Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Faculty Affairs Office
Skip to main content

Adjunct Faculty

Faculty who hold a primary appointment at another institution or organization and remain based at that institution or organization but who contribute to the academic mission of the medical school will be appointed as adjunct faculty. If their appointments are paid, they can have a maximum effort of 49%. This is a non-tenure track.

Adjunct appointment typically involves a greater level of involvement at the university beyond scientific collaboration, including activities such as:

  1. Holding an active grant that is administered through Northwestern (this does not include holding a subcontract that is part of a grant awarded to Northwestern)
  2. Continuing to mentor a graduate student who was in the faculty member’s laboratory and is completing their training at Northwestern as opposed to moving to the faculty member’s new institution
  3. Actively contributing to the educational mission of Northwestern by filling a teaching need identified by Northwestern and approved by the Department Chair or her/his designee

For faculty members who are granted an adjunct appointment for the first two reasons, the adjunct appointment would typically end once the grant has finished or the graduate student has completed their training.  For #3, the appointment would typically end once the need for teaching has ended.

 

Adjunct Faculty Ranks

  • Adjunct Lecturer (visit the Lecturers page to process an appointment at this rank)
  • Adjunct Instructor
  • Adjunct Assistant Professor
  • Adjunct Associate Professor
  • Adjunct Professor

Appointment Transactions (submitted via OnBase)

  • Submit requests at least 3 weeks before the effective date. You may be asked to resubmit with a revised effective date if there is not sufficient time for appointment processing.
  • If the candidate has a visa, write "VISA" in two places: (1) at the top of the first page of appointment packet, and (2) in the Comments and Notes section of the OnBase submission form. 
  • Do not contact FAO for status updates or appointment letters unless more than 3 weeks have passed since you submitted a correct and complete request (i.e., if an OnBase transaction is rejected and you need to resubmit, the 3-week timeline begins at the time FAO receives your resubmission). 
  • Recognize that transactions route through multiple offices, and approval by FAO does not mean that a request is fully processed. View OnBase Routing Workflows for more information.

 New Appointment
Use for new hires and rehires

Complete the OnBase submission form (for help, view this OnBase page) and attach these documents:
  • Upload the Personal Data Form separately to its respective button
    • If an existing faculty member is changing to adjunct status, the personal data form isn't necessary unless the faculty member needs to update information on it
  • Combine the following documents into a single PDF file and upload to the Position / Appointment Form button. When combining documents, use this order:
    1. Adjunct Faculty Cover Sheet: New Appointment
    2. Position Data/Appointment Forms
    3. Prior correspondence with FAO regarding special circumstances, if applicable
    4. Candidate's CV, including position at primary institution

 Change to Adjunct
Use for changing a current faculty member's appointment to adjunct

Complete the OnBase submission form (for help, view this OnBase page) and attach these documents:
  • Combine the following documents into a single PDF file and upload to the Position / Appointment Form button. When combining documents, use this order:
    1. Cover Sheet: Change to Adjunct  
    2. Position Data/Appointment Forms, printed from myHR and updated
      • Position form action/reason codes: POS CLS (to re-classify the position; also update other position fields as needed to convert the position to adjunct). If paid, specify hours per week (must be less than 20); do NOT indicate % effort 
      • Appointment form action/reason codes: DTA REA (to reappoint in the re-classified position). If salary is changing at the time adjunct status takes effect, also use PAY SAJ (and update salary fields).
    3. Prior correspondence with FAO regarding special circumstances, if applicable
    4. Candidate's CV
  • Upload the Personal Data Form separately to its respective button, only if updates need to be made to information on the form.

 Reappointment (for appointments ending August 31)

Faculty whose appointment terms end on August 31 are reappointed together as part of an annual batch process. View the Annual Reappointment Process page for details.

 Reappointment (for appointments ending on a date that is not August 31)

Whenever possible, departments are encouraged to appoint adjunct faculty for terms that end on August 31 so that they may be reappointed as part of the annual batch process.  
  
For adjunct appointments expiring on a date other than August 31, submit a reappointment by completing the OnBase submission form (for help, view this OnBase page) and attaching these documents:
  • Combine the following documents into a single PDF file and upload to the Position / Appointment Form button. When combining documents, use this order:
    1. Position Data/Appointment Forms, downloaded from myHR and updated
      Appointment Form Action/Reason codes: DTA/REA
    2. Prior correspondence with FAO regarding special circumstances, if applicable

 Promotion

Adjunct faculty promotions may be proposed any time of the year. Typically the FSM adjunct rank is aligned with the faculty member's rank at her/his primary institution, so adjunct faculty may be proposed for promotion at FSM after being promoted at their home institutions. In cases where the adjunct faculty member does not hold an academic rank at her/his primary institution, departments may propose candidates for promotion with justification.

To propose an adjunct faculty member for promotion, complete the OnBase submission form (for help, view this OnBase page) and attach these documents:

  • Combine the following documents into a single PDF file and upload to the Position / Appointment Form button. When combining documents, use this order:
    1. Adjunct Faculty Cover Sheet: New Appointment
      Note: In section 3 of the form, explain why the department chair recommends promotion
    2. Position Data/Appointment Forms, downloaded from myHR and updated
    3. Prior correspondence with FAO regarding special circumstances, if applicable
    4. Candidate's current CV

 Change Appointment Basis

Note: Adjunct faculty can have a maximum effort of 49%.

Complete the OnBase submission form (for help, view this OnBase page) and attach these documents:

  • Combine the following documents into a single PDF file and upload to the Position / Appointment Form button. When combining documents, use this order:
    1. Change Appointment Basis Cover Sheet  
    2. Position Data and Appointment Forms, downloaded from myHR and updated
    3. Prior correspondence with FAO regarding special circumstances, if applicable
    4. Candidate's CV
    5. Copy of NMG Agreement, if paid by NMG

 Change Appointment Category

If proposing a change to a current faculty member's category of appointment, please do the following:

  • Navigate to the webpage describing the intended faculty appointment category
  • Follow the New Appointment process/checklist

 Request Approval for an Outside Appointment

Faculty must obtain approval from their Department Chair and the Dean’s Office before accepting an appointment at an another institution.

Request approval to obtain an outside appointment.

 Termination or Appointment Non-renewal
Involuntary departure initiated by the department

Phase 1: Provide Written Notice of Appointment Non-Renewal

Faculty must receive advance written notice from the Department Chair that the appointment will not be renewed; the amount of notice is dependent on the length of the faculty member's current appointment term. If you wish to discuss the case before providing the notification, contact fao@northwestern.edu 

  1. Prepare the letter (template available below) and send to the faculty member:
  2. Submit a copy of the letter to FAO via the online Faculty Appointment Non-renewal form
     

Phase 2: Submit Termination Transaction Via OnBase

To process a termination after providing advance notice to the faculty member, submit via the OnBase submission form (for help, view this OnBase page). Combine the following documents into a single PDF file and upload to the Position / Appointment Form button. When combining documents, use this order:

  1. Position Data/Appointment Forms
    • Download ALL active records (e.g., secondary appointments) and update as needed. If the faculty member has appointments in other departments, notify the other departments of the termination. The position/appointment forms to end all appointments should be submitted by the primary department through its OnBase submission. (If a secondary department wishes to retain an appointment for the faculty member, it would submit an additional OnBase transaction separately to propose an appointment change.)
    • Appointment form action/reason codes: depends on termination reason, so consult action/reason code matrix 
    • Position form action/reason code: POS/INA
  2. Copy of written notification provided to faculty member

 Resignation
Voluntary departure initiated by the faculty member

Complete the OnBase submission form (for help, view this OnBase page) and attach these documents:

  • Upload the faculty member's resignation letter (if available) separately to its respective button
  • Combine the following documents into a single PDF file and upload to the Position / Appointment Form button. When combining documents, use this order:
    1. Position Data/Appointment Forms
      • Download ALL active records (e.g., secondary appointments) and update as needed. If the faculty member has appointments in other departments, notify the other departments of the resignation. The position/appointment forms to end all appointments should be submitted by the primary department through its OnBase submission. (If a secondary department wishes to retain an appointment for the faculty member, it would submit an additional OnBase transaction separately to propose an appointment change.)
      • Common appointment form action/reason codes:
        TER/OTP (resignation for another position)
        TER/PER         (resignation for personal reasons)
      • Position form action/reason code: POS/INA

 Retirement

Adjunct faculty are not eligible for retirement at FSM. When an adjunct faculty member retires from his or her home institution, the adjunct appointment at FSM should be terminated because s/he is no longer eligible to hold it.

 Death

Complete the OnBase submission form (for help, view this OnBase page) and attach these documents:

  • Combine the following documents into a single PDF file and upload to the Position / Appointment Form button. When combining documents, use this order:
    1. Position Data/Appointment Forms
      • Download ALL active records (e.g., secondary appointments) and update as needed. If the faculty member has appointments in other departments, notify the other departments of the death. The position/appointment forms to end all appointments should be submitted by the primary department through its OnBase submission. 
      • Appointment form action/reason code: TER/DEA
      • Position form action/reason code: POS/INA
    2. Obituary (if available)