Rank Academic Appointments

Refers to a formal faculty-level hire at the University, such as tenure-track, tenured, contingent-term, or limited-term academic staff.

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Academic Staff Appointments are outlined in Article 1 of the Collective Agreement.

Learn more about the Rank Academic Appointments Hiring Process, including the key steps, requirements, and approvals involved in recruiting and appointing academic staff to rank positions.

Types of Academic Rank Appointments:

Continuing appointments
- Pre-Tenure Track Appointments (Applies only to appointments in the Cumming School of Medicine where there is a reasonable expectation fo a continuing appointment). Made for a five (5) year term. Can be converted to tenure-track at any time during the five (5) years by mutual agreement.
- Tenure Track Appointment (Minimum 46 months and no more than 57 months; eligible for a two-year renewal if the original tenure track appointment was at the lowest level rank within that stream)
- Appointments with Tenure (an appointment that confers tenure from the date of appointment normally shall be made at the rank of Professor, Professor (Teaching), Librarian, Archivist, Curator or Senior Counsellor.
Specific Term Appointments (Fixed-term)
- Contingent Term appointments (More than 12 months term; funded 50% or more from non-operating funds; no implication of renewal)
- Limited Term appointments (More than 12 months, maximum 5 years. May be renewable. Granted in lieu of Continuing appointments for a specified circumstance (see Article 1.6c)

Related links

Collective Agreement

Continuing appointments are academic appointments of more than twelve months authorized by the Board of Governors. The appointment may be With Tenure or may have Tenure track status: implying that the appointment may be continued for a further term, may be continued as an appointment With Tenure, or may be allowed to lapse. [CA 1.6]

Continuing appointments which are contingent on the continuation of external funding are restricted to the Cumming School of Medicine.

This category applies only to appointments in the Cumming School of Medicine where there is a reasonable expectation of a continuing appointment. Pre-Tenure Track appointments are made for five (5) years. Such appointments can be converted to tenure track appointments at any time during the five (5) years by mutual agreement of the individual and the Parties. A conversion to tenure track will occur automatically after five (5) years unless the Head recommends to the Dean that the appointment will be discontinued. Department Heads must make a recommendation to the Dean no later than the end of the fourth (4th) year of the pre-tenure track appointment. In the case where the Head makes a recommendation to discontinue, the academic staff member may appeal this to the FTPC, following the procedures regarding the renewal of a tenure-track appointment.

CA 1.7 Tenure Track Appointment:
A tenure track appointment shall end on June 30 and shall not be less than forty-six (46) months or more than fifty-seven (57) months. Other appointment lengths may be offered by agreement of the Provost and Vice-President (Academic) and Faculty Association.

Tenure track appointees are eligible for a two-year renewal of the tenure track appointment if the original tenure track appointment was at the lowest-level rank within that stream

Tenure track appointments may not be made at the rank of Professor or Teaching Professor (Teaching). Except in the Cumming School of Medicine, tenure track appointments are not normally made at the rank of Associate Professor or Senior Instructor.

The purpose of a tenure track appointment is to provide a period of mutual appraisal for the university and the academic appointee. The tenure track appointment implies that the university shall give serious consideration to an appointment with tenure.

CA 1.8 Appointments with Tenure:
An appointment that confers tenure from the date of appointment normally shall be made at the rank of Professor, Professor (Teaching), Librarian, Archivist, Curator or Senior Counsellor with the support of the selection committee. However, a candidate at any other rank who already holds tenure at another university may be considered for an appointment that confers tenure from the date of appointment.

Specific Term appointments are made for a stated term, carrying no implication of renewal or continuation beyond the specified term.

Contingent Term appointments are those appointments of a specified term of more than twelve months' duration within the maximum complement authorized by the Board of Governors and funded 50% or more from outside the base operating budget of the University, and carrying no implication of renewal or continuation beyond the specified term. [CA 1.6 (b)]

Contingent Term appointments may be made in any rank or position title.
A part‑time Contingent Term appointment shall not be for less than half‑time.
There is no limit on the number of times a Contingent Term appointment may be renewed depending upon the continued availability of specific non‑operating funds.

Limited Term appointments are those appointments of a specified term of more than twelve months' duration within the maximum complement authorized by the Governors and made in lieu of Continuing appointments in one or more of the following specified circumstances [CA 1.6 (c)]:

(i) When the appointment is to replace a Continuing staff member who is on leave or on another assignment of duties for more than twelve months.

(ii) When a person with the desired qualifications for the Continuing appointment is not available at the time.

(iii) When the duties connected with the appointment are for a limited period and are expected to be no longer required after the specified date.

(iv) When an individual states a preference, in writing, for a Limited Term appointment.

(v) When the appointment is for a pilot or developmental project.

Limited Term appointments carry no implication of renewal or continuation beyond the specified term.

Limited Term appointments may be made in any rank or position title.
Limited Term appointments may be made for up to five years. The appointments are renewable.
Limited Term appointments shall not be renewed except when the specified circumstances outlined in Section 2.3.5 continue to be present.
A part‑time Limited Term appointment shall not be for less than half‑time.

The steps below provide information, resources, and supporting documents for each step of the academic rank hiring process. Refer to the Academic Hire Process Checklist and Academic Selection Toolkit throughout the hiring process for detailed guidance and support at each stage.

Preparing for recruitment

Confirm vacancy details with leadership, People & Culture, and Finance to align the role, rank, and funding with faculty needs, and establish a GFC- and Faculty-compliant selection committee ready to support equitable and inclusive hiring.

View preparing for recruitment

Job Posting Preparation and Request

Work with People & Culture to draft an accurate, guideline-aligned posting, then submit the Job Opening Request with required budget details and approvals to launch.

View job posting preparation and request

Candidate Evaluation

The selection committee reviews applications, shortlists candidates, and completes interviews and reference checks to recommend the best candidate for the role.

View candidate evaluation

Choosing a Successful Candidate

The committee recommends the top candidate, secures final approvals from faculty and submits the Request for Offer to People & Culture Contracts Team.

View choosing successful candidate

Confirm the vacancy requirements with leadership, People & Culture and Finance Partners to align the role, rank and funding with faculty and institutional needs. Form a selection committee based on GFC Handbook and Faculty Guidelines and ensure members are prepared for equitable and inclusive hiring.

Review vacancy requirements

The hiring process begins by identifying a vacant position and determining the attributes of the role. Before proceeding, consult your HR Partner, Finance Partner and faculty leadership to ensure the role aligns with the Ahead of Tomorrow model and fits within the faculty or unit budget.

Budget information and accounting details for the position will be required to complete the Job Opening Request form.

Once the vacancy requirements have been confirmed, proceed to Selection Committee.

Selection committee

A formal academic selection committee must be formed as defined in the GFC Handbook (Part C section 3.1) and the Faculty Guidelines. Selection committees should be composed of individuals from diverse backgrounds to provide varied perspectives.

To prepare for this role, all members of academic selection committees are invited to attend an Equitable and Inclusive Hiring for Academic Selection workshop. For more information and to register, click .

As the selection committee is being finalized, the hiring manager can proceed to Job Posting Preparation and Request.

Prepare position posting

Prior to drafting/requesting a job advertisement for the position, hiring managers must review the Guidelines for Position Posting for requirements, especially in relation to immigration considerations.

Once the position posting is prepared, proceed to Submit a Job Opening Request (JOR) to initiate posting.

For assistance with preparing a job posting, contact academic.recruit@ucalgary.ca.

Submit a Job Opening Request (JOR) to initiate posting

The Job Opening Request (JOR) is used to obtain authorization to hire, create/update position information as needed, and collect the details required to post a job for academic roles.

Faculties and units are responsible for submitting the Job Opening Request to advertise the position vacancy and begin the recruitment process. For details, see the .

Advertising Details:

A position must be advertised both nationally and within the campus community for minimum 30 calendar days.
- Hiring managers must review the internal posting and notify People and Culture to proceed with external posting if no changes are needed.
People and Culture will post the role to University Affairs (UA) and the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) to fulfill advertising requirements for foreign nationals.
- Note: it takes one business day for posting to appear on these sites once submitted by People and Culture.
Ads should also be posted on relevant online job boards and professional journals widely circulated within the discipline.
Departments may place additional ads to attract diverse candidates. Refer to the for a list of common sites.

Important Action Required:

On the first day the job advertisement is posted, the hiring manager must take a screenshot or print off the advertisement on each site it is posted, including the UC Careers site.
- The date of screenshot/printing must be indicated at the bottom, and
On the final day the job advertisement is posted, the hiring manager must take a screenshot or print off the advertisement after the one month posting period is completed.

Note: it is recommended to set a calendar reminder to ensure these important steps are not missed. If these steps are missed it can impact hiring non-Canadians and may require reposting.

To make changes to an existing posting, contact hracadem@ucalgary.ca.

Once the Job Opening Request has been completed and the job postings are active, proceed to Step 3.

Candidate review and selection

The Managing Academic Applications Reference Guide is available to support hiring managers and administrators in reviewing candidates in Peoplesoft.
All applicant files should be reviewed and assessed based on the established selection criteria. A shortlist of candidates should be created accordingly.
If the shortlist includes international candidates, please contact hrimmigration@ucalgary.ca and refer to the Hiring Foreign Academic Staff page.
For candidates not shortlisted, committee members must clearly document the reasons for their exclusion, ensuring the justification aligns with the qualifications, skills, abilities, and experience outlined in the job advertisement and criteria.

Additional Resources:

– outlines best practices in recruitment and selection, equitable and inclusive hiring, legislative requirements, and University policies.
- global initiative to encourage the development and promotion of best practices in evaluation of researchers and the outputs of scholarly research.
Reporting Information - Key reports are available to support your recruitment process. These include summaries of each applicant’s immigration status (Canadian/non-Canadian) and diversity data. For detailed instructions on how to access and use these reports, please refer to the .

Once a shortlist of candidates has been identified, proceed to Interviews and campus visits. 

Interviews and campus visits

The (Lesson 13) provides information on preparation for interviews including:

Pre-screening questions
Interview preparation
Details and considerations for arranging campus visits
Additional links and resources for the interview process

After determining the shortlist of candidates, prospective candidates are invited for an interview on campus. Interviews and visits to campus should be carefully planned; candidates are also evaluating the search committee and the university at this time.

Additional Resources for Interviews and Campus Visits:

Once interviews have been completed, proceed to Choosing a Successful Candidate.

For questions please contact academic.recruit@ucalgary.ca.

Hiring decisions and negotiations

Committee recommendation to the Dean
The Chair of the Academic Selection Committee is responsible for:
- Making a recommendation to the Dean on the top-ranking candidates
- Preparing a list of candidates that met the requirements for the position
- Providing a written report on the process that led to the selection of the top-ranking candidates.
- After the search is complete, schedule a final meeting with the selection committee to debrief.

Important Action Required: Faculties must contact the Immigration Services Team as soon as possible when recommending a foreign national (non-Canadian candidates) to the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) process. Please refer to the Hiring Foreign Academic Staff website for details.

Offer Negotiation

The Dean (or delegate) will:

Utilize the Verbal Offer Checklist* to make a verbal offer to the candidate, Follow-up the verbal offer with an email outlining the terms of offer,
Utilize the Dual Career Hire Reference Guide* when proceeding with a Dual Career or Strategic Hire.
Important: any negotiated non-standard items must be approved by the Provost & Vice-President (Academic). See the Academic Hiring Standards for details.

*Located on the Academic Hiring Hub

Once the verbal offer has been accepted by the candidate, proceed to Requesting offer package.

Requesting offer package

After the verbal offer has been accepted, the faculty or unit must provide the candidate with the Academic Personal Information Form to facilitate the offer package preparation.

To request an offer package, submit the Request for Offer Letter (Academic), Academic Personal Information Form, and required documents to academic.contracts@ucalgary.ca. For assistance in completing the Request for Offer Letter, please refer to the .

People and Culture will prepare the offer package, facilitate approvals, distribute of the offer and related documents, and process the hire in the system. Faculties and units can track the progress of the hire using the Academic Appointment Tracker (linked in the Faculty Academic Processes Teams sites).

Once the candidate has been hired, proceed to Onboarding.

Onboarding

Once the candidate accepts the offer, the next step is onboarding.

Onboarding ensures new faculty members have the tools and information needed for success. It requires collaboration across the hiring and onboarding teams.

While Reports to Managers are accountable for onboarding, others, like Onboarding Coordinators, also play a key role. Contact your department’s Onboarding Coordinator to begin the process.

Resources to support Onboarding:

Onboarding Checklist
Academic Onboarding Checklist
Onboarding Academic Staff (managers checklist)
Onboarding Academic Staff (coordinators checklist)
Academic Onboarding (at a glance)

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