Education Template
Free Faculty Employment Contract Template
A faculty employment contract establishes the terms for academic appointments.
Template
Copy this markdown, replace the {{variables}}, and send via API.
# Faculty Employment Contract
**Faculty Member:** {{facultyName}}
**Institution:** {{institutionName}}
**Department:** {{department}}
**Date:** {{date}}
## Appointment
{{appointmentType}} position as {{title}}
## Compensation
{{salary}}
## Teaching Load
{{teachingLoad}}
## Research Expectations
{{researchExpectations}}
## Benefits
{{benefits}}
## Term
{{contractTerm}}Send for e-signature
curl -X POST https://signb.ee/api/send \
-H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"content": "YOUR_RENDERED_MARKDOWN",
"senderName": "Your Name",
"senderEmail": "you@company.com",
"recipientName": "Recipient",
"recipientEmail": "recipient@email.com"
}'What happens next
- Signbee converts the markdown to a professional PDF
- Recipient gets an email with a signing link
- Both parties sign with an animated handwriting signature
- Both receive the signed PDF with a SHA-256 certificate
All signatures are legally binding under the ESIGN Act, eIDAS, and ECA.
More details
Faculty employment contracts are uniquely complex due to the dual nature of academic work: teaching and research. They must address academic freedom, tenure-track progression, intellectual property, and the balance between institutional obligations and scholarly independence.
Types of academic appointment: - Tenure-track: Probationary period (typically 6-7 years) leading to tenure review. Tenure provides strong job protection and academic freedom guarantees. - Tenured: Permanent appointment with strong protections against termination. Can only be dismissed for cause, financial exigency, or programme discontinuation. - Non-tenure-track: Fixed-term contracts (1-3 years), typically renewable. Includes lecturers, clinical faculty, and research faculty. Fewer protections than tenure-track. - Adjunct: Part-time, per-course contracts. No benefits, no job security, no research expectations. The most precarious academic employment. - Visiting: Temporary appointments (1-2 years) for faculty on leave from their home institution or between positions.
Key contract clauses: 1. Teaching load — Number of courses per semester. Contact hours vs preparation time. Whether overload teaching is compensated separately. 2. Research expectations — Publication requirements, grant funding expectations, and how research productivity is evaluated for promotion and tenure. 3. Service obligations — Committee work, student advising, departmental administration, and community engagement. 4. Intellectual property — Who owns research outputs, course materials, and inventions. Most institutions claim ownership of inventions made using institutional resources but allow faculty to retain copyright on scholarly publications. 5. Academic freedom — The right to pursue research and express scholarly opinions without institutional censorship. This is a fundamental principle of higher education and should be explicitly protected. 6. Sabbatical eligibility — Typically available after 6 years of service. Duration, compensation during sabbatical, and obligations upon return.
Frequently asked questions
What is academic tenure?
Tenure is a permanent appointment that provides strong protection against termination, ensuring academic freedom. Tenured faculty can only be dismissed for cause (misconduct, incompetence), financial exigency, or programme discontinuation. It's typically granted after a 6-7 year probationary period.
Who owns intellectual property created by faculty?
It varies by institution. Most universities claim ownership of inventions made using institutional resources but allow faculty to retain copyright on scholarly publications and course materials. The employment contract should clearly specify IP ownership terms.
Can faculty employment contracts be signed electronically?
Yes. Faculty employment contracts are valid with electronic signatures under ESIGN (US), eIDAS (EU), and ECA (UK). E-signing is practical for academic appointments where the faculty member may be at a different institution during the hiring process.
Related resources
Send this template for signing — free, no credit card.