Study examines staff job security

A new job security study indicates the types of appointments granted to academic staff vary widely in departments across campus.

The study by the Personnel Policies and Procedures Committee of the Academic Staff Assembly was meant to shed light on the employment conditions for staff campuswide, says Ann Wallace, committee chair.

ACADEMIC STAFF JOB SECURITY
Appointment type	Percent
With less than 7 years service, not renewed	57%
With more than 7 years service, rolling horizon or multiple appointments	18%
With more than 7 years service, one-year renewable appointment only	12%
With terminal appointments	9%
With indefinite appointments	4%
(date as of October, 1998)

Committee members reviewed job security reports from last year for all schools, colleges and divisions. Among the highlights:

About 22 percent of academic staff campuswide enjoy a high level of job security, defined as a multiple-year, rolling horizon or indefinite appointment.
The majority of staff work from year to year on renewable appointments.
Just over 40 percent of experienced staff, defined as employees with more than seven years of service at the university, still have little job security beyond renewable appointments.
The widest variance in appointments appears among staff holding indefinite appointments. Campuswide, about 4 percent of academic staff hold these appointments, which are the most secure of any job status. But almost no staff in the Medical School hold indefinite appointments, while almost half of library system staff enjoy indefinite status, the report indicates.

“There’s a tremendous difference between schools,” Wallace says.

Academic staff also contribute significantly to research activities at UW–Madison and deliver the majority of student services for the campus.

Wallace says three criteria typically determine staff members’ job security: employee performance, availability of funding and program direction.

Staffers who face lesser job security usually work in programs where grants or other limited-term funding prevents long-term planning. “We can’t argue with that,” Wallace says.

But staff should know what types of appointments are available to them so they seek the most secure appointment appropriate to their status and experience, Wallace says.

Getting information about job status is the first key step toward addressing these issues, Wallace says. For example, academic staff with seven years or more of service whose appointments do not provide at least two-year terms must be given written reasons if they request it, according to campus employment policy.

The report doesn’t make any recommendations about changing the appointment system. But its authors hope that it will be fodder for discussion and action within each campus unit’s Committee on Academic Staff Issues, which advise deans or directors on the formulation and review of policy affecting staff.

Terms of employment is one of eight areas currently under review by the Academic Staff Executive Committee and its committee on workplace concerns for academic staff. For more on academic staff issues, visit: http://wiscinfo.doit.wisc.edu/acstaff/

Appointment types
Academic staff can hold four general types of appointments:

The fixed term-renewable appointment, the most common appointment given to academic staff, is usually granted for one year, but may be granted for longer terms to experienced staff.
A rolling horizon appointment is a form of fixed term-renewable appointment that is extended daily for the term specified in the letter of appointment. The term may be for one or more years. For example, a three-year rolling horizon entitles the employee to a full three years’ notice of nonrenewal.
Fixed term-terminal appointments may be used for jobs that carry no expectation of continuing employment. These cannot be renewed, except for some instructional academic staff – but even those employees must be given renewable appointments after three consecutive years of teaching at least one semester.
Indefinite appointments, used to recognize academic staff for outstanding performance and importance to the continuing mission of the unit, can be granted only when a dean or director can assure long-term funding for the job.