Policies, Forms and Resources
Forms and Templates
Recruitment Policies and Forms
Service Toward Completion of the Probationary Period
Tenure system assistant professors beginning their initial appointment after the eighth week of the academic year, i.e., after October 15th, are required to complete a Service Toward Completion of the Probationary Period form. This form records the faculty member’s request to have the initial partial year count or not count toward the probationary period. The decision must be made at the time of the faculty member’s initial appointment to the tenure-track. It is very important for a faculty member to understand the implications of counting or not counting an initial year in which he/she provides less than a full year’s service, since the decision will affect the timing of their promotion and tenure review.
Faculty should discuss this matter thoroughly with their department head. Additionally, faculty who have questions about this decision or who are starting their appointment in the 2nd half of the academic year (after February 16th) and opting to count the partial year should consult with COM Faculty Affairs before completing the form. Units may contact Gillian Coombs to arrange this meeting.
Policies and Resources
College Policies
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- University of Illinois College of Medicine Bylaws, last revised August 14, 2025
- College of Medicine Chicago Bylaws
- College of Medicine Peoria Bylaws
- College of Medicine Rockford Bylaws
- COM Criteria and Guidelines for Appointment and Promotion of Faculty
- College of Medicine faculty tracks overview
- Affiliate Clinical Educators (ACE) appointments
- Departmental Criteria for Appointment and Promotion (as reported Fall, 2025)
- Q Contracts
University Policies
- Annual Faculty Evaluations
- BOT Appointment Approval Guidelines
- Mid-Probationary Reviews
- Notice of Non-Reappointment to Tenure Track and Non-Tenured Faculty
- Promotion and Tenure: Resources and Materials for the P&T process at UIC
- Tenure Rollbacks (submit no later than May 1st of the Fifth Year of the Probationary Period)
- Tenure Hold Policy
- Automatic Tenure Hold Form (submit no later than 3 months after the birth or adoption of a child)
- Approved Tenure Hold Form (submit in the same Academic Year in which the event occurred)
- Track Switching from Tenure to Non-Tenure Status
- Sabbatical Leaves of Absence
Named Professorships
In order to submit a named professorship request for College and University review, the following documents are needed:
- Letter from unit executive officer justifying the proposed appointment. Must include the prerequisites of the named appointment, a description of the process used for selection, and the case for distinction.
- Updated CV of endowed professorship nominee
- Copy of the gift agreement or charter document for named position
- Transmittal Form
See also: UIC Guidelines for Appointing and Investing Named Chairs and Professorships
“W” Agreements
The “W” agreement (special written agreement for definite term) provides departments the option of hiring faculty without indefinite tenure and under definite terms by entering into a special written agreement with the concurrence of the faculty member.
The use of a “W” agreement is exclusively maintained for non-tenured faculty in the Clinical Discipline track in the College of Medicine. A “W” agreement must be executed when either the advanced rank (Associate Professor of Clinical xxx or Professor of Clinical xxx) or % appointment (51% or greater for an Assistant Professor of Clinical xxx) would confer tenure or tenure probationary status. It is preferred that no state funding be included for faculty on a “W” agreement; however up to 50% will be allowed.
Processing: Units should initiate the W agreement via the W agreement online form for review and execution. Once electronic signatures have been secured at every level, employee and unit will receive an executed W agreement via email. At that time, units can proceed with the related HRFE transaction.
Clinician Educator 60/40 Rule
All new faculty hires that are truly primarily clinical/clinician educators will be in the clinical discipline track (i.e. Prof of Clinical “discipline”) and typically will be funded at a ratio of 60% physician surgeon and 40% faculty title. The expectation is that although the Physician Surgeon line provides certain flexibility, the faculty member will remain > 50% FTE. The assumption is total compensation will be consistent and subject to clinical productivity and departmental incentive plans.
This 60/40 split is intended to clarify the primary clinician teacher role, better define tenure versus non-tenured faculty, avoid triggering “W” agreements prior to promotion to senior rank, and creates the desired consistency required by Campus Faculty HR.
policy effective 2/8/10
Visiting Faculty Appointments
“Visiting” may be used in the title of a faculty appointment when the individual is to be a temporary appointee of one year or less. Such appointments may be renewed for a period generally not longer than three years when state-funded, and not longer than five years when the funding source is non-state. Appointments beyond these timeframes imply permanent status and if they are to continue must be converted to permanent appointments in accordance with established campus policies.
Advanced rank new appointments (associate professor or professor in all tracks) require the development of a p&t dossier within the first year. The recommendation then goes to the College promotions committee for review and to the Executive Dean for endorsement. Tenured appointments require additional approvals at the University level. See New Appointments for additional information.
Clinical Faculty Appointments
Most clinicians are salaried as both a faculty member and a physician surgeon. Some points to remember when structuring the appointment are:
- To be in the tenure track, assistant professors must have a faculty appointment line of 51% or greater. Newly hired associate professors and professors can be tenured at varying amounts, although attention should be given to equity with other members of the department.
- Tenure track percent and dollars should not be decreased without written agreement from the faculty member.
- Assistant professor faculty in the Clinical Discipline Track (who by definition are not tenure track) are on N tenure if the faculty appointment line is less than or equal to 50% and W tenure (with a fully executed W agreement required) if greater than 50%.
- Clinical discipline track appointments (i.e. Prof of Clinical “discipline”) are typically funded at a ratio of 60% physician surgeon and 40% faculty title. The expectation is that although the Physician Surgeon line provides certain flexibility, the faculty member will remain > 50% FTE. The assumption is total compensation will be consistent and subject to clinical productivity and departmental incentive plans. This 60/40 split is intended to clarify the distribution of activities and better define tenure versus non-tenured faculty, and creates the desired consistency expected by the University.
- Associate professors and professors in the Clinical Discipline Track must have a W contract on file if any of their contractual salary is attributed to the faculty rank line.
Administrative Appointments
It is encouraged that full-time faculty who also hold administrative appointments have a title designated for these responsibilities on their contracts. The line should be on a 0% basis with appropriate dollars attached. When this is done, it is possible to identify a discrete dollar amount for salary reduction should an individual step down from or otherwise end his or her administrative responsibilities.
Most major administrative appointments will require prior approval by the Provost. Further details on adding or dropping an administrative role may be found in the UIC Webguide to Policies and Procedures.
Emeritus/Emerita Requests
The titles of “emeritus” and “emerita” are reserved for retiring faculty who have made extraordinary contributions to UIC. The campus policy and cover sheet may be found here:
The College of Medicine’s Emeritus Review Committee generally meets twice per year to review all requests for Emeritus/Emerita appointments and make recommendations to the Dean.
Emeritus/Emerita Review Rubric – The College Committee uses this rubric to facilitate reviews and to provide guidance to those responsible for nominating faculty for such distinction.
Joint Courtesy Appointments
In order to give a joint courtesy (0%) appointment to a faculty member from another department in the College of Medicine or elsewhere in the university, an abbreviated set of materials must be submitted to COM Faculty Affairs for College review. Typically, joint courtesy appointments mirror the faculty title held in the individual’s home department. The specific rights and privileges conferred by a joint appointment are determined at the department level. NOTE: If a 0% courtesy relationship is defined at the time of the faculty member’s initial hire, the documents outlined below are not necessary.
Required documentation
- Checklist
- Letter of request from the appointing Unit Executive Officer presenting a brief justification based on the faculty member’s expertise and detailing their anticipated contributions to the appointing unit.
- Endorsement by the chair of the appointing unit’s departmental p&t committee. Review by the full departmental p&t committee is optional.
- For Peoria and Rockford, endorsement by the chair of the regional college-level p&t committee is also required.
- Faculty member’s CV
Submissions are reviewed by the chair of the College Committee on Faculty Appointments, Promotion and Tenure, who makes a recommendation to the Executive Dean and the Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs.
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Departmental Affiliate is a status which reflects appointment similar to joint courtesy appointments made for faculty within UIC.
Additional College and University Resources
- College of Medicine Teaching Resources for Faculty
- UIC Center for the Advancement of Teaching Excellence (CATE)
- UIC Faculty Handbook
- Diversity Resources
- Disabilities Resources
- Gender-Inclusive Resources
- Harassment Resources
- Faculty Grievance Procedures
- University Statutes
- State Universities Retirement System of Illinois (SURS)
- UIC Faculty Senate
- Campus Maps and Directions