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Employment Categories

Faculty Tenured (01)

Faculty positions are academic positions that involve teaching, research, scholarship, artistic creativity or academic administration. “Faculty Tenured” is an employment category assigned to faculty who have been granted tenure with their initial appointment or through a tenure review process after serving up to six years in a tenure-track appointment. Initial appointments to the position of full professor carry automatic tenure. Tenure-bearing ranks are Associate Professor, Professor, and Distinguished University Professor. Tenure guarantees a faculty member continued employment until s/he resigns or retires, is terminated for just cause, is dismissed due to programmatic discontinuation, is deemed to have abandoned her/his position, or dies. Initial appointments to the title of Associate Professor can be tenured or tenure-track. There are some Assistant Professors who have been grandfathered with tenure.

Faculty Non-tenured on Track (02)

Faculty positions are academic positions that involve teaching, research, scholarship, artistic creativity or academic administration. “Faculty Non-tenured on Track” is an employment category assigned to faculty who are hired on the tenure-track and are eligible for a tenure review as defined in the institution’s policy on the Appointment, Promotion and Tenure of Faculty. New tenure-track faculty can be hired at the rank of assistant professor or associate professor. For detailed information about the policies and procedures for appointing tenure-track faculty, please visit the Office of Faculty Affairs website.

Faculty Non-tenured, Term Contract (03)

Faculty positions are academic positions that involve teaching, research, scholarship, artistic creativity or academic administration. “Faculty Non-tenured, Term Contract” is a “regular” employment category assigned to faculty who have a renewable appointment, which does not carry tenure. Appointees to this category will be eligible for full benefits and must be salaried. The appointee must be paid on an account with a subcode in the 1000 series; such account can be state, self-support, or contract & grant. His/her appointment must be renewed at each expiration.

Appointees to this category generally includes: Lecturers, Senior Lecturers, Principal Lecturers, and Visiting Lecturers.

Graduate Assistant (04)

“Graduate Assistant” is an employment category, not involving tenure, which can only be held by graduate students enrolled in a degree program. There are three categories of graduate assistant: teaching assistant (TA), research assistant (RA), and administrative assistant (AA). Graduate assistants may hold 9.5 (generally used for graduate teaching assistants) or 12 month (generally used for administrative or research assistants) appointments. A graduate assistant is considered “full time” if working 20 hours per week and “half-time” if working 10 hours per week. However, in the payroll, budget and Human Resource System their FTEs are coded 50% and 25% respectively. Graduate Assistants are not processed through the Academic Resource System. Graduate Assistants are entitled to hospitalization and tuition remission benefits.

Fellow (05)

“Fellow” is a title/employment category assigned to a student who has received a fellowship through the Graduate School for all or part of the academic year. Fellows are not employees of the University of Maryland and are not entitled to benefits. Generally, fellowships are granted individually. They may be paired with graduate assistantships in those situations where there is no connection between the work description as a graduate assistant and the fellowship.

Undergraduate Student (14)

“UG Student” is an employment category assigned to undergraduate students who are employed on an hourly basis. Student employees are persons who have been admitted to the University with intent to register as a full-time student in the next semester or who are registered at the University of Maryland for course work for at least nine credit hours as regularly enrolled full-time students. This category is not recorded in the Human Resource System at University of Maryland, College Park, but will be included in the PHR system.

Faculty Non-tenured, Continuing and Term Contract (15)

Faculty positions are academic positions that involve teaching, research, scholarship, artistic creativity, or academic administration. “Faculty Non-tenured, Continuing” is an employment category assigned to faculty who have been appointed to a continuing appointment which does not carry tenure. Appointees to this category may be eligible for benefits as defined in the contract, and must be salaried. The appointee must be on a line item in the state budget and his/her appointment does not need to be renewed each year, but may be if so stipulated in the employment agreement. This category is typically used for faculty research assistants, grand-parented instructors with job security, officers and deans without faculty rank, professional librarians, and university coaches. Continuing appointments supported on research or self-support funds must be renewed each year. If it is intended to hire a faculty member on the tenure track but s/he does not have degree transcript documentation, s/he may be hired into this Non-tenured, Continuing and Term Contract category until the degree documentation is received. If tenure is not granted to a tenure-track faculty member, s/he is given a one-year terminal non-tenured faculty position in this category.

Graduate Student (16)

Grad Student” is an employment category assigned to graduate students (not to be confused with Graduate Assistants) who are employed on an hourly basis. Student employees are persons who have been admitted to the University with intent to register as a full-time student in the next semester or who are registered at the University of Maryland for course work for at least six credit hours as regularly enrolled full-time students. This category is not recorded in the Human Resource System at University of Maryland, College Park, but it will be included in the PHR system.

Trainee (19)

“Trainee” is an employment category assigned to people who are working as employees and are being trained in a particular field of study. Positions in this category are generally paid on research funds and have zero FTE. Trainees may be entitled to benefits.

Non-Exempt, Regular (20)

Non-Exempt positions are non-academic positions that generally involve maintenance, office/clerical, service, or technical/skilled duties. “Non-Exempt, Regular” is an employment category assigned to non-exempt employees who have been hired into regular positions. A non-exempt employee is eligible for premium overtime for time in a paid status (i.e., hours worked plus paid leave taken) that exceeds 40 hours in the university’s standard workweek. Prior to July 1, 1996, these employees were grouped with the classified employees.

Non-Exempt, Contingent Category 2 (22)

Non-Exempt positions are non-academic positions that generally involve maintenance, office/clerical, service, or technical/skilled trades duties, and are categorized as non-exempt under the FLSA. “Non-exempt, Contingent Category 2” is a non-regular employment category assigned to non-exempt employees who are hired on a written agreement which is for at least six months, but not more than 12 consecutive months, and are on a 50%-time or greater basis, and whose work is not of a seasonal or intermittent nature. Non-exempt, Contingent 2 employees are eligible for premium overtime for time in a paid status (i.e., hours worked plus paid leave taken) that exceeds 40 hours in the university’s standard workweek. Non-exempt, Contingent 2 employees are salaried, and they are guaranteed a minimum level of leave benefits provided for in policy.

Faculty Contractual (25)

*Current Definition*

Post-Doctoral Scholar (positions adhering to this re-purposed definition beginning in June 2015):

Faculty Contractual positions are academic positions that hold the title
Post-Doctoral Scholar. This employment category is assigned to allow for
continued training to acquire discipline-specific independent research
skills under the direction of a faculty mentor. Appointees are eligible for
benefits as provided for by policies applying to faculty appointments.
Appointments are typically for one (1) to three (3) years and are
renewable, provided no appointee serves in this rank for more than three
(3) years. The appointee generally shall hold a doctorate in a field of
specialization earned within three (3) years of initial appointment to this
rank.

*Former Definition *

Faculty Contractual (some positions adhering to this definition were still valid in FY16):

Faculty Contractual positions are academic positions that involve teaching,
research, scholarship, artistic creativity or academic administration.
“Faculty Contractual” is an employment category assigned to personnel who
were hired into a faculty title on a legal contract. A contractual employee
is an employee with the University of Maryland who is hired under a
specific agreement at a specified title, for a specified period of time not
to exceed one year, are salaried and are eligible for negotiated benefit
subsidies and leave as specified in the contract. Faculty Contracts must be
approved by Academic Affairs and may be renewed on a continuing basis.
Titles typically used in this category included Faculty Research Assistant,
Faculty Extension Assistant, and Research Associate.

Non-Exempt, Contingent Category 1 (31)

Non-Exempt positions are non-academic positions that generally involve maintenance, office/clerical, service, or technical/skilled trades duties. “Non-exempt, Contingent Category 1” is a non-regular employment category assigned to non-exempt employees whose Contingent I Employment Agreement is for a term of six months or less, regardless of the percentage of time worked, and regardless of whether it is seasonal or intermittent in nature (formerly “if and when needed” or “temporary” for all formerly “classified” employees – same code 31). Non-exempt, Contingent 1 employees are eligible for premium overtime for time worked that exceeds 40 hours in the university’s standard workweek. Non-exempt, Contingent 1 employees are paid on an hourly basis.

Exempt, Regular (33)

Exempt positions are administrative positions involving professional-level duties that are executive, administrative, and/or managerial in nature, and as such are categorized as “Exempt” under the FLSA. “Exempt, Regular” is an employment category assigned to exempt employees who have been hired into regular positions. Exempt, Regular employees are ineligible to earn overtime. This category includes positions formerly in the categories Associate Staff, Classified-Exempt, and Academic Administrator prior to the implementation of the Exempt Pay Program on 1/2/2000.

Exempt, Contingent Category 1 (34)

Exempt positions are administrative positions involving professional-level duties that are executive, administrative, and/or managerial in nature, and as such are categorized as “Exempt” under the FLSA. “Exempt, Contingent Category 1” is a non-regular employment category assigned to exempt employees whose Contingent 1 Employment Agreement is for a term of six months or less, regardless of the percentage of time worked, and regardless of whether it is seasonal or intermittent in nature. Contingent 1 employees are paid on an hourly or salaried basis. However, if paid hourly, Exempt, Contingent 1 employees must receive premium overtime for time worked that exceeds 40 hours in the university’s standard workweek.

Exempt, Contingent Category 2 (35)

Exempt positions are administrative positions involving professional-level duties that are executive, administrative, and/or managerial in nature, and as such are categorized as “Exempt” under the FLSA. “Exempt, Contingent Category 2” is a non-regular employment category assigned to exempt employees who are hired on a written agreement which is for at least six months, but not more than 12 consecutive months, and who are on a 50% time or greater basis, and whose work is not of a seasonal or intermittent nature. Exempt, Contingent 2 employees are ineligible to earn overtime. Contingent 2 employees are typically salaried, and they are guaranteed a minimum level of leave benefits provided for in policy.

Faculty Hourly (36)

Faculty positions are academic positions, that involve teaching, research, scholarship, artistic creativity or academic administration. “Faculty Hourly” is an employment category assigned to Faculty who are paid on an hourly basis. There are no stipulations regarding the length of their appointment, however, an annual appointment renewal is required. They are non-regular employees who are not eligible for any benefits, retirement, or paid leave. Most appointees in this category are Lecturers, Faculty Research Assistants, or Instructors with the Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute.

Faculty Non-Regular, Non-tenured (37)

Faculty positions are academic positions, that involve teaching, research, scholarship, artistic creativity or academic administration. “Faculty Non-Regular, Non-tenured” is an employment category assigned to Faculty who have a paid appointment of less than 6 months, or are non-paid. As such, they are non-regular employees who are not eligible for any benefits, retirement, or paid leave. Faculty Non-Regular, Non-tenured appointees are paid on a salary with an FTE appropriate to their level of work. Paid faculty working under this category will receive wages for Paid Holidays or Administrative Leave incurred during their contract term. Generally appointees to this category will be term-only Lecturers, Faculty Research Assistants, and some visiting faculty.

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