1. What is continuing appointment, and why did American University introduce this change? 
2. When was the new system implemented? 
3. Who is eligible to apply for continuing appointment? 
4. How will eligible faculty apply for continuing appointment under the new system?
5. Will the new system include any changes for term faculty before the sixth year of service? 
6. After reaching eligibility, are term faculty required to apply for continuing appointment, or can they remain term?  
7. What is the difference between continuing appointment and tenure? 
8. What is the difference between continuing appointment and at-will employment? 
9. If a term or continuing appointment faculty member’s appointment ends due to budgetary/enrollment reasons, can they reapply when new positions are opened? 
10. At what point of hiring do we give credit toward continuing appointment for work at another institution? 
11. If a term faculty member is denied continuing appointment, can they reapply at a later time? 
12. Can term faculty who are denied continuing appointment status appeal or grieve that decision? 

1. What is continuing appointment, and why did American University introduce this change? 
Continuing appointment is a category of faculty at American University separate and distinct from the term, tenure-track, tenured, and Library continuing appointment or Library continuing appointment-track categories. Unlike term faculty appointments, which require a reapplication and reappointment at the end of every contract term, continuing appointments do not specify termination dates and are not subject to a periodic reappointment process. Continuing appointment is not a promotion. Promotional processes are separate and will remain unchanged. Continuing appointment is not available to WCL faculty. 

 In Spring 2022, a joint Faculty Senate–Provost’s Office task force chaired by Professor Carolyn Parker produced a detailed report with recommendations for streamlining the process. On Aug. 31, 2022, Provost Peter Starr announced a new process that reduced the number of times faculty submit documents for renewal and created the new category of continuing appointment faculty. The proposal was approved by the Faculty Senate on March 1, 2023, and by the Board of Trustees at their 2023 Spring Meeting on May 18-19, 2023.   

2. When was the new system implemented? 
The first applications for continuing appointment were submitted in AY 2023–24 (Fall and Spring), with the first continuing appointments taking effect in AY 2024–25.   

3. Who is eligible to apply for continuing appointment? 
Beginning in Fall 2024, all term faculty in their sixth year of service or longer at AU are eligible to apply for continuing appointment, with appointments effective for AY 25-26.     

Faculty may accumulate the six years of service towards their eligibility by any combination of single- or multi-year contracts.   

4. How do eligible faculty apply for continuing appointment? 
Guidance for assembling teaching portfolios, including dates for submission and processes for reviewing applications have been developed in consultation with deans. Guidelines for assessing continuing appointment applications can be found here and resemble current criteria for multi-year term contracts: excellence in teaching, service, and currency in the field (including scholarship, as applicable) as well as budget availability, projected enrollments, and the needs of the teaching and academic units. Faculty should watch for emails from their department/division chairs and/or deans’ offices about unit level deadlines for files for action or reach out to their respective deans’ offices with questions on their department guidelines, processes, and dates for submission. Check lists for preparing files for continuing appointment are available on the Dean of Faculty website.  See additional information on the Dean of Faculty website under Faculty Resources.  

Files for eligible faculty should be submitted by their respective deans to the Dean of Faculty by October 16, 2024 (for the Fall 2024 review cycle) and March 28, 2025 (for the Spring 2025 review cycle).   

The CFA will not be involved in these faculty actions unless there is a disagreement at previous levels of review.  

5. Does this system include any changes for term faculty before the sixth year of service? 
Yes. Term faculty appointments follow a standard progression: an initial single-year appointment followed by two single-year reappointments and one 3-year reappointment, culminating in application for continuing appointment in the sixth year of service. Each term reappointment, and each granting of continuing appointment, is dependent upon budget availability and satisfactory performance. Term research faculty paid through grants will not follow the standard progression.  

Deans will have discretion to recommend to the dean of faculty an initial appointment of two years in limited circumstances.   

6. After reaching eligibility, are term faculty required to apply for continuing appointment, or can they remain term?  
Term faculty are eligible to apply for continuing appointment after their sixth year of service, exceptions include:   

• term faculty on multi-year term contracts may choose to apply in the last year of their current contract. For example, a term faculty on a multi-year contract that ended in 2027 could wait until AY 26-27 to apply for continuing appointment  

• term research faculty paid through grants  

• term faculty who request an extension to consideration for continuing appointment pursuant to Faculty Manual section 15.f, who may be granted one or two single-year extensions under limited circumstances.  

7. What is the difference between continuing appointment and tenure? 
Tenured appointments, which carry an expectation of lifelong employment, can be terminated under the Faculty Manual for misconduct (Section 23), financial exigency (Section 24), or program elimination (Section 25).   

Continuing appointments may be terminated under the Faculty Manual for unsatisfactory performance, misconduct (Section 23), budgetary limitations, enrollments, other needs of the teaching or academic unit, financial exigency (Section 24), or program elimination (Section 25).  

All tenured positions carry high expectations for scholarly productivity. Most continuing appointment faculty will hold ranks in the professorial lecturer promotion sequence, which do not carry scholarship expectations.  

8. What is the difference between continuing appointment and at-will employment? 
At-will employment describes an arrangement in which both the employee and the employer are free to terminate employment at any time, for any or no reason, with or without prior warning or cause, provided the action does not violate local, state or federal anti-discrimination laws. Under continuing appointment, termination can only occur under the Faculty Manual for misconduct (Section 23), budgetary limitations, enrollments, other needs of the teaching or academic unit, financial exigency (Section 24), or program elimination (Section 25). If a continuing appointment is to be reduced in obligation with a proportionate reduction in compensation or terminated on account of budgetary limitations or enrollments, the university will provide a minimum of 4 months of notice. The university may shorten or eliminate the period of advance notice by providing equivalent salary and benefits. (Faculty Manual Section 15.g).  A faculty member who wishes to resign from the university while under contract must submit a written request to the teaching unit chair or academic unit dean. The request shall then be tendered to the dean of faculty, who will notify the faculty member whether the resignation is accepted and any related conditions, including effective date of resignation (Faculty Manual Section 15.h.).  

9. If a term or continuing appointment faculty member’s appointment ends due to budgetary/enrollment reasons, can they reapply when new positions are opened? 
Yes. If the individual is rehired, their continuing-appointment status will be preserved (where applicable) or their previous service will be credited toward eligibility for continuing appointment.  

10. At what point of hiring do we give credit toward continuing appointment for work at another institution? 
On recommendation of the dean and approval of the DOF, a newly hired term faculty member may bring up to 2 years of full-time teaching experience at another accredited, four-year, degree-granting college or university to be credited toward their eligibility for continuing appointment at American University. Some academic units may recognize years of professional experience as equivalent to teaching experience.  

11. If a term faculty member is denied continuing appointment, can they reapply at a later time? 

• If one is denied a continuing appointment, they may not reapply for continuing appointment and their contract will conclude at the end of that academic year. However, they may apply for a final, single-semester or single-year term contract, at the discretion of the dean and the Dean of Faculty. 

12. Can term faculty who are denied continuing appointment status appeal or grieve that decision? 
Denial of continuing appointment may be appealed on a limited basis in accordance with Faculty Manual Section 21. 

These FAQs are for informational purposes only and are subject to change at any time. FAQs do not change University policies, which may be updated from time to time.  The final policies related to continuing appointment faculty may vary from these FAQs.