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.