IANR Guidelines for Adjunct and Courtesy Faculty Members

UNL guidelines for Adjunct Faculty Members is found at https://executivevc.unl.edu/searches-appointments/faculty-titles.

Adjunct Faculty Members have an unpaid appointment that serve to facilitate a relationship between the individual and the academic unit. Adjunct Faculty Members are unpaid, non-tenure track, and are not benefits eligible.

Courtesy Faculty Members are individuals holding non-temporary employment elsewhere on campus. Courtesy appointments are made to facilitate productive relationships among individuals in different University units. While the person may be tenured or tenure eligible in their home academic unit, they are non-tenure track in the unit where they hold the courtesy appointment. They are not eligible for compensation or benefits associated with their courtesy appointment.

Adjunct and Courtesy appointments in IANR units are effective for a maximum of five years. They may be renewed after formally reevaluating the relevance and usefulness of the appointment.

Departments/Schools designate adjunct and courtesy faculty members. The criteria for designating someone as an adjunct or courtesy faculty member and the processes and approvals for doing so are determined by the academic unit. The Vice Chancellor’s office should be informed, but, no approvals are needed by the deans of the Vice Chancellor’s office.

While the academic unit determines the process and criteria for determining adjunct and courtesy faculty status, the following should guide the criteria and process.

  1. The designation provides the individual with opportunities to contribute in meaningful ways to the unit and facilitates productive collaboration among the individual and the unit’s faculty, staff, and/or students; there should be a specific ongoing benefit to the department and some expertise that the person is bringing to bear that adjunct status will help the unit to access.
  2. Both the unit’s faculty and administrator contribute to the decision about the appointment.
  3. Decisions about rank, if they are made at all, should not be capricious or based solely on in rank at the institution where the person is employed;
  4. The appointment as adjunct or courtesy faculty member should be time limited (maximum of 5 years); the appointment should be reevaluated periodically.

Some IANR academic units have a form that facilitates and documents the approval of adjunct and courtesy appointments. For those that do not have a form, IANR has developed one that can be used.

All adjunct and courtesy faculty members must complete the university’s approved Sexual Harassment Training annually. Failure to complete this training annually will result in loss of the adjunct or courtesy faculty status.