2.F.1 Employee Information
Faculty, staff, and administrators are apprised of their conditions of employment, work assignments, rights and responsibilities, and criteria and procedures for evaluation, retention, promotion, and termination.
All UAF employees are subject to , and this chapter of BoR policy provides basic personnel policies and regulations pertaining to the rights and responsibilities of academic, research and administrative faculty and/or staff. Within this chapter, there are specific policies covering the , , , , , , , , , , and .
At the implementation level, UAF uses standardized appointment letters to communicate the key terms of employment to all new hires. Appointment letters for term and temporary employees are reviewed annually for potential renewal. Evaluation, retention, promotion, and termination procedures for represented employees are outlined in . For nonrepresented staff and administrative employees, these procedures are governed by guidelines set forth in , which requires annual performance evaluations. The employment of student workers is guided by .
All applicants for senior administrative, faculty, and exempt or nonexempt positions are apprised of general conditions of employment in each job posting and through the online application process in , the employee management system. Conditions include meeting position qualifications, employment in a job not covered by Social Security, and notice that the position may be subject to a criminal background check. Exempt and nonexempt staff job postings include the job family classification and salary grade as well as the . Once the applicant has been approved for hire, the employment offer letter is generated through unit HR staff and includes the conditions of employment applicable to the position such as probationary period of six months, degree requirement, leave requirement, or intellectual property rights. Upon hire, benefited employees review and acknowledge the following UAF required training policies within the first 30 days of employment. All employees must also complete the within the specified period of time. Trainings may also be required that are or for as determined by supervisors. Volunteers are required to complete Title IX training in addition to position-specific training as determined by the supervisor. Additional trainings (e.g., supervisory, FERPA, lab safety and hazardous waste management training, responsible conduct in research, Banner navigation, procurement and travel, OGCA, or other administrative training of a similar type) may be required for employees depending on the position and job duties and most trainings can be found on the and UAF Training websites. An employee may coordinate directly with their administrator for position specific training that is not found on the UA HR and UAF Training websites.
All newly hired and newly benefit-eligible employees are invited to hosted by UA Human Resources Benefits and Compensation team, which provides an introduction to UA policies and procedures and workplace policies, among other topics. Support for new employees is also available through the UAF Employee Onboarding and Engagement Office, which includes services from an onboarding specialist. The onboarding and engagement team hosts new employee welcome events and a new employee checklist and resource page to help employees navigate and integrate into the campus community. In addition to this institution-wide onboarding, UAF provides a dedicated New Faculty Orientation for all newly hired faculty. Through AY2023-24, the Office of the Provost charged the Faculty Accelerator Team with overseeing New Faculty Orientation as part of its faculty development initiative. For AY2024-25 and AY2025-26, New Faculty Orientation was delivered by the UAF Center for Teaching and Learning. In its in-person and virtual formats during this period, the orientation provided an overview of faculty expectations; resources for teaching, research, and service; and guidance on promotion and tenure, professional development opportunities, and UAF-specific policies and support services.
In November 2025, UAF restructured its faculty development functions, integrating the Center for Teaching and Learning into the Office of Faculty Affairs and Services. Beginning in AY2026-27, Faculty Affairs and Services assumed direct responsibility for New Faculty Orientation and redesigned it as a structured, cohort-based program. The inaugural UAF Faculty Success Summit (August 2026) pairs an asynchronous pre-work layer–covering systems and logistics, teaching tools, and compliance and faculty rights with a two-day in-person program spanning teaching, research, service, promotion, and/or tenure, pedagogy, and expectations of a faculty career lifecycle. This model reinforces continuity of faculty onboarding across the restructure while strengthening cohort connection and consistent access to institutional resources.
All UA employees are informed of HR policy changes through several channels. Major policy updates are approved by the UA BoR in public meetings and posted on the . The provides updates across categories, including human resources and benefits. All UA employees also receive a biweekly email with policy updates, reminders, wellness tips, and resources — archived on the Benefits News site. Additional information is available through and . Significant changes are often highlighted in systemwide emails from the UA president covering topics like budgets, union negotiations, and leadership updates.