Ranked CAS

Employment Equity

McGill University is committed to fulfilling its mission within an institutional environment that embraces equity and diversity. The University seeks to be proactive in attracting suitably qualified representatives of designated groups, as identified by federal and provincial legislation, as well as McGill’s Employment Equity Policy. These groups include women, Indigenous persons, persons with disabilities, ethnic minorities, racialized persons/visible minorities, and persons of minority sexual orientation or gender identity (LGBTT2SQ* persons).

Employment equity recruitment guidelines are to be followed by all units in the course of hiring ranked academic staff (tenure track and contract academic staff). Each academic unit that is recruiting ranked academic staff must take steps to attract applications from suitably qualified members of the designated groups.

For more information or support in employment equity in recruitment, please contact Tynan Jarrett, the tynan.jarrett [at] mcgill.ca (Director, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.)

 

Advertising

All ranked contract academic staff positions must be advertised and specify the following information:

The advertisement must also include the following Equity Statement and immigration statement:

Advertisements must be publicly posted to the McGill Careers site on Workday, and to the following domains:

1. One advertisement in University Affairs or the Canadian Association of University Teachers Bulletin;
2. A letter sent to the department heads of at least ten similar departments in Canada, where possible;
3. An advertisement in a Canadian professional journal or association website, where possible.

*Note: You must ensure that the posting period on the McGill Careers website is of longer duration than it is for external websites to allow for administration time.

Advertisements that are posted to University Affairs and/or the Canadian Association of University Teachers Bulletin, and that are included in letters to department heads at other universities should be in both official languages. Assistance is available from McGill Translations Services for a fee. The department is required to submit advertisements to the Academic Personnel Office (APO). It is important to retain and submit proof of payments for advertisements and to ensure that the duration of the posting is clearly indicated. Online advertisements that are submitted as PDFs must include the publication date and the URL. The McGill Equity and Immigration Statements are automatically included in the postings on the McGill Career website in Workday, but must still be added to external postings. For support in broadening advertisement venues and ensuring a diverse applicant pool, please contact the tynan.jarrett [at] mcgill.ca (Senior Employment Equity Advisor).

Selection & appointment

Each academic unit that is recruiting ranked academic staff must ensure that all members of the Selection Committee have attended training on equitable recruitment practices.

The Selection Committee has access to the candidates' equity data in Workday.

Information from the Applicant equity survey is confidential and may only be used by Selection Committees to ensure adherence to McGill's Employment Equity Policy. Specifically, a Selection Committee Chair may use the information to:

• Evaluate the diversity of the applicant pool: where the pool is insufficiently diverse, a department may decide to extend the application period or reset the search; If the hiring unit is not satisfied with the response rate of the survey, they may send applicants a reminder to complete it;
• Select the candidate – where candidates do not differ in merit, search committees are instructed to select the candidate from the group that is most underrepresented in their area. At the selection stage, the Chair may share equity data about short listed candidates with the rest of the search committee, in order to facilitate compliance with equity guidelines.

Procedure

Once a candidate has been selected, the hiring department must assemble the Recruitment Dossier. Dossiers are submitted via Workday to the Academic Personnel Office. 

1. The department or Faculty submits a complete dossier with the required documents:

   Document name	Template and/or Description
   ADS - Advertisements	Advertising rules for CAS are similar but not identical to tenure-track advertising rules. Contact us if in doubt. No advertisement is needed for an appointment with the Clinical descriptor, or for an appointment with the Professional descriptor, if the nature of the appointment is similar to a Clinical appointment.
   CV - Curriculum Vitae	Candidate’s current CV
   LOO - Letter of Offer and Acceptance	Must include the Letter of Offer generated in Workday, approved by the Chair and/or Dean
   ACC – Acceptance Letter	APO will receive a copy of the signed Acceptance Letter, which is a signed Letter of Offer
   IMM-WP or IMM-PR – Immigration papers	Immigration documentation, if applicable

2. APO reviews the documentation in Workday and will prepare the Official Letter of Appointment (OLA), otherwise known as the Board of Governors (BOG) Letter, for approval by the Associate Provost (Equity and Academic Policies). 
3. Once signed by the Provost and Executive Vice-President (Academic), the BOG Letter is automatically sent to the candidate in Workday. The Department Chair, Dean and Academic Affairs partners can view the BOG Letter in Workday.
4. The department initiates the hire and on-boarding processes in Workday.  

Hiring a CAS Full Professor

The University Tenure Committee on Recruitment (UTCR) reviews CAS Full Professor recruitment dossiers. 

The recruitment of CAS Full Professor candidates must follow the regulations on UTCR and UTCR bypass found in the Regulations Relating to the Employment of Tenure Track and Tenured Academic Staff. In exceptional cases where a CAS Full Professor position is approved for a bypass, sections 7.32.5 and 7.32.6 of the regulations apply.

The procedure for hiring with tenure is the same as that of a standard recruitment, however the dossier requires two additional documents for consideration by the UTCR. These documents should be added in Workday during the normal hire process.

Complete dossiers are submitted via Workday to the Academic Personnel Office (APO).

Procedure

The candidate will accept and return the signed Acceptance letter in Workday. 

Once the Offer Letter is accepted by the candidate in Workday, the dossier can be put forward for review and voted on by the UTCR. E-votes last for one full week (seven days), and will occur approximately two weeks prior to the next occurring Board of Governor’s meeting.

The Provost and Executive Vice-President (Academic) chairs the UTCR, and recommends the appointment of the candidate (with tenure) to the President. The President then in turn recommends the appointment to the Board of Governors.

1. The department or Faculty submits a complete dossier as outlined in the procedure for a standard recruitment above, with the addition of the following required documents:

   Additional Documentation for Recruitment with Tenure 

   Document name	Template and/or Description
   DRL (Dean’s Recruitment Letter)	This can be exactly the same as the standard Dean’s Letter, without any financial information included.
   RS (Summary Report on Referees)	A brief (one or two sentences) bio of each referee, explaining their credentials, and relationship to the candidate.

2. Once approved by the Associate Provost (Equity and Academic Policies), the Letter of Offer will be sent directly to the candidate via Workday. For hires who are neither Canadian citizens nor permanent residents, the offer must be made conditional upon obtaining the requisite work permit and immigration clearance. The start date for all new hires is August 1 or January 1, unless an exception is approved by the Associate Provost (Equity and Academic Policies).

3. APO will prepare the Official Letter of Appointment (OLA), otherwise known as the Board of Governors (BOG) Letter in Workday. Once signed by the Provost and Executive Vice-President (Academic), the BOG Letter is automatically sent to the candidate in Workday. The Department Chair, Dean and Academic Affairs partners can view the BOG Letter in Workday.

4. UTCR e-vote and recommendation to President

   Once the Offer Letter is accepted by the candidate in Workday, the dossier can be put forward for review and voted on by the UTCR. E-votes last for one full week (seven days), and will occur approximately two weeks prior to the next occurring Board of Governor’s meeting.

   The Provost and Executive Vice-President (Academic) chairs the UTCR, and recommends the appointment of the candidate (with tenure) to the President. The President then in turn recommends the appointment to the Board of Governors.

   E-vote timing is dependent on the date the Offer Letter is accepted by the candidate in Workday. Deadlines for the current academic year can be found below.

5. APO will prepare the Official Letter of Appointment (OLA), otherwise known as the Board of Governors (BOG) Letter in Workday. Once signed by the Provost and Executive Vice-President (Academic), the BOG Letter is automatically sent to the candidate in Workday. The Department Chair, Dean and Academic Affairs partners can view the BOG Letter in Workday.

6. The department initiates the hire and on-boarding processes in Workday.

Deadlines for Submitting UTCR Dossiers in Workday

The following table will be updated each academic year, as the Board of Governors’ meeting dates are released. Note that the UTCR will review and recommend the candidate’s dossier once the Offer Letter has been accepted by the candidate in Workday.

UTCR Docs in WD	UTCR E-vote	UTCR Meetings*	BOG/Executive Committee Meetings
31 Aug 2023	14 - 22 Sept 2023	19 Sept 2023	5 Oct 2023
3 Oct  2023	17 - 27 Oct 2023	24 Oct 2023	8 Nov 2023
9 Nov 2023	23 Nov - 1 Dec 2023	28 Nov 2023	14 Dec 2023
20 Dec 2023	11 - 19 Jan 2024	16 Jan 2024	26 Jan 2024
8 Jan 2024	22 Jan -  2 Feb	24 Jan 2024	8 Feb 2024
22 Feb 2024	7 - 15 Mar 2024	12 Mar 2024	21 Mar 2024
21 Mar 2024	4 - 12 Apr 2024	9 Apr 2024	23 Apr 2024
11 Apr 2024	25 Apr - 3 May 2024	30 Apr 2024	16 May 2024
9 May 2024	23-31 May 2024	28 May 2024	12 Jun 2024
13 Jun 2024	27 Jun - 5 Jul 2024	3 Jul 2024	16 Jul 2024
25 Jul 2024	8 - 16 Aug 2024	13 Aug 2024	17 Aug 2024

*The UTCR meets only when necessary.

Please visit the University Tenure Committee for Recruitment page on the Senate's website for a list of current UTCR Committee Members.

 

Change of status

Any change of status for ranked CAS appointments are done via the Change Job business process in Workday. The changes listed below require approval from the Academic Personnel Office.

Salary and Stipend Changes

• If base salary or stipend amount(s) fluctuate by 5% or more

• If appointment changes from nil-salary to salaried, or vice-versa
• If appointment changes from Hospital/affiliated institution-based to campus-based, or vice-versa

Procedure

Document name	Template and/or Description
Justification memo	Memo from Department Chair, outlining the reasons for the change of status. Must be approved by Dean.

 

1. The Faculty submits the required documentation via Workday for approval;

2. The Associate Provost (Equity and Academic Policies) approves the request.

Change to FTE

Procedure

1. The Faculty submits the required documentation via Workday for approval:

   Document name	Template and/or Description
   Signed Letter of Offer (LOO), noting the change in hours per pay	The LOO must come from the Department Chair and outline the change of status. Must be approved by Dean.

2. The Associate Provost (Equity and Academic Policies) approves the request;

3. A new BOG letter is issued if an appointment changes from full-time to part-time, or vice-versa.

Reappointment and promotion

Ranked CAS member reappointment and promotion is considered at three levels:

• an appropriate departmental committee chaired by the Department Chair or delegate (units are free to determine the membership of these committees so long as all members of the search committee have attended training on equitable recruitment practices);
• the Dean, who may consult a faculty-level committee, and
• the Provost and Executive Vice-President (Academic)

In the case of CAS members who hold joint appointments, the departmental committees shall have equal representation from all relevant departments; all Deans shall be involved in the decision in the case of cross-Faculty reappointments.

If the departmental committee, the Dean, or the Provost is tending towards a negative recommendation, the CAS member shall be so advised, with reasons, and provided with an opportunity to address the concerns, accompanied by an advisor.

 

Reappointments

Ranked CAS members who have an initial appointment of three years are considered for reappointment in their third year. Appointments of less than three years shall be considered in the final year of appointment.

Criteria

Each Faculty must establish written criteria for reappointment and promotion that are to be submitted by the Dean and approved by the Provost and Executive Vice-President (Academic) or delegate, specifically include:

• Academic duties expected for Faculty Lecturers, Assistant Professors and Associate Professors;
• Performance expectations for each academic duty by rank, using standardized terminology within each unit (e.g., ‘superior’, ‘reasonable’, ‘less than reasonable’); and
• Indicators of performance.

Units may use the established criteria for tenure-track staff, with appropriate modifications.

Academic duties

It is recommended that CAS members be provided the criteria within two months of their initial appointment to mirror the timeline for tenure-track academic staff.

Recommendations for reappointment are based on the CAS member’s performance of academic duties. Academic duties for CAS members fall into the same three categories as those for tenure-stream academic staff:

• Teaching, assessment and supervision of graduate and undergraduate students, the evaluation and marking of student work, and supervision of individual graduate and undergraduate programs;
• Research and other original scholarly activities, and professional activities; and
• Other contributions to the University and external scholarly communities.

CAS are expected to demonstrate superior performance in at most two of the three academic duties used to assess suitability for reappointment. For example, Faculty Lecturers and Senior Faculty Lecturers will most often be assigned teaching as their primary academic duty. Other CAS ranks have descriptors to indicate the primary academic duty of that position.

Timing of Reappointment Consideration

CAS shall be considered for reappointment in the final year of their initial appointment and again in the 6th year. CAS who have been continuously employed in the same Faculty for six years shall be appointed for an indefinite term, after which reappointment consideration does not apply. The reappointment process, including the communication of the Provost’s decision to the CAS member must be completed at least 37 weeks prior to the end date of the appointment. Consequently, Department Chairs should initiate the reappointment process approximately one year in advance of the appointment end date.

Dossier

CAS must provide their Department Chair with the necessary documentation to support a case for reappointment sufficiently in advance of the end date of their appointment. The reappointment dossier shall include, at minimum, a recent CV and a record of achievements related to relevant academic duties. Departments and Faculties can specify other requirements for the dossier.

Indefinite Appointments

After six years of continuous service within the same Faculty, a CAS shall be appointed indefinitely. Such appointments must be processed via the Change Job business process in Workday with no end-date on the position. Refer to the job aid Reappointment for Academic Employees. The only instance where an end-date is allowed on indefinite appointments is for non-Canadians who are obligated to hold a work permit, and where Canadian law obliges us to have an end-date on the appointment matching the date on the work permit.

Soft Funding for Indefinite Appointments 

An appointment that is funded, in part or in entirety, through soft funds must follow these additional procedures:

• Ensure that the end-date on the soft-fund in the Costing Allocation in Workday is one day prior to the end-date on the grant/soft-fund;
• Assign a new, valid Departmental fund to begin the day after the initial grant/soft-fund expires; and
• Select one of the following:
  • Continue to fund the indefinite term appointment using the Department fund
  • If new soft funding is available, proceed with a Costing Allocation change and repeat the steps above; or
  • Terminate the appointment with the required notice (per the CAS Regulations), and fund the indefinite term appointment using the Department fund until the termination date.

Procedure

1. The Faculty submits the following required documentation via Workday using the Change Job (Re-hire) business process for APO approval:

   Document name	Template and/or Description
   Recommendation memo	Memo from Department Chair, outlining length of term, salary, source of salary, and established criteria for promotion. The memo must be approved by the Dean.
   Reappointment Committee's Report	Based on unit’s established criteria
   AL – Acceptance Letter	Signed Letter of Offer
   Curriculum Vitae	Must be current

    

2. The APO reviews the documentation, and prepares a draft BOG letter for approval by the Associate Provost (Equity and Academic Policies).

3. Once the dossier is approved and the BOG letter is signed, APO sends the signed BOG Letter to the staff member via Workday.

Promotions

These guidelines cover promotion at the following ranks:

• Faculty Lecturer to Senior Faculty Lecturer;
• Assistant Professor to Associate Professor; and
• Associate Professor to Professor.

Timing of Promotion Consideration

Rank	Promotion to	Timeline
Faculty Lecturer*	Senior Faculty Lecturer*	Minimum of six continuous years in the same Faculty as Faculty lecturer, or sooner, on the recommendation of the Department Chair
CAS Assistant Professor	CAS Associate Professor	Minimum of 6 continuous years in the same Faculty as Assistant Professor, or sooner, on the recommendation of the Department Chair
CAS Associate Professor	CAS Full Professor	Minimum of 10 continuous years in the same Faculty as Associate Professor, or sooner, on the recommendation of the Department Chair

*Faculty and Senior Faculty Lecturers may exceptionally be promoted to Assistant Professor according to guidelines set at Faculty-level

If a CAS member’s performance is outstanding, the Department Chair may, with the consent of the CAS member, recommend a promotion at any point.

Criteria

Departments must prepare written criteria that provide guidance on the requirements and expectations for promotion.

For promotion to Senior Faculty Lecturer or Associate Professor, units need to clarify:

• The performance expectations for each academic duty by rank. Superior performance (or equivalent) should be expected for at least one of the two academic duties; and indicators of performance.

For promotion of CAS Associate Professors to Professor, the requirements are similar to those for promotion of tenure track professors. In particular, very strong performance is expected in all three areas of academic duties. The professor must establish:

• A record of highly significant contributions in one or more of the areas of:
  • research and/or other original scholarly activities as evidenced by international recognition by peers;
  • professional and/or clinical innovation that has an influence on the practice of the profession, and that is published, publicized or otherwise recognized in a way that makes possible its evaluation by external peers; and/or
  • sustained creative activity as exemplified by external peer and public recognition, appropriate awards and prizes, invited performances, stagings and exhibitions;
  • a record of superior teaching; and
  • Superior contributions to the University and scholarly communities.

Units may use the established criteria for tenure-track staff, with appropriate modifications.

Dossier

CAS who are being considered for promotion must provide the Department Chair with the necessary documentation to support the case for promotion. This dossier shall, minimally, include the candidate’s CV and a record of achievements related to the relevant academic duties. Faculties can specify other requirements for the dossier. Candidates for promotion to Professor must also include a personal statement covering contributions and achievements in all three areas of academic duties.

Procedure

1. The Faculty submits the following required documentation for APO approval via the Change Job business process in Workday:

   Required documents	Template and/or Description
   Recommendation memo	Memo from Department Chair, outlining length of term, salary, source of salary, established criteria for promotion. Must be approved/seconded by the Dean.
   Promotion Committee report	Reappointment or Promotion Committee's report, or other requirements as outlined in the CAS Regulations.
   Curriculum Vitae	Must be current.

   The APO reviews the documentation, and prepares a draft BOG letter for approval by the Associate Provost (Equity and Academic Policies).

2. Once the dossier is approved and the BOG letter is signed, APO sends the signed BOG Letter to the staff member via Workday.