LETTER OF AGREEMENT #14: LIMITED TERM CONTRACT HIRING

As discussed in mid-term bargaining sessions during the fall of 2017, the following sets out the agreed practices and processes used to determine hire Limited Term Contracts (LTCs). 

Definitions:

Committee Chair – The Chair of the Search Committee, normally the Dean of the Faculty, however, it may be designated to another Admin employee.

Search Committee – The committee formed to provide advice to the Committee Chair on the hiring of the LTC.

Departmental Seniority –Seniority earned by being an instructor in a specific department. Departmental Seniority is only relevant for the purposes of identifying an internal candidate for LTC hires. The amount of seniority is irrelevant as departmental seniority is only used to determine candidacy for the position.

Global Seniority –Seniority earned by combining all instructional workload in all departments at VIU.

Internal Applicants for LTC Hires – A candidate who has earned departmental seniority by teaching in the department of hire within the last 12 months.

External Applicants: An applicant who does not have departmental seniority.

Guidelines:

Limited Term Contract (LTC) faculty positions will be hired based on the following process:

  1. The Search Committee reviews the applications and flags those applicants who are internal applicants. The Committee Chair may need to consult with the Chair of the Department, Human Resources and/or VIUFA to identify applicants with departmental seniority. Applicants with global seniority in the same Faculty but not the department will not be considered an internal candidate for LTC hires.
  1. In its review of the teaching experience of internal applicants the Committee will consider whether they have received satisfactory evaluations in the department in accordance with the VIUFA Collective Agreement.
  1. The Search Committee assesses the internal applicants for qualifications and knowledge of applicable course content by reviewing the written application, and conducting an interview. This interview may include a mock teaching demonstration or mini lecture. The mock teaching demonstration or mini lecture are not to be used to assess the quality of the teaching performance as this has already been established through the review of teaching evaluations.
  1. In the case of a single internal candidate who the committee agrees is qualified to teach the applicable courses, an interview is not required.
  1. In the case where there are two or more internal candidates who the committee agrees are qualified, the committee reviews the written applications, conducts an interview and chooses the best candidate.
  1. If the Search Committee establishes that the internal candidates are not qualified for the LTC position, the Search Committee then moves to the list of external applicants. The assessment of external candidates will follow the practices normally used for the hiring of regular positions.
  1. Where there is dispute about internal candidates who are assessed as not qualified for the LTC position, the Committee Chair, when requested, will provide a written rationale as to why an internal candidate was assessed as not qualified.  Such a rationale would explain why any candidate with similar qualifications would not be hired into the position.