss his/her recommendations, including any that may differ from those of the UFRAC, before submitting the recommendations to the Board of Trustees.
   
   
3. Claims of violation of procedure by any UFRAC or DFRAC Committee must be reported to the President of the College/University by the individual grievant within fourteen (14) days from the date on which such claimed violation took place or fourteen (14) days from the date on which the individual grievant should have reasonably known of its occurrence. In the event of failure to report the occurrence within such fourteen (14) day period, the matter may not be raised in any later grievance contesting the validity of such committee’s recommendation or any action based thereon.

V. Board of Trustees

1. The Board of Trustees shall receive in writing the President’s list of recommended candidates for range adjustments.
   
   
2. The candidates shall be notified by the President of the University about the Board of Trustees’ range adjustment decisions.
   
   
3. The range adjustment decision of the Board of Trustees is final and not subject to appeal.

VI. Implementation

1. The President shall announce on September 5, 2000, the number of range changes to be awarded for 2000-2001.
   
   
2. The President shall announce by October 1 of each year that the program remains in effect, the number of range changes to be awarded with an effective date of the first day of the following academic year.
   
   
3. The Fall 2000 calendar is an expedited calendar and the Spring 2001 calendar shall be the model to be followed in future calendar years in which the program is in effect.
   
   
4. Faculty awarded range changes in the Fall 2000 process shall receive retroactive pay differential to September 1, 2000, for balances receivable at the date of payroll entry for changes, and the remainder shall be disbursed by the last pay period of the faculty contract year. Those awarded range changes in the Spring 2001 shall receive the salary adjustment on a bi-weekly basis beginning with the first pay period of the academic year 2001-2002. This calendar of disbursement shall be followed in any subsequent year in which the program is in effect.
   
   
5. A faculty member granted an upward range adjustment shall be placed on the first salary step of the new range which provides a higher salary than his or her current step in his or her current range and moved to the next higher step in the new range, as described in Article XXII, Section C.
   
   
6. Faculty granted a range change shall move to the next higher range within rank as provided by the Agreement between the State and the Council of New Jersey State College Locals, AFT, AFL-CIO for July 1, 1999 to June 30, 2003.
   
   
7. The parties agree to discuss and/or negotiate, where appropriate, issues limited to the Upward Range Adjustment process as it affects a candidate’s ability to apply for promotion and the time period between the UFRAC’s submission of its recommendations and the meeting with the Provost and Executive Vice President in January 2001. In December 2000, either of the parties shall notify the other in writing, of its desire to commence such discussions and/or negotiations where appropriate, at least 30 days prior to the start of such negotiations and/or discussions. The spring process will not commence until negotiations are completed.

Thereafter, either party may request to reopen negotiations in May of each year during the agreement on any procedures related to the agreement. Either of the parties shall notify the other in writing, of its desire to commence negotiations, at least 30 days prior to the start of such negotiations.