Option to Retreat Policy

Establish the procedures to guide requests for the options to retreat.

Administrators
Academic Departments and Programs

Policy Title:
Option to Retreat Policy (Application of the CSU Employment Policy Governing Administrator Employees’ Option to Retreat)

Policy Status:
Approved by Academic Senate November 9, 2023; Approved by President Zelezny November 28, 2023

Affected Units:
Administrators
Academic Departments and Programs

Policy Statement Text:

The CSU Employment Policy Governing Administrator Employees’ Option to Retreat delineates systemwide protocols governing the option for Administrators to Retreat to a faculty position at the end of their administrative appointment and provides conditions under which Administrators are eligible and ineligible to Retreat.  The CSU policy, which is intended to provide systemwide consistency in granting options to Retreat, also requires each campus to adopt procedures to guide the process.

Procedures for Considering and Granting the Option to Retreat
1.    The search committee will notify the relevant Academic Department of the candidate’s request for consideration.
2.    The candidate will meet with the Academic Department during the interview process.
3.    The faculty of the Department will evaluate the candidate’s qualifications, including but not limited to:
a.    Education
b.    Background
c.    Excellence in teaching, scholarship, and/or research and creative activities
d.    Professionalism
e.    Previous history of tenure
4.    The Department will provide a written recommendation to the search committee and appropriate administrator.  If the option to Retreat is supported, the Department will also recommend rank and tenure status (with or without).
5.    Final approval is determined by the President or designee.

If appointed to an Administrator position, individuals already holding a tenured faculty appointment in an Academic Department at CSU Bakersfield shall be granted an option to Retreat to their tenured faculty position.

In accordance with the CSU policy, academic candidates who have earned and held a tenured Professor position at another campus within the CSU will ordinarily be granted the option to Retreat to a tenured faculty position.

Non-academic candidates who have never earned or held a tenured position may be granted the option to Retreat, with or without tenure, on a case-by-case basis, provided they:
1.    Demonstrate a substantial record meriting such rank
2.    Receive the recommendation of the faculty committee
3.    Are approved by the campus president or chancellor

Options to Retreat should always be granted at the time of appointment and memorialized in an Administrator’s appointment letter.  The appointment letter must include the terms outlined in the CSU Employment Policy Governing Administrator Employees’ Option to Retreat, including:
1.    Option to Retreat, with or without tenure
2.    Rank (Professor or Associate Professor)
3.    Department and School
4.    Salary placement details upon Retreat
5.    Terms of administrative sabbatical or paid time upon Retreat (if applicable)
6.    Amount of time required to provide notice of intent to Retreat
7.    Any additional terms
8.    Notice of potential ineligibility to Retreat in the event of a Finding

Eligibility to exercise the option to Retreat will be handled at the time the Administrator gives notice of intent to Retreat and must be determined according to the CSU Employment Policy Governing Administrator Employees’ Option to Retreat.

The Office of Faculty Affairs will maintain documentation of current Administrators who have been granted options to Retreat upon appointment and a list of Administrator positions within Academic Affairs for which an option to Retreat would generally be considered.

Consultations
Academic Senate
Provost’s Council

Policy Foundations and References
CSU: Employment Policy Governing Administrator Employees’ Option to Retreat (revised November 16, 2022)