When do actions become official?

Answers to some frequently asked questions:

Overall please note:

The Trustee Agenda is submitted according to their meeting schedule (trustee agenda site). The monthly Trustees Administrative Academic Report is no longer used.

How and when is a faculty member notified of reappointment?

No one is automatically notified of reappointment.

Assuming they are past their 2^nd year:

- Schools make their decision by no later than mid-April. Schools can, and should, notify faculty of reappointment.
- Reappointment is a SCHOOL decision.
- If someone has not been notified of non-reappointment, they are in effect reappointed.
- Campus can generate congratulation letter from campus, for individual cases, after mid-May.

“I want proof I’ve been reappointed” <-- a letter from the school saying this, is official.

How and when is a faculty member notified of non-reappointment?
- An official letter from the dean to the faculty member should be sent by no later than mid-April.
  - Schools must send supporting materials to acadhr@iu.edu before this, and a copy of the letter after this.
- An official letter from the chancellor to the faculty member will be sent no later than May 31^st.

Official notification of non-reappointment happens with the chancellor’s letter.

Schools may change their minds and reappoint the faculty members at any time.

When does a faculty member know Emeritus status has been approved/is official?
- 1-2 months after the TERMINATION e-doc has been entered.
  - School chair/committee/ dean approves emeritus request
  - Emeritus request sent to acadhr; approved and returned
  - HRBP does termination e-doc
  - Name put on the Trustee Agenda for final approval
  - Faculty member is sent an official letter from President Whitten's office.

=now official.

I’ve been hired "contingent on Trustee approval." When is a faculty hire really official?
- 1-2 months after the HIRE e-doc has been entered.
  - Offer is drafted: sent to OAA via PeopleAdmin, is approved
  - Offer is made to candidate, accepted.
  - At some point, candidate provides I-9 and background check information
  - HRBP does HIRE e-doc
  - The Trustees Agenda only includes faculty who are appointed with tenure.

=now official.

I’ve been hired with tenure. When is this official?
- 2-4 months after the HIRE e-doc has been entered
  - Offer is drafted; includes 6 external letters and (sometimes) a committee vote: sent to OAA via PeopleAdmin, is approved by EVC and interim Chancellor.
  - Offer is made to candidate, accepted
  - At some point, candidate provides I-9 and background check information
  - HRBP does HIRE e-doc
  - Name put on the Trustee Agenda
  - Faculty member is sent an official letter from President Whitten's office.

=now official.

I have a contract. No, you don’t.
- IU faculty appointments are not contracts. IU does not have ANY contracts with employees except the President and the sports coaches.
- The presence or absence of a dean’s signature on an offer letter does not make it a contract; the signature of the candidate accepting the offer does not make it a contract.
- The offer letters are worded so that they are NOT contracts (this is why HRBPs need to start with the OAA templates, which have been reviewed by IU Counsel).
- All that said, IU has a history of supporting commitments made by deans, chancellors, and the President.

When can I retire?
- Faculty can resign at any time*. Any faculty member who leaves without being formally in IU Retiree status, is labelled as “resignation.”
  - *People cannot resign right after taking sabbaticals. All faculty who take a sabbatical must return for at least 1 academic year.
- Phased retirement is an option for full time faculty who are at least 62 and qualify for IU Retiree status (roughly, a minimum of 16 years of service); it lasts a maximum of 3 years and requires the person to work at least 50%.
- IU Retiree status includes these important benefits (among others): access to a health insurance plan both pre-medicare and with-medicare, and continued access to several IU IT systems including email.
- IU Retiree eligibility is a combination of years of service and age.
- There is no such thing as “medical” or “disability” retirement (that is, separate from or earlier than IU Retiree status.). Faculty members who have opted into long term disability (LTD) insurance may begin a claim if they can no longer work at least 80%.
- Contact ude[dot]ui[at]rhksa for exact calculations of age+service, eligibility for IU Retiree status, information about long term disability, and the disability benefit included in IU life insurance.

Can I un-retire, or un-resign?
- No.
- If the dean has a very specific and compelling reason, and the faculty member has not started phased retirement, the dean may appeal to OAA.
- IU HR staff (askHR) can assist with COBRA and other transition issues. If someone is going to another university where benefits do not start until August 1^st, they are advised to maintain insurance with COBRA in the intervening period. They can negotiate to have the COBRA expense in their (new institution) moving costs. It is not an IU responsibility.

Reviewed and revised 6/2025. Questions, ude[dot]ui[at]rhdaca