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Subd. 2. Full-Time Equivalent Year. A full-time equivalent year in a quarter based system shall consist of three (3) quarters of continuous service for a full-time faculty member while one (1) quarter and two (2) quarters of continuous service in an academic year shall result in one-third (.33) and two-thirds (.66) of a full-time equivalent year respectively. A full-time equivalent year in a semester based system shall consist of two (2) semesters of continuous service for a full-time faculty member , while one (1) semester of service in an academic year shall result in one half (.5) of a full-time equivalent year. Faculty with less than a full-time appointment for any quarter or semester, as applicable, shall receive the appropriate fraction. No additional full-time equivalent years shall be accrued for any assignment beyond the regular academic year .

Subd. 3. Continuous Service . Continuous service shall commence on the first duty day an individual begins employment service with a State university and shall be interrupted only by separation because of resignation, non-renewal or dismissal for just cause. A leave of absence pursuant to Article 17 or 18 shall not interrupt continuous service except where expressly limited in Article 18.

Section B. Application.

Subd. 1. For purposes of layoff (see Article 23), Aseniority may be exercised only in the department or program in which the faculty member is serving at the time of retrenchment or in any department or program in which the faculty member has served at least three (3) full academic years.

In the event a faculty member is laid off and meets the three (3) years of service requirement provided herein in more than one department or program, in the university in which he/she is serving, he/she shall be entitled to be assigned to such department or program as determined by the President . If two (2) or more faculty members have equal seniority, then those with greater length of tenured service, shall have priority for retention. Should faculty members still equal in seniority, then those with greater length of total service in the university shall have priority in retention.

Beyond this the decision of which person to retain will be made on the basis of programmatic needs of the university as determined by the President .

Faculty members returning from non-bargaining unit positions to the bargaining unit shall have their seniority restored to a level earned at the time they left the appropriate unit. Such seniority shall include employment service rendered prior to March 9, 1976, if such employment service qualified as seniority pursuant to the Minnesota State University Board Rules and Regulations which were in effect March 9, 1976.

Subd. 2. In the event a faculty member is reassigned or permanently transferred to another university , he/she shall carry all accumulated rights and benefits to his/her new university with the exception that there shall be no carryover of seniority for the purpose of calculation of layoff priority (see Article 23). However, the seniority accumulated by a faculty member at a given university shall be maintained at that university as long as the faculty member is either employed within the System , or takes leave pursuant to Articles 17 and 18, or possesses recall/reassignment rights pursuant to Article 23.

Section C. Seniority Roster. A seniority roster shall be posted and sent to the Association by the President /designee on or before November 1 and March 1 of each year. The roster shall be published in a uniform, systemwide format and shall provide the following information:

1. Names of tenured faculty member (s),

2. Names of other faculty members, by type of appointment (probationary, fixed-term, non-tenure track),

3. Full or part-time (if part-time, percentage),

4. Date of initial employment,

5. Date of tenure (if applicable),

6. Years of seniority (if applicable).

In addition to seniority in the current assignment, the roster shall indicate other departments or programs in which the faculty member is credited with three (3) full academic years of continuous service. Disputes concerning the accuracy of the information must be filed with the President ’s designee within twenty (20) calendar days of publication of the roster. Time limits shall not apply to the correction of clerical errors. Should there be no satisfactory resolution within twenty (20) calendar days of the alleged inaccuracy;, the faculty member shall have the right to file a grievance in accordance with the provisions of Article 28.

Section D. Priorities. For the purpose of clarifying and resolving conflicting claiming rights to vacant positions within the Minnesota State University System , the following is a list of claiming right categories in order of decreasing priority:

Priority 1: Retrenchment based assignment to retain a faculty member within a university pursuant to Article 29, Section B, Subd. 1.

Priority 2: Recall rights, using the procedures established in Article 23, Section G.

Priority 3: Reassignment rights, using the procedures established in Article 23, Sections D and E.

Priority 4: Prior consideration to non-tenure track faculty members who are qualified for a probationary vacancy.

Priority 5: Prior consideration to fixed-term faculty members who are qualified for a probationary vacancy.

Priority 6: Prior consideration to head coaches who are qualified for a probationary vacancy, in accordance with Article 10, Section G, Subd. 6.b.