Create and Define Ranks
Ranks in Lifecycle Management (LM) represent an institution’s standard faculty ranks, including information such as workload, rank type, and allowable salary ranges. This feature enables institutions to configure LM to align with their formal professional titles and structures. Common ranks such as Lecturer, Assistant Professor, and Associate Professor, may differ in meaning across institutions and can be further specified with modifiers like Adjunct, Emeritus, or Senior. Faculty appointments are classified into ranks and groups by title, each with their own specific benefits, rights, and responsibilities that are customized by the institution. Once a series is created in LM, the corresponding ranks must be defined within that series, as outlined below.
Each rank is independent of others.
Best Practices
- Each rank should start with an Appointment event.
- When putting events in for a rank, all the events should mark the time in that particular rank.
Create and Define Ranks
- Navigate to the Series page and click the Add Rank button
- Complete the Create Rank Form by first selecting a ‘Rank Type’ from the predefined list. Then using the free-text fields to customize the ‘Rank Name’ and ‘Qualifications,’ distinguishing ranks of the same type, but different benefits, responsibilities, or qualifications.
Rank Types are hardcoded in the system to ensure consistency in search and reporting, so they cannot be customized. If your institution's rank type is not listed, select 'Other' and enter the specific rank in the 'Rank Name' field.
Once selected, changing the rank type is not recommended. Modifications to the rank type within a series will not update individual faculty members' records.
- Administrative users can use the Workload Model dropdown to select the associated workload model.
Workload serves as a categorization tool for grouping faculty. However, each faculty member's workload remains unique. You can adjust workloads at the faculty profile level as needed.
- When finished, click Save. Repeat the steps above until all ranks have been added to the series.
FAQs: Use Cases
How should faculty of the same rank but with different contract lengths be handled? For example, Assistant Professors on 3-year vs. 4-year contracts?
Create two series, one for 3-year and one for 4-year Assistant Professors.
How should someone with multiple appointments, such as a Chair who is also an Associate Professor, be treated?
In this case, consider the Chair and Associate Professor roles as separate appointments, each within its own series. You can create a series, such as "Administrative and Leadership Roles," to house administrative roles. This series can include rank names, events, and other elements, though it can also be kept simple with a single rank of "Administration" and a single event like "Appointment." Loading each as separate records will prevent any conflict with the title and start date.
When should I select “Year 0” vs “Year 1” for the first event of a rank?
When should I select “Year 0” vs “Year 1” for the first event of a rank?
When creating an appointment, the system calculates the faculty member’s current year in rank by comparing the appointment’s start year with the current calendar year.
- If the appointment began this year, the timeline starts at Year 0.
- If the appointment began last year, the timeline starts at Year 1, and continues accordingly.
It then applies professional journey events for the main rank starting from that year onward. This ensures that timeline events reflect the faculty member’s current progression rather than simply starting at year 0 every time.
Year 0 events should only appear if the faculty member's hire year falls within the same calendar year as the year 0 event, regardless of the academic year.
Determine the Correct Year for the First Rank Event
Year 0
Select year 0 if the first event of the rank starts at the beginning of the faculty member’s first full academic year in the new rank, or you are not applying the professional journey.
Most clients do not apply the professional journey, so using Year 0 for the first event is typically recommended.
Example
LM compares the appointment's start year with the current calendar year. In this example the current calendar year is 2025.
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Review Date (Event Start Date): May 30th, 2025
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Start Date of New Rank (Appointment Start Date): July 1st, 2025
In the example above, since the appointment's start year of 2025 is in the current calendar year (2025), the event should be assigned Year 0, even though they occur in different academic years. As a result, the timeline will reset for the new rank, and events will begin from year 0.
Year 1
Select year 1 if the first event of the rank is effective in the spring of the current academic year, or if you are applying the professional journey.
This method should be used because it supports mid-year rank changes and accommodates faculty hired into advanced ranks starting in July without altering the professional journey.
Example
LM compares the appointment’s start year with the current calendar year. In this example the current calendar year is 2025.
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Review/Promotion Date (Event Start Date): August 3, 2025
Since the timeline begins at the year the new rank starts, no events from year 0 will be generated.
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Start Date of New Rank (Appointment Start Date): December 3, 2024
In the example above, since the appointment's start year of 2024 is not in the current calendar year (2025), the event should be assigned Year 1. As a result, the timeline continues from the previous rank, and events begin from Year 1.