Every Winter intersession, an updated Associate Faculty list is generated by Academic Affairs. The new list is valid for the following academic year. It is created at this time because department chairs begin building their recommended Fall schedules in early Spring. Academic Affairs looks for part-time faculty members who have lost or become newly eligible for AF status, and adjusts the discipline lists accordingly.
The contract states that no more than 60% of part-time faculty in a discipline can have AF status at any one time. (This is the largest percentage that the college administration will currently agree to.) If awarding someone new AF status at this time would lead to more than 60% of PT faculty in the discipline having AF status, the newly eligible faculty member is not awarded AF status, but instead is placed on the "Closed AF Discipline List" and their status will be reviewed the following Winter.
This list is often referred to as the “Eligible But Not Awarded” list because the faculty member is eligible (having completed five consecutive semesters of assignments of at least 5 LHE each) but has not been awarded AF status.
Once you are on this list, although you do not have AF status and are not guaranteed an offer of an assignment, you will remain on that list unless you’ve received no assignment for two consecutive Fall/Spring cycles. Any assignment you receive in that discipline in Fall or Spring keeps your eligibility for AF status alive.
Also, one overall “Needs Improvement” evaluation will not bump you from the list. You may recall that receiving one “Needs Improvement” evaluation while trying to become eligible for AF status “restarts” the clock on the five consecutive semesters required to earn AF status. Your previous excellent service to the college has earned you the right to a second evaluation. If it is satisfactory, then you will remain on the “Eligible But Not Awarded” list.
The percentage of faculty with AF status in a given discipline can change considerably from year to year, so being placed onto the “Eligible But Not Awarded” is a valuable step toward being awarded AF status. Additionally, it memorializes your AF eligibility date which is important for seniority considerations once you do gain the status.
