Handbook of Operating Procedures

I. POLICY AND GENERAL STATEMENT

For administrative and professional ("A&P") positions, the President has the authority to appoint or recommend for appointment persons to the Executive Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs and to establish the responsibilities of individuals in those positions. The President also has the authority to appoint or recommend for appointment to the Board of Regents of The University of Texas System members of the faculty. The President may delegate this authority to other senior management officials within The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston ("University"). The method for selecting an individual to appoint to an A&P position or to a faculty position is covered in HOOP Policy 143 Recruitment.

All appointments will be made on the basis of merit and should be supported by a review of the individual’s professional and/or technical expertise, qualifications, accomplishments, past performance and other criteria specific for the position.

No person will be excluded from appointment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, gender identity or expression or veteran status or on any other basis prohibited by law.

II. DEFINITIONS

Management A&P: Management A&P employees hold senior positions as heads or business managers of an operating unit, a department, or a division/program within a department. The principal defining characteristic of a management A&P position is the incumbent's role in policy development and implementation that requires the continuing confidence of the President. See HOOP 150, Administrative and Professional and Classified Job Classifications.

Academic A&P: Job responsibilities are primarily of an academic nature, and these positions normally are located organizationally within the academic leadership structure of a school or other academic unit.  See HOOP 150, Administrative and Professional and Classified Job Classifications.

III. PROCEDURE

A. Administrative & Professional Positions

The Executive Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs must approve permanent or acting appointments of executive vice presidents, vice presidents and deans. All such officers serve without fixed terms, and their appointments are subject to the pleasure of the President and the approval of the Executive Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs.

The President is responsible for approving all other permanent and acting appointments. These appointees serve without fixed terms, and their appointments are subject to the pleasure of the President.

The hiring authority must follow the guidelines contained on the Management A&P Recruiting webpage (http://www.uth.edu/hr/resources/hiring-and-recruiting-resources/executive-recruiting.htm) when seeking a management A&P candidate.   When an individual has been selected for appointment to a management A&P position, the hiring authority must notify Human Resources to ensure any and all appointment guidelines have been met. 

When an individual has been selected for appointment to an academic A&P position, the Dean or administrative equivalent makes a recommendation to the President.

Once all internal procedures have been completed and approvals obtained, the Systems Data Resource Team ("SDR") will prepare an official letter of appointment. Letters signed by the appointee must be returned to SDR. SDR forwards the appointment letter to the President for signature. After signature by the President, SDR sends a fully executed copy to the employee. No appointment will be considered official until such letter has been signed by the appointee and the President.

Depending on the nature of the appointment, SDR may forward a Request for Budget Change ("RBC") to UT System for approval.

B. Faculty Positions

The specific procedures that are to be applied in making recommendations for faculty appointments may vary within the University depending on the school involved and, where appropriate, shall include qualifications for faculty members assigned to teach graduate courses, supervise graduate programs, and advise graduate students.  See HOOP 212, Graduate Education.  A preliminary consultation with the appropriate dean will clarify questions of procedural detail.

1. Initial Salaried Appointments

Procedures for initial salaried appointments vary depending on the tenure status of the candidate's proposed position: non-tenure track; tenure track; or with tenure. The procedures described below apply to all three categories.

To initiate a recommendation for a salaried faculty appointment, a department chair/equivalent must follow the process outlined on the Faculty Recruiting webpage (http://www.uth.edu/hr/resources/hiring-and-recruiting-resources/faculty-recruiting.htm).

Appointments of faculty to tenure-track positions at the rank of associate professor or professor and of faculty with tenure must be sent to the school's Appointment, Promotion, and Tenure Committee for its review and recommendation to the Dean. After receipt of the committee’s recommendation, the Dean will make his or her recommendation to the University Appointment, Promotion, and Tenure Committee for its review and recommendation to the President. See HOOP Policy 44 Faculty Reappointment and Nonreappointment.

2. Joint Appointments

Joint appointments designate faculty appointments to more than one department, school or institution with financial support for the position shared by the units concerned. Joint appointments may be at different ranks reflecting different levels of competency and scholarly achievement in different fields. Recommendations for promotion in rank for jointly appointed faculty should be made only after consultation between the administrative officials of the departments, schools, or institutions, as appropriate, depending on the nature of the appointment.

A request for a joint appointment should follow the same guidelines described in Section III.B.1 with the following exceptions:

• The department chairs/equivalents submit the materials to their respective deans/administrative equivalents;
• The dean/administrative equivalent reviews and makes recommendations on the faculty appointment;
• If the appointment involves more than one unit, the signatures of both deans/administrative equivalents are required

3. Without Salary Appointments

Without salary ("WOS") appointments, including employee cross appointments and non-employee volunteer appointments, are faculty appointments of individuals who participate in University teaching programs on a volunteer basis without remuneration. The Office of the Executive Vice President & Chief Academic Officer oversees this process at the institutional level. Guidelines detailing the institutional process can be found on the Office of Executive Vice President & Chief Academic Officer webpage.   

a) Cross Appointments (current University faculty)

Cross appointments are without salary appointments which designate faculty appointments to more than one department, school, or institution with financial support for the position from one unit only. Cross appointments may be at different ranks reflecting different levels of competency and scholarly achievements in different fields. Recommendations for promotion in rank for cross appointed faculty should be made only after consultation among the administrative officials of the departments, schools, or institutions as appropriate, depending on the nature of the appointment.

To initiate a request for a cross-appointment, the department chair/equivalent of the unit not contributing salary should follow the process set forth on the Office of the Executive Vice President & Chief Academic Officer webpage.  Cross appointments are included in the annual operating budget.

b) Non-Employee Faculty Volunteers

To initiate a request for a non-employee faculty without salary (“WOS”) appointment, the department chair/equivalent should follow the process set forth on the Office of the Executive Vice President & Chief Academic Officer webpage.

All WOS appointment titles for non-employee faculty volunteers must be used with the prefix "Adjunct" with the following exceptions: WOS appointments may be granted in the titles of professor, associate professor, assistant professor, and instructor when the prospective faculty member is salaried at another component of the UT System within the same city, as in the case of faculty being appointed from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, or in the case of appointments to emeritus titles.

4. Prohibition

A person appointed to a faculty position with the rank of instructor, assistant professor, associate professor, or professor or with the title of technical instructor, assistant master technical instructor, associate master technical instructor, or master technical instructor at an institution of the UT System may not, during the term of such appointment, hold a tenured position on the faculty of another educational institution outside the UT System or any of its institutions.

Appointments within the University to the above-specified ranks shall be conditioned upon the appointee having resigned any tenured position that the appointee may then hold on the faculty of an educational institution outside the UT System or any of its institutions. Such resignation must be completed and effective prior to the effective date of the appointment at the University; otherwise, such appointment shall be void and of no effect.

The acceptance of an appointment to a tenured position on the faculty of an educational institution outside the UT System or any of its institutions shall be considered as a resignation of any faculty position with the title of instructor, assistant professor, associate professor, professor, technical instructor, assistant master technical instructor, associate master technical instructor, or master technical instructor that such appointee may hold at the University.

IV. CONTACTS

• • Human Resources
  • 713-500-3130
  • http://www.uth.edu/hr/contact.htm
• • Office of the Executive Vice President & Chief Academic Officer
  • 731-500-3062
  • https://www.uth.edu/evpara/contact-us/leadership.htm
  • https://www.uth.edu/academics/

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