Employment Status

Although recruitment of faculty members takes place within individual departments and colleges, faculty members work with the Human Resources Department (222 King, 704-687-2276) regarding matters pertaining to their status as State employees.

EPA and SPA Employees

Full-Time employees of the University are either exempt from the State Personnel Act or subject to it. Exempt employees are sometimes referred to as EPA, and those subject to the Act as SPA. All full-time faculty members are exempt. Promotion and salary decisions for faculty members are made differently from similar decisions for employees who are subject to the State Personnel Act. Promotion and tenure decisions for faculty members are made according to the provisions of the Tenure Policies, Regulations, and Procedures of The University of North Carolina at Charlotte. The complete tenure document can be found at www.legal.uncc.edu/tenurepol.html.  

Full-time EPA Staff (non-faculty) earn a standard 24 days of vacation leave per year and 12 days of sick leave per year.  They are expected to work all days, except official holidays when the University is closed.  This type of employee does not fill out time cards and cannot earn overtime or compensatory leave but is expected to work until the job is done, usually a minimum of 40 hours per week.  All EPA Staff are required to fill out leave slips whenever they are absent from work.

Twelve-Month and Nine-Month Appointments

Most full-time faculty members hold nine-month appointments that coincide with the period of the academic year (August 16 - May 15). Nine-month faculty members may teach in UNC Charlotte summer sessions and earn extra income; however, summer teaching appointments are not automatic. Assignments to summer school teaching positions are made by individual department chairpersons and based on enrollment, courses that need to be offered, and available resources.

Some full-time faculty members, including department chairpersons, deans and some lecturers, have twelve-month appointments. These twelve-month faculty members earn vacation leave (24 days per year) and sick leave (12 days per year).  They are expected to work all days, except official holidays when the university is closed.  All twelve-month faculty are required to fill out leave slips whenever they are absent from work.

For a faculty member on 9-month appointment, the date for removal from the payroll at the end of the academic year is June 30. Regular payroll checks received in July and August are advance payment for work to be done during the fall semester. The faculty member who leaves employment before completing that fall semester must reimburse the University for the full amount of any overpayment.

Emeritus Status

Any retiring and tenured member of the faculty may be appointed to emeritus status unless there is demonstrated incompetence, neglect of duty, or misconduct indicating that the individual is unfit to continue as a member of the faculty. Appointment to emeritus status is based upon recommendations of the department chair and the chancellor and requires the approval of the board of trustees. Emeritus faculty members are eligible to use campus facilities, apply for external grants under University auspices, and request post-retirement employment or use of office/lab space. The official University policy, Policy Statement #23, “Emeritus Faculty,” can be found at www.legal.uncc.edu/policies/ps-23.html.