Human Resources

Range Elevation Policy for Temporary Faculty

Application Form
Appendix A

1.00 Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to establish a means by which temporary faculty (full or part-time) may be granted range elevation consistent with the appropriate sections of Article 12 of the CSU-CFA Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). For the purposes of this policy, the term "lecturer" is inclusive of temporary instructional faculty, non-instructional faculty, librarians, and counselors.

This policy is intended to reflect the University's commitment to the principles, goals, and ideals described in the CSUMB Vision Statement and to its core values.

2.00 Definition

Range elevation is the process by which a lecturer moves from one classification (salary range) to another. An applicant who is awarded a range elevation moves from his/her current salary range to the next higher range (for example, from A to B), receives a salary increase consistent with Article 31 of the CBA, and becomes eligible for Service Salary Increases (SSI) in the new range.

3.00 Eligibility for Range Elevation

In accordance with the CBA article 12.17, those eligible to apply for lecturer range elevation shall be limited to lecturers who have no more eligibility for SSI salary increases in their current range, and have served five (5) years in their current range. Eligibility is determined separately for each department, school or division (hereafter Department) in which the lecturer is appointed. As per the CFA Memorandum of Understanding: Amendments to the Range Elevation Procedures 2016, range elevation eligibility is also extended to lecturers and temporary librarian faculty unit employees who have reached the SSI maximum salary, regardless of whether they have received prior Faculty Merit Increases (FMIs). Additionally, lecturers and temporary faculty unit employees who have not exhausted SSI eligibility by the beginning of the 2017/18 academic year may qualify for eligibility for range elevation based on sufficient full-time adjusted services (FTAS). FTAS shall be established as of the beginning of the 2018/18 academic year. For each academic or fiscal year, FTAS is defined as the average full-time equivalent (FTE) over the academic or fiscal year, divided by 0.8, up to a maximum of 1.0 for the year.

Lecturers and temporary librarian faculty unit employees with at least six (6) years FTAS in the current range as of the start of the Fall 2017 term shall be eligible to apply for range elevation according to the following schedule:

  • In 2017/18, individuals with 12 or more years FTAS shall be eligible to apply.
  • In 2018/19, individuals with nine (9) or more years FTAS shall be eligible to apply.
  • In 2019/20, individuals with six (6) or more years FTAS shall be eligible to apply.

No later than December 1 each year, Human Resources shall notify those lecturers at the SSI maximum who have five (5) years of service in their current range or who are eligible based on FTAS that they may be eligible for range elevation, and shall provide Departments with a list of eligible lecturers. In the notification to lecturers, Human Resources shall inform each lecturer that receipt of a previous Faculty Merit Increase will not affect their eligibility for range elevation, and that, if granted, range elevation will be accompanied by a salary increase of at least 5% or the minimum percentage increase required to reach at least the minimum of the next range, whichever is greater.

Range elevation applies only to the Department in which range elevation is granted.

4.00 Requirements & Criteria for Granting Range Elevation

Applicants for range elevation must satisfy the following two requirements.

  1. Lecturers demonstrate proficiency in fulfilling the responsibilities in their formal work assignment [1] by consistently achieving levels of at least "commendable," or the equivalent ratings in all the Lecturer Periodic Evaluations during the previous five (5) years. Lecturers with ratings lower than commendable may supply explanatory text describing mitigating circumstances. Those lecturers who supply explanatory text will not be categorically denied range elevation if their extenuating circumstances are sufficiently justified in written form.
  2. Lecturers demonstrate professional growth and development in the last five (5) years appropriate to their formal work assignment. For those with instructional assignments, professional growth and development includes demonstrating excellence in facilitating student learning by maintaining currency in the field and by refining and improving teaching practices based on self-reflection and assessment, as indicated in Table 1 below. Faculty whose primary assignments are non-instructional shall demonstrate excellence in facilitating student success by maintaining currency in their field and by refining and improving professional practices (Table 2).

Table 1: Criteria for Range Elevation for Lecturers with Instructional Assignments

Lecturer A to B

Demonstrates a consistent commendable level of facilitating outcomes-based student learning by providing evidence of all of the following, as appropriate to the individual lecturer's work assignment:

  • Continually refining and improving teaching practices based on self-reflection and feedback from student and faculty evaluations;
  • Clearly aligning assignments and assessments with course outcomes;
  • Applying innovative and effective ways of teaching subject matter to diverse student populations;
  • Successfully adapting best pedagogical practices while developing or revising outcomes-based course materials;
  • Effectively using course materials that reflect the current state of knowledge and practices in the field.

Lecturer B to C and Lecturer C to D

Demonstrates a consistent commendable level of facilitating outcomes-based student learning by providing evidence of all of the following, as appropriate to the individual lecturer's work assignment:

  • Continually refining and improving teaching practices based on self-reflection and feedback from student and faculty evaluations;
  • Clearly aligning assignments and assessments with course outcomes;
  • Developing and applying innovative and effective ways of teaching subject matter to diverse student populations;
  • Successfully developing and adapting best pedagogical practices while developing or revising outcomes-based course materials;
  • Effectively developing and using course materials that reflect the current state of knowledge and practices in the field;
  • Successfully collaborating with faculty in teaching and learning activities.

Table 2: Criteria for Range Elevation for Faculty with Non-Instructional Assignments

Lecturer A to B (or equivalent ranks)

Demonstrates a consistent commendable level of facilitating student success by providing evidence of all of the following, as appropriate to the individual's work assignment:

  • Continually refining and improving professional practices based on feedback and self-reflection;
  • Successfully adapting and implementing current knowledge and best professional practices to serve diverse student populations.

Lecturer B to C and Lecturer C to D (or equivalent ranks)

Demonstrates a consistent commendable level of facilitating student success by providing evidence of all of the following, as appropriate to the individual's work assignment:

  • Continually refining and improving professional practices based on feedback and self-reflection;
  • Successfully developing, adapting, and implementing current knowledge and best professional practices to serve diverse student populations.
  • Successfully collaborating with colleagues in professional activities.

5.00 Application

Application materials shall be submitted to the Human Resources Office no later than the date specified on the Academic Personnel Calendar. Applicant materials shall consist of the following:

5.10 Materials Supplied by Applicant to Human Resources

  1. Temporary Faculty Range Elevation application form;
  2. Up-to-date curriculum vitae;
  3. Narrative, approximately five (5) pages long, that describes the evidence of how the proficiency and professional development requirements and criteria stated in Section 4.00 of the CSUMB Range Elevation Policy, including professional growth, have been met in the last five (5) years.
    1. The narrative may include a description of activities or accomplishments that contribute to the instructional mission of the university but are not part of the formal work assignment. In this case, the applicant must explain how those activities contribute to the applicant's excellence in their formal work assignment (see Appendix A for examples)
  4. A list of the applicant's work assignments (or workload agreements) for the previous five (5) years;
  5. Evidence to support narrative description of the ways that the applicant has satisfied the criteria for Range Elevation as described in Section 4.00 of the CSUMB Range Elevation Policy:
    1. For lecturers with instructional appointments:
      1. Syllabi from all courses taught in the last two (2) years and may include more syllabi in support of the application;
      2. Sufficient examples of course materials and student work;
      3. The applicant may provide peer evaluations and/or peer recommendations for the period under consideration;
      4. Evidence of professional growth and development as described in Section 4.00(b) and Appendix A.
    2. For faculty with non-instructional appointments:
      1. Evidence of impact on student learning or success;
      2. Evidence of professional growth and development as described in Section 4.00(b) and Appendix A;
      3. The applicant may provide peer evaluations and/or peer recommendations for the period under consideration.

5.20 Materials Supplied by the Department

The Department Chair will provide evaluators access to the applicant's student evaluations for the past five (5) years.

5.30 Materials Supplied by Human Resources to Evaluators

Human Resources shall provide evaluators with access to the application materials and the applicant's Personnel Action File (PAF) in order to review periodic evaluations or other relevant material for the work done during the period under consideration. Evaluators shall sign the PAF access log.

5.40 Additional Materials

If statements in the applicant's narrative are deemed to be insufficiently supported by the evidence provided with the application, evaluators may seek additional written documentation from either the applicant or from faculty peers. Any additional documentation provided by faculty peers at the the committee's request must be signed by the faculty peer and submitted to Human Resources. Human Resources shall notify the candidate that the materials have been added to the application file.

When an applicant is asked to provide additional documentation, the applicant shall supply this documentation within ten (10) days of receipt of the request. Failure to provide the requested information shall not delay either the evaluation process or the preparation of the committee's recommendation.

6.00 Composition & Election of Range Elevation Committee

The departmental Range Elevation Committee shall comprise the Department Chair and two other eligible faculty from the Department, elected for a one-year term. "Eligible" faculty include tenure-track faculty, tenured faculty, and lecturers in a range at least equal to the range being sought. To be "eligible" to serve on a Department's Range Elevation Committee, lecturer must have a three-year appointment in that Department, and be willing to serve on the committee on a voluntary basis. Two (2) of the three (3) committee members must be tenured or tenure-track.

A Department with three or more eligible faculty (in addition to the Department Chair) shall elect a Range Elevation Committee consisting entirely of faculty from the Department. If there are three or fewer eligible faculty in the Department (including the Chair), then they all shall serve, and the Department shall nominate eligible faculty from related academic disciplines to compose the remaining members of the committee. Potentially eligible lecturers may decline "eligibility" to serve, since the service is on a voluntary basis.

All Unit 3 faculty in the Department, regardless of the time base of their appointment, have an equal vote on the composition of the department Range Elevation Committee.

7.00 Evaluation

7.10 Range Elevation Committee

Human Resources shall provide a copy of the recommendation report to the applicant. The applicant has the opportunity to provide a written response to Academic Personnel within ten (10) days of receiving the report. The response shall not introduce new evidence or documentation that was missing from the initial application materials except as in accordance with Article 15.12 of the CBA. Human Resources shall add the committee report and any applicant response to the application file.

7.20 The Dean

7.30 Human Resources

The applicant's receipt of the Dean's written decision serves as the official notification that copies of committee recommendation, Deans' decision, and any responses from the applicant will be placed in the faculty member's PAF within five (5 ) days. Human Resources will also file materials as indicated in section 5.10 (items 1 through 3) in the applicant's PAF.

8.00 Salary Increase & Effective Date

In accordance with the CBA, a successful range elevation award shall be accompanied by a salary increase of at least 5%. Any range elevation that is granted shall be effective at the beginning of the next academic year.

9.00 Authority

The Dean shall grant or deny range elevation after receiving the written recommendation from the Department's Range Elevation Committee.

10.00 Denial

In the event an application for range elevation is denied, appeal of the decision shall be subject to the peer review process consistent with the CBA. The appeals hearing committee shall consist of three tenured or tenure-track faculty elected annually by the Academic Assembly, no two of whom may be from the same College, and will adhere to the process described in Article 12.20. The applicant must rely on the application materials and responses submitted and shall not introduce new evidence at the time of the appeal hearing except as in accordance with Article 15.12 of the CBA.

11.00 Continuous Renewal

This policy shall be reviewed in ten years from its effective date to determine its utility and effectiveness. The policy may be revised before that time if necessary.

s/President Eduardo M. Ochoa

Effective Date: May 4, 2018

Certification of Process

Reviewed by: Academic Senate Educational Planning and Policy Committee, Human Resources, Academic Senate, and, Provost.

[1] Formal lecturer work assignment means the work specified on the Candidate Recommendation Form and/or Appointment Letter that are generated during each appointment cycle.