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Professional track PAR process

Resources

• EVPP: Prior Approval Request (PAR)
• COE: PAR - T/TT Electronic Document Processing Guide: section-by-section instructions for processing a PAR in DEFINE

Senior ranks

For prospective hires at the rank of Professor (Professor of Instruction, Professor of Practice, Clinical Professor, Adjunct Professor, and Distinguished Senior Lecturer), pre-approval is required from EVPP. See tab "Senior rank pre-review" on this page for instructions.

Start dates

Professional Track positions should generally have a start date of either September 1 or January 16 during the long session; and June 1, or July 1 for summer assignments. In some circumstances, however, an earlier start date may be requested, and this should be entered in the regular start date field on the PAR. (Professional track PARs do not include an additional "early start date" field.) The reason for the early start date should be explained in Section 8 of the PAR.

If a summer start date prior to 9/1 is requested, then the PAR should be dated for the fiscal year prior to the fall. For example, if a fall instructional assignment will begin September 1, 2020, and an early start date of August 2020 is requested, then the PAR should be created for fiscal year 19-20.

Process

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Pre-review requirement for senior ranks

For prospective hires at the rank of Professor (Professor of Instruction, Professor of Practice, Clinical Professor, Adjunct Professor, and Distinguished Senior Lecturer), pre-approval is required from EVPP, following the process described below. For more on titles and ranks see COE: Titles and Ranks - Professional Track Faculty.

Process

1. The department chair discusses the case with the Senior Associate Dean.

2. Department AM submits form "Pre-Review for Tenure" at Faculty Affairs/APS ServiceNow: Complete Forms.

   1. Upload the following documentation to the request:

      1. Current CV for the candidate

      2. Brief description of the recruitment/identification/finalist process and rationale for selecting this finalist above others

      3. EEO report from Interfolio 

   2. In the section "Required Approval Routing," add the following:

      1. Dean's Staff: Karla A Steffen (steffek). This field is required in COE.

      2. Dean or Dean Designate: Beth Maloch (malochb)

3. If the request is approved by both the Senior Associate Dean and EVPP, print the approval notification email to PDF, and include in the supplementary documentation of the PAR packet.

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When is a PAR needed?

PARs must be processed for hires of new faculty, and former faculty whose employment has been terminated. Faculty are not hired via Workday. Once the PAR is final-approved, EVPP loads the appointment into Workday via the PAR. 

A PAR is needed in the following situations:

• New faculty member who has never taught at UT Austin.

• Rehire of former faculty member whose position was terminated.

• Faculty member whose position has been inactive for longer than three years.

• Current UT Austin faculty or staff member, who will be instructor of record or hold another faculty role in a new, different unit.
  

A PAR is not required in these situations:

• Professional-track faculty member who holds an inactive faculty position that has been inactive for fewer than three years, and is in the correct unit. Position can be reactivated in Workday.

• Courtesy (0%) positions. Instead, use the Add Academic Appointment business process in Workday.

• Retired faculty member returning to teach. See COE: Hiring Retirees for other options.

Contact COE-FacultyAffairs@austin.utexas.edu with any questions.

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Professional-track PARs

See also:

• EVPP: Prior Approval Request (PAR)

• COE: PAR - T/TT Electronic Document Processing Guide: section-by-section instructions for processing a PAR in DEFINE

Senior ranks

For prospective hires at the rank of Professor (Professor of Instruction, Professor of Practice, Clinical Professor, Adjunct Professor, and Distinguished Senior Lecturer), pre-approval is required from EVPP. This approval must be granted before the PAR can be approved. See Pre-review requirement for senior ranks on this page.

Start dates

Professional Track positions should generally have a start date of either August 16 or January 1 during the long session; and May 16 or July 1 for summer assignments. In some circumstances, however, an earlier start date may be requested. The reason for the early start date should be explained in Section 8 of the PAR.

If a summer start date prior to 8/16 is requested, then the PAR should be dated for the fiscal year prior to the fall. For example, if a fall instructional assignment will begin August 16, 2025 (Academic Year 2025-26) and an early start date of August 1, 2025 is requested, then the PAR should be created for Fiscal Year 2024-25.

The account number entered in PAR Section 1, Funding Distribution, will be pushed to Workday as cost center for base salary. For fall appointments assigned an early start date prior to 8/16, the department will need to make appropriate costing adjustments in Workday. For example, for a fall appointment with an early start date of August 1, the account entered in PAR Section 1 for salary should reflect the funding source effective 8/16. Once the PAR has pushed to Workday, however, the department should adjust costing for the period 8/1-15 to come from the appropriate summer subaccount.

Required documentation

For supplementary materials required in the PAR packet, see the appropriate checklist at COE: PAR - Supplementary Documentation Checklists > Professional-track hires. Note that there are different checklists for Visiting/Adjunct/0% positions vs. other 9-month professional-track positions. Required materials for 12-month Research Faculty PARs are listed at COE: PAR - Supplementary Documentation Checklists > Research Faculty hires.

PAR process

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If approved, include documentation of pre-approval in the PAR packet.

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a) Process FPN in DEFINE. See COE: PAR - T/TT Electronic Document Processing Guide

b) Collect all supplementary documentation listed on the tab "PAR packet documentation" on this page.

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a) Approve completed FPN (DEFINE PAR document) forward to COE Faculty Affairs.

b) Forward completed but unsigned PAR packet as a single PDF to COE-FacultyAffairs@austin.utexas.edu. PAR packet should include all documentation listed on the tab "PAR packet documentation" on this page, in the order described.

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a) FPN and PAR packet review. 

b) PAR routed for signatures in DocuSign.

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After PAR is fully-signed in DocuSign, FPN is approved and approval notes are added in DEFINE.

Final approval of professional track PARs is at the College level. All offers are contingent upon the approval of the Dean.

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Upon receipt of the fully-signed PAR packet, the department may send an offer letter to the candidate.

Note that all PAR information is thoroughly reviewed in the Provost’s Office to ensure compliance, and if errors are found, corrections will still need to be made even if the contract has been signed by the faculty candidate.

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PAR supplementary documentation

Documentation for hires with previous PARs

Faculty are not hired via Workday. Instead, for new faculty, and former faculty who have been terminated, a PAR must be processed. Once the PAR is final-approved, EVPP loads the appointment into Workday via the PAR. 

Primary Language Determination Form

For a faculty hire with a previous PAR approved, no new language form is required. Submission of the language form with the initial PAR is all that is needed, and supporting documentation status for the language form on any subsequent PARs should be indicated as "On File."

Reference letters

If the faculty candidate has not worked from UT for more than three years, new letters of recommendation are required.

If the PAR is for a new faculty position other than what the faculty candidate is currently assigned or has been assigned in the past, or is for a position in a different unit, three new letters are required.

If the previous PAR is 18 or fewer months old, APS may waive the reference letter requirement on a case-by-case basis. To request a waiver, please submit a request through the Faculty Affairs & Academic Personnel Services Portal, and include the EID, PAR doc ID, and dates of previous reference letters. If the letter requirement is waived, the supporting documentation status for reference letters on the PAR should be marked as "On File," and a copy of APS' approval should be included in the PAR documentation.

Documentation checklists

See EVPP: PAR Process - Supporting Documentation and EVPP: PAR Checklists for more information.

Instructions

Submit the materials in the appropriate list below after approving the DEFINE FPN document off the creator's desk.  Order materials as listed below, in a single PDF. and send to COE-FacultyAffairs@austin.utexas.edu.

Separate lists for a) Visiting, Adjunct, and 0%, and b) all other professional-track titles are below.

Visiting, Adjunct, and 0% time positions

Recruiting is not required for Visiting, Adjunct, or 0% time positions. Posting waivers do not need to be submitted for these positions.

See COE: Titles and Ranks - Professional Track Faculty for appropriate use of these titles. Contact COE-FacultyAffairs@austin.utexas.edu with any questions.

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Use Green Output to print from DEFINE to PDF.

• See guidance at COE: PAR FAQ - Green Output.

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If Primary Language is not English, also see Attachments B-D below. 

COE Faculty Affairs can obtain signature on this form during approval routing in DocuSign.

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Use the appropriate EVPP Offer Letter Template, downloaded new each time to ensure the most current version is being used.

IMPORTANT: The draft does NOT represent an offer of employment, and the letter must not be signed by the prospective faculty member until after the PAR has been approved by the Dean's Office. If a draft is shared, it must be clearly communicated that the draft does not represent a final contract, and is contingent upon the Dean's approval.

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All other professional track positions

See COE: Titles and Ranks - Professional Track Faculty for appropriate use of each professional-track title. Contact COE-FacultyAffairs@austin.utexas.edu with any questions.

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Use Green Output to print from *DEFINE to PDF. See COE: PAR FAQ - Green Output

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If Primary Language is not English, also see Attachments B-D below. 

COE Faculty Affairs can obtain signature on this form during approval routing in DocuSign.

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Interfolio EEO report

(If recruiting was not conducted, skip ahead to item 7)

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Posting Exemption Request, approved by both Dean and EVPP

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Use the appropriate EVPP Offer Letter Template, downloaded new each time to ensure the most current version is being used.

IMPORTANT: The draft does NOT represent an offer of employment, and the letter must not be signed by the prospective faculty member until after the PAR has been approved by the Dean's Office. If a draft is shared, it must be clearly communicated that the draft does not represent a final contract, and is contingent upon the Dean's approval.

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Professional track offer letters

See EVPP: Offer Letter Templates > Departmentalized CSUs.

Who writes professional track offer letters?

Offer letters for professional track hires are drafted by the hiring departments, in collaboration with any joint hiring departments.  

Where do I find the templates?

In order to ensure the most current template is being used, each offer letter should be drafted based on a newly-downloaded template for the appropriate hire type based on EVPP Departmentalized Offer Letter Templates.

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Offer letters

Note that every commitment of funding (relocation, early start date, TA/GRA, etc.) must be captured in both the offer letter and Section 2 Funding Commitments of the PAR. For assistance with wording of non-standard offer items not included in the EVPP template, please contact COE Faculty Affairs.

Who writes professional track offer letters?

Offer letters for professional track hires are drafted by the hiring departments, in collaboration with any joint hiring departments.  Please contact COE Faculty Affairs with any questions.

Where do I find offer letter templates?

In order to ensure the most current template is being used, each offer letter should be drafted based on a newly-downloaded template for the appropriate hire type based on the Provost's Office current template at FA/APS ServiceNow Portal > Knowledge (top right corner) > FA/APS Knowledge Articles (top left corner) > Offer Letter Templates > Departmentalized CSUs.

When renewing contracts, please use the COE FileMaker Pro professional-track faculty database and template for your department.

What is the offer letter process?

A draft of the offer letter, including a "DRAFT" watermark on each page, should be included in the PAR packet. The draft offer letter

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does not

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 represent a promise of employment or any other commitment.

Once the PAR is final-approved by the Dean, COE Faculty Affairs will email the PAR packet signed by the Dean to the department Administrative Manager, indicating that the PAR has been approved. When this email indicating approval has been received, the department can send an offer letter to the candidate. However, all PAR information is thoroughly reviewed in the Provost’s Office to ensure compliance, and if errors are found, corrections will still need to be made even if the contract has been signed by the faculty candidate.

After the offer letter has been signed by the candidate, the Administrative Manager should upload the signed letter to

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the

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same Faculty Affairs & Academic Personnel Services Portal help ticket on which they submitted the PAR. Once APS has processed the signed offer letter, they will push the hire to Workday.

The department is responsible for maintaining professional track faculty personnel files, including PARs and offer letters.

Can I share a draft of the offer letter with the candidate prior to PAR final approval?

The department may, if they wish, share

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the draft

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 with the candidate. It must be clearly indicated via watermark that the copy is a draft, and any associated correspondence must explicitly state that the draft is “pending final modifications and approval of the Dean and Provost.” The draft offer letter should not be signed by anyone, as it does not represent a contract. 

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PAR-Workday integration process

Upon final approval of the PAR, the following information is brought over to Workday from the PAR, overwriting the initial data entered on the job requisition:

• Personal information (name and contact information)

• Job Details (benefits eligibility, Job Profile, FTE, etc.)

• Compensation

• Pay Group (determined pay frequency, e.g., monthly)

• Education

• Academic Appointment

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Professional Track Faculty Employment Lifecycle

Source: Academic Worker Life Cycle Flow.pptx

Click on image below to enlarge.

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Dispositioning Interfolio positions

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Closing the position

Immediately after the conclusion of a faculty search

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and/or once the posting is no longer needed, the department should close the Interfolio position (archive) and indicate an outcome. For searches that did not result in selection of a candidate, add a note about why no selection was made (e.g., cancelled due to lack of funding, position no longer needed, lack of qualified applicants, etc.).

Online training for this step is available at the following links:

• Close a Position - Interfolio Faculty Search Institutional Administrator Training 

• Interfolio — Close a Position and Select Applicant(s)

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Professional-track faculty employment lifecycle

Source: Academic Worker Life Cycle Flow.pptx

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