Chapter 9B
(1) Appointment to Lecturer
a. Description
A lectureship is a short-term, non-tenure-track position that is held by individuals who serve as course heads for courses that would otherwise be taught by tenure-track or tenured faculty. Lecturers (with the exception, as appropriate, of appointments in the arts) must ordinarily hold a doctorate by the time the appointment begins. All lecturer appointments must be based in a department or undergraduate degree committee. Common practice is to make an appointment in one department or degree committee only. Within one academic year, the total FTE for all appointments held by a lecturer ordinarily will not exceed 1.0 FTE. Lecturers may be appointed in one of two ways:
- Into an annual appointment: Reappointment into an annual appointment may be possible, contingent on performance, enrollments, curricular need, position availability, and the authorization of the divisional dean, until the lecturer has accumulated a maximum of 3.0 annual lecturer FTE. (One four-credit course is equivalent to 0.25 annual FTE). These appointments may be spread over multiple years.
- Into one non-renewable three-year term (with Years 2 and 3 contingent upon a successful review after the first semester of teaching), beginning July 1.
b. Steps: Appointment to Lecturer (annual or multi-year appointments)
The department chair discusses the curricular need for the appointment with the divisional dean and requests authorization.
If the department is requesting a multi-year lecturer appointment, the chair needs to describe and justify the curricular need for such an appointment. After approval is granted, the department begins the search process if a search is required. No search is required for appointments to teach a maximum of one four-credit course in one year (up to 0.25 annual FTE).
For appointments where a search is required, the department advertises the position and makes inquiries at other institutions.
- All advertising copy must be reviewed and approved by the associate dean for the division/SEAS before it is submitted to the appropriate journals and other venues. Advertisements and inquiries should describe the position broadly and should list a date after which the department will stop accepting applications, or the department can encourage candidates to apply by a specific date, while indicating that applications will be reviewed until the position is filled. At least one form of the advertisement should be published in print. Advertisements should clearly state required documents and must indicate that Harvard is “an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, creed, national origin, ancestry, age, protected veteran status, disability, genetic information, military service, pregnancy and pregnancy-related conditions, or other protected status.”
- The dossier for the finalist must include 3-5 letters of recommendation. The advertisement should ask candidates to submit contact information for references with their original application materials. The advertisement should also ask candidates to include in their cover letter a description of teaching/advising experience, including; their philosophy and practices as well as their approach to creating a learning environment in which students are encouraged to ask questions and share their ideas.
For appointments where a search is required, departments follow their standard procedures to review candidate(s) for appointment.
The department sends the candidate’s dossier, including a draft offer letter, to the divisional/SEAS associate dean for review and approval.
Note: The department should secure from applicants at the short-list stage (or from the finalist, if the department’s process does not include a short-list stage) a draft course title, course description, and syllabus for the course(s) that the candidate(s) intend to teach during their upcoming appointment period, for approval. This information will be included in the finalist’s dossier. (Obtaining this information is not necessary for candidates who would be teaching established courses such as certain language or mathematics courses, etc.)
Please securely send one electronic copy of the dossier, including a draft offer letter, to the associate dean. Please follow HUIT’s recommended practices for secure document transfer, which can vary by user platform. For a full checklist of what the dossier should include, please see below.
For those appointments in which a search is required, a case statement, written by the chair, should also be included and should address:
- A description of the search, including procedures for establishing a list of candidates, total number of applicants, a description of the review procedures used in the department, and the reason a multi-year appointment was necessary (if applicable).
- A description of the finalist’s teaching/advising qualifications.
- A comparison of the candidate with all other leading candidates, and reasons why the other leading candidates were not chosen.
- A description of what the candidate will teach.
Note: the finalized case statement should be made available to the faculty in the department involved in the review.
Note: The divisional/SEAS dean and/or their designee and the Dean for Faculty Affairs and Planning can ask for changes to the dossier at any time.
For appointments that do not require a search: The candidate’s draft course title, course description, and syllabus should be solicited by the department before the hire and submitted to the divisional/SEAS associate dean with the candidate’s CV and a draft offer letter, for approval.
If approval is granted, the department issues the offer letter (annual/multi-year) to the candidate.
Once approval for the appointment has been granted, the department should ask the individual during the hiring process to confirm the department’s understanding of what the course title, description, and syllabus are.
In addition to basic information, the letter includes information about teaching responsibilities for the year and, except for one-year or one-term appointments where reappointment is not intended, the standard for reappointment (including performance, curricular need, the availability of funds, and the approval of the associate dean for the division/SEAS) and the timing and procedures for review for reappointment, if applicable.
If the offer is accepted, the appointment is processed in the Aurora system by the department.
- The department submits 1 electronic PDF copy of the final dossier and signed offer letter to the Appointments Office in the Office for Faculty Affairs via Aurora. Note: This copy is in addition to that submitted to the associate dean for the division/SEAS in Step 4.
- Completion of an I-9 on or before the appointment start date and submission of any other necessary documents is required of all new employees, or after a break in service of one year or more. Questions about I-9 completion should be directed to FAS Central Payroll for faculty appointed through FAS or SEAS Office for Faculty Affairs for faculty appointed through SEAS.
- The department securely sends 1 electronic PDF copy of the signed offer letter and 1 electronic PDF copy of the candidate’s acceptance letter to the associate dean for the division/SEAS. Please follow HUIT’s recommended practices for secure document transfer, which can vary by user platform.
The department administrator will remind the faculty member to sign electronically the Harvard University Participation Agreement by the start of their appointment.
c. Dossier Checklist: Lecturers
Please securely send an electronic copy of the preliminary dossier, including a draft offer letter, to the associate dean for the division/SEAS (AD). Please follow HUIT’s recommended practices for secure document transfer, which can vary by user platform. To facilitate storing and sharing of files, please name the file as follows: a) alpha-numeric characters only (no dashes, commas, slashes, etc.). b) [Last Name] [First Name] [Department Name] Lecturer dossier [Month, Date, and Year of dossier submission, expressed numerically: XX YY ZZ]. E.g., Smith John Psychology Lecturer dossier 1 4 15. c) If a dossier is revised and resubmitted, please repeat the original title, followed by “rev” and [Month of resubmission] [Date of resubmission] [Year of resubmission]. E.g., Smith John Psychology Lecturer dossier 1 4 15 rev 1 15 15.
After the offer is finalized, please send an electronic PDF copy of the final dossier to the Appointments Office in the Office for Faculty Affairs via Aurora. Departments should retain documents according to practices recommended by Harvard Archives.
For all lecturer appointments:
______1. Candidate’s curriculum vitae (including bibliography).
______2. Course title, course description, and syllabus for the course(s) the candidate intends to teach during their upcoming appointment period.
______3. A copy of the offer letter (annual/multi-year) and all subsequent emendations to it.
______4. A copy of the candidate’s letter of acceptance.
Note: The candidate should not solicit student letters, and any unsolicited student letters will not be included in the dossier.
For those appointments for which a search is required, additional materials include:
______5. A copy of the department’s request for the search authorization and a copy of the divisional dean’s letter authorizing the search.
______6. Case statement. See description in Step 4 above.
______7. 3-5 letters of recommendation, and any other application materials (e.g., cover letter, including a description of teaching/advising philosophy and practices as well as approach to creatinge a learning environment in which students are encouraged to ask questions and share their ideas.
After the offer is finalized:
______8. Please securely send 1 electronic PDF copy of the final signed offer letter and 1 electronic PDF copy of the candidate’s signed acceptance letter to the associate dean for the division/SEAS. Please follow HUIT’s recommended practices for secure document transfer, which can vary by user platform.
Completion of an I-9 on or before the appointment start date and submission of any other necessary documents is required of all new employees, or after a break in service of one year or more. Questions about I-9 completion should be directed to FAS Central Payroll for faculty appointed through FAS or SEAS Office for Faculty Affairs for faculty appointed through SEAS.
(2) Steps: First-Year, Annual, and Ongoing Reviews of Lecturers
See Chapter 2H, “Important Deadlines” for the deadline for lecturer reviews.
The department/area chair (or the chair’s designee) reviews the candidate’s evaluations.
For reappointment beyond the first year for lecturers with annual appointments, the department must first assess its curricular needs and request and receive authorization for the FTE from the divisional dean.
For first-year reviews, the department/area chair (or the chair’s designee) should review evaluations from the candidate’s first semester of teaching. For annual and ongoing reviews, the department/area chair (or the chair’s designee) should review evaluations not reviewed since the prior year’s review.
For evaluations from Fall 2019 onward, please go to https://q.fas.harvard.edu/results-2019-20-and-later.
- Click on “Click Here to View Your Results Now" and log in.
- Select user group “Harvard_Faculty_Staff.”
- Select the “Course Heads-Instructors report” for the specific year/term.
- Type the course number abbreviation (e.g. COMPSCI 50) in the “Search report title” field and click to search.
- Download for each course:
- Select "View the {term} Individual Report -- Comments included report" and click on the course from the listing. Click the (PDF) icon next to the corresponding instructor to download the report.
If course evaluations are not available, please consult with your associate dean for the division/SEAS for instructions on how to proceed.
If the chair decides the case warrants reappointment (or continuation of appointment, in the case of a multi-year appointment), the department/area sends to the associate dean for the division/SEAS 1 electronic copy of the lecturer’s teaching evaluations and 1 electronic copy of a draft letter of reappointment.
Please securely send one electronic copy of each of the items listed below to the associate dean. Please follow HUIT’s recommended practices for secure document transfer, which can vary by user platform:
- 1 electronic PDF of student teaching evaluations.
- A draft letter for the individual, to be reviewed by the associate dean for the appropriate division/SEAS. The letter includes dates of reappointment, teaching duties, salary, and an accounting of the individual’s remaining eligibility within the lecturer rank.
If the chair does not feel the case warrants reappointment (or continuation of appointment), the chair sends to the divisional/SEAS associate dean a draft of the letter to the candidate and explains the department/area’s decision. After divisional/SEAS associate dean approval, the department/area chair gives the letter to the candidate.
The divisional/SEAS associate dean makes the final decision regarding whether or not to reappoint the candidate (in the case of an annual appointment) or continue the candidate (in the case of a multi-year appointment).
Note: The divisional/SEAS dean and/or their designee and the Dean for Faculty Affairs and Planning can ask for changes to the dossier at any time.
Please follow HUIT’s recommended practices for secure document transfer, which can vary by user platform.
Following approval by the divisional/SEAS associate dean, the department/area chair (or the chair’s designee) provides verbal feedback to the candidate and the department/area chair issues the final signed letter to the candidate.
Verbal feedback is provided to the candidate based on their course evaluations. The chair (or the chair’s designee) should document in department/area files what date the feedback was provided, by whom, and if any specific issues were raised.
The department processes the reappointment (in the case of an annual appointment) or salary increase (in the case of a multi-year appointment) in Aurora.
The department securely sends to the associate dean for the division/SEAS: filetransfer.harvard.edu):
- 1 electronic PDF copy of the final letter for the candidate, signed by the department chair.
Please follow HUIT’s recommended practices for secure document transfer, which can vary by user platform.