Changes to Appointments

Appointment Paperwork Not Submitted to FAO

If a candidate accepts an offer but requests a later start date, you may prepare the appointment paperwork using the later start date and FAO will process it using the revised date. If a candidate accepts an offer but requests an earlier start date, contact FAO to ensure the timeline is realistic.

If only the start date is changing, it is not necessary to issue a revised offer letter. After the appointment is approved, the candidate will receive an appointment letter from FAO that confirms the revised date. However, if the candidate requests a revised offer letter, you may change the start date and upload the final, revised version of the offer letter to the business plan.

If there are other changes to the offer besides the start date, you may need to follow the counteroffer process. Contact FAO for guidance.

Appointment Paperwork Already Submitted to FAO

The process for changing a new hire's start date will depend on a number of factors, including whether the faculty member is employed by NMG (requiring a change to the start date in their NMG agreement, too). Please contact FAO to discuss your case. 

Investigators may not change their basis; appointments on the Investigator career track are always full-time. 

If the change is an increase in effort, consult FAO, as a business plan may be required. Changes to full-time status require a national search and use of the offer process. 

Otherwise, to make the change for a Clinician-Educator or Team Scientist, 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 Basis Cover Sheet (Word)
  2. Position data/appointment forms, downloaded from myHR and updated
  3. Prior correspondence with FAO regarding special circumstances, if applicable
  4. Candidate's CV

If proposing a change to a current faculty member's category of appointment, please navigate to the webpage describing the intended faculty appointment category (see list here), then follow the new appointment process/checklist listed.

Clinician-Educators should discuss domain changes with their department leadership (division chief/department chair) to ensure everyone is in agreement as to a faculty member's career focus. If a faculty member's domains change, the department administrator should notify FAO to have the faculty member's record updated in the faculty database.

Please note that after a Clinician-Educator is proposed for promotion, domains may not be changed until after the promotion cycle has concluded and a promotion outcome is recorded. Clinician-Educators should confirm their domains are correct prior to applying for promotion, as they are evaluated for promotion based on their domains.

Tenure Clock Extension With Appointment Extension

Use this process only if the appointment term must be extended to accommodate the clock extension.  For example, if an Assistant Professor's appointment term expires at the time of the tenure decision date, and the tenure clock is extended one year, then the appointment term needs to be extended one year as well, meaning that position data and appointment forms are required. As a result, 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. Request to Extend Tenure Probationary Period (form)
  2. Position Data/Appointment Forms, downloaded from myHR and updated
  3. Prior correspondence with FAO regarding special circumstances, if applicable
  4. Candidate's CV

Tenure Clock Extension Without Appointment Extension

Use this process when a tenure clock extension does not necessitate an appointment term extension. 

• Submit the request by email to fao@northwestern.edu and attached these documents combined into a single PDF file:
  1. Request to Extend Tenure Probationary Period (form)
  2. Prior correspondence with FAO regarding special circumstances, if applicable
  3. Candidate's CV

Transitioning from the non-tenure-eligible Clinician-Educator or Team Scientist tracks to the tenure track is rare and may require hiring the faculty member through a new national search and/or submitting a business plan. Please contact FAO to discuss your case.

After business plan approval (or if a business plan is not needed), complete 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. Cover Sheet: Change from NTE to Tenure Track 
2. Position data/appointment forms, printed from myHR and updated
3. Prior correspondence with FAO regarding special circumstances, if applicable
4. Candidate's CV

1. Cover Sheet: Change Tenure Track to Non-Tenure-Eligible
2. Position data/appointment forms, printed from myHR and updated
3. Prior Correspondence with FAO regarding special circumstances, if applicable
4. Candidate's CV

Changes between the non-tenure-eligible Clinician-Educator and Team Scientist tracks are rare but warranted in some circumstances. The Team Scientist track is non-clinical, so a Clinician-Educator who gives up clinical effort or a Team Scientist who assumes new clinical effort are possible scenarios warranting a track change. To request a change, email the following to fao@northwestern.edu:

1. Candidate’s CV
2. Justification from the department chair (in the text of the email is fine) describing the reason for the change and indicating the domain(s) of the new track (one domain for Team Scientist; two domains for Clinician-Educator)

Combine the following documents into a single PDF file and email to fao@northwestern.edu. When combining documents, use this order:

1. Cover Sheet: Declare Non-Tenure-Eligible Career Track for Undifferentiated Faculty (Word)
2. Prior Correspondence with FAO regarding special circumstances, if applicable
3. Candidate's CV

Instructors who wish to be placed on the tenure track must be proposed for promotion to assistant professor using the annual promotion process, so the change to the tenure track should be requested in conjunction with the promotion.

Complete 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. Cover Sheet: Declare Tenure Track for Undifferentiated Assistant Professor (Word)
2. Position data/appointment forms, printed from myHR and updated
3. Prior Correspondence with FAO regarding special circumstances, if applicable
4. Candidate's CV