Preface to the Published Version:

The University of Michigan is a highly complex and decentralized institution. It would be virtually impossible to capture in detail all of the many policies, procedures, and information that affect faculty, and to attempt to do so would duplicate many existing resources. With this in mind, the Office of the Provost provides the Faculty Handbook, both the online and printed versions, as a navigation aid. The reader is given brief descriptions of existing policies, procedures, and resources and is referred to primary resources for more information.

Since the online Handbook is revised on an as-needed basis to reflect changes in policy and to revise outdated information, it is the most up-to-date source of information. In addition, the online Handbook provides direct access to a wide variety of resources through hyperlinks. Some of the resources (for example, the Standard Practice Guide references) are provided in Portable Documents Format (pdf), for which software is readily available.

The Faculty Handbook is not, nor is it intended to be, a primary source of official University policy. Official policies are found in the Regents' Bylaws, the Standard Practice Guide (SPG), the bylaws of the schools and colleges, and many other documents, some of which are referenced in the handbook. Throughout the handbook, references to authoritative sources of University policy are provided. The handbook is not intended to directly establish or imply contractual obligations to any faculty group or individual faculty member. Official University policies may be revised at any time. Unless otherwise stated, revised University policies, when approved, apply to University faculty and staff, regardless of their appointment begin dates.

Although this handbook is written for Ann Arbor faculty, it includes information about UM-Dearborn and UM-Flint. In particular, key differences among the campuses are noted and some information about local resources, provided by the provosts on those campuses, has been included. The University of Michigan-Dearborn Faculty Handbook Supplement is available online at www.umd.umich.edu/univ/provost/facsup.htm. UM-Flint expects soon to have an online handbook for its faculty.

Every effort was made to ensure that the information contained in this updated edition of the Faculty Handbook is accurate as of December 2007. However, the University of Michigan is a dynamic institution, constantly growing and changing. Some of the information will become out of date. Corrections, comments, and suggestions for ways to improve future editions are welcome and encouraged. Faculty may send comments to faculty.hndbk.comments@umich.edu. The Provost’s Office updates the online version of the Faculty Handbook regularly, and is committed to updating the printed version periodically.

January 2008