Length-of Contract Policies
1. COLA Professional-Track Faculty Length of Contract Policy
Purpose: To provide processes, policies, and guidelines for professional-track faculty contract lengths.
Updated: May 2025.
Effective: Starting Academic Year 2025-26.
Click the link to download a PDF of the COLA Professional-Track Faculty Length of Contract Policy.
Overview
The mission of The University of Texas at Austin is to achieve excellence in the interrelated areas of undergraduate education, graduate education, research and public service. The primary responsibility of professional-track faculty (PTF) is to enhance instruction. Their teaching is essential to the success of the University’s educational mission, providing continuity and stability in required curriculum, and offering expertise to our students that complements the strength of tenured and tenure-track faculty. Primary duties for all faculty are specified in Regents’ Rule 31004.
In keeping with the College’s goal to develop and support our professional track faculty, wherever possible, departments are encouraged to reduce reliance on one-year contracts for PTF with mid-or highest-level ranks. In some circumstances, one-year contracts may be appropriate such as, but not limited to, initial hires, strategic academic priorities, or meeting short-term needs.
Types of Contract Terms
UT Austin uses the following contract terms for professional-track faculty.
Short-term:
Generally, 1 year or less. Also used for an assignment beginning in the summer and ending not later than 8/15 of the following summer.
Fixed:
2-year – 2 years or less, but more than 1 year
3-year – 3 years or less, but more than 2 years
Rolling:
2-year – a 2-year contract term extended one year each year rather than the assignment of a new contract term after the previous term has ended.
3-year – a 3-year contract term extended one year each year rather than the assignment of a new contract term after the previous term has ended.
I. Contract Type
a. In keeping with the Provost’s Office expectations, departments should align standard contract type with faculty rank. At minimum, departments are expected to follow the guidance below for minimum contract type when promoting a professional track faculty member to the mid-level or highest level rank. Any other deviation from the guidance below should be consistent with the unit’s approved criteria (See Section II below), or, if ad hoc, be approved by the Associate Dean for Academic & Faculty Affairs.
Rank Level | Minimum Contract Type | Maximum Contract Type |
|---|---|---|
Entry level (e.g., lecturer, assistant professor of instruction, etc.) | Short term | 3-year fixed |
Mid-level (e.g., senior lecturer, associate professor of instruction, etc.) | 2-year fixed term | 3-year fixed or rolling |
Highest level (e.g., distinguished senior lecturer, professor of instruction, etc.) | 3-year fixed term | 3-year fixed or rolling |
All new hires (typically at entry rank but may be hired at mid or highest rank, etc.) | Short term | 3-year fixed (with Provost Approval) |
II. Criteria
Departments/Hiring Units must specify criteria for contract types and a process for approving and modifying the criteria.
a. These will either be incorporated into department governance documents or developed separately.
b. These will be reviewed at time of governance renewal and modifications may be requested as needed.
III. Renewal and Re-Appointment
a. Annual reviews are encouraged to comment on eligibility for 2-or 3-year fixed or rolling term contracts, as defined in department/hiring unit criteria.
b. Requests to offer a multi-year contract:
i. Must include articulation of how the faculty member meets criteria;
ii. Are subject to budgetary review and alignment with instructional need; and
iii. Approved by Associate Dean for Academic and Faculty Affairs.
IV. Appointment Letters
The various contract term types have different requirements regarding the frequency that a signed appointment letter is required. Appointment letters should be written more frequently when necessary (e.g., appointment details change, or a fixed contract is renewed during the period of the initial fixed contract period).
Contract Term | Frequency of Signed Appointment Letter |
|---|---|
Short term | By semester or annually |
2- or 3-year fixed term | One time for the full-term |
2- or 3-year rolling term | Annually |
Guidance / Best Practices
This policy makes explicit the College’s desire to provide pathways for moving established professional track faculty onto multi-year contracts. As part of the effort, the College expects measured decision-making, and particular prudence, when considering contracts for faculty without established teaching records at the university. Taking multiple factors into consideration, for stability and retention, and in our effort to increasingly professionalize our non-tenure track instructional faculty, the College has set short-term and 1-year fixed terms as the default for new and entry-level professional track faculty, and 2-or 3-year fixed terms as the default for mid-and highest-rank professional track faculty, and anticipates 3-year rolling contracts being reserved for exceptional cases where longterm continuity is critical and clearly supported by performance, programmatic need, and financial capacity. This approach ensures flexibility while remaining aligned with College and institutional norms.
The College recommends departments/hiring units refer to the Provost’s Office Guidelines for Managing the Employment of Professional-Track Faculty for additional guidance and practices.
Provost’s Office guidelines recommend six semesters of teaching prior to extending multi-year contracts.
The department/hiring unit must have sufficient funding to commit to the multi-year contracts and should consult with Finance to confirm.
When possible, contract renewals are initiated 3 to 6 months in advance of current contracts’ expiration date.
Eligibility to be considered for a multi-year or rolling contract does not guarantee reappointment.
Previous policy: COLA Non-Tenure Term of Appointment Policy (Fall 2011-Fall 2023)
Contact
For questions, contact Jennifer Nailos at la-academic@austin.utexas.edu