PTF Fall Contract Maintenance
Purpose
To outline the college’s process for managing professional-track faculty (PTF) contracts that are beginning in the Fall semester of an academic year, or not carrying forward from the Spring or Summer term of the previous academic year.
For general information about these contracts--their purpose, function, and related definitions and processes--please see the Professional-Track Faculty (PTF) Mass Transactions UT Workday webpage, especially the Overview, Important Reminders, and Workday processing sections, as they contain valuable information about contract maintenance, not just for mass processes.
COLA will utilize the Mass PTF processes for Fall semester, for any actions where the service is offered and the College meets the minimum number of transactions to qualify for their use. For business processes (BPs) that cannot be completed via mass processing, units are responsible for routing BPs in Workday to properly maintain their professional-track faculty for the Fall semester, though COLA HR will work with units to facilitate and assist with this process.
The four main processes with which departmental staff (HR contacts) will engage are “renewal,” “inactivation,” “reactivation,” and “termination.” Staff are responsible for ensuring that all affected faculty are either renewed, inactivated, reactivated (or remain inactive), or terminated. Staff may also choose to terminate faculty who will not be returning within the next three years.
Deadlines
These are deadlines driven by the Provost’s deadlines for submitting spreadsheets to them for mass processing:
July 7– Signed offer Letters for faculty being renewed or reactivated uploaded to WD.
July 7– Excel online spreadsheets (Renew/Inactivate and Reactivate) completed.
Relevant Definitions
Contract Maintenance: the process of ensuring faculty who will be teaching in the Fall semester have the correct contract in place; and/or ensuring that faculty who taught in Spring or Summer, but are not teaching in Fall, are moved into the appropriate job profile.
Professional-Track Faculty (PTF): Formerly known as non-tenure-track (NTT) faculty; per HOP 2-2010 Faculty Titles, appointments to these faculty titles are (unless otherwise indicated):
not on the tenure track;
may be “short-term, two- or three-year fixed term, or two- or three-year rolling term;
“may be full- or part- time”; and
“shall terminate upon expiration of the stated period of appointment without notification of nonrenewal.”
Contract: in Workday, the mechanism which defines the time period of a professional-track faculty member’s active employment at UT
Rolling Contract: A three-year contract that is extended each year by an additional year, so that in the Fall of every academic year, the faculty member’s contract is renewed for a full three-year term. Each Fall a new offer letter is generated, however, in Workday the contract is renewed in January.
Multi-year, fixed-term contract: A contract for either two years or three years that is only renewed at the conclusion of that two- or three-year term.
Contracts vs Offer Letters: In our common discourse, “offer letters,” are considered “contracts,” and we often use the two interchangeably. However, it is important to remember that in Workday, a contract is a specific component of managing professional-track faculty appointments. Workday provides an opportunity to upload an offer letter as part of the contract process, but, in Workday, contracts and offer letters are distinct rather than interchangeable.
Expiring Contract – for the purposes of this process, a contract ending on 5/15/YY or 8/15/YY.
Reactivation: the process of returning an inactive faculty member to active teaching, with a contract beginning on 8/16/YY.
Renewal: the process of extending a faculty member’s contract from Spring or Summer through the Fall semester.
Inactivation: the process of transitioning a faculty member who taught in Spring or Summer, but is not teaching in Fall, into a new, inactive (F-INA) job profile.
Termination: Workday BP term describing separation from UT Austin employment; the person has no plans to teach again at UT or the unit has no intention of having the person teach for them within the next three years/indefinite future.
RPT0976: “Faculty Positions Missing Contracts – RPT0976”; Workday report that determines if any faculty are missing a contract.
RPT0240: “Faculty Contracts Mass Process Template - RPT0240”; Workday report; useful for identifying expiring contracts for a given sup org/subordinate orgs (i.e. the whole college or department, etc.).
RPT0813: “Faculty - Not Active Jobs - RPT0813”; Workday report used to identify current inactive faculty for a given sup org & its subordinate orgs.
Modified Service: Hiring a retired faculty member to return to a teaching role.
Processes
Mass Renewal and Inactivation Process
*** Signed offer letters must be uploaded to WD, or the faculty member will be removed from the mass renewal spreadsheet.
To upload signed offer letters
Obtain signed offer letter. Please refer to COLA’s Faculty Policies page for guidance and to EVPP’s Knowledge Base for up-to-date offer letter templates.
Upload signed offer letter to the faculty’s Workday profile
Go to Personal section>Documents
Click on Add button
Select the signed offer letter for upload and include a descriptive comment, such as “Fall 20YY offer letter.”
To renew or inactivate your faculty
Review the Fall 2026 Mass Renew Spreadsheet.
For everyone in your unit, enter “yes” or “no” in column G (“Is the Dept Renewing the Contract?”).
Enter the future contract type in column H. (See #7 below for information about changing a faculty member’s contract type.)
Enter the future contract end date in column “I.”
Fall-semester contracts end 12/31/YY;
Academic-year contracts end 5/15/YY for 9-month faculty;
Certain faculty types (mainly research PTF) are appointed on a 12-month basis and would therefore have a 12-month contract.
Enter comments in column J.
Minimum Comment Requirements:
For all: “Renewing <Name> at <0, 13.32, 26.68, 40> SWH. Will teach <1-1, 2-2, 3-3, 1 course, 2 courses, 3 courses> in <20YY-YY, Fall 20YY>. Offer letter uploaded to WD on <MM/DD>.”
Example: Renewing Scott Summers at 40 SWH. Will teach 3-3 in 2025-26. Offer letter uploaded to WD on 06/27.
If multiple positions: add a comment confirming that your teaching assignment has been coordinated with the additional positions and include a date of when confirmation received.
Example: Confirmed Fall teaching schedule with ENGL 6/27/YY.
If appointed at 0 SWH: please provide an explanation
If an instructional overload approval is required: please note the date the overload request was submitted or approved, and include the Service Now ticket number.
COLA HR will review the spreadsheet and comments and work with units to facilitate and ensure completion of faculty renewals outside of the mass process.
Changes to Contract Length:
All changes to contract length (whether increasing or decreasing) require approval from Associate Dean Daniel Brinks. Requests are submitted through this form.
If approved, comments in Column J (Step 5, above) will include:
Date approval received.
Brief explanation justifying change in contract length.
Example: “2-year fixed contract approved by AD Dan Brinks 7/1/YY. (Faculty Name) has taught 10 semesters and exceeded expectations six of last seven semesters. Teaches high enrollment courses central to degree plan.”
Inactivating vs. Terminating Faculty Member:
If a faculty member is not being renewed, comments should include whether the faculty member will be inactivated or terminated, and include a brief explanation.
Example 1: Faculty Name to be inactivated. Will not teach AY 20YY-YY but is expected to teach in future; or
Example 2: Faculty Name to be terminated. Was hired to bridge gap year following receipt of Ph.D. and not expected to teach again.
If you are unsure whether to inactivate or terminate, you may inactivate. You should review inactive faculty at least once a year to determine if any should be terminated. Faculty inactive for three consecutive years will be automatically terminated.
Reactivate Process
*It is possible that COLA will have fewer than 10 reactivations, in which case reactivations will not qualify for the mass process, and COLA HR will work with units to ensure reactivations are completed outside the mass process.
*** Signed offer letters must be uploaded to WD, or the faculty member will be removed from the mass reactivate spreadsheet.
To upload signed offer letters, see above.
To reactivate your faculty
Review the Fall 2026 Mass Reactivate Spreadsheet.
For everyone in your unit, enter “yes” or “no” in column E. (“Reactivating?”)
For everyone in your unit, enter “yes” or “no” in column F. (“Terminating?”)
Future job profile (column G) must be the same as previous job profile (column D), unless the faculty member has a joint position, the joint position has been reclassified, and approval is on file to reclassify the joint position during the reactivation process. If these reclassification details exist, they must be clearly communicated in column L.
In all instances: please ensure that any mismatch, or potential mismatch, between joint position job profiles is brought to our attention.
Enter the future scheduled weekly hours (SWH) in column H. Please refer to COLA’s SWH and FTE guidelines below to determine SWH.
Enter the future contract type in column J. Anything other than a short-term contract requires Dean’s approval--please see notes about regarding process for adjusting contract length, including required comments in column L.
Enter the future contract end date in column K.
Fall-semester contracts end 12/31/YY;
Academic-year contracts end 5/15/YY for 9-month faculty;
Certain faculty types (mainly research titles) are appointed on a 12-month basis and would therefore have a 12-month contract.
Enter comments in column L.
Minimum Comment Requirements:
For all: “Reactivating <Name> at <0, 13.32, 26.68, 40> SWH. Will teach <1-1, 2-2, 3-3, 1 course, 2 courses, 3 courses> in <20YY-YY, Fall 20YY>. Offer letter uploaded to WD on <MM/DD>.”
Example: Reactivating Kitty Pryde at 40 SWH. Will teach 3-3 in 2026-27. Offer letter uploaded to WD on 06/27.
If multiple positions: add a comment confirming that your teaching assignment has been coordinated with the additional positions and include a date of when confirmation received.
Example: Confirmed Fall teaching schedule with ENGL 6/27.
If appointed at 0 SWH: please provide an explanation.
If an instructional overload approval is required: please note the date the overload request was submitted or approved, and include the Service Now ticket number.
Terminating Faculty Member vs. Retaining Inactive Status:
If a faculty member is not being reactivated, comments should include whether the faculty member will remain inactive or be terminated, and include a brief explanation.
Example 1: Faculty Name to remain inactive. Will not teach AY 20YY-YY but is expected to teach in future; or
Example 2: Faculty Name to be terminated. Was originally hired to bridge gap year following receipt of Ph.D. and is not expected to teach again.
If you are unsure whether to inactivate or terminate, you may inactivate. You should review inactive faculty at least once a year to determine if any should be terminated. Faculty inactive for three consecutive years will be automatically terminated.
Related Policies and Key Reminders
COLA Offer Letter/PTF Appointment Requirements
Offer letters should use current templates as provided by the Provost’s Office.
Offer letters may NOT include an increased nine-month academic rate. Rather, a contingency line may be added: “We expect this academic rate may be adjusted further, effective 8/16/YY, consistent with college and university salary policies and available funding.”
Note: Faculty who have successfully been promoted in rank should use the new faculty title, aligned with the new academic year and promotion effective date, for the offer letter but should still not include the rate increase.
Offer letters must specify teaching assignments, corresponding with college workload guidelines.
Deviations from these guidelines must have approval via the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs on file.
In most situations, deviations from these guidelines must be specified and explained in offer letters.
Both Fall and Spring (when applicable) teaching assignments need to be specified. If spring courses are unknown, the letter will mention that specific course assignments are to be determined. However, the letter needs to specify the teaching load across the academic year, e.g.:
Your teaching load for YY-YY will be 3-3. In Fall you will teach …. Spring course assignments are TBD (or if not, state the courses).
If an appointment requires an Instructional Overload Form (IOF), please see the IOF wiki page.
SWH and FTE Guide for Professional-Track Faculty Appointments
**Note: Classroom contact hours and FTEs refer to a single semester
3 to 5 classroom contact hours: 13.32 SWH, 33.3% FTE
6-8 classroom contact hours: 26.68 SWH, 66.7% FTE
9-12 classroom contact hours: 40 SWH, 100.0% FTE
Structuring year-long appointments with an imbalanced teaching load will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
Course assignments that would result in any employee being appointed beyond 40 SWH requires an approved instructional overload.
Tips
It is possible a faculty member may be missing from a spreadsheet. If you suspect a faculty member is missing from one of these spreadsheets, please contact COLA HR as soon as possible.
Other Related Links
EVPP Offer Letters Page - in Service Now Knowledge Base
COLA Faculty Policies - including those relating to faculty titles, contract types, and workloads
Professional-Track Faculty (PTF) Mass Transactions Workday page - includes information about contract maintenance and WD guidance