Faculty FAQs on Hiring and Travel Freeze

Hiring Freeze

Does the hiring freeze have any impact on current FTNTT faculty renewal of appointment? 
No.  The FTNTT Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), Article X, governs the conditions in which FTNTT faculty can be non-renewed.  

Does the hiring freeze have any impact on current pre-tenure TT faculty reappointment?
No. The hiring freeze has no impact on TT Faculty reappointment and tenure. Tenure-track faculty evaluation relies on criteria specified in the respective academic unit handbook (see University Policy 6-14, 6-15, and the TT Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), Article XI, Section 2).  

Will the hiring freeze affect the ability to offer new GA positions for next year that are not funded by external grants?
No. The process for making new GA offers for 2025-2026 will follow the same protocol as has been done in the past, whereby a total GA budget for a unit will be discussed between chairs/directors and the Dean, who will then discuss budget requests with the Provost. 

Will the hiring freeze prevent us from hiring a part-time adjunct to teach a course?
It depends.  Academic Affairs has created a process by which Deans can request an exemption from the hiring freeze for Provost and President review.  The Provost has asked Deans to provide rationale and indicate a significant ROI (return on investment) for any exemption. The rationale should indicate student/programmatic need and demonstrate other scheduling efficiencies to justify the exemption.  If there are full-time faculty (on any campus) that are qualified to teach the course and currently underloaded, the course or course section will most likely be assigned to that full-time faculty member.

Travel Freeze

Does the travel freeze prevent me from self-funding professional travel? 
No. The travel freeze is designed to minimize University expenditures. Self-funded travel is not a University expense.  Please be aware that travel during the academic year by faculty on 9-month contracts that requires the cancellation of classes or office hours or entails absence from the meetings of any committee on which one serves requires approval for the “absence from campus.”  

Does the travel freeze apply to URC, UTC, CTL funds?
No. Approved URC, UTC and CTL funding will be honored.  Faculty should continue to apply for URC, UTC and CTL funding. However, with the travel freeze in place there will most likely be an increase in faculty requesting support for these funds.  Faculty are encouraged to be mindful of the anticipated increase and thorough in submitting requests. 

Does the travel freeze apply for Winebrenner funds provided through the FTNTT Professional Development Excellence Pool?
No. Approved Winebrenner funds will be honored. Faculty should continue to apply for FTNTT Professional Development funds. However, with the travel freeze in place there will most likely be an increase in faculty requesting support for these funds. Faculty are encouraged to be mindful of the anticipated increase and thorough in submitting requests. 

Does the travel freeze apply to travel required in connection with an external grant?
No. The travel freeze is designed to minimize University expenditures.  Grant funded travel is not in and of itself a University expenditure. Additionally, the announced travel freeze contained an explicit exception for “contractually obligated travel in which no virtual attendance is allowed.” Even if the grant does not itself fund the travel, any travel required by the terms of a grant should fall under that exception.  

Does the travel freeze apply to university funds (other than from URC, UTC, CTL or through the FTNTT Professional Development Excellence Pool) for travel to a professional conference at which a full-time faculty member has been invited to present content relevant to their area of teaching, research, or creative activity specialization?
No. But please remember, travel support is not guaranteed and must be approved by the chair/director or the Dean. There is an explicit exception for “Presenting at an approved conference required for accreditation, certification, and/or job performance in which no virtual attendance is provided.” This exception exists but it is not a guarantee that a request will be approved. 

Does the travel freeze apply to my start-up funds?
No. As start-up funds are contractual obligations, you may use your start-up funds for travel.

Does the travel freeze apply to discretionary travel funds managed by the university?
Yes.  Travel funds managed by the university in faculty incentive accounts and discretionary funds managed by the foundation are affected by the travel freeze, as these are University expenses.  If a faculty member would like to use these funds, they need to discuss their request with their Chair/Director/Dean, who will then follow the same protocol as other requests for exceptions.

Does the travel freeze apply to university funds (other than from URC, UTC, CTL) for travel required in connection with the continuing education requirement for maintaining professional licensures? 
No, but….  The announced travel freeze contained an explicit exception for “Presenting at an approved conference required for accreditation, certification, and/or job performance in which no virtual attendance is provided.”  Travel in connection with the continuing education requirement for maintaining professional licensures falls under this exception.  That said, it is likely that the travel budget of many academic units and campuses will be significantly reduced if not eliminated entirely.  So, it may be difficult to obtain University funding (other than from URC, UTC, CTL or through the FTNTT Professional Development Excellence Pool) for such travel.