All hiring procedures and guidelines are administered by the Human Resources office. These guidelines have been prepared in an effort to provide comprehensive information and guidance for an effective recruitment and selection process. Human Resources will provide support and training on the use of Workday, legal and regulatory requirements, evaluation tools, hiring procedures and guidelines, and best practices. Adherence to these guidelines will ensure, as best as possible, compliance with applicable laws, policies, regulations and rules.
For more information, visit the Human Resources Hiring Procedures and Guidelines document.
Each college and department manage onboarding differently, in a manner best suited to the unit. Communicate with your department head and/or dean regarding unit-specific onboarding schedules or requirements. All new faculty are required to complete a series of training session within the first 30 days of employment, all of which can be completed online through Traintraq. Throughout your term of employment, faculty are required to repeat certain training courses on a periodic basis as determined by the Texas A&M System. Faculty will receive an email when specific training requirements are upcoming and/or past due. This email will include specific links and instructions to complete the required training. Required trainings include:
For more information, visit the Training and Development office website.
The acquisition of tenure represents a critical milestone in an academic career. Faculty who are in tenure-track positions must conduct their activities in such a way to prepare for this significant achievement. To be awarded tenure at East Texas A&M, a faculty member must display: (a) excellence in teaching and a strong commitment to the intellectual growth of students; (b) a high level of achievement in scholarly and/or creative contributions to the academic discipline as evidenced by external (outside the department) peer evaluations; (c) a record of quality service to the university, the profession, and community; and (d) an attitude of professionalism and collegiality that contributes to the professional reputation of the faculty member as well as the university.
Tenure entitles a faculty member to continue in an academic position unless dismissed for good cause or financial exigency (See Rule 12.01.99.R1, Section 2). Tenured faculty members who remain in good standing enjoy those privileges customarily associated with tenure. In turn, the award of tenure must be accompanied by an equally demanding realization of academic responsibility.
Tenure-Track Appointment
Full-time faculty may be hired in tenure-track lines holding academic rank of assistant professor, associate professor, or professor. These individuals will be in the probationary period of employment.
If the appointment is tenure-track, the appointment letter will indicate the length of the period of probationary service at East Texas A&M and state the credit, if any, agreed upon for appropriate service at other institutions. Up to three years of appropriate service may be counted, with approval of the provost and president. All appointments during the probationary period are for a fixed term of one year or less and are subject to renewal or non-renewal each year of the probationary period.
A faculty member without credit toward tenure at the time of employment who was originally employed at the rank of assistant professor, associate professor, or professor will make application for tenure at the beginning of their sixth academic year at East Texas A&M.
Tenured Appointment
A person whose initial appointment to East Texas A&M is at the rank of associate professor or professor and who is assigned administrative duties at the department head level or higher is eligible for tenure upon appointment, contingent upon approval by the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents.
Tenure-accruing appointments and appointments with tenure guarantee employment for nine months or the equivalent, unless otherwise specified in the appointment letter, or a revision of the original letter is mutually agreed upon.
All tenure-track and tenured faculty members will receive an annual notification of the terms and conditions of appointment for the next fiscal year after the East Texas A&M budget has been approved by the Board of Regents. Any changes to these terms and conditions may be appealed. Faculty members are obligated to fulfill the terms of employment for the following year, unless they resign prior to 30 days after receiving notification of these terms.
For more information, visit
East Texas A&M Procedure 12.02.99.R0.03 Implementing Faculty Tenure and Promotion
East Texas A&M Rule 12.01.99.R1 Academic Freedom and Responsibility
Non-tenure track faculty often make unique contributions to the educational mission of the university. They engage in work such as teaching/contributions to student learning; clinical work; supervision; program development; and/or research, scholarly and creative activities (RSCA). In addition, they can participate in thesis and dissertation committees if they have had appropriate scholarly experience or background. Full-time non-tenure track ranks include:
For more information visit ETAMU Procedure 12.07.99.R0.01 Full-Time Non-Tenure Track Faculty.
Ad interim (Exceptional Hire) appointments are strictly temporary in nature and are used to fill departmental needs on short notice. Ad interim appointments are made only on a clearly understood nine- or twelve-month term basis and will automatically terminate at the completion of the appointment period. Ad interim appointments will not be used to avoid appropriate faculty recruiting procedures, to undermine the probationary service process, nor to circumvent the university’s commitment to affirmative action. A search must be conducted during the academic year of an ad interim appointment in accordance with East Texas A&M University Hiring Procedures and Guidelines.
For more information, see
Adjunct faculty are an integral part of the university’s faculty and are hired following the East Texas A&M University Hiring Procedures and Guidelines.
Qualifications of adjunct faculty must be consistent with those of full-time faculty (minimum of a master’s degree and 18 graduate hours in the subject). Exceptions and unusual cases must be justified in advance of hiring. Exceptional cases include but are not limited to: content experts with outstanding professional experience and demonstrated contributions to the teaching discipline; and/or new or fledgling disciplines where no faculty are available with academic credentials in the discipline. In either case, evidence of competence or academic credentials other than the required degree for the discipline must be documented on the Faculty Credential Inventory form.
The teaching workload for adjunct faculty will be calculated at 0.0666 per semester credit hour (or 20% per 3 SCH course) for undergraduate and graduate courses, and is applicable for all terms (Fall, Spring, Mini Session, and Summer Terms). Adjunct pay rates are determined by the academic departments with pay increases for exceptional individuals who have completed a minimum of ten (10) semesters available, subject to Dean and Provost approval and available funding. Adjunct faculty must remain below 50% FTE.
Adjunct faculty are expected to maintain the same academic records as full-time faculty (gradebooks, student attendance reports, syllabi, etc.) and to submit academic records to the department head at the end of term. Adjunct faculty should make themselves available to students outside of class times through virtual or face-to-face office hours.
For additional information, visit the Adjunct Addendum section of the ETAMU Faculty Handbook.
East Texas A&M employs four types of graduate assistants:
Graduate Assistant Teaching (GAT): Assist with teaching courses in the department in which they are assigned. Under the supervision of a faculty member, a GAT may be assigned to activities such as: assisting with courses or teaching labs; grading assignments and exams or assisting professors with large lectures and/or online courses.
Graduate Assistant Teacher of Record (GAToR): Teach courses in the department in which they are assigned under the supervision of a faculty member and must be an instructor of record for the undergraduate course(s). In order to qualify to be Teacher of Record students must have earned a minimum of 18 graduate semester hours in the field in which they will be teaching.
Graduate Assistant Research (GAR): Aid in the research with the department/professor to which they are assigned. Work may also include tasks such as assisting faculty with research, preparing reports, entering data or other responsibilities as assigned.
Graduate Assistant Non-Teaching (GANT): Work in a variety of settings across campus. Responsibilities may be administrative in nature or consist of other activities that do not generally fit within the GAT or GAR job responsibilities.
For more information, visit the Graduate Assistantships page of the Graduate School Internal Resources webpage.
East Texas A&M University may authorize non-faculty employees to carry out teaching assignments at East Texas A&M to enhance the educational capabilities of the University. Any teaching assignment carried out by non-faculty full-time staff during assigned working hours must be requested by the staff member with an explanation of how compensatory time will be made up, and approved by the applicant’s supervisor at least one (1) week prior to the commencement of the teaching assignment. This completed application signed by the applicant’s supervisor must be kept on file in the departmental office for the duration of the instructional period.
Courses are to be taught at a time that does not interfere with the regularly or normally assigned working or office hours. The applicant’s supervisor may approve a maximum of one course to be taught during regular working hours, providing that compensatory time is made up. All persons who teach courses must meet the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) criteria for employment (See Principles of Accreditations Comprehensive Standard 3.7.1 and Faculty Credentials Guidelines) and be appointed and oriented by the appropriate office or department. If a salary is to be paid, it will be in accord with the approved adjunct salary scale. Petitions for exceptions to this procedure will be ruled on by the appropriate vice president(s) and forwarded through usual administrative channels prior to the instructional assignment.
Faculty members wishing to teach graduate courses, serve on thesis and dissertation committees, and/or chair thesis and dissertation committees must be appointed to the graduate faculty by approval and formal review of the Graduate Council. The Graduate Council selects faculty for three types of membership
Graduate Faculty members are eligible to teach graduate courses, serve on thesis and dissertation committees, and chair master's theses and doctoral dissertations. Graduate faculty membership is reviewed and renewed every six years.
Temporary Graduate Faculty status to teach graduate courses and/or serve on theses or dissertation committees by other faculty members who do not hold graduate faculty status can be granted by the Dean of the Graduate School. Information on such exceptions is submitted to the Graduate Council each semester and does not require Council action except in such cases as it deems necessary.
For more information, visit the Internal Resources Page of the ETAMU Graduate School
To apply for Graduate Faculty Membership, Click here.
To apply for Temporary Graduate Faculty Status, Click here.
The primary duty of faculty members is teaching. The performance of research, scholarly and creative activities (RSCA), professional activities, service, and professional development is an expected and indispensable part of the workload of all tenured/tenure-track faculty members. Non-tenure track faculty members may be expected to engage in professional development and service, with decreased or no expectation for RSCA. Adjunct faculty positions are part-time, teaching only. Alterations in the standard teaching load may be made under certain conditions with approval of the department head, dean and provost.
Faculty requesting a reduced teaching load for enhanced service, research or administration must complete the Workload Equivalency Form (link below) and the request must be approved by the department head, dean and provost.
For more information, visit:
ETAMU Rule 12.03.99.R1 Faculty Workload
Workload Equivalency Form – Reassigned Time Reporting and Request
Upon relinquishing administrative duties and returning to full-time teaching, academic department heads and administrative officers will receive a salary adjustment to a level no greater than the upper range of the academic teaching rank they hold or to which they are assigned. Upon relinquishing administrative duties and returning to full-time teaching, individuals holding acting (temporary) administrative positions will receive a salary commensurate with their academic rank and experience.
System Regulation 31.01.01 Compensation Administration
All faculty members at East Texas A&M are encouraged to resolve problems in an open manner through normal administrative channels without fear of reprisal. Faculty members and administrators are encouraged to maintain open communication, thereby minimizing the need to resort to the formal grievance procedure. Any faculty member with a grievance that cannot be resolved by reasoned discussion within the university's normal administrative channels is entitled to have this grievance reviewed by an elected committee of peers.
The process for general grievances is outlined in ETAMU Procedure 32.01.R0.01.
Grievances regarding dismissal or non-reappointment are outlined in ETAMU Rule 12.01.99.R1 and in System Policy 12.01 Academic Freedom, Responsibility and Tenure.
Faculty who believe they are victims of harassment or discrimination of any kind should consult the ETAMU Title IX Office and/or file a Civil Rights / Title IX Reporting Form.