Academic Appointee Hiring Guide

Academic Appointee – AC (1, 2, 3) – Hiring Guide

Offer letter templates can be found here.  

• AC1, full time: must be at least 75%. 

• AC2: do not exceed 75% FTE in any term, across all IU institutions (6 credits for summer, 9 credits across fall; with irregular terms, consider the combination across the academic year). Medicine AC2s should indicate percentage effort. Non-Medicine AC2s should include the teaching contract/appointment letter. AC2s cannot be hired for non-teaching purposes.  

• AC3: for new or renewed appointments, at the beginning of each year, please use this form and attach to the Hire Employee eDoc.

IUSM: only tenure-track appointments go through approval in Office of the Provost.   

The following chart shows the review required for each hire.  Use PeopleAdmin to submit offers for searched and search-waiver  hiring. When an internal person is being given an administrative role, see this page.

Classification	Review required:	Notes
Visiting, any title	Yes (AVPFA, Provost)	1-2 years; a third year will not be approved. Use PeopleAdmin to submit offer.
Postdoc*	Yes (AVPFA, Provost)	Search recommended. Use PeopleAdmin to submit offer. Appointments over 3 years: approved by Office of the Provost (ude[dot]ui[at]rhdaca) with specific plan meeting postdoc career goals.
Professor of Practice	Yes (AVPFA, Provost)	Must be endorsed by faculty vote in the unit (see IU Policy BOT-08).
Research Scientist	Yes (AVPFA, Provost)	Search recommended; use PeopleAdmin to submit offer.
Clinical or Lecturer	Yes (AVPFA, Provost)	Search recommended; use PeopleAdmin to submit offer.
Tenure-Track	Yes (AVPFA, Provost)	Search recommended; use PeopleAdmin to submit offer.
With Tenure	Yes (AVPFA, Provost, Chancellor, Board of Trustees)	Search recommended; use PeopleAdmin to submit offer. If currently tenured at a comparable institution, requires endorsement by the unit P&T committee (endorsement not needed for IUSM candidates if already tenured elsewhere). If not currently tenured, requires 6 external letters (at least 3 at arms’ length).
Research Associate	Position description must be submitted to Provost's office prior to appointment.	Search recommended; use PeopleAdmin to submit offer.  Avoid using for longer-term needs: this classification has no advancement/promotion ability.
Academic Specialist	No new academic specialists allowed.	Consult to identify a staff role or other faculty classification.

*This refers to "RSP" AC1s, not to FLP, fellowship post-docs.  

Administrative Posts Requirements:

Position	Faculty Category Qualifications	PeopleAdmin Search?	Notes
Director	Clinical, Tenure-track, or (if an academic program) lecturer	Not required	Notify faculty of the opportunity
Chair	Tenured	Not required	Notify faculty of the opportunity
Assistant Dean	Faculty (any type): for anything having to do with academic programs or faculty affairs  Staff: needs to be in an exempt category	Not required	Notify faculty (and staff) of the opportunity
Associate Dean	Tenure-track (should be tenured)	Yes, but can be internal only	Associate Dean offers must be approved by Provost
Dean	Executive search. (Includes IU Indianapolis unit leaders for core schools)  Managed by Office of the Chancellor and Office of the Provost. Must include step for school P&T committee for tenure. After selection, school HR staff handle hiring processes.

Faculty Rights:

Appointee Rights by Type	Family Leave	1 year notice of Non-Reappointment	Ranks	Campus Grievance	Faculty Governance (voting)
Tenure-Track	x	x for pre-tenure	x	x	x
Clinical, Lecturer	x	x	x	x	x
Research Scientist	x		x	x	x
Professor of Practice	x	x		x	x
Academic Specialist	x	x
Research Associate	x
Visiting (any rank)				(x)
Post-doc

For questions about appropriate categories, eDocs, and other processes, contact Faculty Affairs at ude[dot]ui[at]rhdaca. 

Reviewed and revised 5/2026.