I. Overview
Depending on their step at hiring and their career progression, faculty may receive merit increases to Assistant Professor Steps V and VI, and under special circumstances to Associate Professor Steps IV and V in the course of normal advancement. The following apply:
- These steps will be available for personnel actions with effective dates of July 1, 2010 and later, except for faculty who are members of the School of Law and School of Medicine Compensation Plan.
- Units will not normally hire an Assistant Professor at Step V or VI, nor at Associate Professor at Step IV or V, unless the faculty member is transferring to UCLA from another UC campus. These higher steps are in place to enable faculty to spend an appropriate and sufficient amount of time at a given rank while still progressing through merit increases.
II. Assistant Professors
Faculty who have been at Assistant Professor Step IV for one year and who are not submitting their dossier for promotion to Associate Professor will be eligible for a merit increase to Assistant Professor Step V, with a two-year contract renewal. Faculty who have been at Assistant Professor Step V for one year and who are not submitting their dossier for promotion (and are not required to do so based on the Eight-Year Limit) will be eligible for a merit increase to Assistant Professor Step VI, with a two-year contract renewal.
Accelerations that involve skipping a step within the Assistant Professor ranks are not recommended. Faculty who are making significantly faster progress than the norm may, in consultation with their Department Chair, consider early submission of the dossier for promotion to Associate Professor.
Regular advancement will always be from one of the Assistant Professor steps to Associate Professor, Step I. All faculty can remain at the Assistant Professor rank for eight years (or less if they believe they are ready to advance to Associate Professor). Any proposed promotion from Assistant Professor to a step beyond Associate Professor, Step I will be considered an acceleration and will have to be justified as any acceleration in step or rank.
III. Associate Professors
The normal term of service as Associate Professor is six years, but there is no obligation on the part of the University to promote an Associate Professor to the rank of Professor solely on the basis of years of service at the lower rank.
Associate Professor, Steps IV and V will only be used in special circumstances and will require review by the Vice Chancellor. The normal terms of service at both Step IV and V is three years. If faculty are hired at Associate Professor, Steps II or III and if they are not ready to advance to Professor in four or two years, respectively, or a research project has been delayed by circumstances beyond the faculty member’s control, or there is commitment to extra teaching or service their department and/or school could request use of Steps IV and/or V. This decision will require review by the Vice Chancellor, however regular advancement will always be from one of the Associate Professor steps to Professor, Step I. Any proposed promotion from Associate Professor IV or V to a step beyond Professor, Step I will be considered an acceleration and will have to be justified as any acceleration in step or rank.
Revised 5/9/2014
Web page updated 4/6/16
