Family/Work Policies and Practices: The UW Experience NSF ADVANCE Conference Georgia Tech University April 20, 2004 Kate Quinn, University of Washington

Background Exploring part-time faculty options at UW Policies exist, but no data on effectiveness –Part-time tenure track –Tenure clock extension, with or without leave –Medical and/or family leave Identified 60 faculty who utilized policies* Interviewed 12 faculty (all names changed) *Some UW Colleges and Schools were omitted from the study. Contact K. Quinn for details.

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RankTotalTotal by Gender% of Total% of Total by Gender MenWomenMenWomenMenWomen Full %17.4%81.3%57.1% Associate %8.7%18.8%28.6% Assistant1010.0%4.3%0.0%14.3% Total %30.4%100.0% Faculty identified as holding permanent part-time appointments, July 2003: Permanent part-time faculty interviewed: RankTotalMen% of Men IdentifiedWomen % of Women Identified Full117.7%0n/a Associate1133.3%0n/a Assistant10n/a1100.0% Total3218.8%114.3%

ReasonTotalTotal by Gender% of Total% of Total by Gender MenWomenMenWomenMenWomen Births %37.8%30.8%58.3% Caregiving3030.0%8.1%0.0%12.5% Work-related %13.5%69.2%20.8% Part-time1010.0%2.7%0.0%4.2% Personal Medical %2.7%0.0%4.2% Totals %64.9%100.0% Faculty identified as using tenure clock extension, : Tenure-extended faculty interviewed: ReasonTotalMen% of Men IdentifiedWomen% of Women Identified Births50n/a535.7% Caregiving*20n/a266.7% Work-related2111.1%120.0% Totals917.7%833.3% * One woman utilized six months of partial family leave following return from sick leave for childbirth. She is not duplicated in the permanent part-time faculty tables.

Policy Details: Part-Time Tenure Track Permanent FTE reduction pre- or post-tenure No eligibility restrictions Formally pro-rates time to tenure review Provides full benefits to faculty >0.5 FTE Adopted through the Faculty Senate in 1998 Intended to “permit greater flexibility for individuals shaping their appointment to take account of professional and personal/familial realities”

Policy Details: Tenure Clock Extension The year in which >6 months of leave is taken does not count toward tenure review, if the chair/dean notifies the Provost Faculty may request an extension even if no leave is taken, if personal health, childbirth, or other caregiving disrupts “regular dedication to teaching or scholarship” Extensions must be requested prior to the mandatory year of review

Policy Details: Medical and Family Leave Full or partial leave –Permits temporary part-time status for up to two years after the birth of a child –Faculty may use more than one period of leave, but no more than two years per event Paid (medical) or unpaid (family) –Faculty receive 90 days/year for sick leave Eligibility matches FMLA standards Available in varying forms since the early 1970s

Implementation Issues Lack of Tracking –Coding issues mask part-time appointments –Temporary reductions cannot be identified unless the tenure clock was extended Lack of Communication –Many faculty and department chairs are unaware of policy availability –Policies are not implemented consistently

Faculty Experiences: Part-Time Tenure Track Negotiating to use the policy Negotiating policy implementation –Defining part-time teaching, research, and service –Setting evaluation standards for tenure, promotion, or merit review Benefits outweigh the costs

“It is not clear to other people what are the research expectations of me. Should I be doing half as much research because I am spending half of my time at home? Or should I do more research because I actually have more time? Or should I be doing the same amount of research because there is some kind of balancing act there?... [I]t is clearly not an easy thing for anyone to look at.” -Alan, post-tenure part-time faculty

“My biggest concern is how the college P&T committee is going to evaluate me. I just don’t know how they are going to do it.... [T]here really aren’t many examples across the country.” -Susan, pre-tenure part-time faculty member

Faculty Experiences: Leaves and Extensions For faculty who take leave, a teaching release is not guaranteed –Teaching is not spread equally over all quarters –Not all departments grant a teaching release Departments may include “waived” years in tenure review Faculty treatment depends on department experience and understanding of policy

“I was lucky, because [both] my babies … were born in September so I took the fall quarter – the standard leave.… [M]y department was very accommodating -normally we teach in two quarters- and so they basically said that the fall off was a teaching quarter and they gave the winter as a research quarter so I didn’t actually have to get back into the classroom until the spring quarter.” -Lisa, utilized leave and tenure clock extension (emphasis added)

Recommendations Track policy utilization Communicate policy availability broadly Establish equitably reduced workloads and compensation for part-time faculty Specify expectations of part-time faculty and evaluate accordingly Include policy details when a part-time or tenure-extended faculty is reviewed

Recommendations (cont.) Establish routine methods to meet departmental teaching requirements for part-time or on-leave faculty Specify whether teaching release is guaranteed or negotiable for childbirth Treat policy use as routine, normal, and accepted

Next Steps Tenure extension and leave for birth are a start, but do not help with the longer-term balancing of work and family Part-time must be made viable for faculty –Improve departmental climate and culture to support caregiving –Define ‘part-time’ faculty role