PRELIMINARY OFFER LETTERS

Although the official Notice of Appointment and Contract is issued by the Office of Academic Affairs, it is recommended that departments send informal offer letters to prospective faculty members to summarize negotiated arrangements.

Letters to non-tenure related instructors should include:

  • Appointment dates
  • Assigned courses
  • General and specific expectations
  • Minimum enrollment requirements

Letters to tenure-related faculty might also include:

  • Tenure review dates
  • Teaching loads
  • Special salary arrangements
  • Research support details
  • Space arrangements
  • Moving expense allowances (separate VP approval required)

Because of frequent changes, no specific mention of benefits should be made. As an alternative, reference to the Human Resources benefits website could be included. The HR site for new hires is http://hr.uoregon.edu/benefits/insurance.html.

If a preliminary offer letter is used, please include a copy of it with the Request to Offer Academic Staff Appointment. On the RTO, a Contract Comment is recommended, such as: “Contract is dependent on conditions in departmental letter dated xxx, including sufficient course enrollment.”

SAMPLE
FOR NON-TENURE RELATED INSTRUCTOR
Departments are encouraged to modify this letter
to meet their particular needs.

<date>

<name>
<address>

Dear <name>:

After consultation with my faculty colleagues, I am pleased to informally offer you the position of <Adjunct Instructor> in the <Department of Zoology> at the University of Oregon for <term(s) or dates>. I am recommending this appointment to the Provost. A formal offer will come from the Office of Academic Affairs within the next few weeks following final administrative approval of the recommended appointment.

Your teaching assignment will be: <ZOO 101, Introduction to Zoology>, which meets <MWF, 9:00 to 9:50 AM>.

Additional responsibilities include: <student advising and office hours>.

Your appointment to teach this class is dependent upon sufficient enrollment [or enrollment of at least <#> students] by <date>.

Your compensation will be calculated at <actual %> appointment percentage, where 100% is full-time. At an annual rate of <annual rate>, total payment will be <appointment salary>.

We look forward to your joining our faculty and staff.

Sincerely,

<department head>




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