PTF Ranks
Part-Time Faculty have three promotional ranks. They are PTF1, PTF2, and PTF3. They will have the same rank in every class they teach, no matter which Department, College, or Hiring Unit is employing them. All new hires are PTF1. Once a PTF has reached the highest rank, they can become eligible for Merit Pay. Our salary scale showing the pay rates for each step, in each year of the current contract, is available on our website.
- PTF1:
- Paid, at minimum, at Step A of our salary scale.
- Probationary, “at will” employees in the first five semesters in which they are employed.
- See “Course Pools,” below, for more information about Probationary employment.
- PTF2:
- An increase to, at minimum, Step C of our salary scale.
- Assigned classes before PTF1, unless they are considered Probationary in the Course Pool; courses will be assigned by seniority within the Course Pool.
- PTF3:
- An increase to, at minimum, Step F of our salary scale.
- Assigned classes before PTF2 or PTF1, unless they are considered Probationary within the Course Pool; courses will be assigned by seniority within the Course Pool.
- Retirement benefits at 62
- access to the university’s retiree vision & dental insurance (fully paid by the retired employee)
- lifetime email
- library borrowing privileges
- Merit Pay:
- Once a PTF3 has been employed for five semesters in that rank, they may request a Merit Pay evaluation. The procedure for requesting a Merit Pay evaluation is the same as any other evaluation.
- For PTF paid at the PTF3 minimum, currently Step F, a Merit Pay promotion will move them to Step H. For PTF3 paid at Step G or above, a Merit Pay promotion will move them to the next Step.
- Once a PTF3 has completed five semesters after a Merit Pay increase, they may request another Merit Pay evaluation.
Qualifications for Promotion
Beginning in their fifth semester of a rank, PTF may request a promotion evaluation from their department chair or unit supervisor. If the PTF is in their fifth semester, the evaluation will occur in their sixth semester. If the PTF is in their sixth, or subsequent, semester, the evaluation will occur in the semester in which it was requested–so long as the request for an evaluation is submitted before the eighth week of classes in Fall or Winter semester OR the second week in Spring or Summer semester. If the PTF requests an evaluation once the deadline has passed, the evaluation may be carried out in the next semester in which the PTF is employed.
All semesters employed as PTF will count toward promotion, with some important limitations.
- If a semester in which a PTF was employed occurred more than seven years earlier, it will not count toward promotion. This policy has been in place for several years.
- If a PTF has a break in employment of more than three years, courses taught before the break will no longer count toward promotion. This is a variation on our prior policy. For PTF concerned that a class may no longer be counted as a part of this policy, we recommend verifying their records with your Department Chair or Unit Supervisor.
- Each semester employed will be counted only once, no matter how many classes are taught during that semester. Spring, Summer, and Spring/Summer are considered one semester.
Course Pools
Classes at WSU are organized into Course Pools, as per our Collective Bargaining Agreement. According to Article XV: Course Pools, Section A:
- A Course Pool consists of a course or group of courses or labs. Courses or labs may be
grouped in pools when they call for related content and/or methodology to teach or
supervise. - Courses or labs that require substantially different content or methodology of teaching should be grouped in different pools within a Department or Hiring Unit.
- Courses should be grouped into as few pools as is pedagogically sound.
- Each Department or Hiring Unit will define and maintain Course Pools.
Departments are expected to post a list of classes within each Course Pool. If a PTF is uncertain in which Pools they teach, we recommend they contact their Department Chair or Unit Supervisor.
If a Part-Time Faculty teaches one class within a Course Pool, they are considered eligible to teach all of the classes in that pool.
The first five semesters that a PTF teaches in a Course Pool, they will be considered “Probationary.” By nature, all new hires are also considered Probationary. A Probationary PTF will not have seniority over another PTF, no matter their relative ranks, until they have been employed for six semesters within a Course Pool.
In order to determine the number of semesters taught within a Course Pool, we recommend that PTF consult the Course Pool Seniority List. The University posts the Course Pool Seniority List online annually in Fall semester. It should be accurate through Spring/Summer semester in the year in which it was posted.
Promotion Process
In order to start the promotion process, the PTF needs to email their Department Chair or Unit Supervisor and request an evaluation. The email can be as simple as this template:
Dear Department Chair or Unit Supervisor:
Based on the number of semesters I’ve taught at WSU, I believe I am eligible for promotion to the next PTF rank. I am requesting a promotion evaluation. Please share the departmental evaluation process for Part-Time Faculty with me. I look forward to scheduling an evaluation this semester.
Thank you,
PTF
The Department Chair or Unit Supervisor should then share the procedures with the PTF. The procedures should include a list of information the PTF is required to submit (which can include the PTF’s updated CV, relevant syllabi, graded student work, or voluntary information such as recent publications or service). The information should also include the criteria used to evaluate the PTF. The PTF will be given 10 business days to provide the materials. The Department Chair or Unit Supervisor may also schedule a classroom evaluation. They may attend the class themselves or send a designee. Evaluations should be completed in the semester in which they were conducted. Once the evaluation is complete, the PTF should be notified within 30 days.