UVA Logo
PROV-013: Appointment of Visiting Faculty and Visiting Scholars

Date: 06/11/2010 Status: Final
Last Revised: 09/06/2023
Policy Type: Executive Vice President & Provost
Oversight Executive: Executive Vice President and Provost
Applies To:

Academic Division.

Reason for Policy:

The University recognizes the benefit of having individuals from other institutions and organizations visit to learn, exchange ideas, and share expertise. These opportunities foster intellectual development and research collaborations. The University has established guidelines governing the appointment of visiting faculty and visiting scholars.

Definition of Terms in Statement:
  • Designated Hiring Official:An individual who is authorized to extend a conditional offer of employment to individuals on behalf of the University. The president, vice presidents, academic deans of the University’s schools, and the University librarian are designated hiring officials. Hiring authority may be delegated in writing by one of these individuals with the approval of the president or the appropriate vice president.
  • Visiting Faculty:Visiting faculty receive academic appointments at the University to participate in teaching, research, or clinical work in a sponsoring department or school while maintaining affiliation with their primary place of employment. They may serve as the instructor of record for courses offered for credit at the University.
  • Visiting Scholar:Visiting scholars receive appointments at the University to participate in scholarly or research activities in a sponsoring department or school while maintaining affiliation with their primary place of employment. They are not considered faculty, and thus may not serve as the instructor of record for any course offered for credit at the University.
Policy Statement:

Visiting faculty and visiting scholar appointments, including those of individuals participating in faculty exchange programs, may be granted at the University under the terms and conditions outlined in this policy. Visiting faculty members and visiting scholars, even those serving with pay, are appointed with the understanding that they receive retirement benefits and opportunities for advancement through their primary place of employment.

  1. Eligibility:
    A visiting faculty member or visiting scholar must be visiting from an institution or organization outside UVA, which serves as their primary place of employment.

    A visiting faculty member must possess the appropriate degree, credentials, or experience that would be expected of an Academic General Faculty appointment or a Tenured or Tenure-Track appointment.

    A visiting scholar must either have the terminal degree in their discipline or be a recognized expert in their field.

    Individual schools and departments may establish more restrictive eligibility criteria.

    If a visiting faculty member or visiting scholar’s engagement with their primary place of employment is severed during their visit to UVA, their visiting faculty or visiting scholar appointment must be terminated or reclassified within six months.

  2. Terms and Restrictions:
    Unpaid visiting faculty and visiting scholar appointments may not exceed a term of five years. These appointments may be renewed.

    Paid visiting faculty and visiting scholar appointments of less than 10% (0.10 FTE) may not exceed a term of five years. These appointments may be renewed.

    All other paid visiting faculty and visiting scholar appointments may not exceed two years of total engagement. Extensions of these engagements beyond two years requires the advance written permission of the executive vice president and provost.

    Visiting faculty or visiting scholar status may be revoked at any time (even during the term of the appointment) by the University at its discretion. Similarly, there is no expectation of renewal of the appointment at the end of the term.

    Benefit eligibility for visiting faculty and visiting scholars is dependent on a number of factors related to their employment status, including FTE and pay. In order to determine potential eligibility, units should consult with UVA HR prior to making an offer.

    Visiting faculty are not elected members of the UVA faculty and do not hold the same rights and privileges; they do not have voting rights nor representation in the Faculty Senate. They may not hold an administrative position as defined in PROV-024: Academic Faculty Members Appointed to Administrative Positions.

  3. Other Individuals Not Paid by the University:
    An individual who is employed by a third party to serve as a faculty member at the University should be appointed as unpaid faculty, as described in HRM-005: Appointment of Unpaid Faculty.

    An individual who is not paid by the University and does not require a faculty or scholar appointment should be considered a volunteer as described in HRM-001: Authorization and Engagement of Volunteers.

  4. Faculty Exchange:
    A visiting faculty member may be part of a cross-institutional faculty exchange. Exchanges usually take the form of a one- or two-semester stay in which the University faculty member assumes the teaching or research duties in the cooperating institution, while the visiting faculty member assumes similar duties here. Exchange visits may develop as formal agreements between institutions or as informal arrangements initiated by the interested faculty members. However they develop, all exchange visits require the prior approval of the dean and the executive vice president and provost.

Questions about this policy should be directed to the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost.

Procedures:

An appointment letter documenting the visiting faculty member’s or visiting scholar’s visit must be issued by a designated hiring official (usually the dean of the school). All offers to visiting faculty members or visiting scholars are subject to regulations regarding international visitors, if applicable, and completion of a background check.

The offer letter, at a minimum, should:

  • Specify the term of the visit and, if the appointment is with pay, the FTE.
  • Specify the appropriate duties and responsibilities. For a visiting faculty member or visiting scholar, these duties and responsibilities are determined by the school or department based on its needs and on the professional credentials of the prospective visitor.
  • Appoint the visiting faculty member at the same rank that they hold at their home institution. If a visiting faculty member comes from a non-academic organization, their rank should be commensurate with their level of experience.
  • State that the visitor must follow all regulatory requirements and University policies that apply to faculty while here.

(Note: For more information, refer to policy PROV-006: Extending Offers of Employment to Faculty in Academic Areas.)

Major Category:
Executive Vice President & Provost Policies
Next Scheduled Review:
09/06/2026
Approved By, Date:
Executive Vice President and Provost, 06/11/2010
Revision History:
Revised 9/6/23; Updated link 7/1/20; Updated 3/20/19.