General Policies on Rank and Tenure

The faculty of Greenville University is appointed by the president, subject to the board of trustees’ Standing Policies Manual, for periods of one year unless otherwise specified.

Members are divided into four ranks: professor, associate professor, assistant professor, and instructor. Rank for new faculty members is determined by the chief academic officer based on the degrees and experience of the newly appointed individual and the criteria listed in Part Three, Section IV.A.4.b. Those who do not meet the requirements for the rank of assistant
professor are hired at the rank of instructor.

Faculty are also divided into three categories relative to tenure status: tenured, tenure-track, or non- tenure-track. The faculty member’s contract will stipulate both the rank and status relative to tenure.

Faculty without Tenure
Faculty without tenure are issued annual contracts, or, in some cases, at the initiative of the president, multi-year contracts. In the event a contract for continuing service is not contemplated, the faculty member receives written notice at least three months before the end of one’s duties during the first year of academic service (exclusive of the summer session) and in subsequent years not later than December 1, or six months before the expiration of one’s appointment.

Faculty with Tenure
A faculty member who receives tenure is assured of continuing employment, subject to the conditions cited in Part Four, Section IV, until voluntary retirement or resignation. Greenville University grants tenure to certain faculty members to acknowledge their present and future value to the program of the University, to supply a degree of professional continuity, to guarantee academic freedom, and thus to allow the professor to concentrate energies on the responsibilities of the position. Tenure both contributes to institutional stability and requires that the institution look carefully at the professional competence of the faculty.