FAQs:

Reappointment

  • To have reappointment rights for a course, you must have either taught:

    2 semesters in each of the preceding 2 consecutive academic years.
    -OR-
    1 semester in each of the preceding 4 consecutive academic years.

    *Academic Year = September 1st - August 31st (Fall/Winter/Spring/Summer)

  • If you have reappointment rights you should receive your reappointment letter on or before May 21st for the following academic year(Fall, Winter, Spring).

    If you don’t have reappointment rights your department can give you an appointment letter as late as 14 days before the start of the semester in which you will teach.

    *Reappointment Request letters submitted on December 15th are no longer required to qualify for reappointment rights, but are highly recommended.

  • If you have reappointment rights you should receive your reappointment letter on or before March 21st for the following Summer semester.

    If you don’t have reappointment rights your department can give you an appointment letter as late as 14 days before the start of the Summer semester in which you will teach.

    *Reappointment Request letters submitted on December 15th are no longer required to qualify for reappointment rights, but are highly recommended.

  • If you have reappointment rights you are not required to respond to the reappointment letter that you receive.

    If you don’t have reappointment rights your department may require you to respond within a designated time frame, of receiving your appointment letter.

  • If you are expecting a letter and don’t receive one, contact the union immediately. 

    In your correspondence, please state whether you submitted a reappointment request letter by December 15. Also, please include a completed copy of your work history

    For Fall, Winter, and Spring appointments, this needs to be received no later than May 30. This will help us determine the best course of action to move forward.

  • If you're thinking of taking a semester off, after receiving your appointment letter, you can decline to teach for a semester (or a full year). The Decline to Teach letter should be sent to your department chair or director. This letter protects your rights to return to your appointments with no break in service. You can read complete details in Article X, section C of our contract.

  • Possibly. If you are owed a reappointment, and that course is canceled, the university can make it up to you with a reappointment later within the academic year. For example, some adjuncts might lose a course in fall, only to pick one up in summer. 

    This creates a sensitive timeline for some adjuncts. Let’s say you were expecting two reappointments for the year, and one of them was canceled in the fall. You could file a grievance immediately, but your department might say they will make it up to you with a summer course. If something like this happened to you, and you did not receive a reappointment, you should contact the union.

  • The December 15th Reappointment Request Letter is a written notification sent to your department requesting reappointment in the following academic year and indicating your qualification for reappointment.

  • You should email the letter to the Chair of your department, or, in the absence of a Chair, an appropriate University administrator in your department. Be sure to copy mail@actuaw.org.

  • Yes. You can use this template from the ACTUAW website.

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  • No. You do not need to wait until December 15th to send the reappointment request letter.

  • Under the provisions of the contract, there is a 10 business day grace period to submit the letter. If you submit the letter during the grace period, it will still be deemed to be on time.

  • Submitting your December 15th Reappointment Request Letter is the best way to try to protect your reappointment. However, under the new contract, you can still be eligible to receive termination pay or course load reduction pay, as applicable, under the contract provided that you have reappointment rights.