Chapter 9E
College Fellows
- Appointment to College Fellow
- Description
- Steps
- Dossier Checklist
- Reappointments of College Fellows
(1) Appointment to College Fellow
a. Description
A College Fellowship is a short-term, non-tenure-track position that is held by exceptional scholars who have recently completed their doctoral work and have demonstrated excellence in teaching. In addition to pursuing their own research, College Fellows serve as course heads for courses that would otherwise be taught by tenure-track or tenured faculty. College Fellows ordinarily teach three courses (or equivalent) per year. College Fellows must have completed all requirements for the doctorate prior to the appointment start date. College Fellowships are one-year positions with the possibility of renewal for one additional year contingent on performance, position availability, curricular need, and divisional dean authorization. College Fellows receive mentoring on both pedagogy and career development.
b. Steps: Appointment to College Fellow
The department chair discusses the curricular need for the appointment with the divisional dean and requests authorization.
If approved, the divisional dean will provide the department with written authorization for the appointment.
The Office for Faculty Affairs advertises the position and sends candidates’ application materials to the department for review.
- 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. At least one form of the advertisement should be published in print (the Office for Faculty Affairs accomplishes this with a print ad for the entire College Fellows program). 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 letters of recommendation. The advertisement should ask candidates to submit contact information for references with their original application materials.
- Departments are strongly encouraged to advertise the position in field-specific venues.
Departments follow their standard procedures to review candidate(s) for appointment.
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.
The dossier includes:
- Draft offer letter.
- College Fellows application form.
- A cover letter that describes the applicant’s experience and interest in the position.
- Candidate’s curriculum vitae.
- A research statement.
- A teaching/advising statement that describes the candidate's philosophy and practices related to undergraduate teaching and advising, goals, and prior experience, including their approach to creating a learning environment in which students are encouraged to ask questions and share their ideas.
- Teaching materials, including representative course syllabi and evidence of teaching effectiveness (e.g., teaching awards and evaluations).
- Course title, course description, and syllabus for the course(s) the candidate intends to teach during their upcoming appointment period.
- 3 letters of recommendation for the candidate.
- Candidate’s doctoral verification.
Note: The appointment will not be finalized until verification of doctoral completion is received from the candidate’s home institution. The two forms of acceptable documentation include either a certificate of completion from the degree-granting institution or a letter from the institution’s registrar. Such documentation should state that all requirements for the doctorate have been successfully completed and should verify the date the degree has been or will be conferred. If the candidate received his/her/their degree from Harvard, written verification from the chair or director of graduate studies, on department letterhead, may suffice.
- (Applicable only for those candidates who have not yet received the doctorate) A letter from the candidate’s advisor confirming that the candidate will receive the doctorate prior to the appointment start date.
- A copy of the department’s request for the search authorization and a copy of the divisional dean’s letter authorizing the search.
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.
If approval is granted, the department issues the offer letter to the candidate.
Once approval for the appointment has been granted, the department should ask the faculty member during the hiring process to confirm the department’s understanding of what the course title, description, and syllabus are.
If the offer is accepted, the appointment is processed in the Aurora system by the department.
- The department sends 1 electronic PDF copy of the 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 to the divisional/SEAS associate dean 1 electronic PDF copy of the candidate’s acceptance letter. 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: College Fellows
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] College Fellow dossier [Month, Date, and Year of dossier submission, expressed numerically: XX YY ZZ]. E.g., Smith John Psychology College Fellow 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 College Fellow 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 College Fellow appointments:
______1. A copy of the department’s request for the search authorization and a copy of the divisional dean’s letter authorizing the search.
______2. College Fellows application form.
______3. The candidate’s curriculum vitae, including bibliography.
______4. A cover letter that describes the applicant’s experience and interest in the position.
______5. Teaching materials (including teaching awards, representative course syllabi, and teaching evaluations).
______6. A teaching/advising statement describing the applicant’s 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.
______7. Course title, course description, and syllabus for the course(s) the candidate intends to teach during their upcoming appointment period.
______8. A research statement.
______9. 3 letters of recommendation.
_____10. Verification of doctoral completion from the candidate’s home institution.
_____11. (Applicable only for those candidates who have not yet received the doctorate.) A letter from the fellow’s advisor confirming that the candidate will receive a doctorate prior to the appointment start date.
Note: The candidate should not solicit student letters, and any unsolicited student letters will not be included in the dossier.
To be added after the appointment is finalized:
_____12. A copy of the offer letter and all subsequent emendations to it.
_____13. A copy of the candidate’s letter of acceptance.
After the appointment is finalized, please securely send 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) Reappointments of College Fellows
Reappointment of the College Fellowship for a second year is contingent on performance, position availability, and curricular need. The department requests authorization for the reappointment from the divisional dean. After receipt of authorization, the department sends to the associate dean for the division/SEAS 1 electronic copy of the fellow’s teaching evaluations and 1 electronic copy of a draft letter of reappointment that includes dates of reappointment, teaching duties, salary, and an accounting of the individual’s remaining eligibility within the FAS’s eight-year rule. Please securely send these materials. Please follow HUIT’s recommended practices for secure document transfer, which can vary by user platform.
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 the teaching evaluations, please include:
- 1 electronic PDF of student teaching evaluations
- 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.
- For evaluations from Fall 2019 onward, please go to https://q.fas.harvard.edu/results-2019-20-and-later.
Once the associate dean for the division/SEAS has approved the draft letter, the department sends it to the candidate and processes the reappointment in Aurora. An electronic PDF copy of the signed reappointment letter is sent to the Appointments Office in the Office for Faculty Affairs via Aurora.