Create a Series Template: Define Series, Ranks, and Rank Events
In Lifecycle Management (LM), a series functions as a template for faculty professional journeys once appointments are assigned. A series template (often called a faculty track) groups ranks to show faculty progression and specifies milestone events for each rank. This framework ensures clarity in career advancement and consistency across faculty appointments. These pieces act as the foundation for Professional Journeys and governs what happens when faculty appointments are created.
Once an appointment is created, it reflects the template as it existed at that time. Later changes to the template do not retroactively update existing appointments. These changes will only affect future appointments created with that series template.
Create Series Template
1. Define the Series
A Series groups related faculty ranks under a common track. Some examples include:
- Lecturer: Assistant Librarian, Associate Librarian, Librarian
- Tenure-Track Professor: Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Professor, Distinguished Professor
- Clinical Faculty: Ranks specific to medical school faculty
- Navigate to the Series page and click the Create Series button in the upper right-hand corner of the ‘Faculty Series’ page.
A series does not include logic for movement from one rank to another. To visualize rank progression, open the Professional Journey tab to see a timeline of rank events in ascending order, illustrating advancement through academic ranks.
- Enter a name, unit, and tenure-type for the series, then click the Save button.
Ensure to select the unit that employs the faculty track (series) you intend to use. The unit chosen during appointment creation determines which series are available, ensuring accurate alignment between faculty roles and organizational structure.
- This will take you to the new series you created. From here you will add Ranks and Rank Events to the series template.
2. Define Ranks within the Series
In LM, ranks define the formal titles and attributes associated with faculty positions. Ranks reflect institutional standards and allow LM to align with organizational structures. Each rank includes details such as workload, rank type, and qualifications, ensuring consistency across appointments. Common examples of rank include Lecturer, Assistant Professor, and Associate Professor, which can be further refined with modifiers like Adjunct or Emeritus.
Each rank is independent of others. Only ranks in the same series can be connected within a professional journey.
- On the ‘Faculty Series’ page click the Add Rank button under the applicable series.
- Complete the ‘Create Rank’ form.
- Choose a Rank Type from the predefined list.
Rank Types are hardcoded and cannot be customized to ensure consistency in search and reporting. If your rank type is missing, select ‘Other’ and specify the rank name.
Changing Rank Type after creation is not recommended, as it does not update existing faculty records.
- Enter a Rank Name and identify Qualifications (optional) to differentiate similar ranks.
- Choose a Rank Type from the predefined list.
- Administrative users can use the Workload Model dropdown to group faculty by workload category.
Workload models serve as grouping tools but can be customized at the faculty profile level allowing each faculty member's workload to remain unique.
- When finished, click Save. Repeat for all ranks in the series template.
3. Define Rank Events
Rank events mark key milestones that faculty members experience during their professional journey. When ranks are linked through these events, they form a clear progression path within the series.
- On the ‘Faculty Series’ page, click the Edit button next to the desired Rank within the applicable series.
- On the ‘Edit Rank’ form, scroll down to the ’Events' section and click the Add Event button.
- Fill out the ‘Add Event’ form.
Unsure which year to enter for the event? Check out this article about When to Select 'Year 0' vs 'Year 1' for the First Event of a Rank for guidance.
- Scroll to the bottom and click the Save button when finished. Repeat for all rank events in the series template.
After creating the series template, you can:
- Build Professional Journeys to visualize rank progression and milestones. These journeys will update automatically when changes are made to the series template.
- Assign faculty appointments, which are generated based on the template at the time of creation. Any changes made to the template afterward will not affect existing or historical faculty appointments.
Use Cases
Lifecycle Management offers flexibility for complex scenarios. Here’s how to handle common cases:
Different contract lengths for the same rank
If Assistant Professors have varying contract lengths (e.g., 3-year vs. 4-year), create separate series for each contract type (e.g., 3-year and 4-year contracts).
Faculty with multiple appointments
For individuals holding multiple roles, such as a Chair who is also an Associate Professor, create separate appointments for each role within its own series. Administrative roles can be grouped in a dedicated series (e.g., Administrative and Leadership Roles). This series can include ranks and events or simplified with a single rank (e.g. Administration) and single event (e.g. Appointment). Loading each as separate records will prevent any conflict with the title and start date.
Tenure-track faculty already in progress
When adding a faculty member mid-appointment (e.g., third-year Assistant Professor), include:
- Past events to capture career history
- Current events relevant to their current year (e.g. third-year review).
- Future events for upcoming milestones
This approach ensures the timeline reflects both historical progression and future reviews, rather than starting from Year 0 at the time of entry. LM will automatically trigger the appropriate review process in LM and RPT as event dates arrive.
For more details, check out this article about When to Select 'Year 0' vs 'Year 1' for the First Event of a Rank.
FAQs
Will changes made to a Series affect current or past faculty appointments?
No. Updates only apply to new appointments created after the change.
When should an event start?
Begin the event at the start of the review period. The system defaults to the first day of the month.
Still unsure which year to enter for the event? Check out this article about When to Select 'Year 0' vs 'Year 1' for the First Event of a Rank for guidance.
What happens if there are no events?
If there are no events, the faculty profile timeline will appear empty. This usually means the faculty member has been in their current role long enough that no current or future events remain in their journey.
It is recommended to add a future event to complete the series. For example:
- Associate Professor: Add a “Promotion” event 30+ years in the future as the final event.
- Full Professor: Add a “Retirement” event 30+ years in the future as the final event.
How are months and years indicated in the template Rank Events data model?
Use numeric values: Year = event year; Month = 1–12. For an event occurring in the first year of August the event year would be 1 and the event month would be 8.
How do I update or change a unit structure in Lifecycle Management (LM)?
Unit structures are managed through Review, Promotion & Tenure (RPT), not LM uploads.